The book of Psalms is so amazing. It is a
book so filled with emotion, reality, and expression. I have heard a speaker
say, “often we feel as though we have to park our anxieties and troubles
outside with the car before coming into church to worship and praise like
everything is perfect with the world.” How much truth there is in that
statement! In Psalms we see David bring his troubles to the Lord, issues such
as injustice of oppression, fear, betrayal, loneliness, things that we face too! God's strengths are revealed in our weakness, and He longs to bring peace and healing to the broken heart. As
in Chapter 13, although David starts off with trouble and anxiety, he always
ends in Praise, glorifying God and acknowledging his dependence in surrender to God. What an authentic, real approach to
worship! I think that God doesn't want “pretend perfect” worship from false
lips, but rather praise from a broken but faithful heart.
These are some verses I particularly
enjoyed.
But
they delight in the law of the Lord,
Meditating
on it day and night.
They
are like trees planted along the riverbank,
Bearing
fruit each season.
Their
leaves never wither,
And
they prosper in all they do. (1:3)
I
lay down and slept,
Yet
I woke up in safety,
For
the Lord was watching over me.
I am
not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side. (3:5-6)
Don’t
sin by letting anger control you
Think
about it overnight and remain silent.
Offer
sacrifices in the right spirit,
And
trust the Lord. (4:4-5)
When
I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-
The
moon and the stars you set in place-
What
are mere mortals that you should think about them,
Human
beings that you should care for them? (8:3-4)
Here are also a couple songs that I feel
express the words of a couple verses listed above!
Whom Shall I Fear – Chris Tomlin
Great thoughts. A bit of an explanation regarding Psalm 4, though, since you have quoted it:
ReplyDeleteMost of the 'formal equivalence' (i.e. wrod for word) rather than dynamic equivalence (i.e. thought for thought) translations like the NLT translate that verse as 'Be in awe and sin not' or 'Be angry and sin not'. The NLT has picked up the 'angry' translation, but the original Hebrew simply refers to a strong emotion, especially one that makes you tremble - e.g. tremble with rage, tremble in fear. In context, the verse is talking about worship of God and having a right attitude before Him, so the 'be in awe' (have a strong fear/reverence) in the presence of God seems to be the thought in this verse.
Thanks for your feedback, Zane! :)
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