Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

1V SON OF YOUR CHOICE - 14-19

“Come back, we beg you, O God Almighty. Look down from heaven and see our plight. Watch over and care for this vine that you yourself have planted, this son you have raised for yourself. For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. May they perish at the sight of your frown.” (14-16) The nation of Israel is called God’s son but the greater reality is that Christ is the true vine and Son of God and we are connected to him by faith, love and obedience. Israel had become disconnected and was fulfilling these words from John’s gospel: “For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.” (Jn. 15:5,6) Asaph is praying for revival, for God to return to his covenant love and re- store his vine, his ‘son’ Israel.

“Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice. Then we will never forsake you again. Re- vive us so we can call on your name once more.” (17,18)

Asaph looked prophetically to the coming of Jesus the Son of God who is the source of revival for all people: “He was with God, and he was God…to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”(Jn. 1:1, 12) Mankind will only be ‘revived’ to eternal life by the new birth he provides. As people are awakened and restored, the powerful prayer of Asaph will reach its grand- est expression like the loud ending of a fully orchestrated symphony. Together, all over the world his peo- ple will sing and pray with the full authority of his triune name:

“Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God Almighty. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.” (19)

1 Boyce

PSALM 81: SING PRAISES TO GOD, OUR STRENGTH Christ our Passover

This psalm is used today to welcome the Jewish New Year and it was originally written to celebrate either the Festival of Passover or the Festival of Tabernacles. Both of these Festivals began with the sounding of the trumpets at the full moon. The deliverance from Egypt and the giving of the Ten Com- mandments at Mount Sinai are both referred to in the psalm and seem to favor this being a Passover celebration. Verse 6-16 is a direct word from the Lord to his people through Asaph making this one of the strongest of the prophetic songs. Jesus fulfilled the imagery of this psalm as he became the Passover sacrifice that we now celebrate in worship: “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating the old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and truth.”(1 Cor. 5:7,8) It is presented in 4 sections:

I SING PRAISES - 1-5 II SAVED FROM EGYPT - 6, 7 III STERN WARNINGS - 8-10 IV SATISFY YOU - 11-16

INTRODUCTION:

“For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.”

It is important to note that at this point in Asaph’s life, he was no longer the choir director but func- tioning in the kingdom as a prophet. He had progressed from a music copyist to one of the most es- teemed positions in the Kingdom of David. He still wrote music and gave it to the musicians for arrangement and ministry. Perhaps it was given to Jeduthun or his sons as they played the ‘gittith’ or stringed instruments.

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