Introduction:
Continuing in our study of the
books of experience, we now turn to the book of Psalms.
In many Bible reading plans there
is an attempt to read five Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs every day, thus
covering these two books in one month. For herein is wisdom and herein is
experience. The Psalmist gives us a key—it is the same key that was at the
heart of Job’s experience.
Trust in the Lord
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put
confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (Ps.118:8,9).
For faith will be answered by the
faithfulness of God;
“I will sing of the loving-kindness
of the Lord forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness
with my mouth” (Ps.89.1).
The Psalter
The Psalter is divided into 5:
Book
1 - Psalms 1 to 41:
Book
2 - Psalms 42 to 72 :
Book
3 - Psalms 73 to 89 :
Book
4 - Psalms 90 to 106 :
Book
5 - Psalms 107 to 150
Each book ends in a doxology and either
an Amen or a Hallelujah.
Book 1 ends with: “Blessed
be the Lord,
the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen
and Amen.” (41:13)
Book 2 ends with “Blessed
be the Lord
God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious
name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen,
and Amen. (72:18–19) Then it adds, “The
prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” (72:20)
Book 3 ends with: “Blessed
be the Lord
forever! Amen and Amen.”
(89:52)
Book 4 ends with: “Blessed
be the Lord,
the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people
say, “Amen.”
Praise the Lord!”
(106:48)
Book 5 ends with: “Let
everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise
the Lord!”
(150:6)
These verses encourage us to always say “Amen”
to
the will of God, for that must be followed, perhaps not immediately, but
eventually, with Hallelujah, that is, “Praise the Lord”.
The Psalter is a very large book, and
deals with a multitude of subjects, and as always, any grouping will have
severe limitations. The suggested themes have been selected to bring to the
fore certain truths, but the multi-faceted wisdom that is found in its pages
cannot be confined to any structure imposed from without. Nevertheless, the
pattern suggested here, under the blessing of God, may help some. May it be so.
To
help us group them under subject headings it is sometimes suggested that we
align them to the five books of experience. Five books that, among other
things, describe five aspects of faith.
Book 1 is aligned to Job (faith
struggles);
Key
Psalm—22
Book 2 is aligned to Psalms (faith prays);
Key
Psalm—51
Book 3 is aligned to Proverbs (faith understands);
Key
Psalm—84
Book 4 is aligned to Ecclesiastes (faith meditates);
Key
Psalm—103
Book 5 is aligned to Song of Songs (faith
sings);
Key
Psalms—120-134
Another way of expressing these aspects of faith:
Book
1 : Faith that struggles (the conflict of faith).
Book 2 : Faith that prays (the cry of faith).
Book 3 : Faith that rests (the quietness of faith).
Book 4 : Faith that meditates (the contemplation of faith).
Book 5 : Faith that praises (the conquest of faith)
Book 1 : The Conflict of Faith (Faith that Struggles) (Ps. 1-41)
If God’s minimum is faith, and
there is nothing for unbelief, then faith will be attacked by Satan the
adversary. Faith is the cord that connects us to God and he would like to cut
that cord. Satan is the deceiver—he is dishonest, duplicitous, insincere and a
liar. He is a slanderer who would, “separate
intimate friends” (Prov, 16:28).
In the Garden of Eden he succeeded in
separating Adam and God. After the entry of sin, Adam hid from God; but the end
of sin is where God hides from man. Hell is the final separation; therefore
Satanic temptations are aimed at separating man and God.
The key psalm of this first section
is 22, which includes, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (v.1)
When Christ uttered the cry of dereliction it was when He was bearing the sins
of mankind. He really was ‘God-forsaken’. For those who have received Christ as
their Saviour they have the comfort of a great Scriptural promise “for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor
will I ever forsake you,”” (Heb. 13:5); but the Devil will insinuate that He has,
that
‘God has forsaken us’.This is at the heart of the conflict of faith. Job said, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to
His seat!” (Job 23:3). What can we do in these
circumstances? Answer: Pray!!!
This is the next section of the Psalms—the prayers of David.
Book 2 : The Cry of Faith (Faith that Prays) (42– 72)
When we are oppressed what can we do
but cry unto the Lord. Prayer in its essence is crying unto the Lord. Not
making sermons; not making well rounded sentences; but crying unto the Lord.
You are shut in a room of doubt and
despair and you must make someone hear – cry unto the Lord. The hero in
Pilgrim’s Progress was shut up – he agonised for hours – and then remembered he
had a little key in his pocket – the key was faith – and soon he is in the open
air again.
Book
2 is introduced by Psalm 42, “As
the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul
thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”” (vv.1–3)
The
picture seems to be of an animal in distress. The Psalmist is saying, ‘unless I
can get through to God I am finished’. He is being taunted—they say to him “Where
is your God?” Satan will say ‘God is not there’. Verse 9 sums it up: “I will say to God my rock, “Why
have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the
enemy?”
The key Psalm is 51, “Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take
Your Holy Spirit from me.” (v.11).
The answer to the conflict of faith
is the cry of faith. Asking God for things is minor. The essence of prayer is
seeking God.
‘My
goal is God Himself,
not
joy, nor peace, not even blessing;
but Himself my God’.
This
section ends triumphantly,
“Blessed be the Lord
God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious
name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”
(Psalm 72:18–20)
