WEEK 16 |
psalms this week |
"When you pray, intend to make your prayer as complete and honest as you can. If you are dissatisfied with the results of your effort, do not be too angry with yourself. Do not complain that God has not given you the kind of devotion He gives to others. Instead, acknowledge your weakness, consider it a valid prayer, and trust that in His mercy God will make it good." |
Psalms 46, 47, and 48.
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introduction to the Series
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Most of what we learn how to do, we learn from other people. Sometimes it is the learning that comes from specific and deliberate instruction. At other times it is the learning that comes by way of example and imitation. During 2023, our endeavor is to learn how to pray from the Psalmist.*
The Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, and it is mostly a book of prayers. We will spend the year going through the book, beginning to end, and letting the Psalmist teach us by example how to pray. |
In this endeavor, we cannot benefit from his deliberate instruction, of course. What we can do, however, is take full advantage of his example. We will observe how he prays, and we will learn to imitate him.
Our approach will be week by week. The recommended practices and exercises are not daily, but rather suggestions for an individual to implement throughout the whole week. |
Exercises for this week
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Psalm 46
Read Psalm 46. This Psalm is not a prayer in the traditional sense of being addressed to God. As you read it, consider to whom it is addressed. Whom do you imagine the Psalmist had in mind as his audience? To what extent is it addressed to you?
While Psalm 46 is not written to God, it is very much written about God. Reflect just now on one aspect of what the Psalmist says about God: that is, His deeds. As you read the Psalm, make a list of the things that the Psalmist says God does, has done, or will do. Talk to the Lord about the list you have just made. How much of it resonates with your own personal experience? What else would you add to the list if you wrote this prayer yourself? As we have noted, while Psalm 46 is not written to God, it is written about God. Reflect just now on another aspect of what the Psalmist says about God: that is, His attributes. As you read the Psalm, make a list of the things that the Psalm reveals about the nature, the character, or the attributes of God. Talk to the Lord about the list you have just made. How much of it resonates with your own personal experience? What else would you add to the list if you wrote the prayer yourself? Verse 1 is not only an affirmation about God but also a personal testimony. To what extent is it your testimony? How has this verse been proven true in your own life and experience with Him? Talk to Him about it. Reflect on verses 2 and 3. What is the Psalmist trying to convey? If you were trying to communicate the same truth about God as the Psalmist was in verses 2 and 3, what language and imagery would you use? Rewrite verses 2 and 3 in a way that might be meaningful and impactful for a modern audience. Verse 10 represents a sudden change in speaker. For this one verse, it seems, we hear what God has to say. Reflect on how verse 10 is related to the verses that precede it. Reflect on how verse 10 is related to the verses that follow it. To what extent do you believe verse 10 continues to be a word that God speaks to us today? What are the implications for you? Talk to Him about it. Verse 7 and verse 11 are identical. Rewrite that verse in your own words. Make it your own personal expression and affirmation. Reflect on how verses 7 and 11 are related to verse 1. Talk to the Lord about the connections between these verses. |
Psalm 47
Read Psalm 47. This brief Psalm is all about God. Some Psalms, as we have seen, are very much about the Psalmist's feelings and experiences. In this case, however, we know almost nothing about the Psalmist or his situation: this Psalm is all about God. Accordingly, be deliberate about letting the Psalmist teach you about the Lord. Pretend that you know nothing about the God of the Bible at all -- you've never heard of Him or anything about Him -- and then you read this Psalm. Based on Psalm 47 alone, write down what you know about Him.
Review in prayer the list generated in the previous step. Talk to the Lord about how much of what the Psalmist says about Him resonates with your own personal experience. Psalm 47 might naturally be classified as a Psalm of praise, yet it is not so much spoke to God as about God. Talk to the Lord about that phenomenon. Talk to Him about how such a Psalm pleases Him. Talk to Him about how such a Psalm honors Him. Talk to Him about the different roles of praise "to Him" vs. praise "about Him." The Psalmist addresses himself to other people. To what extent has this practice been part of your experience? That is to say, have you called upon -- urged, encouraged, challenged -- other people to praise the Lord? When might that be the right thing for you to do? In what setting? With what people? How might the Psalmist be a role model for you in this regard? According to the Psalmist, what about the Lord makes Him worthy of people's praise? If you were to urge people to praise Him, what would you say about Him? What would you say to others makes Him worthy of their praise? The Psalmist not only gives insight into why people should praise but also how they should praise. Make note of the several places where this is the content of the Psalm. Now review in prayer the notes made above. Talk to the Lord about how the Psalmist urges people to praise and how you praise. A prominent theme in Psalm 47 is the affirmation that God is King. Such an image is rather remote for us in our context, but it was very much a part of reality and life for the Psalmist and the people of his day. Contemplate now the implications of calling God "King."
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Psalm 48
Read Psalm 48. What are the attributes of God that are either explicit or implicit in this Psalm? Talk to the Lord about those attributes of His.
What are the different ways that people are said to respond to God in this Psalm? Read each verse carefully to detect these. Make a list of them. Reflecting on the list just made, jot down next to each one some other occasions in Scripture when you see evidence of people responding to the Lord in that way. Continuing to reflect on the list of different ways that people respond to God in the Psalm, consider to what extent people still respond to God in each of those ways. Which one especially resonates with you personally? Central to Psalm 48 is a sense of rejoicing about Zion. Read the Psalm carefully to discern what the explicit or implicit attributes of Zion are. (Note: Zion was a name for Jerusalem. That city is also implied when the Psalm refers to "the city of our God" and "His holy mountain.") What have been your experiences of a particular place prompting and inspiring you to praise God?
In addition to being a synonym for Jerusalem, Zion came to represent more than just a place on a map. Zion came to symbolize God's presence and His perfect reign. Zion is poetically portrayed as being at the center of the world, the highest point in the world, the place to which the whole world will come to worship the God of Israel. Reflect on this understanding and imagery for Zion in light of your reflections on God as King in Psalm 47. Talk to Him about His reign in Zion and what that means, not for Jerusalem in the past, but for the world in the future. Read Revelation 21 and 22. Reflect on Psalm 48 in light of what you read in those last two chapters in the Bible. What are the areas of overlap? In what ways does the Old Testament Psalm seem well-suited to the New Testament vision? Imagine yourself seeing, approaching, and experiencing the city described in Revelation 21 and 22. Then, with that in your mind, read Psalm 48 as a personal expression of what you might feel and say in that place. Talk to the Lord about His someday city and ultimate reign. Write your own Psalm of praise and rejoicing in response. |
* We will refer to the author as “the Psalmist,” though of course not all of the Psalms were written by the same person. A significant number are attributed to David. Others are associated with Asaph, the sons of Korah, and an assortment of other individuals. Also, several dozen Psalms have no name attached to them. For the sake of ease and uniformity, we will simply refer to “the Psalmist.”