Plymothian

As I read Psalms 9 & 10, I felt the healing affects of authenticity.  The lack of pressure to be something we are not is a great release.  For years we build up a facade of Christian life, but it needs to be torn down.  Many modern and postmodern church experiences build up this facade.  We sing songs that praise God for who he is and what he does for us.  It came to my attention that few of our spiritual songs for church complain and plead like the psalms.  Many of them take aspects of who God is, but they do not build an authentic picture of what it is like to struggle after God.  Maybe, there should be more songs that say:

God we struggle to keep up
It is hard to follow you

You are awesome, but we are not
A chasm seems to separate us from you
We wish for you to show up
But we don’t see you
You’re everywhere, but you’re pandimensional
Which makes you difficult to relate to
You designed life and gave us a book
Sometimes it is cryptic and leaves us baffled
Empty life seems easier
Life medicated by TV and booze seems attractive

However, there are times when you showed up
I remember the reality of the experience
There are times when your truth transformed
There are times when I saw the path ahead
Those times showed me the essence of life
Those times gave meaning to existence

Give me strength for the next step
Empower me to speak your truth
Let words flow from a healed heart
Let wisdom flow from an enlightened soul

Somehow, I don’t think we are going to see many songs like that in our churches.  The triumphalism is a bit absent in my psalm, and it doesn’t rhyme or have a catchy refrain.

Psalms 9 & 10

 For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

 ¹ I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and rejoice in you;
   I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

 ³ My enemies turn back;
   they stumble and perish before you.
⁴ For you have upheld my right and my cause,
   sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
⁵ You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
   you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
⁶ Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
   you have uprooted their cities;
   even the memory of them has perished.

 ⁷ The LORD reigns forever;
   he has established his throne for judgment.
⁸ He rules the world in righteousness
   and judges the peoples with equity.
⁹ The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,
   for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

 ¹¹ Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
   proclaim among the nations what he has done.
¹² For he who avenges blood remembers;
   he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

 ¹³ LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
   Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may declare your praises
   in the gates of Daughter Zion,
   and there rejoice in your salvation.

 ¹⁵ The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
   their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
¹⁶ The LORD is known by his acts of justice;
   the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.^[c]
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
   all the nations that forget God.
¹⁸ But God will never forget the needy;
   the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

 ¹⁹ Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph;
   let the nations be judged in your presence.
²⁰ Strike them with terror, LORD;
   let the nations know they are only mortal.

Psalm 10^[a]

 ¹ Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

 ² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
   who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
   he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
⁴ In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
   in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
   your laws are rejected by^[b] him;
   he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
   He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

 ⁷ His mouth is full of lies and threats;
   trouble and evil are under his tongue.
⁸ He lies in wait near the villages;
   from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
 ⁹ like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
   he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse;
   they fall under his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, “God will never notice;
   he covers his face and never sees.”

 ¹² Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
   Do not forget the helpless.
¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God?
   Why does he say to himself,
   “He won’t call me to account”?
¹⁴ But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
   you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
   you are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked man;
   call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
   that would not otherwise be found out.

 ¹⁶ The LORD is King for ever and ever;
   the nations will perish from his land.
¹⁷ You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
   you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
   so that mere earthly mortals
   will never again strike terror.

Questions

• Psalm 9 & 10 actually are two parts of a unit.  Can you see how they might flow?
• How are the psalms more authentic than many of our spiritual songs today?
• Take time to compose a psalm to God about how things are:
  • Use two lines to say things the same with different words.
  • Use two lines to say contrasting truths or use images that contrast like night and day.
  • Use two lines to continue the same idea
  • Play with the above pairings
     

Amidst all the depressing laments we find one psalm of praise.  In Psalm 8, God wis worshiped for his name and his majesty.  The first, “O LORD”, is a translation of YHWH, God’s name.  The second Lord is just the expression of lowliness and submission on the part of the singer.  If we were singing this to Jesus, for example, we might say, “Jesus, my Lord”.  The name YHWH is seen as a powerful aspect of who God is.  God allows his name to be used in the Old Testament only with complete reverence.  The transcendence of God is reflected in his name and all of God’s creation.  This leads to the expression, “How Majestic!”

