The Psalms: God s Soundtrack for the Life of Faith Introduction and Songs of Praise Rolf Jacobson Luther Seminary

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1 The Psalms: God s Soundtrack for the Life of Faith Introduction and Songs of Praise Rolf Jacobson Luther Seminary He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God! (0:) O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare you praise. (1:1) Introduction: The Psalms: God s Soundtrack for the Life of Faith [The Psalter] might well be called a little Bible. In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible. It is really a fine enchiridion or handbook. In fact, I have a notion that the Holy Spirit wanted to take the trouble himself to compile a short Bible and book of examples of all Christendom or all saints.... Martin Luther (LW :) The psalms as the word made flesh o And the word became flesh and lived among us.... (John 1:1) o By the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.... (Rom 1:1-) I. Singing Songs of Praise Definition: Praise songs tell who God is by describing what God has done In praise, o we give our selves to God and o we give God to our neighbors Key Verse: For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations (100:) Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Hymn: All People That on Earth Do Dwell (ELW ; William Kethe)

2 II. In Praise, We Give Ourselves to God In short, praise is the offering of the whole self to God. J. Clinton McCann Form of Praise: In this type of praise, the singer addresses God directly in the nd person Key Verse: Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. (1:) I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts... The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. 10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you. Hymn: How Great Thou Art (ELW ; Carl Boberg) III. In Praise, We Give God to Our Neighbor That is the purpose of praise... to bear witness to all who hear that God is God. Patrick D. Miller Form of Praise: In this type of praise, the singer speaks about God in the rd person Key Verse: Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things (:1) O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming

3 to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. Hymn: Earth and All Stars (ELW 1; Herb Brokering) Questions: 1. Tell about a time in your life when God did a marvelous thing.. What is your favorite hymn of praise? What does it say about who God is?. What experience that you have had of God would you most want to share with another person?. Think just about music now not about the words that go along with the music what melody best captures the feeling of belonging to God? Or, what melody best expresses the feeling of faith? IV. In Thanksgiving, We Tell Others What God Has Done For Us Thanks as Praise: In this type of praise, the singer tells specifically what God has done for me Key Verse: He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God! (0:) Psalm 0:1-10 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted. Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation;

4 see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. Hymn: I m So Glad, Jesus Lifted Me (ELW 0; African American Spiritual) V. Praise as Welcome and as Response Praise as Response: In this type of praise, the community joins with an Amen The function of this praise is welcome, reconnection, and renewed relationship. O Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. (11:1) Psalm 11:-, 1-1, 1- Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. With the LORD on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?.. 1 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. 1 The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. 1 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly; 1 the right hand of the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly." 1 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 0 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 1 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the LORD has [acted]; let us rejoice and be glad in [him]. Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth (ELW ; Pierpoint)

5 Questions:. Tell about a time in your life when God did a marvelous thing.. What is your favorite hymn of praise? What does it say about who God is?. When has God been present in your life in a way that you want to tell someone else about?. When has God been present in other person s life in a way that you have wanted to sing about?. Looking back in your life, was there a time you felt you could not come to church? How did you get past that time? How were you received by the church? VI. Individual Prayers for Help Lament psalms insist upon Yahweh s faithfulness and protest against Yahweh s refusal to be visibly and effectively faithful. Walter Brueggemann In the prayer for help, the suffering person insists to the Lord, that the Lord be God The Form: o Address o Complaint I complaint (personal dimension) You complaint (theological dimension) They complaint (social dimension) o Request Call for God to act Motivating and urging clauses o Praise and Trust Expressions of trust Promise to praise Key Verse: Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be merciful to me and answer me! (:) Example 1: Psalm 1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Look and answer me, O LORD my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, "I have prevailed"; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

6 The Kyrie In peace let us pray to the Lord For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord For the peace of the whole world, for the well being of the church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray the Lord Lord have mercy Lord have mercy Lord have mercy Lord have mercy Example : Psalm Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears. (:1) (KJV: For I am a stranger with thee) Background: Israel s Kinship-based society People ( am or moledet) Go from you country and your kindred and your father s house to the land that I will show you Tribe (matteh) (Gen 1:1) Clan (mishpachah) Someone who had no people, tribe, clan, or house was called a sojourner or alien or stranger Father s House (bet ab) (toshab or ger) I am a poor wayfaring stranger Traveling through this world of woe Yet there s no sickness, toil nor danger In that bright world to which I go I m going there to see my Father I m going there no more to roam I m only going over Jordan I m only going over home I know dark clouds will gather round me I know my way is rough and steep The golden fields lie just before me Where God s redeemed their vigils keep I m going there to see my mother She said she d meet me when I come I m only going over Jordan I m only going over home I ll soon be free from every trial This form will sleep beneath the sod I ll drop the cross of self denial And enter in my home with God I m going there to see my Savior To sing His praise forevermore I m only going over Jordan I m only going over home

