Rediscovering the Psalms: A Spiritual Treasure

 

Summary

The Psalms are a profound treasure within the Scriptures, yet they have become a neglected resource in recent times. Historically, the Psalter was central to the life of the church, from the ancient to the Reformation periods. Today, however, many Christians are less familiar with the Psalms, which is a significant loss. The Psalms offer a wealth of encouragement, strength, and spiritual insight, akin to an inheritance left untouched. One reason for this neglect is the decline in the use of the King James Version, which once unified English-speaking Christians with its poetic expressions. Another reason is our modern unfamiliarity with poetry, which makes the Psalms less accessible. Poetry, with its memorable and emotive qualities, was once a vital part of cultural expression, but today, many struggle to appreciate its depth.

The Psalms may seem disorganized, like a shuffled deck of cards, making it difficult to locate specific passages. Unlike other books of the Bible, which have clear structures, the Psalter appears random, leading many to give up on exploring it. However, the Psalms were crucial to New Testament authors, frequently quoted by Jesus and the apostles. They provide a model for us, showing the importance of having the Psalms in our hearts and minds. The Psalms are unique in that they are both God's Word to us and words we can use to speak to God. They teach us how to communicate honestly with God, expressing a range of emotions from joy to distress.

The Psalter is divided into five books, each with its own character. The first book focuses on personal issues, the second on community problems, the third on the crisis of kingship, the fourth on creation and covenant, and the fifth on Israel's history and salvation. Understanding this structure can make the Psalms more accessible and useful. Singing the Psalms is a powerful way to internalize them, as they were originally set to music. Embracing the Psalms can enrich our spiritual lives, providing comfort and guidance in times of trouble.

Key Takeaways:

- The Psalms are a neglected treasure in modern Christianity, yet they offer profound spiritual wealth. Historically central to the church, their decline in use is a significant loss. They provide encouragement and strength, akin to an untouched inheritance. [01:19]

- The decline of the King James Version and unfamiliarity with poetry contribute to the neglect of the Psalms. Poetry's emotive and memorable qualities make the Psalms a rich resource, yet many struggle to appreciate their depth. [03:35]

- The Psalms may seem disorganized, but they were crucial to New Testament authors. They provide a model for having the Psalms in our hearts and minds, showing the importance of honest communication with God. [08:03]

- The Psalter is divided into five books, each with its own character, focusing on personal issues, community problems, kingship crisis, creation and covenant, and Israel's history. Understanding this structure makes the Psalms more accessible. [21:49]

- Singing the Psalms is a powerful way to internalize them, as they were originally set to music. Embracing the Psalms enriches our spiritual lives, providing comfort and guidance in times of trouble. [26:54]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:28] - Historical Importance of the Psalms
- [01:19] - Neglect of the Psalms Today
- [02:06] - Impact of the King James Version
- [02:45] - Poetry and Memory
- [03:35] - Challenges with Poetry
- [05:36] - Perceived Randomness of the Psalms
- [06:28] - Structure in Other Biblical Books
- [08:03] - Importance in the New Testament
- [10:01] - Jesus and Psalm 110
- [11:38] - Psalms as God's Word to Us
- [12:26] - Comfort in Times of Trouble
- [14:09] - Assurance and Psalm 56
- [15:57] - Honest Communication with God
- [18:45] - Personal Relationship with God
- [21:04] - Structure of the Psalter
- [26:54] - Singing the Psalms
- [27:40] - Conclusion and Encouragement

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: The Psalms - A Neglected Treasure

Bible Reading:
1. Psalm 46:1 - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
2. Psalm 56:9 - "This I know, that God is for me."
3. Psalm 110:1 - "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'"

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Observation Questions:

1. What reasons were given in the sermon for the decline in the use of the Psalms in modern Christianity? ([01:19])
2. How does the sermon describe the structure of the Psalter, and what are the themes of its five books? ([21:04])
3. According to the sermon, why are the Psalms considered both God's Word to us and words we can use to speak to God? ([15:57])
4. How did the New Testament authors use the Psalms, and why is this significant for us today? ([08:03])

