Introduction to the Psalms (Selected Scriptures) | Worship Service

Call to Worship from Psalm 16

Church. We're glad you're here today. Would you please stand as we begin our service this morning with a call to worship from Psalm 16 and it says in verse number 7 I Will bless Yahweh who has counseled me indeed my mind instructs me in the night.

I Have set Yahweh continually before me Because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will dwell securely. For you will not forsake my soul to shield.

You will not give your Holy One over to seek corruption. You will make known to me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy in your right hand. There are pleasures forever. We're gonna sing together a song.

We haven't sung in a long time alive Until you. The first one we're gonna learn is to the tune of come now found and it's praise the Lord my soul. Oh praise him. Psalm 104 Praise the Lord.

Sets the frame. Psalm 99 God is king forever Of holy holy holy.

Biblical Counseling Conference and Women's Fall Brunch

Just a couple of announcements and these are time sensitive so I just want to draw your attention to them first there is a deadline for the registration of the biblical counseling conference that we are hosting here three months September October and November on a Friday and a Saturday of each of those months and the details for that are in your bulletin and I want to give you a little bit of an overview about what this is and why we're doing it.

Biblical counseling is the application of truth to the the things that ill our soul from a biblical perspective dealing with sin and idolatry and what that does in our relationships and in our hearts and there is a skill and a wisdom that is required with biblical counseling and we want to Equip people within our own congregation to take up the mantle of offering biblical counsel.

From from a God honoring perspective that deals with the real issues that plague us. We want to equip you to do that and to create sort of a Group of biblical counselors even within our own congregation.

There are a few people who do biblical counseling here and we want to increase that number for the good of our entire church body. So that that is what this conference is designed to do to give you the foundational tools for that.

Sort of lays the foundations of what biblical counseling is and and the philosophy behind it and then sort of an overview of how to Deal with some of these issues and then in the future. We're hoping to add More modules to this more weekends where we kind of go into greater detail on biblical counseling.

So if that was something that was of interest to you, I'd encourage you to register you can get details for that on In that brochure that is inside of your bulletin. The cost is 145 per person and months ago I mentioned that as a church we're committing to do for 20 people a Rebate of a hundred if you put up the 145 and then you come for the three months in a row and complete the course.

You can apply for a $100 rebate back off the cost of that. The goal of that is to incentivize people to come and to take advantage of this training and it is good training. It's needed training and we'd encourage you to take advantage of it.

So far only seven of the 20 vouchers that we have available have been applied for so there's still room. If you want to do that, and if you have any questions about that talk to Jennifer Barba. She's sort of heading that up.

She sits right up here next to our immigrant friend. You can talk to her she will just give you all the information that you need and Then second our women's fall brunch is September 28th. And if you have questions or need information.

You can visit the table that is out in the foyer and we'd encourage you to sign up for that. If you want to attend that we please turn to Psalm 119. For our scripture reading Psalm 119. We're not going to read the psalm in its entirety.

We said we're gonna Just kind of see how some of your faces like where's he going with this? Psalm 119 we're gonna read the first 24 verses of the psalm Psalm 119. This has been attributed to Ezra though.

There is no superscript that tells us that Ezra wrote this. Historically, it's been understood to be written by Ezra. Psalm 119 first 24 verses. How blessed are those whose way is blameless who walk in the law of the Lord?

How blessed are those who observe his testimonies who seek him with all their heart? They also do no unrighteousness. They walk in his ways. You have ordained your precepts that we should keep them diligently.

Oh that my ways may be established to keep your statutes. Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all your commandments. I shall give thanks to you with uprightness of heart when I learn your righteous judgments.

I shall keep your statutes. Do not forsake me utterly. How can a young man keep his way pure by keeping it according to your word? With all my heart I have sought you do not let me wander from your commandments.

Your word. I've treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you. Blessed are you O Lord teach me your statutes with my lips. I have told of all the ordinances of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches.

I will meditate on your precepts and regard your ways. I shall delight in your statutes. I shall not forget your word. Deal bountifully with your servant that I may live and keep your word. Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law.

