WEEK 8 |
psalms this week |
"It is a mistake to ask God to give you what you want. Your desires are probably not in complete harmony with God's will. Pray instead that God will lead you to want the right things. Ask for what is good and for what is best for your soul. There is not way you could want these things for yourself more than God desires you to have them." |
Psalms 22, 23, and 24.
|
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 22
Read Psalm 22. We naturally associate the first verse of this Psalm with Jesus, for He quoted it while on the cross. We will return to the role of this Psalm in Jesus' death later. For now, however, let it be your prayer. When in your past have you felt that God had abandoned or forsaken you? Did you say that to Him? What were the circumstances of that experience? How do you reflect on that past experience now? How do you look back on God's role in it? Talk with Him today about that time in your life.
Is there some way in which -- some aspect of your life in which -- you feel abandoned or forsaken by God today? Have you expressed it to Him? The Psalmist is unafraid to give full voice to his lament, his troubles, and his pain. Follow the Psalmist's lead, and tell the Lord today all that you are feeling and experiencing. Do not be overly constrained by whether what you are saying is "right" or even "reverent." Pay your relationship with God the compliment of candor. The writer of Psalm 22 is in all kinds of pain. Read through the Psalm carefully, making a list as you read of the different kinds of pain that he seems to be experiencing. Review the list made above. Which kinds of pain are familiar to you in your past? Which kinds are familiar to you in your present? Talk to the Lord about each. While the Psalmist begins with a lament about how God has abandoned him (verse 1) and does not seem to answer him (verse 2), much of the rest of the Psalm expresses confidence in the Lord. Evaluate those expressions of confidence. On what are they based? To what extent do you have the same bases for confidence? The Psalmist is suffering at the hands of other people. As you read the Psalm, make a list of the attributes of those people? What seems to motivate them?How did such people factor into Jesus’ experience? Central to our faith is what we believe about God — what He is like, His character, His will. As you read through Psalm 22, identify what the Psalmist believes about God. Psalm 22 has sometimes been referred to as “the Psalm of the Cross,” and Jesus famously quoted the first verse of it while on the cross. We might reasonably assume, however, that He had the entire Psalm in mind, not only the first verse. Read through the Psalm with Him and with His cross in mind. Talk to the Lord about your reflections. |
Psalm 23
Read Psalm 23. The image of the Lord as shepherd is most famously expressed here, but it is also found in numerous other places in Scripture. Read these passages, and make a list of the attributes of the Shepherd revealed in each: Psalm 100:3, Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 53:6, Ezekiel 34:11-22, Matthew 18:12-14, and John 10:1-18.
Reflecting on the attributes listed above, talk to the Lord about how He is revealed in terms of these attributes. Talk to Him about your own experience of Him in these terms. Verse 2 bears witness to the generous provisions and the pleasant places to which the Lord has led the Psalmist. What has been your comparable experience of the Lord’s leading? Make an itemized list of the highlights of your experience. Thank the Lord for each experience on your list one at a time. Verse 3 declares that the Lord leads ‘in paths or righteousness” (KJV, NASB) or “in right paths” (NIV, TEV). What has been your experience of this aspect of the Lord’s leading? Talk to Him about it. In verse 3, the Psalmist also testifies that the Lord restores his soul. Describe what you take that to mean. In what ways do you feel that you need your soul restored today? Tell the Lord about it. Affirm that He is the One who restores your soul, and look to Him for your needs. Verse 4 refers to arguably the most fearful place, yet the Psalmist says that he feels no fear. What is the key to his freedom from fear? Where are you afraid? Of what are you afraid? Talk to the Lord about those fears. Talk to Him about His “rod and staff.” Verse 5 speaks of the Lord preparing a table. What does that language suggest to you? Describe the pictures and images that come to your mind. What has been your experience of such provident care from the Lord “in the presence of enemies,” whatever those might have been? Verse 6 says that goodness and mercy follow him. What are some less favorable things that a person from time to time might feel are following him or her? Talk to the Lord about your different experiences of what has seemed to “follow you” at different times. Talk to Him about the Psalmist’s affirmation in this verse. |
Psalm 24
Read Psalm 24. This Psalm is not a prayer in the sense of being addressed to God. Rather, it features affirmations about Him, and it may have been addressed to a congregation of God’s people.
Verse 1 declares God’s ownership of the world and all its inhabitants. What does that mean today? What is the value of affirming that truth? Verse 2 recalls God’s creation of the world. Why do you suppose the Psalmist put verses 1 and 2 in the order that he did rather than the reverse order? Verse 3 asks two questions — or two expressions of the same question What is the heart behind the question? Have you felt some version of that question along the way? Verse 4 provides answers to the questions raised in verse 3. Interestingly, the answer is not a single thing, but neither does it seem to try to be a comprehensively long list of things. What wisdom do you see in this comparatively succinct list? What does verse 4 reveal about what matters to the Lord? How does verse 4 represent a comprehensively godly life? Talk to the Lord about your life with respect to the life described in verse 4. There is an implied connection between verse 4 and verse 6. What do you understand to be the relationship between the two verses? George Weissel (in a hymn translated by Catherine Winkworth) takes the final verses of Psalm 24 and makes them personal: “Fling wide the portals of your heart; / make it a temple set apart / from earthly use for heaven’s employ, / adorned with prayer and love and joy.” Read verses 7 through 10 as a word being addressed to you. In prayer, respond to the invitation expressed in the verses of the Psalm and the hymn. Thematically, Psalm 24 seems to fall into three distinct sections: verses 1-2, 3-6, and 7-10. We have considered the sections individually. Now contemplate the relationship between the first section and the second section. How do the affirmations of verses 1 and 2 lead naturally into the questions of verse 3? Now consider the relationship between the second section and the third section. How do the questions and answers of verses 3 through 6 give rise to the enthusiastic exhortations of verses 7 through 10? |
* 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.”