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Reading the Psalms 293 Views


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Shmoop is our shepherd.

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Transcript

00:04

Reading the Psalms, a la Shmoop. You may want to clear your throat.

00:09

Take a swig of water.

00:11

Practice your vocal runs. That's right... the Psalms in the Bible were

00:18

actually intended to be sung rather than spoken.

00:22

"Psalms" even comes from the Greek word psalmos, which means "song sung with a harp."

00:29

But we won't make you lug that whole thing out of storage.

00:35

Many of the psalms are associated with David, the future king of the Israelites...

00:40

...but there were actually many authors.

00:45

These 150 poems were intended to praise God...

00:48

...and to express deep emotions felt by the Jews as a result of their experiences.

00:53

So...what makes a psalm a psalm? Well, if it praises God... it might be a psalm.

01:00

If it establishes a relationship between God and man... it might be a psalm.

01:05

If it expresses deep emotion... it might be a psalm.

01:09

If it is pastoral in nature... in other words, if there's more countryside than big city...

01:16

it might be a psalm.

01:18

If it uses simile, metaphor, repetition, personification and concrete language... then it just might

01:24

be a psalm.

01:26

If it is all of those things... well then, you've got a psalm on your hands, buddy.

01:30

Let's take a gander at an example and see how well some of the verses in Psalm 111 align

01:36

with our little checklist.

01:38

I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

01:44

He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

01:49

He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.

01:54

The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.

01:59

They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.

02:05

Okay, item numero uno. Does it praise God?

02:09

"Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart,"

02:15

"Great are the works of the Lord,"

02:16

"...his righteousness endures forever."

02:17

"the Lord is gracious and compassionate"

02:20

This passage certainly seems to think quite highly of the big guy. We're gonna go with

02:24

"yes." What about establishing a relationship between

02:27

God and man?

02:29

"He provides food for those who fear him."

02:32

"He provided redemption for his people"

02:36

Looks like this passage is telling us that God was a creator of, provider for, and savior

02:42

of his people.

02:43

Sounds like a pretty serious relationship to us.

02:47

Deep emotion... is that in there?

02:49

"I will extol the Lord with all my heart"

02:51

"They are steadfast for ever and ever"

02:54

"to him belongs eternal praise"

02:56

The speaker seems to be more than just a little choked up over the subject... strong emotion...

03:04

check!

03:05

Is the passage pastoral in nature?

03:07

righteousness, glorious, majestic, redemption...

03:09

Okay, so no particular mention of cows or meadows...

03:13

...but the poem tends to reflect a simple, calm and confident tone through the use of

03:17

these words.

03:18

And finally... does the poem use simile or metaphor, repetition, personification and

03:22

concrete language?

03:24

Metaphor: "He provides food for those who fear him"; probably the speaker is referring

03:29

to spiritual sustenance rather than "food."

03:33

Personification: "They are steadfast for ever and ever"; "they" refers to the commandments

03:38

which are given the human quality of being able to remain steadfast.

03:42

Repetition: The words "praise" and "Lord" are repeated, emphasizing the idea that we

03:48

should.... Praise God.

03:50

Concrete language: The following words appeal to one of our senses- covenant, food, nations....

03:57

We can "see" all of these things.

03:58

Check, check, check and check! Since we seem to be checking all the boxes...

04:00

...we could be pretty sure that what we are reading is a psalm...

04:04

...even if we hadn't been told as much from the beginning.

04:07

We'll leave you with something to think about...

04:09

... if you graduate from a Bible School...

04:11

...is that your psalm-a mater?

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