Psalm 8

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.

 ¹ LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

   You have set your glory
   in the heavens.
² Through the praise of children and infants
   you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
   to silence the foe and the avenger.
³ When I consider your heavens,
   the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
   which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
   human beings that you care for them?^[c]

 ⁵ You have made them^[d] a little lower than the angels^[e]
   and crowned them^[f] with glory and honor.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
   you put everything under their^[g] feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
   and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
   and the fish in the sea,
   all that swim the paths of the seas.

 ⁹ LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Questions

1. How does ‘inclusio’ (look it up), reveal the theme of this psalm?
2. How is the creative power of God represented?
3. How is human frailty contrasted with God?
4. When was the last time you sensed God’s greatness and your own smallness?
5. What songs do you sing about God’s majesty?

Going Deeper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm8BVF1NPfE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erTSh-vhuxA&feature=related

I still find that the word ‘righteousness’ leaves me cowering.  In front of a self-righteous church and those individuals in the world who are brimming with the self-confidence that self-righteousness brings, I find that I am ashamed of my best efforts.  It is comforting to think that their views of themselves are distorted and that they think of themselves more highly than they ought.

However, I am not abandoned because of the corruption that I know I was born with.  I am not on my own in the face of such a destructive, self-assured world.  There is a righteousness that is available to me which is not my own.  Because, through Christ, I have a righteousness that is given to me I can enter God’s presence with worship and praise.  The attitude of having my head lifted up by God leads to thanksgiving, and thanksgiving leads to joy.

Constantly trying to drum up a sense of my own righteousness against the nagging doubts that reflect reality is exhausting.  Jesus bids those who are exhausted by trying to compete with the self-praise of teh age to sit at his feet and unload the burden.  It is at his feet we find rest.

Psalm 7

 A shiggaion^[b] of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

 ¹ LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
   save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
² or they will tear me apart like a lion
   and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

 ³ LORD my God, if I have done this
   and there is guilt on my hands—
⁴ if I have repaid my ally with evil
   or without cause have robbed my foe—
⁵ then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
   let him trample my life to the ground
   and make me sleep in the dust.^[c]

 ⁶ Arise, LORD, in your anger;
   rise up against the rage of my enemies.
   Awake, my God; decree justice.
⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
   while you sit enthroned over them on high.
 ⁸ Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
   according to my integrity, O Most High.
⁹ Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
   and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
   who probes minds and hearts.

 ¹⁰ My shield^[d] is God Most High,
   who saves the upright in heart.
¹¹ God is a righteous judge,
   a God who displays his wrath every day.
¹² If he does not relent,
   he^[e] will sharpen his sword;
   he will bend and string his bow.
¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons;
   he makes ready his flaming arrows.

 ¹⁴ Whoever is pregnant with evil
   conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
¹⁵ Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
   falls into the pit they have made.
¹⁶ The trouble they cause recoils on them;
   their violence comes down on their own heads.

 ¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
   I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.

Questions

1. In what way does the psalmist request justice?
2. How does he describe violent acts using metaphor and simile?
3. How is the theme of righteousness conveyed?
4. How does the term ‘righteous’ make you feel?
5. How can you look more to God to fill you with his righteousness without becoming self-righteous?

According to the Church of Gaga, everyone is really in no need of redemption.  We are all born perfect in our own way.  The idea is a sad one, also held by many in God’s church.  The idea that I mean is that we are born good, that good is the natural state of things.  The idea that we will be good if we are true to ourselves leaves us angry when we see that the world is so seriously screwed up.  The world should not be the way it is.  Children should not be born premature and have underdeveloped lungs, like the child my wife was tracking on Facebook who died yesterday.  An uncle like mine, who fought for justice and advocated fitness should have lived to an older age.  He should not have died last week.

Lady Gaga creates a ‘multiverse’ perspective in her 7:20 video of Born This Way, that creates a dichotomy of good and evil.  However, her ideas are old ideas that are borrowed from New Age thinkers and are floating around in mainstream society.  She is clearly painting the church as evil and her as a worthy rebel.

