“The delightful study of the Psalm has yielded me boundless profit and ever-growing pleasure…”

So Charles Haddon Spurgeon states in the preface of his classic commentary on the Psalms, ‘The Treasury of David’1. Of course, Spurgeon knew that King David did not write all of the Psalms, but the prince of preachers was correct in saying that the book of Psalms is a ‘treasury’.

A treasury is a place or building where ‘treasure’ is stored. In the ancient world there would have been rooms in palace complexes where the gold and precious objects signifying the wealth of the kingdom would have been stored.This is why, even in our time, we still call the main economic advisory body to our government, the ‘treasury’. They are, as it were, the stewards of our nation’s ‘treasure’.

From this ‘treasure’ a nation must sustain, maintain and upgrade whatever is needed, whenever this is needed. From this treasure leaders must draw resources to provide protection, security and civil stability. From this treasure organisations, groups and institutions will be funded to provide essential and necessary services, bring relief to those in need and help the sick, the elderly and the poor. The treasury, in other words, represents the ‘wealth’ of a nation which is to be used for the flourishing of the people. Spurgeon regards the Psalms as the ‘treasury’ of God’s Kingdom, the place where a wealth of treasure is stored for the spiritual benefit of God’s people.

Words to God from God

God’s people have for millennia drawn from this treasury. In times of joy, they might draw from the Psalms to find words of thanksgiving and praise. In times of war and conflict they would draw strength and encouragement from the Psalms. When standing in awe of God they could find high (or should I say rather, divine) poetry to express their wonder. When seeking wisdom, relief for a guilty conscience, conviction for a seared conscience, hope, comfort, encouragement, assurance, all could be found in this great treasury. Even in times of suffering, grief and/or oppression, they would go to this treasury to find laments and imprecations to give expression to their pain. Even the Lord Jesus went to this treasury during His darkest hour, drawing on the words of Psalm 22:1 as he was languishing on the cross for our sins.

It is thus not surprising that the Psalms have been referred to as the songbook of God’s people. A sage once quipped that if you show him the songs of a nation, he will be able to show you the soul of that nation. And if we look at the Psalms, we might legitimately say that they provide a window into the very hearts of God’s people. Their hopes and fears, their trials and temptations, their highs and lows, and above all, their faith in the God who gave them these words to enrich, comfort and refresh their souls. 

The Psalms are then at the basic level a treasury of ‘Words to God from God’. As Fee and Stuart so eloquently writes…

“Because the Bible is God’s word many Christians automatically assume that  it contains the words from God to people, thus they fail to recognise that the Bible also contains words spoken to God or about God which is what the Psalms do and that these words too are God’s words.”2

The Psalms are the words of God’s people to God, yet we have received them as God’s words to His people. Through them, He speaks in a special way which appeals not only to our intellects, but also to our emotions or shall I rather say, He speaks to our mind through our hearts in the Psalms. He speaks to us in the form of poetry, utilising all the tools which bring written words together in such a way that we are moved to feel something.

As CS Lewis rightly says in his (not so helpful but still very quotable) ‘Reflections on the Psalms’…

“Most emphatically the Psalm must be read as poems, as lyrics, with all the licences and all the formalities, the hyperboles, the emotional rather than logical connections, which are proper to lyric poetry. They must be read as poems if they are to be understood; no less than French must be read as French and English as English. Otherwise we shall miss what is in them and think we see what is not.” 3

We must not underplay this aspect of the Psalms. For it is exactly here where we find the greatest value of reading the Psalms for the average reader. Let me explain… I can, for example, say to my wife that she looks pretty in her summer dress. And she would (I hope) appreciate the compliment and feel nice about the way she looks. But if I say, “my darling wife, if I were to compare you to a summer’s day in Nelson, a west coast sunset or the first beam of morning sun, I would have but compared lesser beauty to your radiance.” Well, such words would stir deeper emotion within her (especially if I sing them to her…). And that is because poetry is a type of writing which intends to stimulate the imagination as to move the heart so that the mind can be informed, influenced or changed. But not only that. Poetry is in and of itself a means of expression, that is to say, a way to express emotion. That is why so much poetry (including the Psalms) is combined with music, the purpose being, not to stimulate the mind exclusively, but rather to touch the heart as to give deeper understanding to the mind.

