Psalms 108

Study Guide 48: Psalms 74-150 PATTERNS OF PRAISE Overview The Hebrews knew the Book of Psalms as the Hallel, the Book of Praises. In Study Guide 47 we looked at the Psalms as a guide to prayer. We saw the warm and open sharing by the psalmists, finding examples of the intimacy you and I are to have in our relationships with the Lord. But the focus of the Psalms is not really on human experience. The focus of the Psalms is on God. As Christians today approach this great book we meet the Lord in a special way, and we are taught how to worship and praise Him. PRAISE. There are a number of Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible rendered “ praise.” In each Testament praise is our response to God’ s revelation of Himself, an acknowledgment of His character and His acts. But it is more. Praise is our expression of delight in God Himself; our expression of the love we feel as we consider, “ How Great Thou Art.” HEBREW POETRY. Hebrew poetry rests not on rhyme and rhythm but on parallelism (repetition and sequencing of thoughts) and on imagery. While English poetry cannot be easily translated into another language, Hebrew poetry has been rendered into every language, with none of its power or passion lost. Study Guide 47 explains how Hebrew poetry works, and shows you how to teach youth and adults to understand it.

Commentary While the Psalms tell us much about ourselves, they are also of great benefit in their revelation of God as they guide us into worship. Classification of Psalms. There are many ways in which commentators have attempted to classify the Psalms. One approach, discussed in the last unit, is by content. We analyze the themes that seem to recur. For instance, there are a number of messianic psalms which speak of Christ. There are imprecatory psalms which call for judgment against enemies. There are psalms of praise and penitence and worship. Such classification systems do help us categorize individual psalms. But the systems do not help us organize the book as a whole. Actually, we probably should not expect to find a careful or logical structure to the Bible’ s collection of psalms. Life is complex, filled with surges of joy and contrasting times of stagnant depression; of moments enriched by worship of God and times strained by difficulty and despair. The Book of Psalms shares the complexity of life itself, reflecting in organization as well as content the complexity of our human condition. Yet one way of classifying the Psalms is of special interest. It is a classification by use. For instance, many psalms have titles, such as mizmore or shir. These words refer to ways that the psalm was integrated into the life and worship of Israel. The 57 psalms entitled mizmore were sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments and were used as public worship songs. There are 30 shir, a word meaning secular or sacred song. Other psalms, such as ma’ aloth (songs of ascent) were sung by pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem for the three compulsory annual feasts (Pss. 120-134). Simply noting the title may not be of great value in understanding individual psalms. Yet, together the titles give us an engaging picture of the use of these psalms by Israel and a suggestion for their use in our own day. The titles recall a picture sketched by one of the sons of Korah (a levitical group dedicated to temple musicianship). These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the festive throng. Psalms 42:4Perhaps this is the image we ought to keep in mind as we approach the Book of Psalms. Keeping festival. Coming with praise and rejoicing to our God. Keeping festival. This is one of the lost arts of believers, who are called to celebrate relationships with God. Such celebration comes not because of our feelings alone, but it comes when we realize just who God is and all that He means for us. One contemporary definition of worship, suggested by Chapel of the Air speaker David Mains, helps us focus on a secret of keeping festival. Worship, says Pastor Mains, is essentially “ ascribing worth to God for who He by nature is.” At heart, worship is focusing our attention on God. It is praising the Lord for one of those qualities or characteristics which set Him apart in His perfection and His glory. There are many psalms which give us insight into how to worship. For example, each of Psalms 93:1-5 through Psalms 99:1-9 selects one quality of God to emphasize and for which to praise Him. In Psalms 95:1-11, the writer is taken up with the greatness of God, and calls all men to worship and respond to Him: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Psalms 95:1-7Lifted up, our own eyes are given a fresh vision of who God is, and our spirits are borne along with the psalmist as we give God our own heart’ s praise as well. This sequence of short psalms helps us see what potential there is for worship in contemplation of God and His qualities. Psalms 93:1-5 praises God as reigning King: The Lord reigns; He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; You are from all eternity. Psalms 93:1-2Psa_94:1-23 praises God as the One who acts in justice and vengeance: O Lord, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long will the wicked, O Lord, how long will the wicked be jubilant? Psalms 94:1-3In Psalms 96:1-13 the focus is on God as Saviour: Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, declare His marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalms 96:1-3And so the psalms continue, on and on. For our God is splendid. We never reach the end of probing His nature, or of discovering in Him that which calls forth our praise. It is in the psalms’ clear focus on the person of God that the deepest meaning of this book of Scripture is to be found. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT One exciting value of the Book of Psalms is its capacity to enrich our image of God. Why not launch class with a brainstorming session? Ask your group to see how many qualities or characteristics of God they can suggest in four minutes. Write their ideas (loving, gracious, forgiving, powerful, etc.) on the board. Then have each group member scan Psalms for four minutes, and jot down words used there to talk of or describe God. Make another group listing on the chalkboard, beside the first list. Which is longer? Compare items: which items are on both lists? What images from the Psalms were not suggested by your class members in the brainstorming? Point out that one great value of the Book of Psalms is that as we read we learn more about who our God is. If we read the Psalms regularly, our appreciation for who God is will grow.