It would seem to me though, if you remove her garish visual displays, that she is voicing the opinion of the majority with musical styles we have all heard before.  I don’t think that her opinions are uncommon, and so I think the church is more the rebel that will not die.  She just represents the ugliness and glam that is the Gaga psychobable of the masses.

To be a rebel today dress modestly, live righteously, and seek redemption of mankind from the sin and sickness of the fall.  I think that faced with the growing uglification of the world that Milan Kundera observed on the rise in the 80’s, people are increasingly looking for something truly beautiful.  With Lady Gaga presenting a picture of the corruption that we are born with and accepting it as beautiful, there is a rising existential quest for more than we have at birth.  That is not to be found in H-I-M (His Infernal Majesty ??? http://www.heartagram.com/ ) but in the authentic cries of the psalmists.

Psalm 6

 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.^[b] A psalm of David.

 ¹ LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
   or discipline me in your wrath.
² Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint;
   heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
³ My soul is in deep anguish.
   How long, LORD, how long?

 ⁴ Turn, LORD, and deliver me;
   save me because of your unfailing love.
⁵ Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
   Who praises you from the grave?

 ⁶ I am worn out from my groaning.

   All night long I flood my bed with weeping
   and drench my couch with tears.
⁷ My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
   they fail because of all my foes.

 ⁸ Away from me, all you who do evil,
   for the LORD has heard my weeping.
⁹ The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
   the LORD accepts my prayer.
¹⁰ All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
   they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Questions

1. How do you see that the psalmist is physically ill?
2. How does the psalmist view death?  Why does that create an intense emotion in the psalm?
3. How does the psalmist approach God concerning his illness?  Does he manipulate God?  What can God do?
4. What is your approach to sickness?  Do you see it as having a spiritual component?
5. How does the fact that sickness and deformity are evils that God would not create inform our views on those who are born sick in mind and/or body?  They have done nothing wrong, but obviously something is evil.  Do we leave them that way because ‘God makes no mistakes’?  Can we say, “God created you just the way you are?”

Going Deeper

The following video contains some vulgar imagery, but reveals the kind of things that are becoming the next level in ‘normal’ entertainment.  What will Lady Gaga do to increase the shock value? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV1FrqwZyKw 

Consider how those like Tom Green shocked us until we were bored with them.  I wonder when we will be so covered in filth that we will no longer smell the stench, but just be bored for a lack of new entertainment.  Perhaps then, the masses will investigate the ancient truths that many are rediscovering. http://www.chapel.org/first-steps/rediscover_god/

Contrast the two messages from the two links above.

‘We hope in God and find refuge there because , despite the rampant evil that characterizes our world and even gains a foothold in our own lives, God is not unconcerned with evil or injustice.  Even less is he their author.  That is why the faithful throughout the ages, when faced with the implacable evil of pain, suffering, oppression, and injustice, are able to call confidently on God for redress, as the Psalmist does here.  As Christians we may be somewhat disconcerted by the harsh imprecations heaped on the enemy by the righteous.  We feel constrained to moderate our anger and sense of injustice after the words of Jesus, “Bless those who curse you” (luke 6:28; cf Rom. 12:14).  But the psalmist’s words call us to remember that Jesus was never afraid to call evil what it was or to take a firm stance of condemnation against all its forms.  We too must take evil seriously, aligning ourselves with God’s essential character of holiness.’  (Gerald H. Wilson)

Psalm 5

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

 ¹ Listen to my words, LORD,
   consider my lament.
² Hear my cry for help,
   my King and my God,
   for to you I pray.

 ³ In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;
   in the morning I lay my requests before you
   and wait expectantly.
⁴ For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
   with you, evil people are not welcome.
⁵ The arrogant cannot stand
   in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
 ⁶ you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
   you, LORD, detest.
⁷ But I, by your great love,
   can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
   toward your holy temple.

 ⁸ Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies—
   make your way straight before me.
⁹ Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
   their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;
   with their tongues they tell lies.
¹⁰ Declare them guilty, O God!
   Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
   for they have rebelled against you.
¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
   let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
   that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

 ¹² Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;
   you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Questions

1. What title does the psalmist use for God’s position?
2. Who can not stand in God’s presence?
3. How are goodness and evil contrasted in this psalm?
4. How is God’s goodness a refuge for the righteous?
5. How do we become righteous without being self-righteous?

