Scripture For the Week
Exodus 2:23-25
During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
Devotional
Welcome to a new year friends! I am so excited to rejoin you as we continue studying the word together in this new year.
I am proud of you for showing up today.
I am proud of you for taking the initiative to open up this devotional.
I am proud of you for giving yourself time to study the word and be in the word.
And friends, I am so honored that you have chosen to spend this part of your day with me.
When I first started thinking about what series I wanted to start in the new year, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around a single concept. I loved ending our previous series in James by looking at the Old Testament, so I considered choosing a book there to invest in. I considered covering some of my favorite books of the Bible or even, doing a Women of the Bible series. The more I thought about it and prayed though, the more I just kept thinking “all we need this year is peace”.
We need peace. It’s as simple as that.
This past year was a huge learning curve for so many people. Some of you, might be like me, and due to a constant health battle, didn’t find 2020 too different from normal life. Whatever the circumstance, whatever hurts or joys, the previous year brought into our life, we still need peace.
We need to be reminded of just who our God is. We need to be reminded that from the beginning, God has shown up for His people. He delivers His people. He never leaves them wandering in the wilderness without Him by their side.
We need to reset our priorities, reset our gaze and walk towards the one who heals.
The moment I let that hope for peace seep into my tender and weary heart, I knew God had pointed the way to Psalms; the book of peace.
Before we start digging into some specific Psalms together, I want to make sure we understand what the book, as whole, represents. I know the introduction to a new book in the Bible is never the most exciting. To be frank, the introduction sermon is historically, my least favorite to listen to at Church. I always had a hard time focusing during these sermons. I could have cared less about the history, the meaning of words, the reason they were written and who they were written by. I just wanted to go straight into God’s word to better understand Him.
After Church became a struggle for me with my health though, God worked in a funny way in my heart. Suddenly, I started to understand why we need the introduction to the books. I started to crave the introduction as a tool to help me learn and understand. Yes, they were never the most exciting when compared to God’s word but, they added a layer of richness in helping me understand just how uniquely powerful God’s word actually was.
It is for this reason that I chose, with James and again with this new series, to spend the time doing research and learning, even just a sliver, of what is happening behind the scenes.
I hope, if you don’t already see the purpose behind series introductions, that over time, God will soften your heart, as He did mine, too see how much greater His word becomes when we understand the why.
The Book of Psalms is unique in the Bible as it doesn’t necessarily occur in chronological order and it has multiple authors that contributed to it’s pages. Together, these various authors filled the book with a hundred and fifty Psalms; a vast majority of which are songs to be sung by a congregation.
It is generally accepted that there are seven different authors to Psalms. King David, the Sons of Korah and Asaph are the predominant authors having, combined, written over half the book. Roughly five Psalms were written by Solomon, Moses, Heman, and Ethan respectively. The remaining forty eight Psalms remain anonymous.
In Hebrew, the word Psalms means praises. Translated directly, it means the Book of Praises.
Praises for who? A wonderful God who has and was trusted to show up for His people.
Within these hundred and fifty praises, there are five different books. These books are broken up to align with the Pentateuch, also known as The Books of Moses.
Book one is compiled of Psalms 1-41 and represents the Book of Genesis.
Book two is Psalms 42-72 and aligns with Exodus.
Book three contains Psalms 73-89 to portray Leviticus.
Book four holds Psalms 90-106 and reflects Numbers.
And finally, book five cradles Psalms 107-150 to represent Deuteronomy.
Understanding which Book of the Old Testament is being portrayed within the specific books of Psalms helps us to better understand the context of each specific Psalm. From the first book to the last, they represent: humanity, deliverance, sanctuary, the reign of God and the word of God.
Within these five books, there seems to be seven consistent themes that run through the individual Psalms. These themes help us to understand what type of Psalm we are dwelling in. The most common of these themes or types are praise, laments and wisdom.
Praise psalms give a call of praise out to God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. They shout praise towards God and poetically explain why they are praising God.
Lament psalms cry out towards God for deliverance. They sing praise in advance in faith that God will hear their prayer and answer their cry.
Psalms of wisdom help provide guidelines for how we are called to live our lives in the presence of the Holy Trinity.
If we wanted to walk through the entire Book of Psalms together, we would spend roughly the next three years looking at a Psalm each week. Instead of walking through from beginning to end at this point though, I want to spend time in the second book of Psalms with you.
If you recall from above, the second book of Psalms walks alongside Exodus with Psalms 42-72. This is a book of devotion as God shows up and delivers His people from their sorrows and trials. I couldn’t imagine a better place to start the year.
As we work through the second book of Psalms, we will also look at specific parts of Exodus to help us understand the text more thoroughly. As a general reminder though, the book of Exodus is the book where God sent Moses from the dessert, back to Egypt, to deliver his people from slavery. Exodus is where God gives Moses the power to part the Red Sea, setting His people free and capturing the Egyptians in its depths. It’s the book where the Israelites wander in the desert. The book where God calls to Moses from Mount Sinai and gives His people The Ten Commandments.
As we work through the Psalms of deliverance together, I invite you to invite curiosity in. How can you open your heart and mind to playfully enter into these words with curiosity? How can you put yourself into the place of the Isrealites to see how God is actively working to deliver you?
This series is meant to help us open our sore, weary and maybe even angry hearts to the hope that God delivers His people. To the hope that He has never forgotten His children and He hasn’t forgotten you. Invite hope in friends.
Let your soul be captivated with the goodness of God and seek His presence.
Let your soul sing praises of sorrow and joy.
Let your soul guide you through this series as we take the time to heal, revive and push towards our hope.
Let your soul be filled with awe.
Thoughts for the Week
*
*
Take fifteen minutes and look through Psalms in your Bible. Use this time to familiarize yourself with the poetic language that flows through the pages.
*
*
While you are familiarizing yourself with the Book of Psalms, notice what types of Psalms most catch your attention.
What insight can this give you on where you are standing with God and life at this point in time?
Are you drawn to Psalms of praise because God has acted graciously towards your life?
Are you drawn to Psalms of lament because you are walking through trial and you desperately need to see God show up?
Are you drawn to Psalms of wisdom as you seek learning a new way to live your life this year?
*
*
Choose one Psalm that has grabbed your attention and slot time into your calendar to revisit it later in the week.
Use this additional time in the Gospel to really mull over the Psalm you have chosen.
You can approach this in one of two ways.
You can take the time to break down what the Psalm is saying and consider how it applies to your life.
Read through the Psalms several times, spend a few minutes in silence and close out by praying this Psalm.
I encourage you, whichever route you choose, to try your hand at praying the Psalm. This is a practice I am excited to try implementing with you as we walk through Psalms 42-71.
*
*
Comments