"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips." (Psalm 63:5, KJV)
The Psalms are songs. They were/are to be sung. Can you not "hear" David singing? There are a few Christian traditions whose hymn books are mostly Psalms put to music. Modern Christendom is missing so much.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his parents from Tegel Prison on May 15, 1943: "For years I've read the Psalter daily; there is no other book I know and love so well as this one. I can no longer read Psalms 3, 47, 70 and others without hearing them in the music of Heinrich Schutz. Knowing them in this way belongs to the greatest enrichments of my life." Bonhoeffer wrote in another context, "Where the Psalter is abandoned, an incomparable treasure vanishes from the Christian Church. With its recovery will come unsuspected power." Rereading and reading some works of Bonhoeffer which I had not read has been a great encouragement to me. It has encouraged me with, "I knew I was on to something."
I recently read in Bonhoeffer's, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, "Therefore, wherever we no longer pray the Psalms in our churches, we must take up the Psalter that much more in our daily morning and evening prayers, reading and praying together at least several Psalms every day so that we succeed in reading through this book a number of times each year getting into it deeper and deeper. We also ought not to select Psalms at our own discretion, thinking that we know better what we ought to pray than does God Himself. To do that is to dishonor the prayer-book of the Bible." From time to time I sing the Psalms, just sing whatever tune comes to me. Also, I haven't played my horn in years, but got it out the other day and played, "Oh, Come, O Come, Emmanuel." It was a worship "experience." As I read the Psalms, I realize that the singing and playing instruments "around" the Psalms was a norm for centuries in the Covenant Community, Old and New.
The Book of Psalms is a "hymnbook." But you and I, through and in the power of the Holy Spirit, can begin to sing really any portion of the Bible, and you don't have to be a Pavarotti to do so. Let a/the song arise in your heart today, whether in the midst of joy or sorrow. Sing a Psalm, a portion from the prophets, and, "sing to the Lord a new song." Make it your own, because if you are in Jesus Christ and He in you, it is your own. That Psalm/Song is, "The Word of God," Jesus Christ, in the written Word of God. Ah, come on, give it a try. "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips....The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after...."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that because of You I can come to you as the song writer said, "With a song in my heart." Amen.
****************************
* News, Commentary: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com
The Psalms are songs. They were/are to be sung. Can you not "hear" David singing? There are a few Christian traditions whose hymn books are mostly Psalms put to music. Modern Christendom is missing so much.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his parents from Tegel Prison on May 15, 1943: "For years I've read the Psalter daily; there is no other book I know and love so well as this one. I can no longer read Psalms 3, 47, 70 and others without hearing them in the music of Heinrich Schutz. Knowing them in this way belongs to the greatest enrichments of my life." Bonhoeffer wrote in another context, "Where the Psalter is abandoned, an incomparable treasure vanishes from the Christian Church. With its recovery will come unsuspected power." Rereading and reading some works of Bonhoeffer which I had not read has been a great encouragement to me. It has encouraged me with, "I knew I was on to something."
I recently read in Bonhoeffer's, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, "Therefore, wherever we no longer pray the Psalms in our churches, we must take up the Psalter that much more in our daily morning and evening prayers, reading and praying together at least several Psalms every day so that we succeed in reading through this book a number of times each year getting into it deeper and deeper. We also ought not to select Psalms at our own discretion, thinking that we know better what we ought to pray than does God Himself. To do that is to dishonor the prayer-book of the Bible." From time to time I sing the Psalms, just sing whatever tune comes to me. Also, I haven't played my horn in years, but got it out the other day and played, "Oh, Come, O Come, Emmanuel." It was a worship "experience." As I read the Psalms, I realize that the singing and playing instruments "around" the Psalms was a norm for centuries in the Covenant Community, Old and New.
The Book of Psalms is a "hymnbook." But you and I, through and in the power of the Holy Spirit, can begin to sing really any portion of the Bible, and you don't have to be a Pavarotti to do so. Let a/the song arise in your heart today, whether in the midst of joy or sorrow. Sing a Psalm, a portion from the prophets, and, "sing to the Lord a new song." Make it your own, because if you are in Jesus Christ and He in you, it is your own. That Psalm/Song is, "The Word of God," Jesus Christ, in the written Word of God. Ah, come on, give it a try. "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips....The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after...."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that because of You I can come to you as the song writer said, "With a song in my heart." Amen.
****************************
* News, Commentary: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
