School of Prayer 51

WEEK 51

psalms this week

"Prayer is suffering's best result."
- Eugene Peterson

Psalms 145, 146, and 147

introduction to the Series

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

Psalm 145

Psalm 146

Psalm 147

Read Psalm 145. Psalm 145 is a psalm of praise. As you read it, take again the journalist's approach, answering the who, where, when, how, and why of praise.

Who. We know that it is the Lord who is to be praised, but how specifically is He identified in the Psalm?
Who. Who should praise the Lord?
Where. Where should the Lord be praised?
When. When is the Lord to be praised?
How. How is the Lord to be praised?
Why. What are the reasons or causes or motivations for praising the Lord?

Reflecting on your answers above:

How does your own experience of praise match with the author's view of when and where and how? Talk to the Lord about you and praise.
How does your own experience of praise resonate with the reasons why that are implicit or explicit in Psalm 145?

Praise is ultimately about God -- who He is, what He is like, what He does. Read through the Psalm with pen in hand, and each time you come across something that tells you about the Lord, jot down a one-word answer to the question "What is He like?"

Review your list just made of one-word answers describing what the Lord is like.

Talk to Him about the list.
To what extent do the words on the list overlap or resonate with your own experience of the Lord?
Make the list of words the basis and starting place for your own time of praise.

In verse 4, the Psalmist refers to a relationship and interaction between generations.

What do you understand to be the relationship or interaction?
To what extent have you seen evidence personally of what the Psalmist describes in verse 4?
What is your role in what the Psalmist describes in verse 4? Talk to the Lord about it.

Read verse 5 in a variety of translations in order to get a full sense of the meaning. Then:

Based on your understanding of what the Psalmist is saying, write your own version of verse 5
Make the personal version just written your own marching orders. Spend several minutes doing what you understand the Psalmist to have done.

In verse 8, the Psalmist makes four specific statements about the Lord.

For each statement, identify an occasion in Scripture when that statement was proven true.
For each statement, identify a time or experience in your own life when that statement was proven true.
Talk to the Lord about each of those statements -- what each one reveals about Him -- and make them the basis for a time of praise.

The author of Psalm 145 make much use of monarchic language -- he calls God "King" and he makes multiple references to God's kingdom.

To what extent do you read this as metaphorical language or as literally true? Talk to the Lord about these matters.
How would you characterize the Psalmist's attitude toward God as King?
How would you characterize the Psalmist's attitude toward God's kingdom?
If you knew nothing about God's kingdom other than what you read in Psalm 145, what would you conclude about it?
How does Psalm 145 influence your praying of "Thy kingdom come"?

Read Psalm 146. Like Psalm 145, this is also a Psalm of praise. Yet this is a different sort, for it is not addressed to God in the second-person. Rather, it is written primarily about Him in the third-person. As you read it, therefore, generate a list of individuals or groups who might be the intended or eligible addressees.

Continuing to reflect on the two Psalms of praise that are side-by-side yet so different in terms of the matter of addressee:

What is the purpose of praise that is addressed to the Lord?
What is the effect of praise that is addressed to the Lord?
What is the purpose of praise that is about God but addressed to a human being?
What is the effect of praise that is about God but addressed to a human being?
Talk to the Lord about your discoveries.

Whoever else might be the audience for Psalm 146, we recognize that in verse 1 the Psalmist addresses himself.

How much or how often do you talk to yourself?
How would you characterize the subject matter of your talking to yourself?
How would you characterize the tone of your talking to yourself?
What role has talking to yourself played in your spiritual life or in your relation with God?
How might the author of Psalm 146 be an example to you?

Verses 3-4 step aside from affirmations about God and consider alternatives.

What do you imagine might have been the Psalmist's experience or inclination in this matter?
What biblical stories come to mind that might illustrate (either positively or negatively) the principle expressed in these verses?
Talk to the Lord about how these verses might be applied to you and your life.