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How might the decline of the King James Version and unfamiliarity with poetry contribute to the neglect of the Psalms? What impact does this have on our spiritual lives? ([02:06])
2. In what ways do the Psalms provide a model for honest communication with God, and why is this important for a personal relationship with Him? ([17:51])
3. How does understanding the structure of the Psalter make it more accessible and useful for believers today? ([21:04])
4. What does the sermon suggest about the role of singing the Psalms in internalizing their messages and enriching our spiritual lives? ([26:54])

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you felt distant from the Psalms. What steps can you take to reintroduce them into your spiritual practice? ([01:19])
2. Consider the role of poetry in your life. How can you cultivate an appreciation for the poetic nature of the Psalms to deepen your understanding of them? ([03:35])
3. Think about a recent situation where you struggled to communicate honestly with God. How can the Psalms guide you in expressing your emotions and questions to Him? ([17:51])
4. Identify a specific Psalm that resonates with your current life situation. How can you incorporate it into your daily routine to find comfort and guidance? ([12:26])
5. How can you use the structure of the Psalter to find relevant Psalms that address personal or community issues you are facing? ([21:04])
6. What is one way you can begin to memorize or sing a Psalm this week to help internalize its message? ([26:54])
7. Reflect on the idea that the Psalms are both God's Word to us and words we can use to speak to God. How does this dual role impact your prayer life? ([15:57])

Devotional

Day 1: Rediscovering the Psalms' Spiritual Wealth
The Psalms are a profound spiritual resource that has been neglected in modern Christianity. Historically, they were central to the life of the church, offering encouragement, strength, and spiritual insight. This neglect is akin to leaving an inheritance untouched. The decline in the use of the King James Version, which once unified English-speaking Christians with its poetic expressions, and our modern unfamiliarity with poetry contribute to this loss. The Psalms' emotive and memorable qualities make them a rich resource, yet many struggle to appreciate their depth. Embracing the Psalms can enrich our spiritual lives, providing comfort and guidance in times of trouble. [01:19]

Psalm 119:162-164 (ESV): "I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules."

Reflection: What is one specific way you can incorporate the reading of Psalms into your daily routine this week to rediscover their spiritual wealth?


Day 2: The Challenge of Poetry in the Psalms
The decline of the King James Version and unfamiliarity with poetry have contributed to the neglect of the Psalms. Poetry, with its emotive and memorable qualities, was once a vital part of cultural expression. Today, many struggle to appreciate its depth, making the Psalms less accessible. However, the Psalms offer a wealth of encouragement, strength, and spiritual insight. By embracing the poetic nature of the Psalms, we can unlock their profound spiritual wealth and enrich our spiritual lives. [03:35]

Psalm 19:1-2 (ESV): "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge."

Reflection: How can you cultivate an appreciation for the poetic nature of the Psalms in your spiritual practice this week?


Day 3: The Psalms as a Model for Honest Communication with God
The Psalms may seem disorganized, but they were crucial to New Testament authors and frequently quoted by Jesus and the apostles. They provide a model for having the Psalms in our hearts and minds, showing the importance of honest communication with God. The Psalms are unique in that they are both God's Word to us and words we can use to speak to God. They teach us how to communicate honestly with God, expressing a range of emotions from joy to distress. [08:03]

Psalm 62:8 (ESV): "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

Reflection: What is one emotion or concern you have been hesitant to bring before God? How can you use the Psalms to express this to Him today?


Day 4: Understanding the Structure of the Psalter
The Psalter is divided into five books, each with its own character, focusing on personal issues, community problems, kingship crisis, creation and covenant, and Israel's history. Understanding this structure can make the Psalms more accessible and useful. By recognizing the themes and organization within the Psalms, we can better appreciate their depth and apply their teachings to our lives. This understanding can help us navigate the perceived randomness of the Psalms and find the guidance and comfort they offer. [21:49]

Psalm 1:1-2 (ESV): "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."

Reflection: How can understanding the structure of the Psalms help you engage more deeply with them in your personal study?


Day 5: Singing the Psalms to Internalize Their Message
Singing the Psalms is a powerful way to internalize them, as they were originally set to music. Embracing the Psalms in this way can enrich our spiritual lives, providing comfort and guidance in times of trouble. By setting the Psalms to music, we can engage with their emotive and memorable qualities, allowing their messages to resonate more deeply within us. This practice can help us internalize the Psalms' teachings and apply them to our daily lives. [26:54]

Psalm 95:1-2 (ESV): "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!"

