Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

IV MERELY MORTAL - 34-39- Tenderness and Mercy of God V MIRACULOUS SIGNS - 40-53- Terrible Plagues in Egypt VI MOST HIGH - 54-64- Tabernacle of Shiloh Forsaken VII MOUNT ZION - 65-72- ‘True Heart’ of David

INTRODUCTION:

“A psalm (maskil) of Asaph”

13 of the psalms are noted as ‘maskil’ that means ‘teaching.’ Asaph was a teacher and a prophetic musician with a passion for the lessons of history. Here is a list of the sins of Israel in this song that we are to make every effort to avoid:

• Did not keep God’s covenant- (10 • Forgot what he had done- (11,42,43) • Kept on with their sin- (17,32) • Willfully tested God in their hearts- (18, 56) • Spoke against God himself- (19) • Did not believe or trust him- (22) • Followed him only with their words- (36)

• Their hearts were not loyal- (37) • They rebelled against him- (40

• Turned back and were faithless- (57) • Built altars to other gods and idols- (58)

I MY PEOPLE - 1-8 Teaching the Next Generation

“O my people, listen to my teaching. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past–stories we have heard and know, stories our ancestors handed down to us.” (1-3) Asaph prophesies in this psalm and the New Testament tells us that these verses are the words of Jesus: “Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. This fulfilled the prophecy that said, ‘I will speak to you in parables…’ (Mt. 13:34,35) The psalmist is more concerned with teaching the internal meaning of history than simply recounting the events. “We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord. We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did. For he issued his decree to Jacob; he gave his law to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them– even the children not yet born–that they in turn might teach their children.” (4-6) We are to ‘teach’ and to ‘tell’ not only the law and commands but also the deeds of power and mir- acles that God has done in the past. This chain of teaching is to continue past the generations that we can see to the ones yet to come. Jesus the master teacher and story-teller commissions his people to ‘pass it on!’ “So each generation can set its hope anew on God, remembering his glorious miracles and obey- ing his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors–stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, re- fusing to give their hearts to God.”(7,8) The results of teaching the next generation or neglecting that duty are obvious in these verses: the taught generation has new hope while the neglected children refuse to give their hearts to God. The fate of a generation rests upon the parents. Asaph was obedient to this command and centuries later his off- spring were still faithfully serving God in the days of Nehemiah: • As leaders of prayer- “Mattaniah…a descendant of Asaph, who opened the thanksgiving serv- ices with prayer;” (Neh. 11:17)

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