Shalom,
We are gathered together today only by the Word of God because it is not religion which is capable to redeem us from sins. Instead, it is only by the blood of the Lamb of God. Let us be grateful that His Grace overpowers our sins. Therefore, there shall be no other purpose for us to gather in church other than glorifying His name just like what Jesus’ disciples did.
Jesus’ disciples were deeply in mourn when their Teacher died because they did not understand the must-be-fulfilled prophecy that He had to terribly suffer till His death on the cross. However, He rose again after three days’death. During their following Jesus for three and a half years, what did Jesus teach them? The Law of Moses, the books of the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24: 44). Jesus then opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures (v. 45) hence they were not mourning anymore when Jesus ascended to Heaven. They returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and glorifying God (vv. 52—53).
The fact is the Temple of God in Jerusalem has been physically demolished and never rebuilt. Yet, we are the Temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3: 16). That is why we ought to be grateful and glorify Him. If we have not understood His word, ask Him to open our spiritual eyes so that we understand that our sole purpose is to glorify God, not others.
Take heed, we come to church regularly because we know that it is God’s will and that the Bible is written not just for the Jews but for all of us to glorify the Lord of which source is found in one of the books in the Bible, namely the Book of Psalms. Do you know the songs that we sing mostly originate from Psalms which then accompanied beautifully with musical instruments? To be honest, the nice rhythm and melody often arouse our emotion, setting us ablaze to enthusiastically sing along. Sometimes it is even forcedly adjusted to match with the music style in the modern days.
At that time, the Temple of God could not be used carelessly by the Jews and even Jesus was once got refusal of entry by the head priests, the scribes and the Pharisees. In the early church, the apostles received threats and even got kicked out from the Temple of God when they praised and manifested the power of God. What about us now? We have freedom to enter the Temple of God to glorify His name, but we choose to do the opposite—being reluctant to worship Him in His Temple.
We have finished studying the Gospel of Luke and now we are about to learn and discuss the Book of Psalms that was called the Book of Zabur in the past. Psalms are lyrics or songs that are accompanied by music and melody. Psalms came from the Jews àJudah, the fourth son of Lea who was unloved by her husband, Jacob. Lea named her son “Judah” and gave thanks to the Lord.
Even without chapters and verses, the Jews praised and glorified the Lord after they opened the scroll of Psalms. What we need to know is that the Book of Psalms is different from the other books that contain chapters and verses as they are connected one another to make storylines while chapters in Psalms do not exactly link with one another as they stand independently. The articles written in the Book of Psalms were collected by an archeologist in scrolls within 1,000 years.
We are given some understanding when we read the Book of Psalms because this book is easy to read even without explanation. It can be read and comprehended by people from different cultures – Greeks, Jews, Egyptians, Romans and us. Until now (± 2,500 years), there are still so many people using poetic words from the Book of Psalms as quotes in a speech or preaching/sermon. They contain a lot of emotions in it such as anger, stress, sadness, fear and so forth but oftentimes we are simply inspired by those words and turn them into songs regardles the writers’ feelings and intentions while they were writing them. For example: Psalm 23 originally was not accompanied by music and melody, but we do it otherwise. So, does the melody we sing along really express the purpose of the writer? Which one we love to sing, the popular version or the original one? Do you remember that it is not the melody or rhythm which is decisive but the content of Psalm 23 itself.
The Book of Psalms consists of 150 articles and they are divided into five chapters, namely:
- Chapter I: Psalms 1-41
- Chapter II: Psalms 42-72
- Chapter III: Psalms 73-89
- Chapter IV: Psalms 90-106
- Chapter V: Psalms 107-150
If we pay attention closely, the characteristics of the Book of Psalms are:
- Each chapter has its own theme/ topic, such as:
Psalm 1 àThe way of the righteous and the wicked.
Psalm 2 à The God-anointed king.
Psalm 3 àThe song in the face of adversaries. That was when David ran away from his son, Absalom, who rebelled and wanted to kill him. Not all problems must be faced head-on.
Psalm 4 à A prayer at night.
Psalm 5 à A prayer in the morning. Psalm 6 à A prayer in struggles.
Psalm 18 à The song of gratitude of David when he was freed from the hand of his father-in-law, Saul, who envied him. Nevertheless, David did not hate Saul and even hoped that Saul realized his mistake. Saul was a fickle person who planned to kill David again.
Psalm 22 à My God, why have You forsaken me?
The same outcry that Jesus said on the cross was in fact prophesized by David. It proves that each article has different subjects and purposes.
Psalm 23 à The Lord is my Shepherd.
We love Psalm 23 and even turned it into a song without knowing that Psalm 22 prophesized Jesus’ suffering.
Psalm 37 àThe joy of the wicked is temporary.
The Lord has indeed paved the path for those who live according to His will. However, it does not mean that we may delight in our righteousness and then mock those who have fallen.
- Some of them were accompanied by the melody of a harp (Psalms 4, 6), flute (Psalm 5) and other.
David was a shepherd who was good at playing musical instrument but not for fame and popularity. Pay attention, music can be modified but that does not mean it will always be fitting. For example: not every song can be accompanied by hand-clapping, for example: waltz (3/4) is not suitable to be sung with clapping hands.
- There are praises meant to be personal (such as: my praise) and there are also praises to be sung together (our praises). We praise the Lord in a group but we can also praise Him in our private Didn’t Jesus teach us the prayer of “Our Father (not my Father) in Heaven”? A personal prayer will still include those people around us (husbands/ wives, children, families, relatives, friends, nations, and so forth) because God created the sun to be enjoyed by all people.
- The transition from one book to another was always ended with a praise to glorify God. It was neither filled with complaints nor blames to the Lord, nor straying away from Him. For example:
Psalm 41: 14 à “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”
Psalm 72: 19 à “And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”
Psalm 89: 53 à “Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen.”
Psalm 106: 48 à “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Psalm 150: 6 à “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Hallelujah!”
We should be happy that we are given a chance to listen to the explanation of the Book of Psalms in which the words came from the hearts filled with grief, prayer and adoration to the Lord our God. Whatever condition we are in, we ought to be grateful and glorify the Lord because He never leaves us. He abides in our praises. Amen.