We do not need to get deep into the book of Psalms in order to discover that the Psalms are uttered in an imperfect world, one of sin, evil, suffering, and death. The stable creation run by the Sovereign Lord and His righteous laws is constantly threat- ened by evil. As sin corrupts the world more and more, the earth has increasingly become “a strange land” to God’s people. This reality creates a problem to the psalmist: How does one live a life of faith in a strange land?

The Psalms strengthen our faith in God, who is the never-failing Refuge for those who entrust their lives into His mighty hands. “God will do great things for those who trust in Him. The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faith- fully obey Him.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 493.

The Psalms unswervingly uphold the foundational belief in God’s sovereign reign. The Lord created and sustains everything that He had created. He is the Sovereign King over the whole world, and He rules the world with justice and righteousness. His laws and statutes are good and bring life to those who keep them.

A belief that only spontaneous, unlearned prayer is real prayer appears to be prevalent among some Christians. However, Jesus’ disciples were immensely rewarded when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. God placed a prayer book, the Psalms, at the heart of the Bible, not simply to show us how God’s people of ancient times prayed but also to teach us how we can pray today.

The Psalms have been a prayer book and hymnbook for both Jews and Christians through the ages. And though the Psalms are pre-dominantly the psalmists’ own words addressed to God, the Psalms did not originate with mortals but with God, who inspired their thoughts.

The book of Revelation fills the mind with scenes of the end. The epicenter of the book deals with the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan. Satan has lost his legal hold over the earth, and now he pursues those who remain loyal to God. The book climaxes with Jesus’ return to deliver His children, both the living righteous and those faithful ones who have died since the fall of Adam and Eve.

One of the most inspiring accounts of “cross-cultural ministry” in the Bible can be found in the book of Esther. A great deal has been written over the millennia about this book, and to this day many Jews celebrate the feast of Purim, based on Esther 9:26–31. Esther and Mordecai, her cousin, were Jews living in the capital of the Persian Empire, Susa. For whatever reason, unlike other Jews who had returned to Judah, they, along with others, remained in the land of their captivity.

From the beginning, a loving God sought His lost children (Gen. 3:9); and, to our day, this same loving God is still seeking to reach the lost (see Rev. 14:6–12), including the lost in the cities. In 2018, the United Nations published its latest findings, which say that 55 percent of the planet’s population lives in urban areas, and this will grow (if time should last) to 68 percent by 2050. We have no choice: we must witness to those in the cities.

Depicting what Paul did in Athens, Luke wrote: “Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17, NKJV). Naturally, Paul would have been most comfortable working among the Jews, his own flesh and blood. But Paul refused to be satisfied with working among only his own people. He had been called to reach others, as well.

Though written many years ago, the Bible, the Word of God, is the revelation of God’s truth for our world. And among the many truths it reveals is that of human nature, and that—whether in seventh-century Judea or twenty-first-century Brazil—people are basically the same: sinners in need of divine grace.