Part 3 - Reflections and Worship During the Monarchial Years
Chapter 16 - Psalms: “Bless the Lord, O My Soul”
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16 Psalms: “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” Psalms is one of the most practical books of the Bible, wondrously suited to the human heart It is especially dear to every child of God, perhaps because there is no experience of the believer which does not nd its counterpart in the Psalms Someone, in speaking of the whole Bible as “the Temple of Truth” and the di erent books as di erent rooms of that temple, has called Psalms “The Music Room.” It is lled with heavenly music suited to man’s every experience Here the Holy Spirit sweeps every chord of human nature: from the low, wailing note of Psalm 51, to the high, exultant note of Psalm 24 That Psalms was a favorite book of the rst-century believers is shown by the fact that of the New Testament’s 283 direct quotations from the Old Testament, 116 are from Psalms I PREPARATION FOR STUDY Be acquainted with the various literary devices used by the authors of poetic writing Some of the main ones are: a) Simile: comparison of two things, usually employing the words as or like (e.g., “He will be like a tree,” Psalm 1:3) b) Metaphor: comparison of two things without using the words as or like (e.g., “The LORD is a sun and shield,” Psalm 84:11) c) Hyperbole: exaggeration for effect (e.g., “Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears,” Psalm 6:6) d) Personification: applying personality traits to inanimate objects (e.g., “All my bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like Thee,’” Psalm 35:10) e) Apostrophe: addressing inanimate things (e.g., “What ails you, O sea, that you flee?” Psalm 114:5) f) Synecdoche: representing the whole by a part, or a part by the whole (e.g., “the arrow that flies by day,” Psalm 91:5) Praise and prayer are keynotes of the psalms Before surveying the book, think much about what is genuine praise and what is genuine prayer II BACKGROUND A NAME When the individual lyrics of David and the other authors were brought together as one anthology, possibly as early as 500 B.C., the Hebrew title given to the anthology was Tehillim, meaning “praise songs.” The Greek Septuagint translators gave the title Psalmoi, meaning “songs to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument,” and this was the Greek title used in the days of Jesus (read Acts 1:20) Thus, our English title Psalms is really an ancient title, even in pronunciation The t e r m Psalter, by which this book is sometimes called, is derived almost letter for letter from the Greek word for “stringed instrument.” B PLACE IN THE BIBLE In the Hebrew Scriptures the scroll of Psalms appeared at the beginning of the third division called “Writings.” (Recall the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible as Law, Prophets, and Writings; cf Luke 24:44.) As such, this collection of sacred songs was the inspired prayer and praise book of the nation of Israel In the fourfold grouping of ... shown by the fact that of the New Testament? ??s 283 direct quotations from the Old Testament, 116 are from Psalms I PREPARATION FOR STUDY Be acquainted with the various literary devices used by the. .. Writings; cf Luke 24:44.) As such, this collection of sacred songs was the inspired prayer and praise book of the nation of Israel In the fourfold grouping of ... “praise songs.” The Greek Septuagint translators gave the title Psalmoi, meaning “songs to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument,” and this was the Greek title used in the days of Jesus (read