Agere Sequitur Esse

Psalms

Book of Psalms

Notes.. .

. ..Introduction. By David (n = 73 or 75), Asaph, sons of Korah (n = 12), Solomon (n = 2), Herman with sons of Korah (n = 1), Ethan (n = 1), and Moses (n = 1). 51 or 49 psalms are anonymous. 12 psalms remain unaccounted for by the course lecture. The purpose was to provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, and confession to God. The person is David. The place is God’s temple.
. ..Themes. Praise, God’s Hour, Forgiveness, Thankfulness, and Faith of Israel Set to Music.
. ..Outline. “The theology of the Psalms is not abstract or philosophical, rather, its popular theology which emerges from corporate worship. It is really more of a theology of the people than the thoughtful formulations of systematic theologians. These religious poems reflect faith in God” (William Seay 2019, L8 23:15–23:42).
. ..Application. “The list of teachings we gain from psalms has no end. Its 150 songs cause us to pray, to praise, to confess, and to testify. The prayer path to God is open at all times to all people in all situations” (Seay 2019, L8 36:12–36:34).
. ..Timeline. Written between 1440 and 586.

Introduction. 18:50 – The purpose is to provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, and confession to God. There are several authors. David wrote 73 psalms. Asaph wrote twelve. The sons of Korah wrote nine. Solomon wrote two. Heman with the sons of Korah, Ethan, and Moses each wrote one. Fifty-one psalms are anonymous. However, the OT ascribes two of the anonymous psalms to David. These are psalms two and ninety-five. The key person is David. The key place is God’s holy Temple.

Themes. 19:55 – There are five major theological themes. (i) Praise. Psalms are psalms of praise to God as our creator, sustainer, and redeemer. Praises recognizing, appreciating, and expressing God’s greatness. (ii) God’s Hour. He is always acting at the right time. He is sovereign over every situation. God’s power is the way He reveals Himself in creation, history, and His Word. (iii) Forgiveness. Many psalms are intense prayers asking God for forgiveness. God forgives us when we confess our sin and turn from sin. (iv) Thankfulness. We are grateful to God for His personal concern, health, and mercy. Not only does God protect and guide and forgive us, but His creation provides everything we need. (v) Trust. God is faithful and just. When we put our trust in Him, He quiets our hearts. Because He has been faithful throughout history, we can trust Him in times of trouble. (v) Faith of Israel Set to Music. That is what we find in Psalms, the hymnbook of the bible. The 150 hymns provide a source of praise, prayer, and worship. They sound the notes of celebration and lament. They allow God’s people to speak to Him in every mood of life. Written over many centuries, the Psalms are a treasure of devotion; both, personal and national. They were not written to be analyzed but read, recited, and sung in the worship of God, the psalms mirror life and have God Himself as their central theme. Each psalm possesses a new setting and with faith to bring a special moment of life with all its hopes, needs, and frustrations before the Lord of life. The psalms provide a way for the human creature to meet and converse with the creator either in private devotion or public worship.

Outline. 23:15 – The theology of the Psalms is not abstract or philosophical, rather, its popular theology which emerges from corporate worship. It is really more of a theology of the people than the thoughtful formulations of systematic theologians. These religious poems reflect faith in God. The theme of the psalms are the presence of God and the continuing encounter of God and His people in worship. God is present in heaven, in His world, and Israel’s worship. This sense of the presence of the divine [ ] describe the face of God, the name of God, and the glory of God. These terms all describe the nearness of God. The psalmist was certain that God was near and would hear their payers. The psalms thus constitute a theology of worship and prayer.

24:25 – Since God Himself is the focus of the psalms, lets note that they teach about His character and many mighty acts on behalf of His people. (i) God is One. The psalms clearly reflect the unique monotheism of the OT. Israel did not worship many gods as did their neighbors, Israel gave all worship to the one and only God. (ii) God is holy. He is separate in a category by Himself. By nature, and moral actions, He is different from humans. He rightly expects His worshipers to be morally pure in building and utensils used in worship to be ritually clean. God’s mysterious holiness sets Him apart from all created beings and things. (iii) God is Spirit. In the OT, the Hebrew word for Spirit can be translated as ‘wind’ or ‘breath.’ God is eternal Spirit and not a mortal creature. Spirit is more than a symbol of God, it describes His very being, His creative power and His divine presence and guidance. His Spirit represents His power in the world. It gives healing and health. (iv) God is steadfast law. His Word describes both His nature and His activity for they are one in the same. God’s steadfast love is also called His covenant love. It describes how God deals with His people. God promised to be their God and they promised to live in obedience to His revealed will and the law. (v) Divine love includes God’s faithfulness and His total dependability. God cares and can be counted on to keep His promises. Every verse of Psalm 136 reminds us that His love endures forever. God’s dependable love calls for their corresponding faithfulness. We are under the demand of God’s steadfast love. He is holy love and not to be taken lightly. God’s steadfast love is revealed towards all of His creation and is not limited to Israel. The psalms frequently praise God mightily on behalf of individuals and the nation. The historical acts of God became the basis of faith and trust. His actions reflect His character. God creates, saves, reigns, elects, judges, and reveals Himself to all persons. Israel’s faith stood on two mighty creative acts. (i) The psalms celebrate God’s creation. The psalms also celebrate the creation of the nation Israel by delivering us as enslaved people from Egypt. Creation led Israel away from pagan worship and called pagan nations to praise Israel’s God. Such belief in God the Creator also called on Israel to call upon the natural elements; sun, moon, and stars to worship the God of Israel. A remarkable plane in a world where such elements were worshiped as chief God by Israel’s neighbors. Even feared sea monsters were viewed as frolicking creatures of Israel’s God. (ii) God rules because God is Creator of nature and director of human history. He controls nature and historical events. Free human sinners way thwart His purpose for the time being, but His ultimate goal for creation and His purpose of redemption shall be achieved. The will of God shall be done on earth and in history as it is done in heaven. The ultimate goal of the Lord is an age of peace. The realization of the kingdom of God on earth. To say God is sovereign king of the universe means He cannot be controlled or manipulated by men and women. He hears our laments and complaints but remains free to act how and when He chooses. He saves from destruction and dispenses justice. God’s sovereignty extends over the whole of creation and all the nations. His kingdom across all generations is everlasting.

