Psalm Singing History

Application: This text refer to me in many ways. I remember reading this text as a young child. My grandmother use to keep the bible open up on the table with this page displayed. I remember this text by heart early on in life. I goes to the text in the bible for comfort. When I goes to other people house I have seen the bible laying around to Psalm 23

Everyday millions of Americans read stories to their children before they go to bed. I often read Dr. Seuss books to my son Seth, who is four years old. He loves the rhythm and rimes that are those books. One of his favorites is Green Eggs and Ham. Seth has begun to answer the questions of Sam, answering him for the other character saying “he does not like green eggs and ham”. It caught my attention that some of the Psalms also have a repetitive nature. Psalm 119 is the longest of all the Psalms and is very repetitive. Many people only read one section of the Psalm because of the repetitive nature and do not look at the chapter as a whole. There is a lack of churches teaching on the Psalms and some a not reading them at all. Psalm 119 is more than a long repetitive Psalm, reading it as one passage there is evidence of determination by the author to show why following the Lord’s teaching is vital to life as a Christian.

In The Spirituality of Psalms the author, Walter Brueggeman, a Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological seminary, convincingly makes the claim that faith in the Book of Psalms “is focused on two decisive moves of faith” regarding the faith of Israel (p.9): (1) the move from a season of settled orientation to disorientation, and (2) the move from disorientation to a new orientation (p. 11). Furthermore, the author focuses his claim around three general themes regarding the types of psalms found in the Book of Psalms: “psalms of orientation, psalms of disorientation, and psalms of new orientation” (p.8). Understanding these three types of psalms, and how they relate to one another, plays a crucial part in not only understanding the

These psalms deal with the seasons of life that are painful and chaotic because of “hurt, alienation, suffering, and death”. Both lament psalms and wisdom psalms fall under this category. Although Bullock does not select psalm fifty in his categorization of Wisdom Psalms, there many correlations with the traits of his classification. His description includes admonition, reward and retribution, as well as antithetical ways of life, all of which are found in Psalm 50.

Looking at the Hebrew Bible, the Psalms fall into the Ketuvim, or “Writings.” The Hebrew Bible has Psalms listed as tehillâ; “a derivative of hālal. This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in the lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of an object.” The book of Psalms renders itself to speak into every situation a person could have; in times of sadness, happiness, when looking for some wisdom, or just feeling thankful for who he is and all he has done in your life. Dr. Cartledge stated in his lecture on Psalms that “the central overriding theme of Psalms is the presence or absence of God.” In the Jewish tradition, there are descriptions at the beginning of the psalms that will tell either who wrote it, who it is written to, or the song tune. When reading this scriptural passage, the first thing I asked myself was,

Psalm 116 is a great read for us as Christians and for us as moms. Psalms 116 speaks of the benefits and blessings of God’s Word. But, in order to get the benefits and blessings of the Word we must first study, meditate, and walk out the passages. My greatest motivation for keeping God’s Word close to my heart and my study game strong is my children.

In conclusion, I learn something new every time I read the Bible, and one verse can change my perspective in life for the better. Psalms is one of my favorite books from the Bible because its gives my motivation but most importantly it brings me peace. Now that this semester is wrapping up and finals coming next week, these verses help me to have more trust in God during

The book of Psalms is an indispensable literature for those believers that wish to worship God in Spirit and in truth. The name “Psalms” originates from the Hebrew language which means "praises". However, Christian worship is not limited to singing songs of praise. “Biblical worship encompasses our heart’s desire, our love for God. This kind of worship has been a part of every great spiritual awakening in history.”

This psalm lacks some important poetic features that are normally used in a literary and poetic work. There is a lack of symmetry, of word pairing, of chiastic patterns, and of figure. Despite the absence of these common literary and poetic devices, there is still the presence of poetic imagery shown in some verses for example the image of a shepherd looking out for his flock in verse one. This psalm also contains semantic coherence, and terseness of style. Even though this psalm is different from other psalms, in overall in contains a good use of literary and poetic devices that are important in a poem.

In my observation the psalm begings and ends with the outburst of congregational praise of God's majestic name. Within those verses comes the praise of God's particular works (overturning foes in B; blessing human's in B), and at the center , the wondering awe of the poet (C). However, instead of an isolating “me,” vewing a distant universe is existential anxiety, “I' (C) stands surrounded by the gracious and protecting works of God (B/B) and the congregstion gathered to sing God's praise (A/A). This tructure of the psalm could be molded for the congregation by reading or singing it in worship in three groups: A, B, and C, corresponding to the segaments of the psalm. The format in Psalm 8, as in Genesis 1 to which refers, is the relationship between humanity (us!)

One can say that the book of Psalms is one of the true precious jewels a Christian has today. These books have often been looked at as a source of comfort, encouragement, and instruction on how to praise God. As psalm twenty-nine is examined, one can argue that this is a key psalm of praise, and it speaks on the glory of God through nature.

The purpose of this paper has been to provide an exposition of Psalm 23 in order to provide sufficient evidence for arriving at an understanding that proves the LORD is the only need in a person’s life due to his role as shepherd. In verse 1, David introduces the reader to the LORD of his life. In verse 2, David mentioned the relaxation the shepherd permits the sheep to enjoy. In verse 3, David proceeds from verse 2 to benefit from a place to rest while getting direction from the Lord. In verse 4, David articulated his approach to protection by the shepherd. Verse 5 speaks of David receiving food and sustenance from the LORD.

The origin of the Psalter can be traced to Temple Worship, where its contents were used ‘not for private prayer, but for public performance’ (Wilson, 2002:23) Some Psalms provide specific contextual settings for worship activities and others explicitly point back to the Levitical choir singers who ministered using them.

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103, NIV). Such a glorious description of God’s Word as one meditates on it. Engaging one’s senses and savoring the sweetness of the Spirit’s gentle calling, it envelops the individual as they seek to hear God’s voice. Formative reading of Scripture awakens the soul as it anticipates a conversation with God, and a deepening of their personal relationship with Him (Issler, 2012, p. 124). This journal entry will reflect on the practice and evaluation of spiritual reading of Scripture, and its affect on my approach to meditating and reading Scripture in the future.

The following is not a biblical story, but one I find applicable in my walk with God and community with humanity. It is the story about the kid walking the beach and throwing starfish back into the ocean. Someone asked why are you doing this when there are so many more than you can help? The response is that helping that one was important for that one. The following Psalms are supportive of the idea that I have a responsibility to share God to those around me. I can use Psalms to show the progression from creation to attitude and hope while also sharing the story of Christ. Most important to me is the ability to share through my actions that lead to conversations. These three Psalms give me a base to work from as I mature into the adult I hope to become.