Read verse 5 in a variety of translations in order to get a full sense of the meaning. Then:

Rewrite the verse in your own words.
Talk to the Lord about the extent to which your rewritten version of verse 5 describes you.

The author of Psalm 146 bears witness to the deeds of the Lord.

Make a list of the things that the Psalmist says the Lord does or has done.
For each item on the list, think of an example from the Bible.
For each item on the list: To what extent does this work of the Lord resonate with your own experience?
Next to each item on the list, jot down what that deed of the Lord reveals about Him.
Make the things just listed the basis for a time of praise just now.

Return now to the Psalmist's testimony about what things the Lord does or has done. Review what the Psalmist says, and make a list of verbs -- just the verbs -- that report the things that the Lord does or has done.

Now turn those verbs into simple, individual sentences, each one beginning with "The Lord..." For example, one sentence might be, "The Lord watches over."
Read the sentences aloud.
Talk to Him about your experience.
Who in the world needs or ought to hear that list?

Read verse 10 in several translations in order to get a sense for the meaning.

Rewrite verse 10 in your own words.
Why is the affirmation made in verse 10 important?
What impact should the truth of verse 10 have on you?

Read Psalm 147. Like Psalm 145 and Psalm 146, this is also a Psalm of praise. Like Psalm 146, it is spoken about the Lord rather than to Him. It is also a remarkably wide-ranging Psalm of praise. As you read, focus on the actions the Psalmist attributes to the Lord.

Make a list of the verbs that the Psalmist uses to express what the Lord does or has done.
For each verb on the list, try to identify a time in Scripture where we see the Lord doing that.
Which verbs on the list can you affirm from your own life and experience?
For each verb on the list, jot down what it tells you or reveals about Him.
Talk to the Lord about your discoveries.

Imagine yourself being assigned to write a Psalm of praise, but that the Psalm was to be comprised primarily of verbs. Based on your own experience and personal testimony, write 20 sentences that follow this basic structure: "The Lord (verb) ."

Go back and read aloud the 20-sentence-Psalm you composed. Make it the centerpiece of your own time of praise right now.

Most of the Lord's verbs in Psalm 147 also have objects. For example, in verse 9 (ESV): "He gives to the beasts their food." The Lord's verb is "gives." The objects of that verb are "food" (the direct object) and "the beasts" (the indirect object). Go back through the Psalm's verbs and identify each verbs object(s). Make a list. Then, reflecting on the list:

How would you characterize each object's relationship to the Lord?
What does each object of His verbs reveal about Him?
To what extent does each object (and the Lord's relationship to it) impact you, your life, or your faith?

Read verse 1 in a variety of translations in order to get a full sense for the meaning. Then:

Rewrite the verse in your own words.
What is the Psalmist saying about praise?
To what extent is what the Psalmist says about praise part of your experience?
What can you learn from the Psalmist about praise?

Read verses 10-11 in a variety of translations in order to gain a full sense of the meaning. Then:

Make a list of ten characters from Scripture and/or history with whom you feel a degree of familiarity.
For each character on your list, what would you say he or she took delight or took pleasure in?
Review the list to observe what variety may be found there.
To what extent did that person's delights impact his or her decisions and life?
What does a person's delights reveal about his or her character?
What does it reveal about the Lord that He takes delight in the things He does, and that He does not take delight in the things He does not?
Talk to Him about when and how and why He takes delight in you.

A prominent subtheme in Psalm 147 is the Lord's word.

Identify all of the verses where His word is mentioned or implied.
What seem to be some of the synonyms for His word in the Psalmist's usage?
Based on those verses, how would you characterize the relationship between the Lord and His word?
What would you conclude are the attributes of His word?
What do you understand to be the Jacob's relationship to His word (verse 19)?
What do you understand to be your relationship to His word?

Read verse 20 in a variety of translations in order to get a full sense of the meaning.

To what extent do you understand what the Psalmist says to be true?
What does verse 20 reveal to you about the plans and purposes of God?
What does verse 20 have to do with you?

* 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.”