So far Reading God's Story has spread out the psalms over the course of David's life. I have enjoyed seeing the psalms connected to events in his life, such as Psalms 35, 54, 63 placed after 1 Samuel 27, at which point David has gone to live with the Philistines in order to flee Saul's jealousy and wrath. Verses like "ruthless people are trying to kill me - people without regard for God" take on added meaning when you have just read about the way Saul has treated David. Many of the Psalms are situational; they are the psalmist's prayer to God based on his circumstances. The placement of the Psalms in RGS helps us to see how David does just that, crying out to God in the midst of persecution.
Other Psalms help us see the "big story" of the Bible. Psalm 78 looks all the way back to Israel's journey in the wilderness, the miracles God did for them there, and their unending demands and complaints against God. It contrasts God's enduring faithfulness to his people and their lack of faith in his provision. It describes what happened once they reached the land; the people turned to idolatry and God in his anger abandoned them to their ways. They lost the ark of the covenant in battle; their young men were killed; their enemies triumphed over them. But that did not last forever; God beat back their enemies. The psalm leads all the way to the events I am reading about right now - God's choice of David to be their shepherd.
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There is a wonderful music group in Durham, NC called Folk Psalm. They set the psalms to music. They played for us at Duke Divinity School a few times. Here is a video about their music and ministry:
http://www.faithandleadership.com/multimedia/sing-praises-god
Here is their website:
http://www.folkpsalm.com/
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