7 Example : Psalm A True Lament O LORD, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help, like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call on you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 1 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness? 1 But I, O LORD, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 1 O LORD, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me? 1 Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate. 1 Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me. 1 They surround me like a flood all day long; from all sides they close in on me. 1 You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in darkness.

8 VII. Communal Prayer for Help Psalm 0 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 1 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 1 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 1 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 1 the stock that your right hand planted. 1 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 1 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 1 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. 1 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

9 Questions: 10. Tell about a time in your life when you needed God s help or it felt like God wasn t there for you. 11. If you had nowhere to go tonight no home, no family, no resources where would you go? 1. Was there a time in your life when some stranger was family to you? What happened? 1. Talk about a time in your life when you were isolated either physically or emotionally unable to connect with community. 1. What was the hardest time of your life? What advice would you have for someone who is going through a similar crisis right now? VIII. Songs of Penitence Special form of the Prayer for Help A prayer in which we pray to be saved from ourselves Key verse: Create in me a clean heart, O God,and put a new and right spirit within me. (1:10) Psalm 1 A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

10 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 1 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 1 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 1 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 1 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 1 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 1 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Song: Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God IX. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Imprecation (Imprecatory Psalms) Special Form of the Prayer for Help A prayer in which we pray to be saved from other humans These psalms often ask for God to rescue an individual, by eliminating a threatening enemy Key Verse: Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness (:a) Key Verse: Rise up, O Lord, in your anger... (:a) Psalm O LORD my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause, then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah Rise up, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment. Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,

11 and over it take your seat on high. The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God. 10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. X. Songs of Trust Situation of Crisis similar to the prayers for help These poems accentuate the note of trust that one finds in prayers for help Form o Name the reality of a dire threat o Express confidence in the Lord o Describe the Lord s character and characteristic actions Key Verse: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,i shall fear no evil, for you are with me. (:) Psalm The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Songs: The King of Love My Shepherd Is (ELW 0) The Lord s My Shepherd (ELW )

12 Psalm God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah Song: A Mighty Fortress is Our God (ELW 0) Psalm 0 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn us back to dust, and say, "Turn back, you mortals." For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. Song: O God Our Help in Ages Past (ELW )

13 Psalm The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh my adversaries and foes they shall stumble and fall. Questions: 1. To whom could you go to confess your sins, if your sins were bothering you? 1. What is the most important thing that you have learned about giving an apology or about receiving forgiveness? 1. Tell about a time in your life when you strongly felt God s presence or guidance. 1. Was there a time in your life when you were falsely accused of something or when you were blamed or held responsible for something that was not fault? To whom did you turn for help? 1. How did you learn to trust God? Was there a time when you learned how to trust? The psalms of trust imagine God as a shepherd, as a light, a banquet host, as rock, as a fortress, as home, and so on. What image for God is the most comforting for you? XI. Instructional Psalms These psalms teach about God, God s way in the world, and God s ways for us Key Verse: Their delight is in the instruction of the Lord The enviable person is the one who does not walk the advice of the wicked, not stand on path that sinners tread, not sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the instruction of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

14 XII. Royal Psalms These psalms bear witness to God s work through the Davidic King. and point ahead to God s work through the Christ, the descendant of David Key Verse: I have set my king on Zion Psalm Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying, "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling 1 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.

15 XIII. Liturgies I lift up my eyes to the hills from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. XIV. Creation Psalms O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

16 Discussion Questions: 1. Psalm 1 pictures the life of faith as like a fruitful tree. How does this image speak to your faith and life?. Psalm explores how we rebel against God with our words and how God answers with words of judgment and promise. What word for you do you hear in this poem?. Psalm 11 imagines life as a journey and God as our keeper where on life s road have you experienced God s guidance and God as a keeper?. Psalm says God has called us to meaningful work. Where do you find a sense of purpose and what is one way you contribute to God s work?