An Extravagant Claim

The Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung. C.S. Lewis

The extravagant claim is that the Psalms are necessary. Is Necessary too strong a word? Eugene Peterson

If you are looking for a prayer book, the book of Psalms is resting in the middle of the Old Testament; whispering to those that will hear; pray through me…the Psalms are God’s gift to train us in prayer. The prose and poetry of this treasure is unmatchable. 

The Psalms are at the helm of the Writings; divinely inspired, “They shape our response to God’s word through the practice of prayer in the life of faith.”[1]

 

The Psalms have been the prayer liturgy for centuries, Jews and Christians alike find hope and healing in the Psalms. While it remains vital to Jewish Liturgy, Christian have relinquished the gift. Such a treasury we are overlooking. 

“To many Gentile Christians, the Psalms appear to be a little more than the simple songs of an ancient Jewish culture. To the Jew, however, the Psalms enjoy a very special position. They comprise a major portion of Jewish liturgy. David, to whom many psalms are ascribed, is considered on the same exalted plane with Adam and Messiah. According to the Talmud, the three Hebrew letters of Adam’s name represent the initials of three men: Adam, David, and Messiah. What Adam began, David continued, and Messiah will complete.  (Sanhedrin 107a).”[2]

"In the act of praying the Psalms the faded memory of our creation is brought into experienced clarity." Eugene Peterson

I have grown to love the Psalms with all my heart. I have prayed them, sung them, cried through them. I read—prayed each one aloud to my father, as he lay unconscious awaiting the arms of the Lord to receive him into his eternal home. I have included them in my daily routine, in the midst of busyness and chaos, I stop, breathe and sing a few to keep my mind on Him… Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Is. 26:3 KJV).

A couple years back in time, on my Finding Rest In God blog, the journal I laid to rest, I posted a few Psalms— Psalms to See Me Through, certain Psalms that gave me peace in the midst of a storm, healing in the midst of heartache, joy in the midst of sorrow. I chose a few choice Psalms that truly spoke to my heart. Here, I seek to expound on all one-hundred-fifty Psalms.  I pray that as we walk through them, you too will find peace, healing, and joy. I pray the poetic prose become a constant companion, and that as you read through them with me, you hear God’s voice, and lift yours to Him through these magnificent poem-prayers. May they be a constant voice speaking peace into your spirit. That is my prayer for you. 

I echo the plea of N.T. Wright in his The Case For the Psalms, 

Sing these songs, and they will renew you from head to toe, from heart to mind. Pray these poems, and they will sustain you on the long, hard but exhilarating road of Christian discipleship.

In His Grace,

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[1] Eugene Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms as Tools For Prayer, (New York: HarperCollins, 1989), 31.

[2] J.R. Church, Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms, (Oklahoma City: Prophecy Publications, 1990), 36.

The Wonder's of God's Word Part IV: Christ revealed ~ His Holiness

Within the last couple of years, I frequently view Criminal Minds (I know, real poetic right?). It is not because I enjoy gruesome murders and serial killers, it is the psychology and the forensics which fascinates me (though I have had to cease viewing-my dreams became a bit dark and disturbed). I am intrigued by the process of the discovery of a small bit of evidence and then the Behavioral Science Team is able to assemble a profile on the “unsub” and by the end of the show, know everything about the suspect and why he committed the crimes.

This fascination has infiltrated my study of the Bible—no, I do not compare the Bible with Criminal Minds. But as we examine the Old Testament, we find clues of the promised Messiah, and find ourselves in the middle of a beautiful tapestry of God’s Word, His Logos. By the Revelation—the end of all history, we know exactly who Christ is and why He died and rose again, and why He loves this wretched human race, we know the end of the story. We witness the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament spoke concerning Him. 

C.S. Lewis passionately wrote concerning the Old Testament:

“But this is one of the rewards of reading the Old Testament regularly. You keep on discovering more and more what a tissue of quotations from it the New Testament is; how constantly our Lord repeated, reinforced, continued, refined, and sublimated, the Judaic ethics, how very seldom he introduced a novelty” (Lewis 1958, 26).

I have expressed it before, but the point cannot be overemphasized, the Old Testament lays the ground work for the New. Without the clues (prophecies) concerning Christ woven in the Old Testament Writ by the poets and prophets…we could not be certain that Jesus is who He claimed to be. The Lord in all His wisdom created the world and set forth a path, a story to follow, His passion for humanity and the promise of redemption for a despairing, discouraged, dying people. His story begins in Genesis. 

“Since in the end we are to come to baptism and the Eucharist, to the stable at Bethlehem, the hill of Calvary, and the emptied rock-tomb, perhaps it is better to begin with circumcision, the Passover, the Ark, and the Temple For “the highest does not stand without the lowest”. Does not stand, does not stay; rises, rather, and expands, and finally loses itself in endless space. For the entrance is low: we must stoop till we are not taller than children in order to get in” (Lewis 1958, 88).

I pray that as you read the prophecies concerning Christ and their fulfillment, that the Holy Spirit awakes in you a love for the Word. A love that fills your heart to overflowing and unstops the wells of living water down inside you.

Christ’s character will be revealed to you through these poetic prophecies. Everything you need, Christ is—He is good; trustworthy; He is just; guiltless and obedient. He is patient and benevolent; He is full of Mercy and Grace and longs to pour it upon you like rain. Let’s begin with His holiness….

His Holiness

Prophecy:

Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? Ex. 15:11 NASB

But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain. Psalm 2:6 NASB

Fulfillment:

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 NASB

Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? John 8:46 NASB

For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. Acts 4:27 NASB

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens. Revelation 3:7 NASB

I pray that The Holy Spirit hover over you as you read the Word fulfilled; that He whisper into your ears and awaken you to His glory.

And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3 NASB

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME. Revelation 4:8

In His Grace,

Lewis, C.S. 1958. Reflections on the Psalms. San Diego: Harvest/HBJ Publishers.