Patterns for Praise When we look at the different Hebrew words translated “ praise” and their use in the Psalms, we gain further insight into how you and I can worship and praise the Lord. Here are the primary Hebrew words, and their meanings, as discussed in The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Richards, Zondervan). Each of the Hebrew words, while with its own emphasis, shares common elements. These are: (1) Praise is addressed to God or His “ name.” God Himself, His attributes, or His acts are the content of our thoughts, words, and songs. (2) Praise is linked with the believing community’ s joy in the person of God. Most praise in the Old Testament is corporate, though an individual certainly could praise God in private. Most praise comes from those who are filled with a sense of joy in who God is and in how deeply He is committed to His people. (3) Praise exalts the Lord. It is in praise that the believer implicitly acknowledges creaturely dependence on God and explicitly acknowledges God’ s greatness and goodness. Among the Hebrew words that share in this common core of meaning are these. Hallel. In various forms this word means “ to acclaim,” “ to boast of,” “ to glory in.” The word expresses a deep satisfaction to be found in exalting the acts and the qualities of the Person being praised. This verb is used primarily in the plural. This suggests that the joy of recognizing God’ s greatness is to be shared by God’ s people. Those who love God come together to rejoice in the Lord, and to exalt Him together. We sense this particularly in Psalms 65:1-13, which expresses how good it is to exalt God and to sense His greatness. Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled. O You who hear prayer, to You all men will come. . . . You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by Your power, having armed Yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear Your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades You call forth songs of joy. Psalms 65:1-2, Psalms 65:5-8Yadah is translated “ to praise,” “ to give thanks,” and “ to confess.” This word and related terms emphasize our acknowledging of God’ s works and of His character, often in contexts which emphasize human failure and need. Psalms 107:1-43 illustrates this emphasis in its opening verses. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this — those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty, and fills the hungry with good things. Psalms 107:1-9Typically, yadah is praise as an acknowledgment of God’ s goodness. The sense of exultation implicit in it is seen in Psalms 118:1-29. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “ The Lord’ s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’ s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’ s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give You thanks, for You answered me; You have become my salvation. Psalms 118:15-21Zamar means “ to sing praise,” “ to make music.” This word suggests the use of musical instruments in praising God, and is found only in Bible poetry. Once again, songs of praise focus on who God is and on what He has done. So David called on Israel in Psalms 9:11 to: Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations, what He has done. Sabah, in certain forms, means “ to praise or commend.” This too is directed to the Lord. The word suggests adoration, the deepest kind of loving praise. Both who God is in His essential nature and God’ s wonderful works for us. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of Your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of Your awesome works, and I will proclaim Your great deeds. They will celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness. Psalms 145:3-7And so in these words, illustrated in praise songs, we sense the nature of praise as praise is revealed in the Old Testament and particularly in the Psalms. Praise is God’ s people, gathered to adore and to give glory to God, for all that He is and for all that He has done. Praise is God’ s people, gathered to remember His works, and to focus attention on Him. Praise is the overflowing joy of a people whose vision is filled with the beauty and the glory of their God. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT In a minilecture explain and illustrate from the Psalms the nature of praise. Emphasize the common elements, but also the unique emphases of the Hebrew praise terms. Then pass out pens and paper. Ask each person to write about six lines expressing his or her praise to God. Each can select one of the Hebrew terms, and shape his praise poem/song to reflect its emphasis. To help, put the following summary of the terms on the board: Praise is (1) addressed to God (2) an expression of shared joy (3) exalting the Lord and His works.Hallel emphasizes joy as we exalt God together. Yadah acclaims God’ s goodness. Zamar expresses praise in song. Sabah expresses adoration.

