A. Open your hymnal to Psalms!

Transcription

1 A. Open your hymnal to Psalms! Psalms: Songs of the Heart 1. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple (587 BC). 2. The Romans destroyed the 2 nd Temple (70 AD). 3. Everything about Solomon s Temple is gone w/the exception of the hymnbook Psalms. B. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1956: 1. This is an image of the Psalm Scroll. 2. It was copied by scribes during the days of JC and it contains portions of Psalms C. I read about 2 men who were the sole survivors of a shipwreck 1. They floated in a life raft for several days but they didn t see any passing ships and no planes flew overhead. 2. Hot sunburnt thirsty hungry. 3. One: Maybe we should pray? D. They weren t religious, but the 2 nd guy replied: Anything we do is better than nothing st : Do you know any prayers? 2. 2 nd : I lived next door to a church growing up. If you want, I could just repeat what I heard? 3. 2 nd : B-15 I-26 N-7 G-32 O-11.

2 E. Question: What would the world learn from our gatherings if they could listen to our worship? 1. Our singing/prayers reflect our view of God and our relationship to him. 2. What does our worship teach our children/guests? 2 F. We re in a series called Route 66 and we re taking a Roadtrip Thru the Bible: 1. We ve covered the books of Law/History 2. We started the books of Wisdom last week 3. And this is Week #19 we re in Psalms. G. The Psalms were a Hebrew book of songs and prayers: 1. They reveal man s view of his Creator. 2. They teach us what worship is all about. 3. They inform us about the things God desires from us when we come B4 Him. H. There are 150 Psalms can t read all of them: 1. I d like to share some of the common threads 2. Explain how they re divided & who wrote them 3. B/c more people read the Psalms than any other book of the Bible!

3 3 I. B4 we get into Psalms, let s back up to Job. Last week we asked: Why do bad things happen to good people? 1. Karla Vaught s sister was battling cancer in 2011 and she wrote something on a yellow post-it note (Karla s Bible). 2. When we get to heaven, we ll be so happy that the why s won t matter anymore. J. If I could start this series over, I would collect the comments: 1. Lots of people have never read thru the Bible 2. Some have read but haven t understood 3. Our Roadtrip on Route 66 has helped some see things they ve never seen B4. K. Sarah Margeson has a blog called Journey Thru Journaling, and last week she went home and came up w/this: 1. Job 19:25, For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 2. Rom. 8:28, All things work together for the good of those who love God. A. Psalms is the longest book of the Bible: I. Trivial Matters 1. It s quoted more frequently in the NT than any other.

4 2. The oldest Psalm is Psalms 90 (author is Moses). 3. The longest Psalm is Psalms 119 (176 verses) and the shortest Psalm is Psalms 117 (2 verses). 4 B. Psalm Praise the LORD, all you nations; Praise him, all the peoples of the earth. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the Lord! C. Here s some more trivia: 1. The last Psalm, chronologically, is Psalms It was written during the Jewish exile in Babylon. D. Psalms By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us to sing songs of joy. 4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? E. One more piece of trivia: the most-read passage in the Bible is Psalms 23 (KJV): 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth

5 me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: name s sake. 3 He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 5 F. One more trivial matter involves the organization. In the Hebrew Bible there are 5 books of Psalms: 1. Book 1 (chapters 1-41). 2. Book 2 (chapters 42-72). 3. Book 3 (chapters 73 89). 4. Book 4 (chapters ) Book 5 (chapters ). II. The Title A. If you ve been w/us since January then you know the OT was written in Hebrew: 1. In 250 B.C., the Septuagint was translated. 2. Septuagint means seventy men translated the Hebrew scrolls into Greek words. 4. There s a Hebrew name and a Greek name.

6 B. The Hebrew title means praises, and the Greek title means, Songs. 1. Our Bible uses the Greek name, and a song was sung w/ the aid of a musical instrument. 2. Look at Psalms 5: For the director of music. For pipes (today we d use the word flute ). 6 C. Our Bibles include 150 Psalms and every one of them was sung w/the aid of instrumental music: 150:3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. PRAISE THE LORD! The Message Let every living, breathing creature praise the Lord. Hallelujah! D. I grew up in a house that was built during the Civil War: 1. It has a porch that was built for a wagon (had to build a 2 nd set of steps).

7 2. There s an entrance room (music room). 3. We only said, Hallelujah! when it was quiet! 7 E. BTW (more trivia), there is a term you need to know: 1. Selah (used 71 times in Psalms, 3 times in Habakkuk). 2. It means interlude or pause. 3. See the movie, Sandlot? 4. It s used in the song, I m Proud to Be An American. III. The Authors A. We usually refer to the Psalms as the Psalms of David: 1. That s a misnomer. 2. He s one of the authors the most prolific psalter but he s not the only author. B. 73 of the Psalms are attributed to David: are called orphanic psalms (anonymous). 2. Asaph wrote 12 psalms (1 Chron. 15:19 lists him as a musician who sounded the cymbals, and he walked B4 the Ark of the Covenant (1 Chron. 16:37).

