This week’s episode finishes our study of Psalms 102–150 and the theme: “Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord.”
We begin in Psalms 110 and 118 by looking at passages written centuries before the Savior’s mortal ministry that Jesus Christ and His Apostles later connected directly to Him.
Psalm 118 declares: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
We’ll explore how the Old Testament continually points toward Jesus Christ through prophecy, symbolism, ordinances, deliverance, and the experiences of God’s people—and why one of the most important questions we can ask while studying scripture is:
What does this teach me about Jesus Christ?
The more we learn to look for Him, the more we begin to recognize that He has been at the center of God’s plan all along.
Next, we’ll return to one of the most familiar verses in Psalms:
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
—Psalm 119:105
We studied this verse earlier while learning how to find the Psalm we need, but this time we’ll go deeper into what the image of a lamp can teach us when life itself becomes difficult.
Sometimes what we want from God is a map. We want Him to show us where the road is going, why something is happening, and how everything will eventually work out.
But a lamp may only give enough light to take the next step.
We’ll talk about how God’s word can provide direction, comfort, hope, reassurance, and truth during grief, illness, unanswered prayers, uncertainty, and other experiences that may not come with immediate explanations.
Sometimes faith is not seeing the whole road.
It is trusting the light God has already given us enough to take the next faithful step.
Finally, we’ll come to the closing chapters of Psalms.
After 150 Psalms filled with fear, repentance, grief, questions, deliverance, gratitude, joy, worship, and hope, the final five repeatedly declare:
“Praise ye the Lord.”
We’ll explore why praise is deeper than simply thanking God when life goes the way we hoped.
Drawing on President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s teachings about gratitude in every circumstance, we’ll discuss how gratitude can become an act of faith and testimony—something rooted in what we already know about God and Jesus Christ even when our present circumstances are difficult to understand.
Over time, praise becomes less about what happened today and more about what we have learned about God through everything that has happened.
So as we finish Psalms, maybe the final question is not simply:
What did I learn?
Maybe it is:
What do I now have to praise God for?
This week’s episode helps teens learn to see Jesus Christ more clearly in scripture, rely on God’s word when they cannot see the entire road ahead, and develop the kind of faith that can still say:
“While I live will I praise the Lord.”
—Psalm 146:2
https://joshdowns.com/cfm-resources/p/psalms-102-150-come-follow-me
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