Pundayschool · Passage · Old Testament
The Bible's prayer book and songbook: 150 poems of praise, lament, and trust, sitting right in the middle of the Old Testament. Pundayschool has landed here three times so far: twice on stillness, once on the parts of guidance we quietly edit away.
Psalms is the Bible's prayer book and songbook: 150 poems of praise, lament, and trust in the middle of the Old Testament. Pundayschool has covered three passages from Psalms so far: Psalm 37:7, "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him," in the episode The Lift Button, about waiting without pressing again; Psalm 46:10, "be still, and know that I am God," in the episode The Voicemail, about letting God get a word in; and Psalm 119:105, "your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path," in the episode The Map Folded Wrong, about the parts of guidance we quietly fold away. All three come with a free devotional and small group study guide.
Episode 38 · Psalm 23:5
Every night the table's set just for the mascot - plate, glass, chair pulled out. Every night it eats standing at the counter instead, backpack still on. Psalm 23:5: "you prepare a table before me." Nobody's stopping it from sitting. So tonight: sit down.
Episode 39 · Psalm 33:3
Word-perfect, full volume, until an unfamiliar verse comes on the radio. Then the mascot's hand shoots for the volume knob. Psalm 33:3: "Sing to him a new song." Not the one we already know by heart. So today: turn it back up, and sing the part you don't know yet.
Episode 13 · Psalm 37:7
There's a very specific kind of faith that believes pressing the lift button again will make it come faster. We press it anyway - harder, twice, the other one too - convinced our next try might finally move what was never actually stuck.
Episode 6 · Psalm 46:10
We treat prayer like a voicemail. Rattle off a list, then hang up. When God calls back, we let it go to bit busy.
Episode 19 · Psalm 119:105
We all like the parts of the map we agree with. So we fold away the turn we are not ready for, one neat crease at a time, until only the straight bit with the star on it still shows. Off we go, chin up, straight into the wall where the corridor actually turns. That was not on our map, we say, forgetting we are the ones who edited it off. Then Psalm 119:105 says the thing we folded away: your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path, the whole path, turn and all.
Three passages so far. With 150 psalms to choose from, this series will be back in this book again; new Psalms episodes will be filed on this page.
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."
Psalm 37:7, NIV
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10, NIV
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
Psalm 119:105, NIV
Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel's worship, covering the whole range of honest human experience: praise, grief, anger, trust, and thanksgiving. It has been the prayer book of God's people for thousands of years.
Psalm 46 describes a world in upheaval, with God as a refuge in the middle of it. Verse 10 is God's own instruction: stop striving, be still, and remember who is actually in charge. It is a call to trust, not just to quiet.
The episode pictures prayer as leaving God a voicemail: rattle off the list, hang up, stay busy. Psalm 46:10 lands as the correction: prayer is a room with two chairs, and someone has to stop talking long enough for the other chair to be sat in. The study guide digs into the psalm's background.
The episode pictures an elevator call button pressed again and again, convinced a third or fourth press will finally make it move faster. Psalm 37:7 lands as the correction: "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." The lift was already coming before anyone touched the button. The study guide digs into the psalm's structure and background.