I am a stranger in the earth. Do not hide your commandments from me. My soul is crushed with longing after your ordinances at all times. You rebuke the arrogant the cursed who wander from your commandments.

Take away reproach and contempt from me for I observe your testimonies. Even though princes sit and talk against me your servant meditates on your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight. They are my counselors.

We stand with me as we pray. Let's bow our heads. Our father we do thank you for your precious word. And we have been reminded here this morning in in this psalm of just the value of your word your testimony your statutes.

Your ordinances and what you have given to us in your precious and magnificent promises. By your word you make us to see our sin as well as our Savior. You bring us to the point of despair over our own iniquity and inability to change our hearts and our minds our lives.

And yet you give us the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ and eternal life with you. By your word you rebuke and reprove us and you encourage and strengthen us. You brought us to know our sin by your word so that we may look to the Savior who is revealed in your word.

So that we may have faith which is created through the hearing of your word in him. And then you sanctify us by that word and use your word to secure us everlastingly to eternal glory so we thank you for it and we pray that you would Conform us today to the image of Christ as we look at your word and study it.

We pray that you would be magnified through the worship which revolves around your word through our meditation. Which is to be upon your word in the preaching which is of your word. And that you would be glorified in our fellowship which centers around Christ and in him and what he has done.

Remind us again We pray of the of the glory that awaits us as we look forward to the king that is to come. And remind us again of the grace that you give to us in your precious word. Sanctify us to that end we pray and glorify your name here amongst us for Christ's sake is in his name that we pray.

Amen.

Let's sing together God of wonders.

For three.

Verses 22 to 24 it says The loving-kindness of Yahweh indeed never cease for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Yahweh is my portion says my soul therefore I wait for him.

We're gonna sing together. God moves in a mysterious way.

Steps in See. And now if you would to the book of Psalms.

Introduction to the Psalms and the Psalter's Structure

Looking at a few different passages in the book of Psalms today. Let's begin with the word of prayer before we start.

My father we pray that you would be pleased and honored in the meditation of our hearts and our minds. Pray that our time here spent in your word considering the Psalms Would be to the benefit and blessing of all who hear that you would draw us near to yourself.

Give us a a stunning vision of Christ our King of your wisdom and of your grace in the Psalter. And we pray that we would be by your word preached conformed to the image of your son. In whose name we pray.

Amen. But today we are starting a new series of messages. We're going to be going through the Psalms and Don't lose heart at that. Because we're not going through all of the Psalms and we're not going through it at the pace that we went through the book of Hebrews.

We covered some of the Psalms as we went through the book of Hebrews. In fact, you may remember that in Hebrews chapter 1 the author quotes a number of Psalms there Psalm 2 Psalm 45 Psalm 97 102 104 and Psalm 110 and then the book of Hebrews also makes reference to and quotes from Psalm 8 Psalm 22 40 95 and 118 meaning that the book of Hebrews quotes 11 different Psalms in those 13 chapters.

So we dipped our toes a little bit into the Psalms into the Psalter while we were working through Hebrews. And we're going to take a closer look at some of them in the weeks ahead that I first I should say it this way.

I have had a desire to do this series since May of 2014. I know that seems oddly specific and that is because in May of 2014 I preached two sermons on Psalm 73 the prosperity of the wicked which became a book that was published in 2017 and since 2014 I've had a desire to preach through Psalm 37.

Which answers the question of the prosperity of the wicked. The same issue is Psalm 73 but from a different vantage point. So Psalm 37 and 73 are kind of mirror images of each other. 37 73 you see what the Lord did there.

They're kind of mirror images of each other and I reference Psalm 37 a number of times when in the book prosperity of the wicked and now I've always wanted to preach through it. So I've kind of been waiting.

I've been rushing through the book of Hebrews so I could get done and and get to this series on the Psalms. Really this series on the Psalms is just an excuse for me to preach Psalm 37, but that's not the only Psalm.

