Recently someone ask Kris about what was up with the Psalms? It seemed you went from a Psalm of Praise and Worship to one of great anger, disappointment, and frustration.
I think it caught them a bit off guard to read a Psalm of Praise and then read a Psalm where the writer was asking God to smash the teeth of his enemies.
The Psalms are a bit of a reflection on life. There are great Psalms of celebration such as Psalm 136.
Listen: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.”
Psalm 8 is a Psalm of praise:
“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
There are 44 laments found in the Psalms.
A lament is a Psalm that starts off with a moan but ends up with a praise. Perhaps the most well-known lament is Psalm 22. You’ll recognize it when you hear the first couple of verses:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”
These were the words of Jesus just before He died on the cross. He was quoting from Psalm 22. It starts off with a moan but listen to how it ends up.
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. 29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”
Included in the Psalms are the songs that were sung as pilgrims made their way up to Jerusalem for the Holy Days such as Passover or Pentecost. These are called “Psalms of Ascent.” You can find these in Psalm 120-134.
Some Psalms are Messianic, predicting the coming of the Messiah. Some are called Thanksgiving Psalms and some recite the history of God’s dealing with His people from Egypt to the current day. The Psalms are real life and serve as a great example of how we are to approach God as we live our lives.
You can also find the Psalms that were sung during the Passover Celebration. These are called the “Hallel Psalms.” This would be Psalms 113-118. It is thought they would sing the first two or three before or during the meal and then the final ones after the meal. We belief these are the songs that Jesus and His disciples sang on the night He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We are currently studying the Psalms of Enthronement on Thursday Night. These are Psalms that celebrate the coronation of a King, such as David or Solomon. But they also are a celebration of God as King. There seven of these Psalms. Psalm 93-100 is one such group.
Another type of Psalm that I find interesting are the Psalms that were written either during or right after some historical event. Psalm 3 was written when King David’s son, Absalom tried to overthrow his father as king. David penned these words as he was fleeing.
Perhaps the most difficult type of Psalm for some of us to deal with is the imprecatory Psalm.
The word “imprecatory” means to call down evil or curses, as upon a person. In other words, it means to ask God to drop a rock on someone because of what they’ve done to you.
Here’s a sample from Psalm 69: “May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. 24 Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. 25 May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.”
The Psalms were written out of life. They are full of emotions, full of drama, full of honest expressions of emotions, frustrations, and disappointments.
I like to think of the Psalms as being honest expressions from people who are living real lives, dealing with real circumstances that are not from God and people who are dealing with their own messes from time to time.
They are honest. They are coming to God for help and finding God to be faithful. Just as we will find Him to be faithful.
Don’t shy away from God in tough times or in times that you don’t understand. Those are the times to come to Him, honest and vulnerable. He will not turn away from you, nor will He become angry with your questions or with your frustrations and disappointments. He will welcome you with open arms and hold you tightly as you hold to Him.
In Pursuit! 