When David is surrounded by nations that have had good harvests, the people start to think that the fertility gods of the surrounding nations might have something to offer.  There is a form of religion that looks at famine (both literal and figurative) and thinks that God has deserted the ones who are enduring the hardship.  This kind of religion sees God as a wish-granter who gives us not just all we need, but who gives us all we want.

Famine focuses the mind.  There is nothing like scarcity to show us where our allegiances lie.  When life seems barren T.V. alcohol or sex can offer some distraction.  However, when the show ends, we are still as hungry as when the show started, if not more so.  We should let difficult circumstances do their work and allow ourselves to be turned to God.

Psalm 4

Psalm 4^[a]

    For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

 ¹ Answer me when I call to you,
   my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
   have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

 ² How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
   How long will you love delusions and seek false gods^[b]?^[c]
3 Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
   the LORD hears when I call to him.

 ⁴ Tremble and^[d] do not sin;
   when you are on your beds,
   search your hearts and be silent.
⁵ Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
   and trust in the LORD.

 ⁶ Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
   Let the light of your face shine on us.
⁷ Fill my heart with joy
   when their grain and new wine abound.

 ⁸ In peace I will lie down and sleep,
   for you alone, LORD,
   make me dwell in safety.

Questions

1. Who is turning David’s glory to shame?
2. How can God help David?
3. If the ‘O men’ refers to the leaders of Israel, how does the leaders turning to false gods affect David’s position?
4. How are you affected by people turning to money, possessions, and their employment for security and happiness?
5. How can you raise children who turn to the right places in times of shortage?

Psalm 3 presents a hypothetical military situation that describes how David feels.  He is in a situation, that sometimes is shown in classic heroism, where he is surrounded by fows on every side.  They press in on him and want to engage him in hand-to-hand contact.  The pressure is overwhelming.  He needs a shield that is able to protect him on all sides, the only protection that can protect in every way is God.

It is faith in God that protects in the darkest of times, so they say.  I have faith that is true, but sometimes it is hard to hold the shield.  Sometimes it is hard to be protected by our God because we lack the faith.  However, David was human like us.  The pressure motivated him to cry out to God, and God showed up.  I do have the ability to cry out.

Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

 ¹ LORD, how many are my foes!
   How many rise up against me!
² Many are saying of me,
   “God will not deliver him.”^[b]

 ³ But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
   my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
⁴ I call out to the LORD,
   and he answers me from his holy mountain.

 ⁵ I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands
   assail me on every side.

 ⁷ Arise, LORD!
   Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
   break the teeth of the wicked.

 ⁸ From the LORD comes deliverance.
   May your blessing be on your people.

Questions

1. What are people saying to David?
2. What image portrays the peace that God brings in trouble?
3. Why do you think that God sustains David, but does not remove the trouble?
4. What situations has God allowed for you that you would like him to remove?
5. How does God grow and sustain us in difficult times?

I am concerned, as many of us are, by events in the Middle East and North Africa.  In those situations powers are at work which seem frightening.  The world is such a small place now and so people with limited power seem to have such global affects.  The least of the worries is the stock markets, the biggest worries are the affects on global conflicts.

Psalm 2 reminds us that God is overseeing the world and only allows what he wills.  Those who oppose God are bound to lose and God works on the earth through his children.  His Child, Jesus, may be in view in this Psalm.  Those who do not bow the knee to Jesus will reap the wrath of God.

Psalm 2

 ¹ Why do the nations conspire^[a]
   and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth rise up
   and the rulers band together
   against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break their chains
   and throw off their shackles.”

 ⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
   the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ He rebukes them in his anger
   and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my king
   on Zion, my holy mountain.”

