Introduction to Psalms

I've been thinking lately that if there are two big concepts that we need more of in the community of believers today, one would be wisdom, and the other would be worship. In the midst of the sickness and the unrest in our world, the Spirit has been pushing me toward a study in Psalms.  We studied Proverbs a couple of years ago, and those posts are here on the blog still; if you want to check them out, please feel free to look them over. Those had a recurring theme of how we could have wisdom -- how we could have the discernment needed to live holy lives in this world. I'd like to post some studies in Psalms in the coming weeks, because I really think we could all use some guidelines for worship. It's both a privilege and a necessity of the believer's life. 

Many churches call their weekly meetings "worship hours." But there doesn't seem to be much there in the way of worship. Some singing is sandwiched in between the announcements and the children's sermon and then the pastor's sermon -- but where is the worship? And what is worship? Do we long to be like David of old? Do we seek God? Do we yearn to know His heart? 

We have focused in the past on Paul's instructions for believers, and we've noted that we all have spiritual gifts to use - many varied gifts. But our greatest calling as children of God is not to be teachers or evangelists or comforters or exhorters, but to be worshippers. We can all agree that the central focus of our lives is not ourselves, but God!

 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)

to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21)

Heaven is going to be glorious because we will see Him in His fullness and we will praise and worship Him. The fourth chapter of Revelation points to that:

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne...(Revelation 4:9-11a)

The Psalms are unique in that they have contributed so much to not just the Old Testament, but also to the New. They are a distinct form of literature and they hold so many wonderful nuggets of truth to apply to our lives. As religious poetry, they are not unique to the Israelites. Archaeologists have found numerous poems and songs of worship in other ancient cultures; these were offered to pagan deities. The Assyrians sang to their Moon-god, Sin. The Egyptians sang to their sun god, Aton. There's a huge difference, though, because the Psalms of our Bible are widely read and used by many people today, while the others are studied by only a few.

Many of the Psalms are attributed to David, while others are linked to different authors. Some of the poems have titles and comments -- over one third of those appear to be musical instructions, addressed to the leader or choirmaster and including suggestions of instruments. Some have notes for when the Psalm would be effectively used, and others relate to an incident in David's life.

We know that Isaiah is an Old Testament book that is frequently quoted in the New Testament. Depending upon which scholar you ask, it's a toss up between Isaiah and Psalms for "most quoted." Our Savior saw Himself as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Psalms. 

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (Luke 24:44)

In His debate with the Pharisees, He cited Psalm 110 and showed that David was speaking of Him in the Psalms. (You can check out Matthew 22:43-44 to see the debate.)  And he also uttered the beginning words of Psalm 22 from the cross:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

His disciples followed His lead. Both in their preaching and in their writings, they quoted from the Psalms as biblical proof that Jesus was the Messiah. They used texts that were familiar to them and to their listeners.

Peter's quote of Psalm 16 was to prove to his listeners that Jesus must be raised from the dead. It's a lengthy passage, so I will just encourage you to turn to Acts 2:22-36 when you have your prayer time and refresh your memory of Peter's sermon. Paul's message was almost the same in Acts 13. Surely if the Psalms were important to them, they are important for us, as well.

As believers, we often talk of emulating the New Testament church; from some verses below, we can see that the singing of Psalms was a significant part of the worship in the fledgling churches:

 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Ephesians 5:19-20a)

The Psalms are used in the church today, too. Some denominations repeat the Psalms routinely, and our church songbooks and hymnbooks are filled with them -- either quoted or paraphrased. The rousing song, "Glory to His Name" must have been inspired by a psalm:

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (Psalm 29:2)

How about "A Mighty Fortress is our God"?

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:1,7)

Some of today's Christian music is based on verses from the Psalms as well; they are truly timeless in their appeal and in their encouragement.

So, why study the Psalms? Why are they important in our world today? After all, they are just ancient poetry, right?

Yes, the Psalms are lovely poetry. They are quoted many times in the New Testament by Jesus and the apostles. They were used in the worship of the New Testament church. And they are used in the worship of today's church, as well.

I hope that this study will be a blessing to all who pause here with us. This week we will talk about the Psalms in general and then we will really dig in starting the following week!