Prepared for Psalms Group, 9/20/20
Our current lectionary readings in I Kings, the minor prophets, and Hebrews, coupled with Judaism’s high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur triggered my curiosity about actual worship in the tabernacle and temple (original and second). How do the Psalms, eventually the hymnbook of the Second Temple, inform us about and lead us in God-focused worship?
The Joyful Experience and Expectation of Salvation
My Help and My Deliverer
This psalm has two literary types:
These psalms/songs praise God in response to an event of deliverance already experienced. They are songs sung by people who, after a time of waiting, have experienced the goodness of God in the everyday world. These songs come from ordinary individuals, the king (royal), or the believing community.
Examples: Psalms 30, 32, 34, 65, 67, 92, 107, 116, 124, 138 and others
More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.
Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others
1 John 4:1-19
Note that the verse numbering in the New Coverdale version below differs from the ESV.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
40
Expectans expectavi
1 I waited patiently for the Lord, *
and he inclined to me, and heard my call.
2 He brought me out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay; *
he set my feet upon the rock, and secured my footing.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth, *
a song of thanksgiving unto our God.
4 Many shall see and fear, *
and shall put their trust in the Lord.
5 Blessed is the man who has set his hope in the Lord, *
and has not turned to the proud, or to those who go about lying.
6 O Lord my God, great are the wondrous works which you have done, and also your thoughts toward us; *
there is none who can be compared with you.
7 If I should declare them and speak of them, *
they would be more than I am able to express.
8 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, *
but my ears you have opened.
9 Burnt offerings and sin offerings you have not required, *
and so I said, “Behold, I come;
10 In the volume of the book it is written of me, that I delight to do your will, O my God; *
indeed, your law is within my heart.”
11 I have declared your righteousness in the great congregation; *
behold, I will not restrain my lips, O Lord, and that you know.
12 I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart; *
my talk has been of your truth and of your salvation.
13 I have not concealed your loving mercy and truth *
from the great congregation.
14 Withdraw not your mercy from me, O Lord; *
let your loving-kindness and your truth always preserve me.
15 For innumerable troubles have encompassed me; my sins have taken such hold of me that I am not able to look up; *
indeed, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart has utterly failed me.
16 O Lord, let it be your pleasure to deliver me; *
make haste, O Lord, to help me.
17 Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek after my soul to destroy it; *
let them be driven backward and rebuked who wish me evil.
18 Let them be desolate and rewarded with shame *
who say to me, “Aha, Aha.”
19 Let all those who seek you be joyful and glad in you; *
and let those who love your salvation say always, “The Lord be praised.”
20 As for me, I am poor and needy, *
but the Lord cares for me.
21 You are my helper and deliverer; *
do not tarry, O my God.