How Great Thou Art In this discussion I’ ve noted that praise is directed to God. And praise is focused on God. It involves the believer concentrating on just who the Lord is, and how the Lord has acted to bring blessing to humankind. One psalm which draws these elements together in a clear and beautiful way is Psalms 103:1-22, reproduced here from the New International Version. As you read it, note how clearly it expresses who God is in His essential nature, and how His many qualities affect the psalmist’ s life and relationship with the Lord. This psalm is included here, for you to duplicate to use in your group as described below. Psalms 103:1-22Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases; He redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’ s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’ s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’ s children — with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts. The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His word. Praise the Lord, all His heavenly hosts, you His servants who do His will. Praise the Lord, all His works everywhere in His dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul. Like other psalms of David, Psalms 103:1-22 emphasizes God in relationship with human beings. That is, God is not seen simply as a distant power. He is not an awesome “ other.” He is not a watchmaker God, who set the universe in motion and then withdrew, having lost interest in the processes of life which He began. God is a Person who is revealed most clearly in His loving approach to humankind. God is known best as He is seen drawing near to you and me, eager to forgive, filled with parental compassion, continuing always to love those who have turned to rely on Him. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Have your group study Psalms 101:1-8. The goal of this study will be to discover just how the psalmist sees God, and how he responds to the One who has such love for us. Duplicate Psalms 103:1-22 as it appears here. Give a copy to each group member. Ask each to underline words or phrases which tell what God is like. Let pairs compare to be sure that each expression has been identified. Then read aloud the call to praise in Psalms 103:20-22. Ask each person to select from the psalm the one quality of God that he appreciates most; the one which moves him most to praise. Go around the group, having each person tell the quality of God expressed in Psalms 103:1-22 which he or she selected, and tell briefly why this quality of God is important to him or her. When all have shared, go around again, letting each person praise God in sentence prayers for the quality he or she selected. How enriching the Psalms are! How clear the image of God that they portray. It is almost impossible to read these great praise poems without feeling our own emotions surge and our own hearts tuned to praise our God. Truly God is great and wonderful. As we come to appreciate Him, and to express our appreciation in praise, our lives are greatly enriched.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read and meditate on Psalms 103:1-22. Sense with the psalmist the loving-kindness of God, and let your heart respond to Him with David in adoration and praise.

Explore

1. Launch the session by listing together qualities of God. Then have group members scan the Psalms to see how the psalmists viewed the Lord. Use the process suggested in “ link-to-life,” above.
2. Set up teams of two or three members. Each is to look at one psalm (from Psalms 93-99), and determine its theme. When teams report, explain that the focus of worship psalms is on the person of God and His qualities.

Expand

1. Give a minilecture on the nature of praise, illustrating from the Psalms. Follow the guidelines suggested in “ link-to-life” above. Having your group members write their own verses to capture the emphasis of various Hebrew praise terms will enrich their appreciation for the Lord and how to worship Him.
2. Work together to plan a worship service for your church. Find out the theme and passage for an upcoming sermon. What quality or trait of God is closely related to the sermon theme? Then find music, addressed to God, that picks up this trait. Also select an appropriate psalm, or construct a responsive reading from several psalms. Your group may also wish to write a prayer, or plan other service elements which would help your congregation praise God together.

Apply

1. Together do the study of Psalms 103:1-22 outlined earlier. This activity will help your group members personalize their praise as each shares his or her personal appreciation for one of our God’ s wonderful qualities.
2. Or pick any quality of God or any aspect of His nature. Have each group member write just two or three lines in praise of that aspect or quality. Then go around the circle, reading the verses written in sequence in concluding worship of the Lord. You may want to put your group’ s verses together and create their own psalm, which can be typed and duplicated so each member can have a copy.