Revelation. God reveals Himself. People do not discover God; He reveals Himself to them in special events such as the Exodus from Egypt and the coming of Christ. God disclosed Himself to those ready to receive Him. He raised prophets such as Moses to interpret His acts of revelation to His people.

God chooses. God chose to reveal himself in a particular land to an elect nation. He elected Abraham and the nation of Israel, but His purpose included all nations. Such election involves both privilege and the responsibility to obey God and share one’s faith. Evangelism and mission result from the electing love of God. God’s election is always of grace at always at the divine initiative. No human can deserve the electing love of God. As humans, we can only experience God’s loving elections and respond in praise and gratitude, obedience, and worship. Election causes us to live in covenant relationship with the Creator and with one another.

God forgives. The psalms take sin seriously. All sin is opposed to God and all people are sinners. The psalms divide all people into two groups. The friends of God, the forgiven sinners. The enemies of God and His people, those who do not seek divine forgiveness. Psalm 1 sets forth this truth, clearly. The psalmist depicts these two types of people and what happens to them. Many different words describe our separation and estrangement from our maker. These expressions include missing the mark, evil, wickedness, transgression, and iniquity. Because the psalmist took sin seriously they focused the importance of divine forgiveness. To experience divine forgiveness, people must turn from sin and return to the Lord.

God saves. Psalms couple divine forgiveness with salvation. This concept has several facets. God saves from pain and suffering to wellness and wholeness. He saves from sin to pardon. He saves from the danger of death to life. Salvation in the psalms is both material and spiritual. God saves us in the midst of suffering with His presence, comfort, and simultaneously saves believers from suffering and penalty of our sins. God does not treat our sins fairly. Instead, God Himself atones for our sins; covering over the sins. He lifts the burden of guilt, cancels the sins debt, and no longer remembers our sin against us. Forgiveness, atonement, and salvation are rooted in the gracious nature and activity of God. He wants to be our Redeemer.

The psalmist teaches that humans are endowed with the power of moral choice. They also show humans as the crown of God’s creation. The psalmist stood in awe and wonder at our place in the panorama of creation. God is the source of human dignity and is the hope of our destiny. He made us a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned us with glory and honor. He gave us dominion over the created world and nature and animals. How can we respond? We respond by praising our Creator. In the psalms, we find no complete doctrine of life after death. Usually, the psalmist spoke of existence after death as Sheol. This is a shadowy existence of both the wicked and righteous dead with no remembrance or praise of God. While God’s presence might be in Sheol, they felt more certain of it in the land of the living. Apparently, as far as the ancient Hebrews knew, death was destruction. The truth of death is departure to be with the Lord; awaiting a fuller revelation. Only Christ’s resurrection fully unlocks deaths fearful mystery. The psalms do reflect human longing for eternal life, however, at best, the psalmist only has a hint of what will be revealed at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God had not yet brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.

Application. 36:05 – The list of teachings we gain from psalms has no end. Its 150 songs cause us to pray, to praise, to confess, and to testify. The prayer path to God is open at all times to all people in all situations. At all times we should take our feelings to God. He hears and accepts us. In His own way, He does answer us. He brings salvation to our lives. Sins plagued Egypt. We rebel against God’s way. God waits for us to confess our sins. He does not give us what we deserve. He forgives, redeems, and renews our life. We may not be able to sing but we can praise God. We need to be aware of the great acts He has accomplished and is accomplishing even now in our lives and the great things He is to accomplish for us in creation in His saving actions through Jesus Christ. Knowing He acts for us, we can rejoice and praise Him at all times. We have no monopoly on God. He has chosen us to help all nations praise Him. We must daily testify to others what God has done for us and what God is doing for us.

Timeline. 38:00 – The psalms were written over several centuries. It was written between c. 1440 and c. 586 BC.

Ref.

Seay, William. 2019. Old Testament Theology [MP3]. Andersonville Theological Seminary (ATS). Camilla, GA: ATS