8 C. The sons of Korah wrote 12 psalms: 1. Ps 42:1, As a deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you. 2. Solomon wrote 2 Moses 1 and Ethan 1 (Psalm 89). IV. The Key Characteristics 8 A. 1 st, A Psalm is a Poem: 1. In the U.S. we think of rhyme/rhythm, but Hebrew poetry uses parallels. 2. One line repeats/contrasts with the other line. B. For example, look at Psalms 1: 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. C. The last verse of Psalms 1 uses the same parallel in reverse: 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. D. Psalms 42 provides a totally different kind of example: 1. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants

9 for you, O God. 2. In each case, the poetry comes from the relationship of ideas instead of the sounds of the words. E. The next two paragraphs are for Nat l Honor Society members straight-a students and teacher s pets: 1. Psalms 25 has 22 verses corresponding to the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. 2. Vs. 1 begins aleph vs. 2 w/beth vs. 3 w/gimmel. 9 F. And if you re a member of Mensa International check out Psalms 119: 1. There s 176 verses 2. Divided into 22 sections of 8 verses each 3. 1 st 8 verses begin w/aleph 2 nd 8 verses begin w/beth 3 rd 8 verses begin w/gimmel. G. 2 nd, A Psalm is a Song: 1. The Psalms were the Hebrew hymnal. 2. We read them; they were intended to be sung. 3. And they were sung w/the aid of instruments.

10 H. Psalms 92 1 It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, 2 proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. I. Here s a picture of a lyre (portable harp): 1. 1 Samuel 16:23, David played his lyre to soothe Saul s nerves. 2. The words lyre/lyric have the same Latin root, liris. 10 J. The Psalms are lyrics. And the lyrics/instruments are absolutely dependent on each other. (Read something): I bet you re wondering how I knew About you re plans to make me blue; With some other guy that you knew before. Between the two of us guys, you know I love you more. It took me by surprise, I must say, when I found out yesterday. I heard it thru the grapevine. Oh, and I m just about to lose my mind. Honey, honey, yeah. (w/o the music Marvin Gaye would have been boring!) K. 3 rd, A Psalm is a Prayer:

11 1. Psalms 72 ends w/an important statement: the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. 2. Whoever compiled these psalms intended for the previous chapters to be sung as a prayer. L. For example, turn to Psalms 61: 1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 11 M. Or how about David s prayer of confession after his sin with Bathsheba in Psalms 51? 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. N. 4 th, A Psalm emphasizes Praise: 1. Our worship includes singing, but much of our singing is

12 in the 3 rd person. 2. We sing about God but not to Him. 12 O. The Psalms change our perspective: 1. We praise God when we talk to him, not about him. 2. Praise is honoring God for who he is not thanking him for what he has done or will do for us. P. Praise/thanksgiving are both important: 1. But praise focuses on the giver, while thanksgiving focuses on the gift. 2. Praise allows us to proclaim to the world what we think/ know of God. Q. Most of the Bible teaches us about God: 1. The Psalms help us experience him emotionally. 2. They aren t theological position statements to be scrutinized/studied. 3. They are emotional expressions of joy/sorrow.

13 R. Psalms 104 great! 1 Praise the LORD, my soul. LORD my God, you are very S. 6 th, The Psalms are Planned. The 5 divisions of Psalms parallel the 5 books of Law: 1. Psalms 1-41 parallels Genesis. 2. Ps. 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 13 T. Psalms corresponds to Exodus: 1. Exodus tells the story of Israel s captivity in Egypt and their exodus from Egypt. 2. Ps. 72:14, He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. U. Psalms follows the themes of Leviticus: 1. Leviticus is a book detailing worship in the Tabernacle, and emphasizes God s holiness. 2. Ps. 78 recounts Israel s history reminding us that God

14 never settles for a compromising relationship. V. Psalms parallel the book of Numbers: 1. Numbers rehearses Israel s journey in the wilderness. 2. Numbers 11:1, Complaining displeases the Lord. 3. Ps. 90:7, We are consumed by your anger and terri- fied by your indignation. W. Psalms , like Deuteronomy, tells the story of hope and blessing: 1. These Psalms tell the story of the person who is ready to surrender his whole heart to God. 2. Ps. 107:4-6, Some wandered in desert wastelands. Then they cried to the Lord and he delivered them. 14 X. 5 th, The Psalms are Prophetic. JC said (Luke 24) 44 This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Y. The Lord of history revealed his future plans to redeem us in the Psalms (Psalms 22): 1. Vs. 1, My God, My God, what have you forsaken

15 me? (Matthew 27:46). 2. Vs. 7, All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads (1 Peter 2:23). 3. Vs. 16, They pierce my hands and feet (John 20:20). 4. Vs. 18, They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment (Matthew 27:35). Z. Here s a couple of other Psalms not from Psalms 22: 1. In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink (Matthew 27:34). 2. The stone which the builders rejected is become the head cornerstone (Matthew 21:42). 3. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Mathew 21:9). 15 AA. Athanasius is a 4 th century scholar who wrote, The Psalms not only speak to us; they speak for us. 1. The Psalms give voice to the cry of our hearts! 2. Our culture is more restrained; the Psalmists openly expressed anger fear loneliness despair devotion and gratitude.

16 BB. My grandfather s favorite Psalm is Psalms I was young and now I am old. Yet, I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed begging bread.