Calvin writes that Psalm 20 was given to the church as a common prayer whenever she was threatened with any danger. This Psalm seems even more appropriate for the persecuted Church. It is a prayer for us to pray remembering the persecuted Church and praying that God would remember their sufferings.
Saturday Psalter
Saturday Psalm
Psalm One in Hebrew
Clasp Your Hands, Psalm 47
Jim Jordan sees the translation “Clap your Hands” in Psalm 47 better understood as “Clasp your Hands.” That is, the idea of Psalm 47 is the idea of the nations (Jews and Gentiles) holding hands before God’s throne. Still, the symbolism of clapping our hands is an appropriate display when singing that Psalm (see Psalm 47 in the Genevan Psalter).
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Saturday Psater, Psalm 46:”A Mighty Fortress in the Storm” Scottish Psalter 1650
Saturday Psalter
PSALM 1 from the Genevan Psalter, AUDIO
- How blessed is the man whose walk is not
In evil counsel which the wicked plot,
Who does not stand where sin its pleasure offers
And will not take his seat among the scoffers;
But his delight is in God’s cov’nant law:
By night and day he ponders it with awe. - Behold, the righteous man is like a tree
Which by the streams yields fruit abundantly,
Whose leaves are green and shall not fade or perish;
In all he does, the righteous one shall flourish.
But wicked men are not like him, for they
Resemble chaff that winds will drive away. - Their downfall and destruction is at hand:
The wicked shall not in the judgment stand,
Nor sinners in the righteous congregation.
The LORD our God shall judge their generation;
He watches o’er the way of righteous men,
But doomed forever is the way of sin.
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Saturday Psalter
Psalm 6
Teaching New Psalms and Hymns
Jim Jordan has some advice on how a pastor should introduce new hymns and psalms to his congregation. In his Rite Reasons No. 19 he writes:
To teach new psalms and hymns, you need someone with a strong voice, preferably a man because the male voice is more powerful. (Since this involves teaching/training in the Word, it may be inappropriate for a woman to take this role anyway; but if the ox is in the ditch, so to speak, I don’t think it would be wrong to use a woman here.)
Have the leader sing through the first stanza. Then have him sing each line and the congregation sing it after him. If there are hard lines, do them twice. Then have the congregation sing the whole first stanza, and then go back and do the whole psalm or hymn. Use it again for a couple of weeks, so that the congregation becomes familiar with it.
A Brief (Typological) Exposition of Psalm 23
Editor’s Note: It is a new pastor’s greatest triumph when he can finish any study without making mistakes. Well, once again I stumbled a few times. I stumbled over my notes in the beginning. I had the order reversed. Towards the middle of the audio I said that the dying do not ask to have their minister to read the Book of Revelation, but they rather ask for the Psalter to be read. While this is mainly true, it is not always true. The end of Revelation is full of words of comfort to the dying (no more tears, etc.). Besides these mistakes, my exposition is helpful. In light of my commitment to typological hermeneutic, there will be some redemptive historical insights.
This morning let me offer some brief thoughts and insights on Psalm 23. This is one of the most cherished Psalms of all.
Let us read this Psalm together:
Psalm 23, AUDIO AVAILABLE
Yahweh is my Shepherd,
Nothing shall I lack.
In green pastures He makes me lie down;
Beside quiet waters He leads me.
My soul He restores;
He leads me in righteous paths for His name’s sake. a
Even though I walk in a valley of deep darkness, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me,
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare before me a table in the presence of mine enemies.
You fatten my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in Yahweh’s house to the end of days. [1]
Peter Leithart says: “The difference between good shepherds and wicked shepherds boils down to this: Good shepherds feed their sheep, while evil shepherds devour their sheep. Jesus spreads a table in the wilderness for 5000 while Herod celebrates his birthday by serving up the head of John the Baptist. Jesus lifts burdens from His sheep, while the Pharisees pile burdens on them. Jesus welcomes publicans and sinners to His table, while the Pharisees refuse even to touch them.”[2]
The initial idea in this Psalm is that Yahweh always provides for His own. The Covenant member does not have to wonder if He will be nourished, but in what manner He will be nourished. When I speak of nourishment I am referring to both physical and spiritual nourishment. Since this is certainly most powerfully fulfilled in the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ, then we know that He provides our daily bread and He provides a Supper for His people in bread and wine. Both serve to lead us to green pastures.
Verse 2 says: “In green pastures He makes me lie down; Beside quiet waters He leads me.” This can also be translated in “pastures of green grass.” You see a similar picture of this when Jesus feeds the 5,000 in Mark 6. Verse 39 of Mark 6 says: “Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.” This sort of language occurs in the context of feeding. This imagery also takes us back to the prophetic writings where the Bible looks to a time when the Lamb and the Lion will be together in the green fields. Isaiah 65 says that the wolf and the lamb shall feed on growing grass or to graze together. This is a very earthly picture of a time when there will be peace among all. The idea of the Psalmist of making us to lie down in green pastures is the idea of placing us in a place where God reigns supreme; where troubles are diminished, where we can rest and commune with one another in peace and safety. Continue reading “A Brief (Typological) Exposition of Psalm 23”
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Saturday Psalter
Psalm 103 in the Scottish Psalter