In October we will be looking at Prayer. This blog is imitating another blog:
http://thirtydaysinprayer.blogspot.com/
A Month in Prayer
Praying the Psalms October 9
As mentioned earlier there are many other ways
to classify the Psalms.
Here are a few of the most recognizable.
Psalm 1 is a Wisdom Psalm.
Wisdom literature is a type of writing that occurs in
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom literature contrasts the life choices made
by those who reject God and His law
with those who embrace God's rule.
Those who follow God are wise and righteous
and those who reject God are wicked and foolish.
Psalm 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,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.
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.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Psalm 1 is the first of the Psalms that occurs in the Psalter. Thus it serves as a kind of introduction to the remainder of the Psalms. It is a Wisdom psalm. Wisdom literature is a type of writing that occurs in many places in the Bible including other Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom literature contrasts the life choices made by those who reject God and His law with those who embrace God's rule. Those who follow God are wise and righteous and those who reject God are wicked and foolish. Psalm 1 clearly presents two ways of life, contrasts the two, and depicts the consequences of these choices. It declares the blessedness of the righteous and the future misery of the wicked. English poet John Milton translated Psalm 1 into English verse in 1653 and Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a paraphrase of it.
Psalm 93 is a Royal or Enthronement Psalm.
These psalms glorify and praise God
as the king of His people and all the earth.
Key phrases are “The Lord is king” or
“The Lord Reigns.”
As Christians we worship Jesus
as “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Psalm 93
The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is mighty.
Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.
Psalm 93 is a Royal or Enthronement Psalm. These psalms glorify and praise God as the king of His people and over all the earth. The first words of this Psalm express this, “The Lord is king.” The rest of Psalm expands to show that God rules forever over the entire earth forever. God is the ruler of his people, but this created trouble for Israel. The people would not obey the law of god and demanded a king so that they would be like other nations – despite the fact that god had made them different from all other people by claiming them as His own. In I Samuel 8 the people clearly reject the kingship of God. This choice will cause them great difficulties in the future. However, before we judge Israel too harshly, we too struggle with making God the Lord of our lives and being obedient to the king of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Psalm 84 is a Song of Zion.
These psalms praise God
for choosing Mount Zion as the place
to make His presence known in a unique and special way. Mount Zion was in Jerusalem and the Temple was built on it. In Songs of Zion,
the psalmist rejoices
at being able to be in the presence of God
while worshipping in the Temple.
Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young— a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Psalm 84 is a beautiful psalm expressing the joy of worship. It is a Song of Zion. These psalms praise God for choosing Mount Zion, the place where the Temple is located in Jerusalem, to make His presence known in a unique and special way. In Songs of Zion, the psalmist rejoices at being able to be in the presence of God while worshipping in the Temple. Psalm 84 may be part of a liturgy for pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem. It moves from intense longing to be in the courts of the Lord to great joy at being with the Lord in Zion.
No comments:
Post a Comment