Reflection: How can you incorporate singing or listening to musical renditions of the Psalms into your spiritual practice this week to deepen your connection with their message?

Quotes

I'm always delighted to be able to talk about the Psalms because I think they are, first of all, a great treasure in the Scripture, but I think for many of us they are also a neglected treasure, and that is actually something fairly new in the history of the church. In the history of the church, the Psalter was turned to over and over again in the ancient church period, in the medieval church period, in the Reformation church period. [00:00:11]

There are so many things to bless and to encourage and strengthen us in the Psalter that not to know it is to really impoverish ourselves. It would be like being handed a huge inheritance and putting it under the mattress and forgetting all about it. You'd still have it, but you're not profiting from it; you're not being blessed by it in any way. [00:01:11]

The biggest single problem, I think, with the Psalter for many of us is it's all just random, isn't it, all these Psalms? Aren't these Psalms like taking a hundred and fifty playing cards and shuffling them, and if you completely rearrange the order it wouldn't make any difference. And the effect of that for us is that if we find something in the Psalter that really speaks to us, we may find that we can never find it again. [00:05:44]

If nothing else, we ought to see the power of the Psalter in that the Psalter was so important to New Testament authors. The Psalter, I believe, is the most quoted book in the New Testament. Isaiah may be in the running, but the Psalter is really important. Time and time again Jesus in His ministry will quote or allude to a Psalm. [00:08:03]

The Psalms were in their brains, it was in their hearts, it was in their reference world, that there were Psalms that were important to them, that spoke to them. Sometimes they spoke to them for really polemical purposes. Remember, Jesus after the triumphal entry, had the Pharisees and Sadducees come and challenge Him with questions, and finally Jesus said, "I have a question for you," and Jesus quoted Psalm 110. [00:08:38]

The Psalms are the only book in the Bible that are both God's Word to us, every book of the Bible is God's Word to us, but the Psalter is God's Word to us to give us words to Him. So, how do we speak to God? What can we say to God? What's legitimate to say to God? Well, the Psalter shows us how we can speak to God. [00:15:34]

Honest communication has a range of emotions. It has communication of gladness, of thankfulness, of joy, but it also has honest communication of suffering, and distress, and questioning, and confusion. And what the Psalter does is enable us to see God really is our heavenly Father, and there are no questions and there are no concerns we cannot bring to Him. [00:18:00]

Real Christianity is a personal religion in the sense that God in His saving work is establishing a community of people with a personal God. And one of our temptations over and over again is to turn our relationship to God into something mechanical. That's an essential characteristic of idolatry. "I do this and God will have to do that." God doesn't want a mechanical relationship with us; He wants a personal relationship. [00:19:44]

There is a kind of character to each of the five books of the Psalter. So, the first book ... now one of my contentions is, you can think about this, the Psalms are particularly the psalms of the king of Israel. Some psalms talk about "I," sometimes the Psalms talk about "we," but whether it's I or we, I think it's the king speaking for the people. [00:22:13]

Book three of the Psalter, which is the heart of the Psalter, the center of the Psalter, Psalm 73 through 89, is the crisis of the kingship. Everything seems to be falling apart. If your life is falling apart, the psalms in book three are the psalms that will help you, or at least describe you. Psalm 88 is the bleakest psalm in the whole Psalter, "I am alone, darkness is my only companion." [00:24:35]

There really is a structure to this book. There really is a sense to this book, and by digging into the book, by seeing its structure, by seeing its beauty, by appreciating its poetry, we are really going to be building ourselves up in the faith and we're going to be preparing ourselves to help people when they're in trouble, to help people when they're in difficulty, to have a word for our soul, but also to have a word for the souls of others. [00:26:22]

One great way to begin to learn the Psalms is to sing them. Did you know the Psalms are set to music? You know, we live in a world where lots of people are really eager to find new music to sing. And so, this is a moment of opportunity. The Psalms will be brand new for most of us! And a wonderful way to get them in our souls and in our minds and in our hearts. [00:26:54]

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Transcript
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