If the book of Psalms be, as some have styled it, a mirror or looking-glass of pious and devout affections, this psalm in particular deserves, as much as any one psalm, to be so entitled, and is as proper as any to kindle and excite such in us: gracious desires are here strong and fervent; gracious hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, are here struggling, but the pleasing passion comes off a conqueror. Or we may take it for a conflict between sense and faith, sense objecting and faith answering. I. Faith begins with holy desires towards God and communion with him (v. 1, 2). II. Sense complains of the darkness and cloudiness of the present condition, aggravated by the remembrance of the former enjoyments (v. 3, 4). III. Faith silences the complaint with the assurance of a good issue at last (v. 5). IV. Sense renews its complaints of the present dark and melancholy state (v. 6, 7). V. Faith holds up the heart, notwithstanding, with hope that the day will dawn (v. 8). VI. Sense repeats its lamentations (v. 9, 10) and sighs out the same remonstrance it had before made of its grievances. VII. Faith gets the last word (v. 11), for the silencing of the complaints of sense, and, though it be almost the same with that (v. 5) yet now it prevails and carries the day. The title does not tell us who was the penman of this psalm, but most probably it was David, and we may conjecture that it was penned by him at a time when, either by Saul’s persecution or Absalom’s rebellion, he was driven from the sanctuary and cut off from the privilege of waiting upon God in public ordinances. The strain of it is much the same with 63, and therefore we may presume it was penned by the same hand and upon the same or a similar occasion. In singing it, if we be either in outward affliction or in inward distress, we may accommodate to ourselves the melancholy expressions we find here; if not, we must, in singing them, sympathize with those whose case they speak too plainly, and thank God it is not our own case; but those passages in it which express and excite holy desires towards God, and dependence on him, we must earnestly endeavour to bring our minds up to.To the chief musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.
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Holy love to God as the chief good and our felicity is the power of godliness, the very life and soul of religion, without which all external professions and performan...
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...ore said, chiding himself, as before, for his dejections and disquietudes, and encouraging himself to trust in the name of the Lord and to stay himself upon his God. Note, It may be of great use to us to think our good thoughts over again, and, if we do not gain our point with them at first, perhaps we may the second time; however, where the heart goes along with the words, it is no vain repetition. We have need to press the same thing over and over again upon our hearts, and all little enough. (2.) By adding one word to it; there he hoped to praise God for the salvation that was in his countenance; here, "I will praise him,’’ says he, "as the salvation of my countenance from the present cloud that is upon it; if God smile upon me, that will make me look pleasant, look up, look forward, look round, with pleasure.’’ He adds, and my God, "related to me, in covenant with me; all that he is, all that he has, is mine, according to the true intent and meaning of the promise.’’ This thought enabled him to triumph over all his griefs and fears. God’s being with the saints in heaven, and being their God, is that which will wipe away all tears from their eyes, Rev. 21:3, 4.
St. Albans Psalter Psalm 68 is not long, but it does have lots of detailed material to study the author’s choice of language, and the power of the images that are being conveyed to the readers through an emotional and sentimental way. The simplicity of this psalm’s gives it power, since it expresses an emotional despair in a careful shaped prayer, which comes from a human being in what seems to be a life-threatening situation. In the image and the content, the psalmist’s travels an arc of desperation to salvation, in a vivid personal plea to Christ to save him from what seems to be a swirling vortex of hopelessness that threatens to pull him under forever.
I first stumbled upon the strange nature of Psalm 46 in Anthony Burgess's autobiography, You've Had Your Time. The argument that Burgess makes, as an aside on composing a musical on the life of Shakespeare, is not meant to be conclusive but is offered as a curio.
2 He fedeth me in a grene pasture, and ledeth me to a fresh water. 3 He quickeneth my soule, & bringeth me forth in the waye of rightuousnes for his names sake. 4 Though I shulde walke now in the valley of the shadowe of death, yet I feare no euell, for thou art with me: thy staffe & thy shepehoke comforte me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me agaynst mine enemies: thou anoyntest my heade with oyle, & fyllest my cuppe full. 6 Oh let thy louynge kyndnes & mercy folowe me all the dayes off my life, that I maye dwell in the house off the LORDE for euer.” Psalm 23 (Matthew-Tyndale Bible). As seen here the wording of the scripture is primarily the same but written into today’s language for better knowledge of its
The book of Psalms is one of the most useful books all throughout the Biblical text. It is not just a book of stories or law but personal praises, laments, and the deepest cries of the soul to the one true King: Yahweh. The Psalter is “the most reliable theological, pastoral, and liturgical resource given us in the biblical tradition” (pp. 1). These psalms pave a path for practical faith in the world today. Author, theologian, and teacher, Walter Brueggemann, goes into depth on the psalms of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation to discuss that through the unexpected high and low seasons of life one can turn to the Psalms for authentic conversation with God.
