I made it: 150 days, 150 psalms. When I began this daily journey back on Feb. 1, it seemed simple enough – just one chapter a day. But it turns out that reading straight through the entire book of Psalms is more than a checklist. It’s a sustained conversation with God.
Some days were easy. The words felt like an embrace, offering comfort, hope or joy. Other days were harder. Some psalms confronted me with raw lament, anger or fear. There were days I fell behind and had to catch up. But I kept going. And on June 30, I opened to Psalm 150 – the grand finale.
Psalm 150 is the perfect ending. After 149 chapters of pleading, praising, questioning, confessing and hoping, the final psalm contains no request at all. It’s pure praise:
“Praise God in his sanctuary…
Praise him for his mighty deeds…
Praise him with trumpet sound…
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
It struck me that the whole book moves toward this. The psalmists never pretended life was easy. They poured out grief, voiced anger, confessed failures and demanded answers. Yet the final word is not despair or doubt. It’s worship. Psalms doesn’t tie life in a neat bow. Instead, it insists that no matter what, God is worthy of praise.
Finishing the book left me reflecting on what this journey taught me. It showed me that faith doesn’t mean ignoring pain. Psalms taught me to be honest with God. We can bring every emotion – joy, sorrow, fear, anger – to him without editing ourselves first.
It also taught me patience. One hundred fifty days can feel like a long time. Some evenings I wasn’t in the mood. Some chapters felt repetitive or confusing. But the daily habit itself was a lesson: Keep showing up. Keep reading. Keep talking to God.
I’m not the only one who found meaning in this shared reading plan. One of my fellow readers along this journey, my friend Norlyn Hyde, told me, “As I reread the Psalms over the last few months, I was reminded that this is not just a collection of songs offering praise to God, but a collection of many things, including the history of the children of Israel and the foretelling of the greatest king, King Jesus. We see this especially in Psalm 110.
“I was also reminded that in addition to David, there were a number of different writers. I particularly enjoyed the last six psalms that so beautifully praised the greatness of God. I plan to use these more in my prayer life as I offer praise to God as I begin a time of prayer.”
So she and I – as you might expect – gained some of the same insights. Like her, I found that reading these Psalms deepened my sense of spiritual history. These prayers were written thousands of years ago. They were sung in ancient temples, whispered in exile, recited in quiet hope. Generations have prayed these same words. Now I have, too. Reading all 150 psalms in order taught me more than any piecemeal approach ever has.
Next, I’m moving on to Isaiah. I know it will be different – challenging, sometimes hard to understand, but full of beauty and promise. Thanks to Psalms, I’m carrying this lesson with me: that the faithful life includes all the emotions, all the questions, and ultimately all the praise we can muster.
Because in the end, Psalms tells us that no matter how dark the night, no matter how long the road, there’s one command that sums it up.
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
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