Singing and Writing Psalms
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A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. -
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.3 He will not let your foot slip; he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.5 The Lord watches over you; the Lord is your shade at your right hand
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.7 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Singing & Writing Psalms
This session is about worshipping through the Psalms and we will sing Psalm 23, Psalm 121 and a version of Psalm 150 the last of the Psalms.
Sometimes, when I was visiting as a healthcare Chaplain I would ask the person if they had a favourite Psalm and then I would read it to them. If they were unable to read due to ill health it was very special indeed. Invariably the favourite would be Psalm 23 and the second favourite was Psalm 121 ‘I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from.’
The Epilogue in the ‘Lake of Tears’ is a look at what that experience may mean theologically. Is there a lake of tears?
We read in Isaiah 40:12 that God measures the oceans in the hollow of his hand. That’s a picture of the greatness of God, beyond our comprehension and I believe that the Lake of Tears is a similar, staggering, glimpse that God is an all-knowing, all-participating ever-present God. Furthermore and crucially so, that the tears that are recorded are ours and His.
Jesus, God incarnate, wept in anguish in Gethsemane, he wept with those who wept in John 11:35. God said (Romans 12:15b) ‘Weep with those who weep.’
John 11:35 ‘Jesus wept,’ He empathised with Mary and Martha’s pain and tears welled and dropped as he drew alongside them and others in their sadness. Tears of compassion. Psalm 147:3 and Psalm 34:18 say He heals and is close to the broken-hearted. The empathy of God.
Psalm 56:8: ‘You keep track of all my tears. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book’ - God not only knew of the Psalmist David’s tears, he held them and I believe the Lord wept with him. ‘Weep with those who weep’ oozes compassion and pastoral care. That’s what our Lord does. Not one tear is wasted or ignored. What a picture of God’s love for us that is.
The Psalms are such a marvellous, rich resource for us. Resources of prayer and praise.
There are the psalms for the sufferer like Psalm 13, and Psalm 22 (Jesus quoted, My God why have you forsaken me?’ Psalm 102:1 ‘Let my cry for help come to you.’
Psalms of Refuge like Psalm 46, The Lord is my refuge and strength an ever-present help…’ Psalm 71 ‘In you I have taken refuge.’
Psalm 91 ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”’
Psalms of Praise. Many psalms have this refrain ‘Yet I will praise’ (Psalm 13).
In a podcast on 23rd November 2020, Tim Keller said, ‘Pray your tears.’ There are prayers in the Bible which can help us cry out. Psalm 139:12 says ‘Hear my prayer, oh Lord listen to my cry for help, be not deaf to my weeping.’
The Psalms have been the songbook and prayer book of the Hebrew people for several millennia. The oldest is probably Psalm 90 a Psalm of Moses, written around 1400BC. ‘Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.’ It is the first Psalm in the fourth book of the Psalms. The Psalms are organised into five (5) books. Each one reflects themes from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and the five themes: Beginning, Redemption, Sanctuary, Sojourn and Obedience (Deuteronomy see Psalm 119)
1 is Psalm 1 - 41
2 is Psalm 42-72
3 is Psalm 73-89
4 is Psalm 90-106
5 is Psalm 107-150
Every book in this compendium ends in a refrain or a chorus of praise, Ps 41, Ps 72, Ps 89, Ps 106 and the fifth book ends not in verses of praise but seven chapters of praise. Psalm 145 ‘I will exalt you, my God and my King, I will praise your name forever and ever, every day I will bless you…
Psalm 147 ‘How good it is to sing Praises to God, how pleasant and fitting it is to Praise Him.
Psalm 148 ‘Praise the Lord from the heavens…from the sanctuary, the moon etc - a great list of all creation and situations in which to praise him.
Psalm 150 ‘Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; raise him in his mighty heavens’ we will sing this Psalm today.
So let us engage in Praising the Lord in the Psalms. Jennie will lead us in this.
Afterwards, we will have an opportunity to write our own Psalm,
Write your own Psalm
Psalms were the songbook for the Hebrew people. They were read & sung publicly, often as call-and-response during services. The content of the Psalms is not meant to be autobiographical about what has just happened to the writer but written for other worshippers to guide and assist them in their own experience. Thus psalms stimulate our whole self: body, mind, soul to worship.
There are five main genres of psalms.
Praise: Who God is. 8:1 “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Lament: Either from forces against us or internal wrestling with sin and doubt.
1. Communal: 123:3 “Have mercy on us, Lord…for we have endured no end of contempt.”
2. Individual: 13:1 “How long will you hide your face from me?"
Thanksgiving: For what God has done. 40:5 “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.”
Royal: How God orders the world, and how leaders should respond to Him. Ps 2 “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.”
Wisdom: Deep observations about life that invite us to see things in a new way. 49 “Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world…”
Tips for writing your own Psalm
Write from a standpoint of faith as “participation” - whatever you think or feel, direct it to God.
Write, not in rhyme but in poetic form. Use metaphors and similes, comparisons and contrasts Consider a flow to your thoughts that leads the reader somewhere.
Write expressing your feelings balanced with what you believe to be true in faith.
Remember we are resurrection people, followers of Jesus. Who have received God’s grace and favour. David, for all his intimate knowledge of God, didn’t have an understanding like that.
PRACTICE
Choose two different psalms at random. Observe their flow, their purpose. What can you see in the process of worship here? How is the writer using language to convey that process?
Take time to pray. What is on your heart? Write a sketch of your thoughts & feelings. Let it flow.
Write your psalm. Maybe it’s praise, thanksgiving, lament, or a combination of those. Pray your psalm aloud also pray the Psalms in the Bible. Finish with quiet, silent reflection & listening.
Kelvin’s Top 20 Psalms
Ps 1 Blessedness
Ps 8 God’s greatness
Ps 22 Suffering
Ps 23 Confidence & trust
Ps 27 God my protector
Ps 33 God the Creator
Ps 39 Anguish & questions
Ps 42 Longing (Book 2. 42-72)
Ps 51 Being Forgiven
Ps 55 Betrayed by a friend
Ps 63 Longing for God
(Book 3. 73-89)
Ps 77 Comfort in distress
(Book 4. 90-106)
Ps 91 Sheltered
Ps 95 Venite - come!
Ps 103 Bless God
(Book 5. 107-150)
Ps 121 God is always there
Ps 130 God Forgives and Forgets
Ps 131 God’s Tenderness
Ps 139 God is All-knowing
Ps 145 Praise!
From Marc A Schelske’s Blog: ‘Here’s what I wrote - Psalm 13 was my model.’
Aching, empty, alone I cry out.
Father, where are you? Where am I?
Left alone in a moment, darkness.
I wonder will I find my way to you? Can I?
I need Your guidance.
I need You to light the way.
I need to hear your voice calling me.
I long to hear Your song
So I can sing with all my heart.
I long to know Your touch so I can know that I am real.
I long to see the beauty of Your glory
So I can lose myself in You,
My weakness burned away.
Yet, Father, I believe.
I have in moments heard Your voice,
And felt Your touch.
I have caught a glimpse of Your beautiful land.
And so I will walk, trusting that You are there,
That You led me here,
That I am not alone © Marc Alan Schelske
