How to Read the Psalms - 240101

SPEAKER B Hello. I'mike Browning. Welcome to let God speak. You can't help loving the book of psalms. We're going to study the psalms for this first quarter of 2024. We'll discover the psalms are not only prayer and praise. Some of the most sublime messianic prophecies are in the psalms. So we pray that this series of studies will refresh your prayer time and your walk with God. SPEAKER A You. SPEAKER B Well, on our panel today, we have Kaysie Vokurka and Kylie Fisher. And we appreciate you ladies being here today. Thank you for joining us. Thank you indeed. And we invite those who can to pray with us before we study the scripture. Father in heaven, we thank you, Lord God, for the privilege of sharing together today from the book of psalms. And I do pray that your spirit will guide us today. Please, in Jesus name, amen. All right, so let's look at some basics first, folks. Kaysie, who wrote the psalms? SPEAKER A Good question. So, probably one of the first people that we would think of is actually King David. And he indeed wrote quite a few of them. And it's very interesting what he says about himself in relation to the psalms, because if we have a look in two, Samuel, chapter 23, it's actually David. Kind of like David's last speech, or what the Bible considers to be his last words. And it says, now, these are the last words of David. Thus says David, the son of Jesse. Thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob. And the sweet psalmist of Israel refers to himself as the sweet psalmist of Israel. SPEAKER B That's really nice, Kylie. Do other Bible writers acknowledge David as writing the psalms? SPEAKER C Yes, they do. There are many examples of them. But I'll just read a few verses from Romans, chapter four. So this is, of course, Paul the apostle, writing in Romans, chapter four and verses six to eight. And he's here quoting from psalm 32. And he quotes the first couple of verses. So Romans, chapter four and starting at verse six. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth written righteousness without works, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. So, yeah, that's quoting quite clearly. SPEAKER B David. That's being referred to there. That's true. However, David wasn't the only writer of the psalms, was he? SPEAKER A No, that's correct. Yeah. There was a number of other writers. There was a fellow by the name of Asap. He was a temple musician, and he wrote a number of psalms, and he even wrote one that talks about Jesus'second coming. And we can find that in psalm, chapter 50. So the 50th psalm, and at verse three it says, our God shall come and shall not keep silent. A fire shall devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous all around him. And so this is where we see some, I guess, deeper meaning coming through some of the psalms as well, in terms of what the Bible teaches. But there were others as well. There was like the sons of Korah. We're a group who wrote quite a few, and Moses as well, even Solomon wrote. So there's quite an interesting collection. SPEAKER B It is interesting. So the question begs an answer is, when were the psalms written? SPEAKER C Yeah, so Moses was the first author, as we've mentioned, and he was writing around about the year 1400 BC. And then, of course, David wrote many of the psalms he was writing in the 10th century BC. But the writers of the psalms go all the way through to after the return from the babylonian exile. And so the psalms actually really spans right from Moses to the end of the babylonian exile, all of the period of the writing of the whole of the Old Testament. SPEAKER B That's interesting. That's actually around a thousand years, isn't it? SPEAKER C Yes, it is. It was a long time. SPEAKER B Yeah, it was a long time with all these different authors. And this is interesting. How did they all end up in one book of psalms? Because they've written over a thousand years. SPEAKER A Yeah. So I think just bit by bit over the centuries, the leaders of the worship, I guess, at that time, would collect these different psalms and different collections from the different authors. And they believe that Ezra may have had something to do with helping to bring them all together as the collection, kind of like we have today, around the time of when the captives returned from Babylon back to Jerusalem, when they were rebuilding the temple and everything like that. So, yeah, he would have been instrumental to help bring them together, probably to use in worship in the new temple or something like that. It's conceivable to be. SPEAKER B Which would have been around about the fifth century BC, too. So that's good now. Thank you for that. That's very helpful. What about it? Do you think some of these psalms might have gotten lost over that period of time? What do you think on that? SPEAKER C Yeah, well, look, there's an answer, actually, in psalms itself, I think, as to whether the psalms that we need for us today have been preserved, and that is psalm, chapter twelve and verses six and seven. This is speaking about God's word in general, but it does apply to the psalms, starting at verse six, the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. And then verse seven, thou shalt keep them, o Lord. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever. So their God gives us assurance that the words that we need have been preserved. And this wasn't just a supernatural act. So we've mentioned about Ezra, and it's very interesting to look in Ezra, chapter seven and verse six describes that Ezra was a scribe in the law of Moses. But verse ten tells us about how seriously Ezra took his mission. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. So he wanted to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. And so copying out collecting of the scriptures was very, very important in this, we can really be assured. Like it says in Isaiah 40, verse eight, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever. SPEAKER B Thank you for that, Carly. Now, that's true. And Ezra being a scribe and someone who focused on the scriptures, naturally he'd be bringing them all together. Yes, and that's very helpful. Thank you. Now, people who haven't read the psalms might just think that they're happy songs of praise and that kind of thing. Would that be a fair summary, would you say, Kaysie, on that? SPEAKER A Well, there's certainly a lot of that in the psalms, because that's like the high point of the psalms, where you have a joyful praise coming through. But there's also a lot of other elements coming through in the psalms. And we find, for instance, in psalm 42 and verse one and two, this is a psalm which is really expressing a yearning after God. And it says, as the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants myself for you, o God, myself thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? And so it's just like an expression of the heart for what you wish and long for from God. And then there's another example, a couple of chapters back, psalm 35. And if we have a look at some verses here, verse 19 says, let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies, nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. And a little bit further down, in verse 24 and 25, it says, vindicate me, o Lord, my God, according to your righteousness. And let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, ask, so we would have it. Let them not say, we have swallowed him up. And so this is kind of like a prayer to God for justice, for him to take vengeance on their enemies. And he's obviously in a place where he's feeling really overwhelmed by everything that's going on. SPEAKER B It's a desperate prayer, isn't it? SPEAKER C Yeah. SPEAKER A And it's obviously a trial, a hard time, and he's crying out to God. SPEAKER B For help and good guides for us here. You're in a corner pray. SPEAKER A Yeah, absolutely. SPEAKER B God is interested in helping you. That's the point of this psalm. Now that's really good. While we're in psalm. Well, of course that's where we are. But psalm 77, if you could just turn over to that psalm 77. I'm going to read verse two. Psalm 77, verse two. And this is what it says. In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night. Without ceasing, my soul refused to be comforted. This person is in a desperate state, you can tell. And then verse ten, he goes on to say, and I said, this is my anguish, but. And then comes his hope. The hope comes through, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high. I will remember the works of the Lord, surely. I will remember your wonders of old. And I love that. What do you think's happening to this is asaph, by the way, not David this time. What do you think's happening to Asaf here? SPEAKER C Yeah. So here he's really describing an experience of trial and faith. And what he does in order to deal with that is in verse ten, he says, I will remember the years of the right hand most high. So he remembers God's past dealings with him and that's what gives him comfort and strength in that time of trouble. Yeah. SPEAKER B There's nothing like having God answer your prayer for help to strengthen your faith. And you do lean back on those times and say, God, help me there. He will help me here. Yeah, that's really good. There's some other helpful promises. Do you see some other ones there, Kaysie, the people in trouble? SPEAKER A Definitely. There's one that I really like from psalm 27, and this is from one of David's psalms. But he says something very interesting in verse 13 and 14. He says, I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And then he says, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. And I think this is something which so many of us can relate to because where he says, I would have lost heart. Sometimes we can be in situations where it seems so despairing that we are very much at risk of losing heart, being discouraged, and to just remember that in whatever situation we are, find ourselves on earth, God is there to work for us and to bring good. This can give us hope in the midst of trouble. SPEAKER C It does. SPEAKER A And courage, as it says there. And God will strengthen our hearts as we wait on him. SPEAKER B And he specifically says that he expects to have deliverance in the land of the living, not just when he gets to heaven, right. Not to the glory land, but right here and now. He expects to see God's hand. That's very encouraging. It is also. Yeah, thanks for that. Look, I'm going to read from Matthew 22, verse 43. These are Jesus words about the psalms, particularly David. He's specifically talking about David here. So it's Matthew 22, verse 43. He said to them, and Jesus is talking, how then does David in the spirit call him Lord? Saying, then he quotes a psalm. The Lord said to my lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. So he's giving us, actually, Kylie, a very deep insight into the way the psalms were written or composed and written. Isn't he here? SPEAKER C Yeah, that's right. So he says that David was in the spirit. And you mentioned that it was a quote. So that's actually a quote from psalm 110. Yeah, it says the same thing. The Lord said unto my lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies, thine enemies thy footstool. So he's really directly quoting. But it wasn't just the words of David. David was in the spirit, and so it was words inspired by the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER B It's very telling, isn't it, those few words in the spirit. And these were not just spiritual know, people of faith writing the spirit of God was in them, moving in them. So that's very important. In fact, we know more about how the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets, don't we, Kaysie? SPEAKER A Yeah. So, of course, it's a bit of a mystery about how God does that, but he sends his holy spirit to work in that person. And basically, I think. Do you have that as a reference? SPEAKER B I was going to ask you that question. SPEAKER C No, it's okay. So, yeah. Numbers twelve and verse six says that God