We're going to tackle. We're going to tackle four of them that I know for sure and possibly a fifth one and here are the ones that I plan on tackling Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. Now there's reason we're beginning at the beginning with those because Those two Psalms really form the gateway to the Psalter and they are in many ways mirror images of each other they are in many ways sort of set the tone and Frame the theology and the message of the entire Psalter.

They're not there by accident. They're there by design. So we're going to begin with Psalm 1 and 2 and then I'm going to preach through Psalm 37 and then which deals again with the prosperity of the wicked and then we're going to look at Psalm 49 which answers the folly of trusting in riches so they all kind of Deal with that subject of the righteous and the wicked and there may be more Psalms.

I might add one or two to the end of that list. I don't want to really end with Psalm 49. That's where I plan on ending right now. But I'm always open to throwing another Psalm at the end of this just because Psalm 49 sort of ends on a bit of a dour Note, so look at Psalm 49.

We'll read the last few verses. I want you to see how this ends. Psalm 49 beginning at verse 16. You can see how this answers the folly of trusting in riches. Psalm 49 verse 16 do not be afraid when a man becomes rich when the glory of his house is increased.

For when he dies, he'll carry nothing away. His glory will not descend after him though while he lives. He congratulates himself and though men praise you when you do well for yourself. He shall go to the generation of his father's that will never see the light.

Man in his pomp without understanding is like the beasts that perish. That's a good Sort of a good punctuation mark to end that Psalm with but it is a bit of a downer. So there may be other Psalms that I work into that this series.

These Psalms are not long Psalms. Psalm 1 is 6 verses. Psalm 2 is 12 verses. Psalm 37 is the longest of the four with 40 verses and Psalm 49 has 20 verses and they share something in common. They all four of these Psalms deal with the wicked and God's perspective on them and the righteous and God's perspective on the righteous so all four of the Psalms have that in common and I think that dealing with Psalms that Address the prosperity of the wicked is sort of a great way to Spend our election year before we move up to November.

I mean I'm down for it. I want to get God's perspective on the wicked and the righteous and the end of both and that's what these Psalms do. A Number of the Psalms in fact all four of the ones that we are going to be looking at Have elements of imprecation now if you were here at the beginning of the year for adult Sunday school class I did a series on the imprecatory Psalms.

An Imprecation is a desire a prayer for or request for the for God's judgment upon his enemies. It is a cursing of enemies and you see this prolifically in the Psalms. In fact, we noticed in that series that two-thirds of the Psalms have elements of imprecation in them either descriptions of God's judgment promises of God's judgment mentions of God's judgment or In some cases outright prayer for God to judge the enemies of the righteous that is the wicked.

Outright prayers or curses upon the wicked. Now, there is a theological framework in which we are to understand those imprecations. We don't dismiss them. We don't sort of write them off or anything like that, and we don't spiritualize them.

I'm not suggesting that you pray for God's judgment on the wicked, but you could probably pray for God's judgment on the wicked. That's the message of the imprecatory Psalms if you can do it in a theological way the way that scripture Suggests that we should view the wicked then there is room for Asking God to do away with the wicked one of the songs that we sang here today.

Did you read it Psalm 106 and the wicked shall be no more? And was actually a prayer that you sang for God to deal with the wicked. That is a biblical and righteous prayer. Now if you weren't here for the Sunday school class.

Much of what I'm going to be giving you here is in two Full messages that I gave introducing the Psalms and that Sunday school class is available online I would commend it to you. And if you always sort of wrestled with the idea of imprecations and curses in the in the Psalms I would just commend that to you.

There's eight eight sessions that we did but January February March. For February March in April of this year and those are available for you to get a little bit of background on that. I'm gonna deal with a few of the imprecations as we work through the Psalms.

But not as thoroughly as we did during the Sunday school hours now by. It's time to sort of introduce you to the Psalter and some of this is going to come from the series that I did in The Sunday school lessons some of this or most of this is new.

But it is necessary that we have some idea of the kind of book that we're going to be in for the next several months. This is not going to be a long series. Well, not not long comparative to other things like Hebrews as long John was long.

This is not going to be Hebrews long or book of John long. It might feel long like Ecclesiastes long that was short, but it was sort of felt long. This is gonna be somewhere in the middle of all of that.

