Bluegrass Psalms

No. 352

April 29, 2025

Bluegrass music was born out of the joys and pain of real life. Guitars, banjos, mandolins, and fiddles call us to dance a jig or cry our eyes out. It’s down home music that moves us to laugh with joy or cry with pain; there’s not much in between. So too, the Psalms. 

Most psalms deal with either praise to God or lament over life’s challenges. They express our heart’s appreciation for God’s care and protection, or they explore the agony of life’s difficult and confusing moments. And at times, the psalms do both.  

David experienced some days of inexpressible joy and others of unimaginable anguish.  He wrote, “Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him.” (Psalm 64:10a) 

David’s words are written for the righteous. God’s people walk through some pleasant and refreshing days, but they are not exempt from difficult, painful, sorrow-filled days either.  God walks with us in the sunshine and the storm.  

If today is a day of gladness, a day of joy and fulfilment, don’t forget to praise the Lord. But if today is a day filled with threats and uncertainty, with sorrow and sadness, remember and follow David’s words to the righteous - take refuge in the Lord.  

Excelsior,

Dan Bolin

Author & President