 ⁷ I will proclaim the LORD’s decree:

   He said to me, “You are my son;
   today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask me,
   and I will make the nations your inheritance,
   the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron^[b];
   you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

 ¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
   be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear
   and celebrate his rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss his son, or he will be angry
   and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
   Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Questions

1. Who conspires and plots?
2. What do wise governments keep in mind?
3. What is the overarching theme of this psalm?
4. Who do you look to in times of international instability?
5. How could you encourage others to look to God rather than governments?

There are two paths open to those raised by religious people.  They can uphold the values and choices of their parents and community or they can seek a darker community.

Before we round on those who choose the darkness, let’s reflect on what it has to offer.  Responsibilities can be daunting.  We are responsible to our families, our friends, our place of work.  What if we were free from all of that?  What if we cut ties from those who weighed us down?  This is like the backpack in the movie Up in The Air.  We all carry so much weight in our backpack.  It is like Shrek in Shrek 4, who sees that he has lost his carefree days by marrying Fiona.  Many men and women have succumbed to the idea that freedom is being withheld from them.

Freedom to pursue what?  Sex, drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll?  Many of us would temper it down to the pursuit of happiness.  When were we most happy?  When did we feel most alive?  Was it on the mountains in the Himalayas?  How could we get back there?  Was it in the arms of a past love?  Is he/she on Facebook?  Why has God led us down a path of obedience, goodness, and boredom?  Why has God made it so that hell just scares us into a painful paradise?  As Morrissey wails in his song, “I have forgiven Jesus”, “Why did you give me so much love in a hateful world? … Why did you stick me in self-depricating bones and skin?  Jesus, do you hate me?”

We must grant that such modes of thinking are enticing and I know many who have followed through.  Like Psalm 1 outlines, people who have been raised in moral circumstances flirt on the edge of immorality and deaden their senses.  They step further into the conversation of self-serving pleasure and they develop a taste for it.  Finally, what was once clearly a network of lies to them become a paradigm for truth.  They settle into narcissistic, hedonistic, therapeutic patterns and become pleasantly destructive.

The alternative is good, but good does not mean comfortable.  The alternative is good, but good does not mean ‘fun’ all the time.  I say this because over the last year I have tried following God through some dark places.  I have had to face the patterns in my life that my father set up that are quite destructive.  I have had to let God work salt into the wounds so that they would heal.  I have had to desire what is good over what feels good.  I have become a warrior in my own mind taking on evil without and evil within.  It is a different path.  It looks narrow and overgrown.  However, to take the road less traveled makes all the difference someone said.

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the one
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
   or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers.

 ⁴ Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
   that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

 ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Questions

1. Why does the author use ‘walk … stand … sit’?
2. What is a righteous person compared to?
3. What is the result of wickedness and righteousness?
4. Why do people live in the moment?  Why should people rebel against consumerism?
5. Why are more and more people turning to the Way of the Righteous in China and impoverished nations?

Going Deeper

Download the following songs onto your iPod and listen to them to encourage yourself in worship:

Fee – Send Me Out

Hillsong – Mighty to Save

David Crowder Band – How He Loves

Switchfoot – I Dare You to Move

When I was teaching 5th grade I had them compose a psalm of lament and a Psalm of praise.  It was really a lot of fun, but the subject matter that they put in was quite revealing.  The psalm of lament that they wrote complained to God about the arguments that their parents were having, or the fights they had with their siblings.

When I was not sure whether our foster son would be removed from our care, I composed a psalm of lament in all sincerity.  If we understand how they work we can compose our own.

Laments are psalms that complain to God about the injustice and pain in the world. They lay out the complaint in full and then cry out to God to do something.  They usually end with a statement of endurance or hope.

Praise psalms are psalms which look at what God has done in the world and respond in a positive way of ascribing worth to the Creator.

Psalms of ascent were probably composed for processions that would accompany a king (royal psalms) or a congregation of God’s people to the temple complex.

Thanksgiving psalms talk to God about the difficulties and trials of life, but they express gratitude that God is with the author in such times.

Questions

1. What categories of psalm are you aware of?
2. How do psalms differ?  What unifies them?
3. Why has God given us different types of psalm?
4. On what different occasions do we use psalms?
5. Have you composed a psalm?  What did it say?

Going Deeper

As an act of worship compose a psalm about your present circumstances.h