The Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146–150) Introduction Have you ever heard people criticising that Christian praise songs are too repetitive? Well, the five psalms that the Book of Psalms concludes with are also a bit repetitive! Each psalm starts and ends with the Hebrew word: Hallelujah. In your English translation, you should have “Praise the Lord” or something similar. (Hallelujah means Praise the Lord.) The Book of Psalms concludes with 10 Hallelujahs (opening and closing of …
Psalms – Hymns and Prayers of God’s People Book 5 (Psalms 107–145) Introduction Many see this collection of psalms as having the theme of “return from exile”. When compiled, they would have been of great comfort to those during the Babylonian/Persian captivity and to those who returned to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. However, this is also a common theme in Scripture. The Exodus can be seen as a return to the land after an …
Book 4 (Psalms 90–106) Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s goodness Let’s begin our time of studying God’s Word with prayer: Gracious Heavenly Father, be with us as we come together to study your Word, and also protect our loved ones who are not with us. Through the Holy Spirit open our hearts and our ears so that we may be nurtured and sustained by your Word that is spoken through the psalms. In Jesus’ …
Book 4 (Psalms 90–106) Psalm 90 As we gather around God’s Word to study another psalm, let us pray together that God the Father will speak to us through the Holy Spirit: Gracious Heavenly Father, we come as individuals and groups into your presence. We come from the busy-ness of life, and we sit at your feet as Mary did. We ask and pray that you will lessen the distractions of life, that you will …
Book 3 (Psalms 73–89) We continue our journey through the psalms of “Book 3”. Following last month, we will pick two psalms that are not by David. These are from the sons of Korah. Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron (see Numbers 16). His sons, however, did not die (see Numbers 26:9–11). The descendants of Korah served the Lord God faithfully. Do the sins of our parents (or grandparents) stop us from serving …
Psalms – Hymns and Prayers of God’s people Book 3 (Psalms 73–89) Introduction Christopher Ash gives a fine introduction to Book 3 of the Psalms: Book 3 consists of Psalms 73–89. It has the scent of the Babylonian exile; this is most evident in Psalms 74, 79, and (probably) 80. The tone changes sharply from the emphatically Davidic themes of books 1 and 2. This is not to say that every psalm in book 3 …
Book 2: Psalms 42 to 72 As we gather around God’s Word to study another psalm, we come to God in prayer: Our Father in Heaven, we come into your presence to feast upon a portion of your Word. As we gather, pour out your Holy Spirit, so that our conversations may be guided by you and your will. Be with our loved ones while we are here and please protect them from all physical …
Book 2: Psalms 42 to 72 As you begin this study let us pray: Gracious Father, we thank you for the psalms and for those who wrote them. We ask that as we continue to look at the psalms that you will open our spiritual and physical eyes and ears to hear your word and appreciate our conversations with each other as we discuss the psalms. In your dear Son’s name. Amen. I have several …
Psalms – Hymns and Prayers of God’s people Book 1: Psalms 3 to 41 We continue our journey through the psalms of “Book 1”. We will follow last month and just pick two psalms and look at them in more depth. I hope this encourages you to spend more time in the Psalms. Psalm 27 When I was young, I often had relatives (on my Mum’s side) ask me what my favourite psalm was. This …
Psalms – Hymns and Prayers of God’s people Book 1: Psalms 3 to 41 Introduction Last month we looked at the opening two Psalms, which provide an introduction to the whole collection. Christopher Ash argues that we should always keep Psalms 1 and 2 beside us as we read the other psalms: Psalms 1 and 2 have set before us a good rule and a good Ruler. The good rule is the Law of God …
Psalms – Hymns and Prayers of God’s people INTRODUCTION – Psalms 1 and 2 If a Bible with study notes, such as the NIV Study Bible or The Lutheran Study Bible is available, it will prove an invaluable tool during these studies. This month we will look at the Introductory Psalms, namely Psalms 1 and 2. Read Psalm 1 Note this Psalm has no heading and no author is given. It has also not been …
INTRODUCTION If a Bible with study notes such as the NIV Study Bible or The Lutheran Study Bible is available, it will prove an invaluable tool during these studies. In his popular (brief) commentary on the book of Psalms, Australian Lutheran theologian, the late Dr JTE (Erich) Renner wrote: “Of all the many books of the Old Testament, it can be safely asserted the Psalter has been the most treasured in the history of the …