spoke to the prophets through visions and dreams. And there's some descriptions of some of these visions actually, in the Bible. For instance, in Daniel, chapter ten, that's a description of a vision that was given to the prophet Daniel. We can see from that that Daniel did not actually breathe in some of the visions. So there was sometimes physical phenomena and revelation, of course, is many visions given to John. So, yeah, we sort of have these brief descriptions of some of these visions, but we don't know. A real is, you know, always that mysterious element to God's work. SPEAKER B There is, isn't don't. Only the prophet would fully understand how. SPEAKER C The spirit, and probably they didn't even really fully understand what was happening, but God gave them these special messages. So let's just look at another really excellent verse about this. Two, Peter one and verse 21. This does give us assurance that the prophets did not just speak their own words. So, two, Peter 121 says, the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So they did not choose themselves. God chose them. And he chose them to bear this special message. He gave them these visions and dreams, but they expressed what they saw in their own words. So the Bible actually is very unique, even amongst religious books. The Bible is very unique in that it is a real combination of divine and human working together. SPEAKER B Yeah, thank you for that, Carly. That's so true. And it's a beautiful picture of the power of the Holy Spirit working through a human being. We're so blessed to have it. Look, I'm going to refer back to psalms 22 for a moment, and I'm going to look, read verses 16 to 18. Now, this is a messianic psalm here. Well, these statements are. And he says, dogs have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. And then they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots. That's amazing. What do you think of that psalm, Kaysie? What does that say to you? SPEAKER A Yeah, well, it's very interesting because Kylie was just sharing about how the Holy Spirit is inspiring writers. And we find that over and over again in the psalms that they might be writing something about their own experience or how they feel, but it turns out to have, like, a double meaning. And this is one of those examples, because it turns out that the details that are described here actually perfectly fit the experience that the messiah went through, that Jesus went through on earth, especially during the time where he sacrificed his life for us. So talks about piercing his hands and feet, counting all his bones. None of them were broken, so you could count them all. And then casting lots of his clothing, like this is all stuff recorded later in the scriptures that actually happened. And we can see that it's almost like a prophecy as well. SPEAKER B It's amazingly detailed, actually, isn't it? Even down to the dividing of his garments. In verse 18, they divided my garments, but they cast lots for his cloak. SPEAKER A Yeah. SPEAKER B And it's there. And that's exactly what happens. There was no accident here. This was a fulfilment of exactly what was written. So this is the way the Holy Spirit was working through the prophets in this amazing manner. So just to basically summarise, folks, where we've been. So we've seen that there are divinely inspired mix of hope, of despair, almost, but reaching out to God in prayer, there's even anger and sorrow, and there's joy as well there, too. So all this is in the psalms, and we are seeing God expressing through the experiences of God's people, God's men and women, in later visions, exactly what he wants us to know. These are for us today. So it's very beautiful. Okay, moving along now, Kaysie, is there any particular psalm that inspires you when it comes to worshipping God? SPEAKER A Yeah, there's one. Of course, there's many you could choose, but there's one which is psalm 103, and this is a psalm of David. And I think the first few verses of this psalm are wonderful in terms of the worshipful attitude coming through. And if we read it, it says, bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name, so blessing God for who he is. Bless the Lord, o my soul and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies and who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. And so this is just a whole praise. SPEAKER B It's beautiful, isn't it? SPEAKER A Paragraph. But it's just listing off all of the things that God does for us. And, of course, it's very much in the spirit of adoration that this is coming through. SPEAKER B Yeah, that's lovely. Thank you. And in psalm 99, verse five, I'm going to read verse five there it says, exalt the Lord our God. Worship at his footstool. He is holy. So what reason is given for worship here that stands out for you there? SPEAKER C Yeah. So he's really referring to God's character. And ultimately, God loves us, and he hopes for a response of love from us, and that comes from appreciation of his character. And we might compare God with other ancient gods, like the gods that the Greeks worshipped and so on. They were full of violence and doing all of these sorts of things. But God is holy and he's righteous, he's trustworthy. So that's a really wonderful reason to worship. SPEAKER B It's a fabulous thought that God is holy. It's unthinkable as to what life would be like if God was not holy. So we're so blessed about that. All right, look, thanks. We have to move on. Psalm 23. Now, psalm 23, the shepherd Psalm, is probably the most well known psalm, and I'd like us to read it through just because it's such a lovely psalm together. And, Kaysie, if you could start for us, please, and read the first two verses, and then, Kyla, you follow the next two, and I'll do the last two if you like. So it's psalms 23, and we'll start at verse one. SPEAKER A Yeah, for sure. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. SPEAKER C He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. SPEAKER B You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Pardon me. Beautiful psalm. All right, let's talk about the main take home message. Kylie of the Book of Psalms. SPEAKER C Yeah. So I think that it know, no matter what our circumstances in life, I mean, we've spoken about how in psalms, it goes from praise to the depths of human experience. And so through all these experiences, we can still praise and worship God. We can still reach out to God in prayer. So that, to me, is the message. SPEAKER B That's a beautiful message. And, Kaysie, what sort of psalms do you like the most? SPEAKER A That's a tricky question because it really depends on the time that you're in, because I think the beauty of the psalms is they touch on so many different aspects of our experiences that doesn't really matter where you are or how you feel at a certain time, there'll be something in the psalm for you. And so there are psalms like psalm 32 that I like. If it's. I'm seeking guidance. There's, like, psalm 103 before. If it's praise or you wanting to contemplate all that God's done. There's various ones. There's ones that inspire faith and trust. Psalm 121 is a favourite of mine. Lifting your eyes to God who will help us. All of these different things. So, basically, in the psalms, there's just so much that's relevant. And so your favourite for one time might change in another experience that you're in. SPEAKER B It depends upon your needs. SPEAKER A Yeah, exactly. And I think that is the intent, and I think that that is what people saw the value of the psalms to be for as a sacred writing, that they could be there as a source of comfort and encouragement for us, no matter what we're going through. SPEAKER B That's right. There's always a psalm to meet. And you. What about the sad psalms? Because there are some. SPEAKER C Yeah, that's right. So I think we were speaking before about psalm 35, and I'll just read the first three verses of that. Plead my cause, o Lord, with them that strive with me, fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler and stand up for mine. Help draw out also the spear and stop the way against them that persecute me. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. And so. Yeah, so the writer here, this one's by David and a. It's a plea for God's help in difficult times, praying for God to defend him. SPEAKER B Yeah, that's beautiful. That's excellent. Thank you, Kaysie. That's a beautiful picture. How do you respond to the messianic psalms? Psalms 22? We've actually referred to that before and just a few moments ago, but there's a few verses a little earlier than where we read before, verse 14, for example, which continues to describe the experience of the messiah, Jesus on the cross. And it says, I'm poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It's melted within me. And he goes on to say, my strength is dried up like a potshard. My tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death. What sort of response comes from you as you read things like this, statements like that? SPEAKER A Well, I guess as a description, it can probably help us have a bit more insight in what Christ went through for us, so it can deepen our appreciation when we recognise that this is maybe how David felt at one point when he wrote it, but also what Christ went through. And like it says that you have brought me to the dust of know Christ. Well, he went through. He experienced death for us, didn't he? And he went through, as were the shadow of death, in terms of enduring separation from the father, in terms of enduring all of the suffering that he went through. And I think that as we gain a deeper understanding of what Christ has done and just more and more realise the significance of it, that it can help us to have a greater appreciation for Christ's sacrifice for us. SPEAKER B Thank you for that. Now, the last moments we've got left, some of the psalms are written in response to the historical situation that Israel was facing at the time. Is there something that we can benefit from, from their experiences, do you think? SPEAKER C Yeah, I think that we can, because we're spoken of in the Bible as God's people today are spoken of as spiritual Israel. And there's actually quite a lot of parallels between the experience of God's people, especially over the last couple of hundred years, and ancient Israel. And so psalm 105 and 106 are really wonderful psalms. I've actually taken the time to memorise these psalms because I find them so relevant to us. And what I think that we see in these psalms is psalm 89. And verse 14 says that justice and judgement are the habitation of God's throne or the foundation of his throne. Mercy and truth go before his face. So in God's character, we always see mercy and truth combined with each other. We so much see that in the historical psalms, for instance, in verse, it's always talking about how God was caring for his people, saving them, even though they were, even when they were not true to him. SPEAKER B Yes, he was always faithful to them. So with their unfaithfulness, it's contrasted with God's faithfulness, which is just a lovely thing, isn't it? God reminds us of his mercy. Yes, he's a God of justice, but mercy as well. But we're going to leave there. Thank you, ladies. Really appreciate your input today, folks. The psalms are a divinely inspired collection of poems and songs for prayer and praise to God. As we've seen occasionally, we can find ourselves in need of prayer and the right words will elude us. Well, we can find every longing that we have expressed in the experiences of this amazing book, the psalms. So we're glad you joined us today on let God speak. All our past programmes plus teachers notes are available on our website, 3abnaustralia.org.au. And if you wish you can email us on [email protected]. Join us again. God bless. SPEAKER D You have been listening to Let God Speak, a production of 3ABN, Australia. Television. To catch up on past programs, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au Call us in Australia on 024-973-3456 or email [email protected] We'd love to hear from you.