These and added aesthetic expressions in the Bible do not aim to advise us some lesson. They are absolutely a action of adorableness and artistry. Abounding of the psalms are expressions of anguish or approbation or anger. The purpose of such psalms was not to acquaint information; they do not accord a hypothesis to evaluate. They are expressions of God’s humans with which we can identify.
Deffinbaugh, B. (n.d.). Wisdom Literature: The Psalms Part 1. Retrieved May 9, 2011, from Bible.org: http://bible.org/seriespage/wisdom-literature-psalms-part-i
Psalm 113 reads like a 1st century pep talk for those with spiritual burnout. The writer makes his case for the Lord by pointing to the many ways that God earns our praise. These nine verses of scripture are saturated with three specific reasons to praise the Lord – He is Su...
Just as Adam and Eve sinned and ate an apple from the Garden of Eden, Jesus told us that he would sacrifice his life for us someday, and it would be his gift to us. Even though our sin seems as a barrier to our lives, we know that through God’s sacrifice, we can be transcended and made new. In the anonymous folk ballad, ‘’The Holy Well”, the poet uses thirteen quatrains with an ABCB rhyme scheme and does not follow a specific underlying rhyme pattern, as it is sporadic. When our lives are filled with compassion, we present the knowledge and understanding of God’s love on earth through what we do, what we say and how we act.
In consideration to the theological rationale the researcher will examine the 23rd Psalm. This Psalm illustrates how God acts in regards to his people. In this Psalm, God is the Shepherd and the congregation represents the sheep. God shows his love and care for the sheep. The shepherd and sheep relationship works best when the sheep remain in the fold and listen to the shepherd.
Today’s culture is one where people like to do as little work as possible. Even when it comes to reading our own scripture, The Holy Words of God, a lot of people like to look up one verse and reference it to something without knowing what the rest of the passage says. Psalms 109 is no exception, it is one the more widely misused passages as of late. A popular verse from Psalms 109 is verse 8 which reads “Let his days be few; and let another take his office”, this is seen in reference to our current president, but what people fail to realize is what else David is actually praying. This paper is going to go through Psalms 109 and unpack it verse by verse to show the true meaning of what David was praying and to give us a new look at how to pray.
Religion has stricken much debate over its origins. Some finds propose that some sort of religion was present since the beginning of mankind. Evidence of sacrificial ceremonies can relate the relationship between man and animal, and between man and his natural environment. Another theory of the birth of religion came from the “Near East” from the polytheistic views of the Hindu. They believed there were gods and goddesses of fire, wind, rain, and earth which lead to them making ceremonial prayers for rain, sunshine, or health. The pantheistic views, from African and American Indian cultures, briefly meant all is God. And the monotheistic views which is believed to have come from 2000BC. One can only question, what purpose does religion serve in today’s society? And what does society, as a whole, feel it needs to know?
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
The power and the order of the common customs can not bring human beings with the inner peace. As a mysterious power , religion can solve the problem which can not be solved by the science and technology. When the science and knowledge can not explain all the confusion in this world, religion came in. Religion has the significant function that it can provide the importance of life and eliminate the resentment . It offer the sense of security for the people who lived in poverty or lived confusedly. Religion deifies some value and religious doctrine which can control the desire and impulsion from people’s heart.
At one point or another in one’s life you are faced with God, eye to eye and you know it. You can feel the Holy Spirit’s presence, like a humming sound that’s too low to hear, but it’s there and you can feel it, a feeling that you are not alone. For some, this feeling lasts for eternity, and for others God works within them again and again because the Lord’s love is persistent. The feeling I had came and went, for it was not strong enough as a child. But now, I am the strongest I have ever been.
Psalm 43 is a cry to God: “Judge me O God and plead my cause against