Our looking and longing isn’t done yet. King Jesus will return. And when he does, he will bring this world to an end and establish the new heavens and the new earth. The book of Psalms trains us for that world yet to come. There is a general movement across the five books of the Psalter proportionately from more laments in the earlier books to more praise in the latter books.

Since the 1980s, scholarship has devoted serious attention to the shape of the Psalter. While viewing the Psalms as a book has not filtered into popular consciousness yet, pastors and preachers may have discovered this argument in recent commentaries, such as James M. Hamilton’s excellent volumes. Preaching the Psalter as a book might at first seem like a difficult task, but it’s well worth it. Here are four reasons why.
1. The Book of Psalms Assures Us God Directs Human History
The Psalms are unique, for while they are God’s Word to us, they also are man’s words to God. The mindset of the people who wrote them teaches us something about the reality of our world: God directs human history. If the authors of the psalms didn’t believe this to be so, they wouldn’t have cried out to him.
Throughout Israel’s history, from embryonic kingdom to dismembered state in exile, God cares for, protects, and sustains his people. No matter the circumstances, God is active. And so it is today. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, but God is faithful through it all.
I write from Ireland. On the southern coastline lies Cobh, famous for being the Titanic’s final stop before its fateful sail across the Atlantic. Above Cobh stands St. Colman’s Cathedral, a massive, imposing building that towers over the entire town. No matter where you stand you can see it.
A similar image of God emerges from the Psalms when we preach them as a book. He towers over human history as the main actor.

In Book One, God consistently aids David in his battle against the wicked (Ps. 18:1–3).
In Book Two, God rescues the nation from its enemies (Ps. 44:4–8).
In Book Three, the psalmist cries out in the wake of the exile (Ps. 77:1–2).
In Book Four, hope is reignited (Ps. 105:1–2).
In Book Five, it’s all praise to God for his great deeds toward his people (Ps. 117:1–2).

The trajectory of the Psalms assures us that even through enemies and exiles God directs human history. What a comfort to us as we face the tumult of life.
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In the Old Testament, the word salvation refers to both physical and spiritual deliverance. But as we read the Bible in its entirety, we soon come to see that all physical deliverance is simply an illustration of the great spiritual deliverance that God offers in his son Jesus. In the depths, as Christians, we must never forget that it is in Christ alone our hope is found—for there alone is sin dealt with.

A single image, from my first few visits to London, is impressed on my mind: the view from the top of an escalator in the larger Underground Tube stations. I remember standing looking at this enormous moving stairway, tilted at a frightening angle, inching slowly but steadily into the depths of London’s underground. Imagine gazing at hundreds of people on this downward trajectory into the belly of London.
This image of downward motion is one which is created by the book of Jonah in the first two chapters. Initially, Jonah goes down to the port of Joppa (1:3). Once aboard a ship, Jonah goes down to the inner part and lies down (1:5). Jonah is then thrown from the deck down into the raging sea (1:15). In chapter 2 Jonah then recalls being thrown down into the sea (2:3), where he then sinks down (2:3, 5)—finally sinking down to the sea floor (2:6).
For two entire chapters Jonah has been moving downward. In chapter 2, we therefore find him in the depths. But from those depths Jonah shares four truths that might encourage those of us who are likewise in the depths.
Truth #1 – God is Sovereign
We should be amazed at the sovereignty of God in the story of Jonah. It is stated explicitly in 1:17 as it is noted that the LORD ‘appointed’ a fish to swallow Jonah—it isn’t a chance happening, it isn’t a stroke of good fortune—God has orchestrated it. Not only does the fish swallow Jonah, but at God’s command he spits him out again (2:10). It isn’t just the fish that is under God’s control, however, it is also the waves. In 1:4 we are told that the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea to create in the storm. But, in chapter 2 Jonah himself acknowledges it is God’s doing (v. 3): ‘your waves and your billows’. God is sovereign. There can be no doubt about it. All these circumstances—both the waves and the fish—it is all at God’s beck and call.
In the depths Jonah is careful to encourage us to remember God is sovereign. No matter what we face we can face it with confidence because God is in control of all things. When we feel we are drowning in life, God can send a ‘fish’ to rescue us. We must trust our God; no, we can trust our God.
Truth #2 – God Answers Prayer
Jonah asserts this truth before he even gives us the content of his prayer (2:1–2). Even from the depths God hears and answers prayer. Jonah’s situation was desperate. He is struggling to keep his head above water in verse 3, by verse 5 the seaweed is pulling him under and so in verse 6 he has reached the sea floor—alternatively known as death. This prophet of the LORD, who thought he could escape God’s call on his life, is facing the end of his life. It is here, for the very first time in the book, that Jonah calls out to God.
The sad reality is that sometimes we must be brought to the end of ourselves before we seek God. Often it is only in the most desperate of circumstances that we will cry out to God. How is this supposed to be encouraging? Because when we do, God hears and answers. This is Jonah’s testimony (2:2, 7). Cry out to God, speak to him, tell him how you feel and watch as he answers.
This comes with a warning though, because often the answer is not quite what we would expect. Consider Jonah, in the gut of a great fish he thanked God for deliverance! Nonetheless, it was an answer to prayer.
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