WEEK 32 |
psalms this week |
"If you will pray for others, you will pray like the angels." |
Psalms 94, 95, and 96
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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 94
Read Psalm 94. It may be helpful to reflect on this Psalm by dividing it into sections. The ESV, in its formatting of the texts, suggests the following four sections:
For each section of the Psalm, jot down your answers to the following:
Reflecting now on your answers to the question of to whom each section is addressed, to what extent would you say that any of the sections of Psalm 94 are especially addressed to you? What does the Lord want you to take away from that section? Reflecting now on your answers to the question about the Psalmist's message in each section, to what characters in Scripture might each message have been properly addressed? Reflecting now on your answers to the question about the Psalmist's faith, talk to the Lord about where your own faith seems to resonate with the Psalmist's and where it does not. According to the Psalmist, what are the characteristic attitudes and behaviors of evildoers? Make a list. What characters in Scripture fit all or part of the Psalmist's descriptions? To what extent are those attitudes and behaviors still at work in the world today? To what extent do you feel that the Psalmist's prayer is a right prayer to pray still today? Read through the Psalm again, this time reflecting on the themes of vengeance, justice, and discipline.
What do you learn about how to pray from the author of Psalm 94? |
Psalm 95
Read Psalm 95. In order to guarantee a careful reading of this Psalm, reflect on these questions about each verse:
Which verses of Psalm 95 might be perceived as being addressed to you? Once you have identified certain verses as addressed to you, read those verses aloud, and insert your own name into each verse as a vocative. Talk to the Lord about your experience of reading those verses in that way. Psalm 95 is mostly an invitation and encouragement to praise. What are the implicit and explicit reasons why? That is to say, why should a person praise the Lord?
In addition to specific reasons why we should praise, the Psalmist is specific about how to praise, as well. Make a list of the various actions to which the Psalmist calls his audience. Which of those actions have been part of your own prayer life? Talk to the Lord about your experience of or reaction to each. Taking your cue from the Psalmist, let Psalm 95 become a personal call to praise for you. Focusing on what the Psalm reveals about the Lord, consider the Psalmist's answers to these questions:
The conclusion of Psalm 95 refers to an event from Israel's experience in the wilderness. To acquaint yourself with the event, read Exodus 17:1-7. As you reflect on the story, reflect on these questions:
Based on your reflections above, what do you understand to be the message of verses 8-11 of Psalm 95? |
Psalm 96
Read Psalm 96. As you read this great Psalm of praise, begin by identifying the people (or things, as the case may be) to whom the Psalmist addresses himself. Specifically:
The prevailing theme of the Psalm is praise. Make a list of the Psalmist's reasons why. That is to say, why is it that anyone (everyone!) should praise the Lord? Talk to the Lord about the list you have generated. Let it become for you both a prompt and a guide to praise today. Imagine that you know nothing about the God of the Bible -- that you've never heard of Him and have never seen a Bible. Then you are given this Psalm.
Follow up now on your own answers to the second question: What more would you want to know about the Lord? To what extent does the rest of Scripture tell you what you want to know? The Psalmist urges his audience to speak the Lord in praise. To whom else does the Psalmist urge his audience to speak? What are they encouraged to say? To what extent do you understand the Psalmist's urgings to apply to you? Talk with the Lord about them? What are your personal takeaways from the Psalm? Talk with the Lord about them. Make a list of the imperative verbs employed by the Psalmist -- that is, the various words he uses to express what it is that his audience should do. Talk to the Lord about the verbs on that list. How many of those verbs are things that you have done? How many of those verbs are things that you regularly do? A number of different relationships are referenced or implied by this Psalm. In one, brief sentence, describe the Lord's relationship to each of the following:
Summarize your reflections on Psalm 96 in journalistic terms. Based on your reading of this Psalm, briefly answer these interrogatives about praise:
Having reflected on this Psalm of praise in some detail and from several angles, write your own Psalm of praise based on what you learned about the Lord and about praise from Psalm 96? |
* 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.”