I don't know how many weeks this is gonna take. It's not gonna be for so if you thought Psalm 1 Psalm 2 Psalm 37 Psalm 49. You're gonna be sorely disappointed by the time we get to this time next year and you're like, okay.

It sounds like we're wrapping this up. But I want to give you a brief sort of description of what this book is the book of Psalms. Its themes its theology its structure and a little bit of an understanding of the genre that we're going to be dealing with so this is not going to be a typical sermon where we have a text that I give you an exposition of or an explanation of.

It's gonna be a sort of selection of some passages from the Psalms and You'll ask you to turn to some of them. I'll just simply read some of them to you. But I want to give you an appreciation for the psalm so you see the value of the Psalter not just in our worship.

But also in our day-to-day lives in terms of application. First let's deal with a few misconceptions about the Psalms. This is a book of songs. They were part of Israel's worship. It would be most most like our a hymnal that we would have a collection of songs that we would use for different occasions.

This was part of Israel is the nation of Israel's worship and there were songs that were sung at Certain occasions like we have Christmas songs and Easter songs. There were songs that were sung at different holidays different occasions some some of the Psalms were sung at different different events like like a wedding event or like Ascending the hill of the Lord to come up and to worship and to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Some of them were sung at holidays. Some of them were part of just traditional worship exercises some were accompanied by various Instruments and in some of the superscripts of the Psalms you can see References to some of the instruments that would say for the choir director to be sung with and it would give you an instrument That it would to be sung with.

So there's some notations as to the instruments that the Psalms were written for. Here's the first misconception about the Psalms and one of them that Maybe many of you would already know this because I've mentioned this before in reading some of the Psalms.

But one misconception people have is that the superscripts above the Psalms are unimportant. You'll see in likely in your translation a smaller typeface. Above many of the Psalms not all of them. But above many of them a little introduction that tells you something important about the Psalm now.

There's some debate as to whether or not those were inspired scripture Written by the author in every instance or whether they were added later as the Psalms were compiled together. But they are important because they contain.

Introduction. Sometimes the author of the psalm is mentioned the occasion upon which the psalm was written which allows us to sort of put that psalm in its redemptive historical context. Sometimes the instrument upon which the psalm was to be sung is mentioned or even the purpose of the psalm and since you're in psalm 49 you'll notice before verse 1 that there is a pre a superscript there.

It says for the choir director a psalm of the sons of Cora that tells us there's a group of men who wrote this psalm. And it was directed for the choir director in indicating that was intended to be sung.

Psalm 49 was intended to be sung corporately or congregationally with the people. Look at before psalm 51 turn a page or two in your Bible psalm 51. Look at the superscript there for the choir director a psalm of David when Nathan the Prophet came to him.

After he had gone into Bathsheba. So that tells you that psalm 51 as you read about the confession and repentance and David's sin. It tells you the occasion upon which the psalm was written. These is confessing a certain particular very notable sin the sin with Bathsheba.

A second misconception. Is that these songs that these are songs and so they are theologically shallow and thus unprofitable. They kind of read through them and just sort of skip over them because they're just songs after all.

Now if you're used to thinking of songs in the terms of the way that we tend to write songs today. Then and then you go into the Psalter and begin to read that you're going to be struck with just how different how theologically rich the Psalter is.

I Have the joy joy joy joy down in my heart where down in my heart where down in my heart. I have the joy joy joy joy Down in my heart down in my heart today. If you're happy, and you know it clap your hands.

You're happy and you know it clap your hands now. That's your idea of worship. You're gonna be sorely disappointed by the Psalms but if you want songs and worship that is Grounded and driven by truth about God and his work then the Psalms is where you would turn for that.

It is an incredibly rich profoundly rich theological book as you're gonna see here in just a moment a third misconception about the Psalms is that the Psalms are a random collection of songs as If there were some songwriter in the nation of Israel who sort of jotted out a song.

I thought you know what that that'll sing. That's that's a good one. That's one of my better ones. We should probably add that to the book that we call the Psalms. All right. Well, let's throw that sort of in at the end.

