Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

Introduction: Keys To The Psalms

These are some of the keys that have helped me to unlock the riches of the Psalms. They are not pre- sented necessarily in the order of their importance, but each one, like the facet of a diamond, brings il- lumination to the Hebrew Song Book. These keys have built a framework in my thinking that has increased my understanding of this amazing book of the Bible.

The Key of Worship and Prayer “ I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer…I will praise you with songs of joy. ” (Ps. 63:4,5) One of the main purposes of this book is to help bring people closer to God through a deeper under- standing of worship and prayer as taught in the Psalms. Psalms show us that it is all right to be human before God, to pour out our souls in anguish as well as celebration. It also teaches us His language of spiritual conversation; in how to pray and proclaim His Word over our lives. It teaches us the language of worship, thanksgiving, praise and joy. Psalms is both the worship book and the prayer book of the Bible and God meant these two things to be exercised together. Much of this book was written on ‘my knees’ and at the ‘keyboard’ of my piano as well as at ‘my desk’ of study. Jesus: Key to the Scriptures “’ When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the Prophets and in the Psalms must all come true.’ Then He opened their minds to understand these many Scrip- tures. ” (Luke 24:44,45) The grand subject of the Book of Psalms is Jesus, as it was His Spirit that moved upon the authors and inspired them to write their poetry. This is not literature that is frozen in the timeframe of the ancient He- brew civilization but a living, prophetic document filled with the Presence of the Messiah. Psalms leaves us in no doubt concerning the Deity, Lordship and love of Christ for each of us. Hopefully the reader of this work will be able to say in some small measure along with the disciples on the Emmaus road; “ Did- n’t our hearts feel strangely warm as He talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us? ” (Lk. 24:32)

The ‘Authorship’ Key “For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.” (Ps. 44)

Often the authorship will give clues and hints as to the historical setting of the Psalm and enrich our un- derstanding. David authored the majority of the Psalms and set the tone for the whole genre of musical scripture. Many of the anonymous Psalms are attributed to him also. It is believed that major part of Psalms originated in the period 1000 B.C. to 700 B.C., from David to Hezekiah 1 , the rest of which were composed during the time of the captivity in Babylon and the period of Judah’s return to the land of Is- rael. The authors are:

David

73 12 10

Asaph

The Descendants of Korah

Solomon

2 1 1 1

Moses

Heman the Ezrahite Ethan the Ezrahite

Anonymous

50

Xl