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Friday: Further Thought – How to Read the Psalms — 15 Comments

  1. One of the first recorded conversations between God and man occurred just after the fall:

    That evening they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and they hid themselves among the trees. The Lord God called to Adam, “Why are you hiding?”
    And Adam replied, “I heard you coming and didn’t want you to see me naked. So I hid.”
    “Who told you you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten fruit from the tree I warned you about?” Gen 3:8-11 TLB

    It was God who stepped out and made the effort to communicate. Adam and Eve had stopped communicating with him, but God broke the ice and found them.

    So often, when we are angry, ashamed, or hurting badly we want to shut God out and hide from him. I learned a long time ago that God does not mind being shouted at - especially when we don't understand. It keeps the communication going.

    The Psalms are a record of God and people communicating with one another. Some Psalms are shouting at God; others praise him. In others, God is speaking to and through the writer. It is a record of two-way communication between God and us.

    We had a very busy day yesterday. I thought that retirement was supposed to be restful and peaceful. But the reality is that everyone thinks I have so much time on my hands I can do anything for them instantly. So when it came to our worship time last night, I was in no mood for spiritual intellectual stimulus. I listened to three Psalms about the goodness of God. It was healing to me soul. God still communicates to us when we are tired, frustrated, angry and agitated. It was like being in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening.

    (53)
  2. My Psalm:
    Our great Father God, and Father of all creation,
    You must truly love our nation;
    We thank you for your inspired word in due season,
    That can be used as a sword with Godly reason,
    We praise you for your wisdom and grace,
    Needed for any mountains we will face,
    And each week as we share and talk,
    May we be strengthened on our walk.
    Selah

    In the Psalms we see how God works through us if we but let Him. May we be open to the promptings of the Hoky Spirit, for Him to use us forGods glory.

    (32)
  3. I'm enjoying reading Psalms in The Message and and would like to share Psalms 15:1-5:

    GOD, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? “Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. “Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; despise the despicable. “Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe.
    "You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this."

    (25)
  4. Question: Is anyone else having a hard time with the links to the Bible texts in the lesson? The text often has several chapters in the link instead of the few verses listed. This has happened on several days, not when they are referring to the divisions of the Psalms.

    (5)
    • Yes we are aware of the problem. The issue is that each of these references is to several chapters and the reftagger script we use is designed for chapters and verses. We are looking into the issue. For the time being just remember that the link will always go to the first Psalm in the list. You can probably work out the rest. Sorry about the confusion.
      Maurice

      (5)
      • Thanks, Maurice. Also, is it possible to choose our default Bible translation? Memory tells me it used to be ESV… and now it is NKJV? If we can choose, my vote is for ESV.

        (2)
        • Hi Esther,
          I know that you can change the default Bible on the weekly lesson - just go to the top right-hand corner of the weekly lesson and set your preferences. However, I don't think that affects the daily lessons and I am not sure that they can be changed. I know that there was some tech discussion about this some time ago and will check.

          (2)
  5. Maurice points out that Adam’s newly acquired self-awareness was noticed by his Creator when He spoke with him, considering this exchange as the first conversation between man and his Creator of many more to come. I consider this is what the Psalms, Proverbs and the rest of the books of the Bible are all about – revealing to us through conversation with Him who we really are and how to live accordingly! 2 Timn. 3:15-17.

    I am greatly appreciative for the lesson writer’s placing her focus on what I have also come to understand to be the most salient point of this quarter’s study - “The divine-human nature of the Psalms is comparable to the union of the divine and the human in the incarnated Lord Jesus”, leading to the desired outcome of knowing who we are and our life in Jesus Christ.

    Ellen White’s comment included in this lesson also states this Truth so simply. When reading her book “The Great Controversy”, her forthrightness, unapologetic and unabashed sharing of her convictions of what was revealed to her to be the Truth about mankind’s place in the Great Conflict, led me to pay attention and inquire further about who she is and what she stands for; ultimately joining the family of believers she was part of.

    Every believer in God’s Truth based on the revelations of His Son Jesus Christ, our Savior, leads to accepting the Creator Father as God and Teacher. Man's separation from his God caused his fall into the abyss of the darkness of this world. But our Creator Father rescued us, elevating us through teaching us who man really is - who it is who made us in His Image -, resulting in the rekindled spiritual relationship between man and his Creator.

    The ability to praise Him through Psalms and Hymns is evidence of the born-again man’s re-established closeness with the God of all Creation. Valda Adriaanse, in her comment using her own words as well as including David’s Psalm 15, expresses how the new creation, man, loves God with all his heart and being.

    (5)
  6. I am a new comer in this site and I am happy as a seventh day believer to meet where I can get understanding of lessons which sometimes become difficult.Also I am confident enough to discuss with my fellows and family.

    (13)
  7. I am happy for encountering this site cause it's opening up the not so clear or easy to comprehend lessons of the Bible.

    (3)
  8. Something interesting I just learned about the 5 books (divisions) of the anthology of poetry, prayers and songs we call Psalms. Each book represents a time period, and it is chronological. The first two books, Psalms 1-41 and 42-72, are mostly written by David and cover the time he led Israel. Almost all of the psalms by David are found here. In fact, Psalm 72:20 is an editorial note telling us this. It’s a beautiful walk through David’s life, his love of nature, prayers for protection, repentance, even a prayer for the aged in Ps. 71. Next, book 3, Psalms 73-89, covers the time in history when the nation of Israel was in turmoil of unbelief and falling apart. Then, book 4, Psalms 90-106, covers the years of captivity in Babylon, with songs like Ps. 105 reminding everyone that God keeps his promises. Lastly, book 5, Psalms 107-150, follows Israel’s release from captivity and return to Jerusalem, with songs like Ps. 122, a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.

    Another interesting thing….read the endings of each of the 5 books to see a pattern: Ps. 41:13; Ps. 72:18-19; Ps.89:52; Ps 106:48; and Ps.150 (this whole final psalm explodes in praise, kind of like the end of a fireworks show!)

    (2)

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