What number we're at. Well 42. Okay. Well, this one will be number 43. And then grab another one. That's a really good one, too. We should probably throw that one in that's not how it worked. The Psalms are not a random collection of songs.

They're not compiled sort of helter-skelter in a scattered fashion or a thoughtless fashion in fact. There is a structure to the Psalms that is mind-boggling and I spent an entire hour in the Sunday school series on the structure of The Psalms you will notice before verse before number one.

In fact, if you just turn back a couple pages from Psalm 49 to Psalm 42 You'll notice that prior to Psalm 42 there is the words book to their book to that is because the Psalter is divided into five books.

Five books. The first book is Psalms 1 through 41. The second book begins at Psalm 42 and goes to Psalm 72. The third book is Psalm 73 through Psalm 89 the fourth book is Psalms 90 through 106 and the fifth book is Psalms 107 to 150 and there is a there's a structure there that you will see if you Observe the the meaning and the message of each of the Psalms and as I said, I spent a whole Hour on this in Sunday school, and I'm not going to belabor this right now.

But each of those five books they build one upon another. The first two books deal with David and his kingdom and the king that is promised to him. The third book deals with the sin and the failure of the nation of Israel and the seeming abandonment of God's people by God.

The fourth book looks forward to the return to exile after the Babylonian captivity and the fifth book Celebrates the return to the people to the land after the Babylonian captivity. So there is a structure to those five books and it is a magnificent structure in fact in within each of those five books.

There is a theological framework with each that each psalm unfolds and then you zoom in on each individual psalm. And there is a theological and poetic structure to each individual psalm. Do you know what a fractal is.

A fractal is one of those designs created by a mathematical algorithm? Mathematical formula and no matter how much you zoom in or zoom out you see these varying levels of design. That's what the psalms are dig into one verse of the psalm and you see structure and magnificence and parallelism.

There that is that is beautiful theology there that is beautiful. Then you zoom out to the structure of the entire psalm and you see a whole nother structure and a whole nother theology and a Beauty that is mind-boggling.

Then you zoom out to the level of the book itself book one book two book three four or five and you see a whole nother structure of all of those psalms are composed and Compiled together. And then you zoom out to the perspective of the entire Psalter and you find a book that is written over a thousand Years of Israel's history.

It's the only book in Scripture that's written over a thousand years. It's a magnificent structure. It is not a helter-skelter Random collection of songs that sort of struck the hearts of people. There is a theological purpose behind the positioning of the Psalms the ordering of the Psalms and the and the Creation of them and the way that they are laid out in the Psalter.

The focus of the Psalter is the king that is promised to David and to David's line and the book of Psalms is all about this king whom we Know to be the Lord Jesus Christ. It describes his kingdom his rule is his person his work.

It is about David and the type as David as a type of that coming King. James Johnson his commentary in the psalm says this with this in mind Psalms are about Christ in several ways. On the one hand They make specific predictions that were fulfilled in Christ.

On a deeper level the Psalms point forward to Christ. Through the life words emotions and experiences of King David as a whole. David is a model of the great King to come close. Quote. So what are you saying is in the Psalms?

We see we see David his emotion as experiences. David becomes the the prototype or the foreshadowing of a greater King who is to come from David's line. King King David was a man who was chosen by God to be King.

He was God's man to be King and David rules over the nation of Israel and he is persecuted by his enemies and even by other nations and Through the obedience of David to God's Word the people of Israel were blessed.

So David in his obedience to the Word of God becomes the vehicle through which God blesses his people through that abundant and peaceful and glorious reign of King David and Then David rules on behalf of Yahweh as Yahweh's representative.

So you can see how that looks forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is coming one from David's line who was the greater son of David. He is God's chosen man to rule on David's throne and he will rule not over Israel but over the nations and over the entire world and that rule and reign will be a conduit of immense blessing and prosperity to the people of God.

Jesus Christ becomes the fulfillment of the Davidic picture that we see in the book of Psalms. Now the Psalms are poetry this is the next point or the next. This isn't really an outline. I know you were to pretend this is an outline.

