Let’s Park Here For A While – Psalms 1-8

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #165 and today we’ll read Psalms 1-8 together.   Welcome to the Book of Psalms.  Nice.  Let’s park here for a while.  

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Intro to Psalms

I’m going to change up my arrangement just a little bit as we begin this amazing book of ancient Hebrew songs, poems, and prayers.  This book has an amazing structure and I encourage you to go the Bible Project and watch the overview video they have created.  Because of the uniqueness of such an intentional design, I just can’t bring myself to call these divisions chapters.  We will just refer to each simply as a psalm. 

This is by far the longest book in the Bible – 150 chapters – or psalms. It also contains the longest chapter – or psalm – made up of 175 verses – Psalm 119.  You may very well have to split up your Bible study time that day or certainly prepare for it.  That will be Episode 188 on Wednesday, July 7th and it will be by far our longest episode.  Make extra coffee.  The book of Psalms also contains the shortest chapter – or psalm; Psalm 117.  This psalm contains just two verses and also serves as the center chapter – or psalm – of the Bible.  I will let you chase the rabbit of center verse…there is, of course, controversy.  

There are many contributors to the book of Psalms.  Of course we always think of David as being the main writer, but add to him Solomon, Moses, the sons of Korah, Asaph, and nearly a third of the authors are anonymous.  I’ll let the good scholars at the Bible Project provide the exact numbers of each in that overview video you’re going to watch.  I pray this book enhances your joy for worship and prayer.

Psalm 1

The Two Ways

How happy is the one who does not

walk in the advice of the wicked

or stand in the pathway with sinners

or sit in the company of mockers!

Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,

and he meditates on it day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams

that bears its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

The wicked are not like this;

instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Psalm 2

Coronation of the Son

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand,

and the rulers conspire together

against the Lord and his Anointed One:

“Let’s tear off their chains

and throw their ropes off of us.”

The one enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord ridicules them.

Then he speaks to them in his anger

and terrifies them in his wrath:

“I have installed my king

on Zion, my holy mountain.”

I will declare the Lord’s decree.

He said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have become your Father.

Ask of me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance

and the ends of the earth your possession.

You will break them with an iron scepter;

you will shatter them like pottery.”

So now, kings, be wise;

receive instruction, you judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with reverential awe

and rejoice with trembling.

Pay homage to the Son or he will be angry

and you will perish in your rebellion,

for his anger may ignite at any moment.

All who take refuge in him are happy.

Psalm 3

Confidence in Troubled Times

A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.

Lord, how my foes increase!

There are many who attack me.

Many say about me,

“There is no help for him in God.”

Selah

But you, Lord, are a shield around me,

my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

I cry aloud to the Lord,

and he answers me from his holy mountain.

Selah

I lie down and sleep;

I wake again because the Lord sustains me.

I will not be afraid of thousands of people

who have taken their stand against me on every side.

Rise up, Lord!

Save me, my God!

You strike all my enemies on the cheek;

you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the Lord;

may your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 4

A Night Prayer

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

Answer me when I call,

God, who vindicates me.

You freed me from affliction;

be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

How long, exalted ones, will my honor be insulted?

How long will you love what is worthless

and pursue a lie?

Selah

Know that the Lord has set apart

the faithful for himself;

the Lord will hear when I call to him.

Be angry and do not sin;

reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.

Selah

Offer sacrifices in righteousness

and trust in the Lord.

Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”

Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.

You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and new wine abound.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace,

for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.

Psalm 5

The Refuge of the Righteous

For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.

Listen to my words, Lord;

consider my sighing.

Pay attention to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for I pray to you.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil cannot dwell with you.

The boastful cannot stand in your sight;

you hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who tell lies;

the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.

But I enter your house

by the abundance of your faithful love;

I bow down toward your holy temple

in reverential awe of you.

Lord, lead me in your righteousness

because of my adversaries;

make your way straight before me.

For there is nothing reliable in what they say;

destruction is within them;

their throat is an open grave;

they flatter with their tongues.

Punish them, God;

let them fall by their own schemes.

Drive them out because of their many crimes,

for they rebel against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

let them shout for joy forever.

May you shelter them,

and may those who love your name boast about you.

For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;

you surround him with favor like a shield.

Psalm 6

A Prayer for Mercy

For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A psalm of David.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;

do not discipline me in your wrath.

Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;

heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking;

my whole being is shaken with terror.

And you, Lord — how long?

Turn, Lord! Rescue me;

save me because of your faithful love.

For there is no remembrance of you in death;

who can thank you in Sheol?

I am weary from my groaning;

with my tears I dampen my bed

and drench my couch every night.

My eyes are swollen from grief;

they grow old because of all my enemies.

Depart from me, all evildoers,

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

The Lord has heard my plea for help;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;

they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.

Psalm 7

Prayer for Justice

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

Lord my God, I seek refuge in you;

save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,

or they will tear me like a lion,

ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.

Lord my God, if I have done this,

if there is injustice on my hands,

if I have done harm to one at peace with me

or have plundered my adversary without cause,

may an enemy pursue and overtake me;

may he trample me to the ground

and leave my honor in the dust.

Selah

Rise up, Lord, in your anger;

lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;

awake for me;

you have ordained a judgment.

Let the assembly of peoples gather around you;

take your seat on high over it.

The Lord judges the peoples;

vindicate me, Lord,

according to my righteousness and my integrity.

Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

but establish the righteous.

The one who examines the thoughts and emotions

is a righteous God.

My shield is with God,

who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge

and a God who shows his wrath every day.

If anyone does not repent,

he will sharpen his sword;

he has strung his bow and made it ready.

I Will Sing About the Name of the Lord Most High

He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he tips his arrows with fire.

See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,

conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.

He dug a pit and hollowed it out

but fell into the hole he had made.

His trouble comes back on his own head;

his own violence comes down on top of his head.

I will thank the Lord for his righteousness;

I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8

God’s Glory, Human Dignity

For the choir director: on the Gittith. A psalm of David.

Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!

You have covered the heavens with your majesty.

From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,

you have established a stronghold

on account of your adversaries

in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I observe your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you set in place,

what is a human being that you remember him,

a son of man that you look after him?

You made him little less than God

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:

all the sheep and oxen,

as well as the animals in the wild,

the birds of the sky,

and the fish of the sea

that pass through the currents of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!

Close

It’s interesting that Psalm 1 about righteousness should follow so closely on the heels of Job.  It feels almost seamless despite the fact that hundreds of years separate the writings.  And in Psalm 2, which apparently used to be an extension of Psalm 1, I saw Jesus pretty clearly, did you?  I was wondering who wrote this and found out that Acts 4:24-26 tells us it was David.  Definitely one of the many times God spoke prophetically through David and there are lots of rabbits to chase in this one.  Psalm 3 may be the first time you heard the word, Selah.  There is quite a bit of speculation about the meaning and use of the word.  But most consider it a music direction that means to pause and reflect or praise.  

I will limit myself to sharing one more thought.  We see hints of the Gospel in Psalm 7.  You see, David is not conceited when he says he is righteous.  Just like we who believe are righteous, it’s not because of our own selves or anything we have done.  Jesus has overlaid His righteousness onto us.  And praise God that He did because we would have no hope without Him.  Share your thoughts with me at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

See You Tomorrow!

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.