Reading the Psalms, written by Ralph Edge

I can think of many things that have been shared with me over the years, but none were more beneficial than reading the Psalms out loud. I could go into some theological explanation of the virtues of this exercise, but it would just be the flesh. The sum total of reading the Psalms out loud is that it works.

The works that are produced are profitable in your life. Now, I am about to say something that could shake you up. You could read all day and all night, and it could profit you not in the least, unless you believe. What! Then what do I do if I don’t believe, you say? Simple, read till you do. Folks, this works. No need to e-mail me with all of your excuses of why things don’t work in your life. They don’t work because you don’t believe. I know, because I have lived it (the unbelief). I will tell you something else, so has everyone else. There comes a day when you either fish or cut bait. Then, you will read those Psalms and the New Testament and you will believe, because you have no other way to go.

In 1985/1986, I got sick. I ran a fever for about sixty days, along with upper respiratory symptoms. The more time that passed, the weaker I got. It was very subtle. I got just a little weaker each day. Finally, I became so weak that I would leave work at noon and go home. One day, I went to a drive-through restaurant for some food. I was so weak that I pulled over into a parking space and lay over in the seat. I knew that I was I trouble. Somehow, I made it home that day. I told Debbie, my wife, that I was not going to prayer that night. I just didn’t feel up to it. Doyle had been sharing about reading the Psalms out loud and how it would be profitable to your life. Well, I needed some profitability in my life, and fast. My heart was so hard through doubt and unbelief that I could not accept that reading the Psalms out loud could help my situation. The gospel can help any situation, because it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1). The gospel is on every page of the Psalms. God had a plan to write that in my heart.

As I sat on our couch, wrapped up I a blanket and shivering, God spoke. He said, "If you will read the Psalms out loud, I will heal you." I continued to shiver, cough, hack, and just be miserable. I needed help, I thought, "I will take you at your word." Let me give you what I knew at the time:

God had spoken.
I needed help.
Obedience brings blessings. (Genesis 22)

I started reading. It was slow going that first day, and I felt no better. The second day of reading found me at Psalm 66 or 67. I felt some improvement, and that was enough to be encouraged. By the end of the third day, I had finished the Psalms, and a change had occurred in my life, and in my heart. I felt better. The morning of the fourth day, I was stunned. I had no fever, no symptoms, less doubt, and more humility. I was humbled because I was close to going to the hospital, and then God changed my heart. Those Psalms were a fire and a hammer to the stony heart that I had.

You know it is not the physical reading that healed me. It was the power of God that manifested the change of my heart that healed me. Jesus tells us in Mark 7 that it is what comes out of the heart of man that defiles the man. The sickness was in my heart. That is hard, but it is the truth.

Humble yourself, read and pray the Psalms and the New Testament out loud. It will be profitable to you.

Posted by Doyle Davidson
Servant and Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ

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