To read that “God is our Fortress and our strength, our ever-present help in times of trouble” (Ps. 46:1) touches something deep in our soul. And to sing ‘A mighty fortress is our God’ moves something deeper still. To hear that He covers us under “The shadow of His wings” (Ps17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 63:7) or that He “Holds my right hand” (Ps 73:23) or that we dwell under the “Shadow of His right hand” so that “The sun will not strike us by day nor the moon by night” (Ps 121:5-6), bring us in contact with the love of God in a way that is both intimate and moving. And a person limping on the edge of despair as they come to a worship service will feel his heart strangely comforted as he sings “The Lord’s my shepherd I shall not want, He makes me down to lie, in pastures green He leadeth me, the quiet waters by”.

Words to God, from God, to us

The thing is that the Psalms speak to the head through the heart. The Psalms stir emotions to change our thinking and so changes us. This is not to say that the Psalms are not theologically rich, it is not to say that the Psalms are to be read ‘mindlessly’ or chanted ‘unthinkingly’. It is not to say that the Psalms cannot be read ‘critically’ or studied ‘academically’. We recognise that the Psalms are rich in theology, complex in form and profoundly interesting. But it is to say that their theological richness comes to us in a style which penetrates the heart in a more direct way than say, ‘logical argument’.

One can discuss the fact that God is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. We can express that in theological categories and climb the ladder of logic to investigate the concepts and complexities for deeper understanding. Or we can say with the Psalmist:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.(Ps. 139:1-12)

The Psalms are words to God from God to us’. They are the words of God, given to us to know Him, and yet, they are words given to us so that we may use them in our prayers, praise and personal meditations. 

A clear example of this is the Anglican book of common prayer. In it the Psalms have been arranged in such a way that you can read all 150 Psalms over the course of 30 days as morning and evening devotions4. This example points to the value God’s people have always placed on the Psalms for our spiritual growth and everyday lives. They are the Words of God, given to us, so that we may use them to speak with Him, draw near to Him, worship Him and abide in Him.

And as such we find in them not only a window into the deepest longings of the human heart. But also the very words to articulate such longings, the manner by which such longing can be expressed, and the way in which such longings are met. Consider the good doctor, Martyn Lloyd Jones who diagnosed, treated and suggested the cure for what he called ‘spiritual depression’ in his sermon series of that name5. He took his point of departure from Psalm 42:5 and 11:6

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.(v.11)

This Psalm came to him during a time when he was feeling depressed7 and as he considered this Psalm, he realised that these were the very words of God, which he could use to address the problem. So, he spoke to his soul and questioned it… Why are you cast down?… Hope in God!…For I shall again praise Him!…

The point is that since the Psalms are words to God, from God, to us we have in them a ‘treasury’ which we can draw from to enrich us in the very deepest level of our being. We can go to the Psalms when our prayers are but wordless groans and find there the words which give expression to our groanings…

I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.(Ps.6:6)

Or when we are left speechless in light of the glory of God, we may go to the treasury and make a withdrawal so that we can say with the Psalmist:

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world. (Ps. 19:1-4)

Or even, when we are no longer able to say anything, the Psalms can penetrate our soul still. I am reminded of an older sister in Christ who was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. She was no longer able to speak and she was essentially unresponsive. Her children were around her, but they were no longer trying to speak to her. They were not believers and their words of comfort were not penetrating the unconscious mind of their mother who was nearing her true and lasting rest. I sat down next to her and spoke, but there was nothing. Then I opened my Bible and read Psalm 23:1-6. As I was reading, her eyebrows raised slightly, her hand moved as if she was trying to raise it, and then she seemed to smile. After reading I prayed and looked at the children as they stood astonished. I asked, did you see that? And they said yes. I said my final goodbyes and later that morning, she went to dwell in the house of her Lord forever. And so, we conclude that the Psalms are a ‘treasury’ for God’s people, which we can draw from in every stage of life even unto its end, for… My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever… (Ps 73:26)

References

1 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, vol. 1–3 (Peabody, Massachusetts, United States of America: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988).

2 Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 212.

3 C. S. Lewis, Selected Books (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002), 310.

4 Church of England. The Psalter. “The Psalter | The Church of England.” Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/psalter

5 Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures. 2nd rev. ed. London: Marshall Pickering, 1998.

6 “Free Sermon | The Book of Psalms: Chapter 42,” MLJ Trust, accessed December 5, 2025, https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/book-of-psalms/42/

7 Murray, Iain H. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith, 1939–1981. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1990, 259.

Mr Braam Jansen van Rensburg is the minister in the Nelson Reformed Church.

December 2025

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