The Psalms are also poetry. It is a book written in poetic style, but it is Hebrew poetry. It's not poetry like you and I are familiar with in the Western world. It's Hebrew poetry. It's not the rhyming of words like you find in in great American poetry written by dr Seuss or Shel Silverstein or or Robert service?

I mean he wrote probably the best piece of English literature to ever be penned in the English tongue. The cremation of Sam McGee and that poem is just a brilliant brilliant Rhyming of words. You don't get that in Hebrew poetry.

You don't get the rhyming of words at all. In fact, it is the rhyming of ideas in Hebrew poetry. That might sound like a cop-out. Oh Sure, you just say it's the rhyming of ideas because you can't put forth the effort to rhyme your words.

That sounds like a cop-out doesn't it? Yeah like some modern poet who can't rhyme words who just vomits words out onto a page and hits return every once in a while to Make it look like it's in stanza form doesn't do punctuation or capitalization or anything like that.

And then then vomits it up at a convention and calls it poetry or something like that. That's not actual poetry. That's not what we mean. We say it's the rhyming of words. We mean that inside of Hebrew poetry.

It is the the first part of a line and the second part of a line that they they complement each other. It is the ideas of Hebrew poetry that rhyme and match with one another and there are various ways that they do this for instance and I'm not going to go into all of these but just to give you an idea of what you're going to see in the weeks.

To come as we notice some of these rhyming ideas in the Psalms that we're going to be looking at. Sometimes the words or the ideas rhyme as synonyms where you have the first line that makes a statement and the second line Repeats that first statement but using different words to kind of add a bit of a different shade to it.

It's the same thing stated from a different perspective so that you see two different descriptions of the same idea or the concept. Sometimes the the lines rhyme in the sense of being opposites. Whereas the first line and the second line are not mirror images are sorry are not Synonymous, but they're sort of mirror images or opposites of each other so that you have something stated positively and then something stated negatively.

So they're become an antagonistic Rhyming with one another but the same thing described from the positive side and the negative side. Sometimes it is the rhyming is an elaboration. The second line sort of gives more information the first line says something the second line adds more information like adding a phrase on and another description on and gives you more information as the concept of the first line is elaborated upon in subsequent lines and Sometimes it is a climactic parallelism.

Meaning that the first line is stated and then the second line sort of takes it to the next level. Emphasizes it and sort of brings it up a notch. Stating it in an even bolder and more graphic way than the first line does and there are seven different kinds of parallelism in Hebrew Poetry and we'll cover some of them as we have a chance to observe them.

But what I do want you to see here is the brilliance of the providence of God in giving us a book of inspired Poetry that does not rhyme the words, but the ideas. Because the the emphasis I should say the impact of English poetry that rhymes the end of each line or the words the emphasis is lost.

When and the substance of it is lost when you translate it into another language. Because other languages their same words their translations don't rhyme like ours do and so the sort of the import of it.

The the punch of the rhyming can be lost when you translate it into another language. But with Hebrew poetry doesn't matter what language you translate it into into. The impact is still there. The substance is still there.

The theology of it is still there. By God's good providence he gave us Hebrew poetry and not dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss wouldn't translate into another language but Hebrew poetry does and makes it theological writing because the Ideas rhyme and the rhyme of the the phrases and the truths mirror each other and parallel one another.

That makes it incredibly theological writing meaning that the truth the ideas take center stage and not the rhyming of the words. And this is intended to engage the mind in worship, which is really what worship is.

It is not the playing of the emotions like the way we play an instrument but it is the communication of truth out of a heart and that truth that informs and shapes the emotions and the Psalms are designed to Theologically inform and shape our emotions and our sentiments and our thinking.

This leads us to the next thing. The Psalms are theological or feel the Psalms as theology. God is a God of truth. Psalm 31 verse 5 says you have ransomed me Oh Lord God of truth. And Jesus said God is a spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

And if God is a God of truth, then we would expect that our worship should be truth driven. And that is what you find in the book of Psalms. The Psalms point us to the Word of God. Back to Psalms begin with the Word of God.