Wisdom Through Passionate Worship -- The Psalms

Introduction:
Do you enjoy reading the Psalms?
Have someone in your group read a Psalm out loud.
What is it that you enjoy about reading or hearing the Psalms?

The Psalms are wonderful to read, but do not forget that they are songs and are therefore also poetry – meant to be sung. Singing stirs the emotions.
They also deal with almost every emotion the believer encounters in life; anguish, fear, joy, anger, sorrow, hope, penitence over sin, joy over grace, and thanksgiving (to name just a few). Furthermore, God is presented as having emotions as well.

Authorship
We know the authors from the titles. Of the 150 Psalms, all but 34 have titles, and of the 116 titles, 100 of them name the author. Titles also include musical information, titles, etc.
David authored many (73) of them, and is also thought to have compiled the collection of them. His name is referenced in the headings of 72 of the Psalms.
David was a musician and a poet.
Discuss: What do you learn about David from each of these passages? What do you learn about the writing of the Psalms?
1 Samuel 16:17-23, 2 Sam 1:17-27, 22:1-51, 23:1-7.
A study of the life of David through the Psalms would make an interesting study. I feel like I am often reading his journal. I think we really are. I don’t believe he was always thinking about writing a song as much as he was about just pouring his heart out before God. But his life story, for an intimate perspective, can be gained as one reads the Psalms. David the Shepherd, David the wanted man, angry, repenting, broken, celebrating. I feel like I am reading his heart.
Associated with the organization of worship (Ezra 3:10 – quote, Nehemiah 12:24-, 1 Chronicles 15:16-29)
Other authors include:
Asaph (50, 73-83) One of David’s chief musicians – see 1 Chron. 6:39, 15:17
Sons of Korah (42, 44-49, 84-85, 87) – Temple singers who collected the Psalms – see 2 Chr. 20:19
Solomon (72, 127)
Moses (90)

As was the case in the book of Proverbs, we see Psalms repeated. This reflects that fact that Psalms is a collection of collections of Psalms (14 and 53, 40:13-17 and 70; 108:1-5 and 57:7-11; 108:6-13 and 60:5-12.

Authors, not to be confused with the editor – the editor is the person or persons who would have collected and organized the psalms. The Psalms are further divided into smaller collections which the editor would have taken and placed into the 5 book format and then woven them together to produce this book.

Date
The Psalms were written over a span of hundreds of years. A copy was found with the Dead Sea Scrolls, leading most scholars to agree that they were compiled (edited) prior to the 2nd Century B.C. Jesus and the NT writers saw the Psalms as authoritative. Psalms was recognized at the council of Jamnia in AD 90.

Purpose(s)
Used in the temple worship at Solomon’s Temple, the Second Temple and in Herod’s Temple.
They were used in Jewish synagogues and homes
They were recited by pilgrims coming to Jerusalem to observe Passover
They were frequently used by the Dead Sea scroll community
They were quoted by Jesus and even sung by him at the Last Supper (Ps. 113-118 – this group of Psalms, called the Hallel, were sung at the feasts of Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles, and Dedication. At Passover, Ps 113-114 are sung before the meal and Ps 115-118 are sung after it. Matt. 26:30 and Mark 14:26 reference that Jesus and the Disciples sung a hymn after the Last Supper.
Meditated on while on the cross (Ps. 22:1)
Quoted when He died (Ps 31:5)
Paul advised the singing of Psalms to the early churches (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16)
Along with Isaiah, Psalms is the most frequently quoted OT book, in the NT.
Simply, they are guidebooks of worship and devotion. (Reference handout 353)
They are written to assist us in our highest calling – to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Features
Titles: Associations to the authors, the type of psalm, musical directions, names of the melodies, or the liturgical use the Psalm.
Poetic Structure of Psalms
Rhythm: A sequence of words that are stressed (3+2, 3+3 etc.)
“Here my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth”
Poetic Structure of Psalms
Parallelism: The lines or parts of lines have a particular relationship to each-other
3 Types of Parallelism
Synonymous
Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world
Antithetic
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish
Synthetic-(Supplements)
I cry aloud to the Lord,
and He answers me from his holy hill
Acrostics (Psalm 119)

Types of Psalms
3 General Categories:
Praise Psalm
Lament (74, 83 – national; individual – 13, 5, 51)
Wisdom Psalm: 1, 37, 39, 49, 73
Psalm 22 is a combination of a lament and a praise psalm.

Laments almost always begin with the vocative “O Lord…”
Why is bringing out of the darker emotions a critical element in the worship of God? (Discuss)
By being open to God, He is then able to bring resolution to the conflicting thoughts that when oppressed will continue to torment us – see Psalm 73:16.

Praise psalms generally begin with the imperative: Sing to the Lord, etc.
Laments follow a consistent pattern including the elements of complaint, petition, confession of trust and vow of praise.
Some can be more obscure, including wisdom psalms, doxology, Royal Psalms, cry for help…

Other Types of Psalms:
Hymns: For the whole congregation (Ps 105). Includes victory songs (Ps 68), processional hymns (sung by worshipers coming into the temple area – Ps 24), Zion songs (Ps 48), songs of the Lord’s reign (which all being with the term the Lord reigns) (Ps 99), hallelujah hymns (which begin or end with those words (Ps 146), and antiphonal hymns (chant/response hymns (Ps 136)).
Royal Psalms: Centered on the king
Torah Psalms
Group activity…Identify each of these: a lament, a song of thanksgiving, a hallelujah psalms, and a wisdom Psalm...Give them the Psalms and have them match them up. Who can come up with the most correct matches – your table will win a prize.
Then, handout 26/27

Outline
Psalms is divided into five books: 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150.
At the end of each of these books, except for the 5th one, there is a doxology, or a statement of praise. However, Ps 150, may be itself considered to be a doxology. The book of Psalms is divided into five collections or books – a possible intentional division designed to parallel the five books of the Torah. Divided by its closing doxological verses in Ps. 41:13, 72:18-19, 89:52, 106:48, 150:1-6.

Collections may have been organized as Psalms of David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, and the 15 songs of ascents, and the 15 Hallelujah Psalms.

How to Read the Psalms
Read them as prayers to God, and ask, “Could I pray this prayer?”
“Have I felt these feelings?”
What feelings are in me as I read these words?
Read them as “therapy” for the soul
Rather than trying to cover up our weaknesses, bring them to God, who alone has the power to heal
Read them as a “summons” to praise
Allow the content of the words to realign our inner attitudes
When the ancient Hebrews encountered something beautiful or majestic, their natural response was not to analyze it, but rather to praise God for it.
Read them as an “invitation” to God-inviting Him to be involved in every area of your world
David assumed that the details of his life mattered to God-and he called God to come through
The psalms contain the anguished journals of people who want to believe in a loving, gracious, faithful God while the world keeps falling apart around them.
There is a process to be learned of “letting God in” on every detail of life. Somehow, David and the other poets managed to make God the gravitational center of their lives so that everything related to God.

Learning from the Psalms: Writing your own Psalm
Choose a type of Psalm. Use alliteration. Address God. Express emotion. Be honest.