Last week I began a teaching series I'm calling "A Summer in the Psalms".
Of all of the books of the Bible, the Psalms are breath-taking in scope and substance. There are 150 individual Psalms, but in reality, there really are 5 Books of Psalms. For centuries, the Church met to sing the Psalms - called the Psalter - because the Psalms are poetic, rhythmic, structured to be used for Worship and Prayer more than give us information. Yet the Psalms also give us instruction, which is why they fit into the Wisdom literature of the Bible. More than anything the Psalms point us to Jesus Christ. He is the Messianic promise of so many of the Psalmists as they cry out to God for deliverance and Redemption.
A couple of notes to you if you're interested in learning more of the Psalms. First, follow along this summer as we teach the Psalms. You can listen to messages on our website www.nlfellowship.org, under the teaching heading.
Secondly, read the Psalms. Begin today and you can read all 150 of them (almost) before Summer ends in September. Most of them are not that long, but even the ones that are long will not take that long to read. Granted, you may want to break Psalm 119 in half!
Thirdly, read a book alongside that will give you insight into the individual Psalms you're reading. Tim and Kathy Keller wrote The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms. It is a good, short read giving insight into all of the Psalms. Eugene Peterson (I have all of his books he ever wrote), wrote two books: Answering God: The Psalms as Tools of Prayer & A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Besides these there are dozens more that have been written about the Psalms. Martin Luther, John Calvin, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Philipp Keller all are notable authors whose books on the Psalms are worth the read. The point in this is IF you want to understand more about what you're reading, find a book that helps you with context and message.
One more suggestion - AND hang on to your hat and don't get too upset either - read the Psalms in the King James Version! Some of you haven't read from the KJV in years, if ever. What the King James Version does better than any other version of the Bible is capture the poetry of the Psalms. That is important for your reading.
Reading the Psalms draws us into the Emotional aspect of our faith. The Psalms enter into all areas of living - spiritual, relational, social, family, friendship, work, pleasure, pain, suffering, anger, loneliness, depression, discouragement, delight, joy, gladness and peace...i.e., everything. John Calvin accurately said, "...the Psalms are an anatomy of the Soul; for there is not an emotion of which any of us can be conscious of that is not represented in here."
Ultimately the Psalmist has one thing in mind - See God in all of your life's experiences. Learn to see that God is at the center of all that is happening around us. We see God, NOT as we wished he would appear; but we see God as He reveals himself to us.
"Left to ourselves, we will pray to some god who speaks what we like hearing, or to the part of God we manage to understand. But what is critical is that we speak to the God who speaks to us, and to everything that he speaks to us... What is essential in prayer is not that we learn to express ourselves, but that we learn to answer God." (Eugene Peterson in Answering God book)
One more thing to add to this writing. First, realize that as you read the Psalms, you are opening your soul up to God to allow him to enter into your emotions, your experiences, and your very soul. So, as you read, ask three questions and reflect upon them daily: (from Tim Keller's book)
1. ADORE - What did you learn about God for which you can praise him?
2. ADMIT - What did you learn about yourself for which you may need to ask forgiveness for, or help with...need, dependence issues?
3. ASPIRE - What did you learn about life that you could commit yourself to become, to ask for, to act on, to aspire to be?
Peace:
Of all of the books of the Bible, the Psalms are breath-taking in scope and substance. There are 150 individual Psalms, but in reality, there really are 5 Books of Psalms. For centuries, the Church met to sing the Psalms - called the Psalter - because the Psalms are poetic, rhythmic, structured to be used for Worship and Prayer more than give us information. Yet the Psalms also give us instruction, which is why they fit into the Wisdom literature of the Bible. More than anything the Psalms point us to Jesus Christ. He is the Messianic promise of so many of the Psalmists as they cry out to God for deliverance and Redemption.
A couple of notes to you if you're interested in learning more of the Psalms. First, follow along this summer as we teach the Psalms. You can listen to messages on our website www.nlfellowship.org, under the teaching heading.
Secondly, read the Psalms. Begin today and you can read all 150 of them (almost) before Summer ends in September. Most of them are not that long, but even the ones that are long will not take that long to read. Granted, you may want to break Psalm 119 in half!
Thirdly, read a book alongside that will give you insight into the individual Psalms you're reading. Tim and Kathy Keller wrote The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms. It is a good, short read giving insight into all of the Psalms. Eugene Peterson (I have all of his books he ever wrote), wrote two books: Answering God: The Psalms as Tools of Prayer & A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Besides these there are dozens more that have been written about the Psalms. Martin Luther, John Calvin, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Philipp Keller all are notable authors whose books on the Psalms are worth the read. The point in this is IF you want to understand more about what you're reading, find a book that helps you with context and message.
One more suggestion - AND hang on to your hat and don't get too upset either - read the Psalms in the King James Version! Some of you haven't read from the KJV in years, if ever. What the King James Version does better than any other version of the Bible is capture the poetry of the Psalms. That is important for your reading.
Reading the Psalms draws us into the Emotional aspect of our faith. The Psalms enter into all areas of living - spiritual, relational, social, family, friendship, work, pleasure, pain, suffering, anger, loneliness, depression, discouragement, delight, joy, gladness and peace...i.e., everything. John Calvin accurately said, "...the Psalms are an anatomy of the Soul; for there is not an emotion of which any of us can be conscious of that is not represented in here."
Ultimately the Psalmist has one thing in mind - See God in all of your life's experiences. Learn to see that God is at the center of all that is happening around us. We see God, NOT as we wished he would appear; but we see God as He reveals himself to us.
"Left to ourselves, we will pray to some god who speaks what we like hearing, or to the part of God we manage to understand. But what is critical is that we speak to the God who speaks to us, and to everything that he speaks to us... What is essential in prayer is not that we learn to express ourselves, but that we learn to answer God." (Eugene Peterson in Answering God book)
One more thing to add to this writing. First, realize that as you read the Psalms, you are opening your soul up to God to allow him to enter into your emotions, your experiences, and your very soul. So, as you read, ask three questions and reflect upon them daily: (from Tim Keller's book)
1. ADORE - What did you learn about God for which you can praise him?
2. ADMIT - What did you learn about yourself for which you may need to ask forgiveness for, or help with...need, dependence issues?
3. ASPIRE - What did you learn about life that you could commit yourself to become, to ask for, to act on, to aspire to be?
Peace:
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