10 Reasons Why We Study and Sing Psalms

 

Next Lord’s Day, May 24, 2015, we begin a new sermon series, this time on the Book of Psalms. I have preached on several Psalms, so I would re-post them as they come into focus. This series will be divided according to the different types of Psalms (lament, praise, thanksgiving, wisdom, God’s law, etc.). Not all 150 psalms will be preached, but I will pick several from each type.

Article 39 of our Church Order says, “The 150 Psalms shall have the principal place in the singing of the churches. Hymns which faithfully and fully reflect the teaching of the Scripture as expressed in the Three Forms of Unity may be sung, provided they are approved by the Consistory.” But why do we study and sing this old, ancient book? Here are 10 reasons why the Psalter is beneficial not just for singing, but for preaching and teaching to Christians.

1. The Psalms are God’s inspired, inerrant and infallible Word. It has been part of the canon of Scripture for thousands of years. The human authors of the Psalms include David (75, 2 Sam 23:1), Asaph (12, 1 Chron 6:31), the sons of Korah (11, 1 Chron 9:19), Solomon (2?, 1 Kgs 4:32), and Moses (1, Exo 15:1-18; Psa 90). These are God-ordained writers. So the Psalms are as much God’s Word as Genesis, the prophecy of Isaiah, the Gospel of John, Paul’s epistle to the Romans, or the epistle to the Hebrews.

Psalm232. The Psalms affirm the doctrine of the Trinity. It speaks of Yahweh (Lord) as Creator (Psa 124:8), the Son as Adonai (Lord, Psa 110:1) worthy of worship (Psa 2; Psa 110), and the Spirit as the Giver of Life (Psa 104:29-30). Many Psalms are called Messianic because they show us in types and shadows the Person and Work of Jesus the Messiah (Psa 2, 22, 31, 40, 69, 110).

3. The Psalms tell us about the whole of redemptive history. From God’s creation of heaven and earth; to man’s fall into sin, so that he is sinful from the womb (Psa 51:5); to the Lord redeeming his people from sin (Psa 79:9); and at the last, when all the earth rejoices in the Lord forever and ever (Psa 22:27; 66:4; 86:9). Martin Luther even calls the Psalter a “little Bible.”

4. The Psalms is the Old Testament book most quoted and alluded to in the New Testament. Including quotations and allusions that are not explicitly cited, there are over 90 references. Here’s a helpful list of these quotations.

5. The Psalms engage both our heart and mind. Did you notice that reading the Psalms engage a variety of thoughts and emotions? John Calvin rightly noticed, “there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn – all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated.” The ESV Study Bible also says that emotions expressed in the Psalms include, “love and adoration toward God, sorrow over sin, dependence on God in desperate circumstances, the battle of fear and trust, walking with God even when the way seems dark, thankfulness for God’s care, devotion to the word of God, and confidence in the eventual triumph of God’s purposes for the world.”

6. The Psalms guard against heresy. Many man-written hymns have poor theology, even heresies (see Contemporary Christian Music). Since the Book of Psalms is God’s inspired and inerrant Word, its theology is perfect.

7. The Psalms help us engage in spiritual warfare. The Lord fights our battles against sin and afflictions for us (Psa 34:17; 35:1). In the Psalms, he is often called our Rock, Fortress and Refuge. All of our spiritual struggles in this life can be found in this book.

8. The Psalms teach and assist us in praying. Since many of the Psalms are also prayers, and since the Psalms express all kinds of emotions we experience, we will find prayers fitting for all of life in the Psalms. The Psalms make known to us the privilege and permission that God “granted us to lay open before him our infirmities, which we would be ashamed to confess before men.” “A better and more unerring rule for guiding us in this exercise [prayer] cannot be found elsewhere than in The Psalms” (Calvin).

8. The Psalms often assure us of God’s justice and righteousness. It includes prayers for the poor, the oppressed, the widow and the orphan, and the afflicted (Psa 10:18; 68:5). Even the so-called imprecatory psalms teach us that it is our Sovereign Lord who will one day vindicate his people (Psa 18:47; 58:10; 149:7).

9. The Psalms are songs sung by God’s covenant people throughout the ages. When we sing Psalms, we sing together with God’s people all the way back to the time of Moses and David! We sing together with Jesus, the apostles, the early church, the Protestant Reformers, and the Puritans. Some of the most beloved passages in Scripture that Christians have memorized are from the Psalms. And many of the soundest hymns Christians have sung for hundreds of years use words from the Psalms. See “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” (Psa 46) by Martin Luther; “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” (Psa 100); “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (Psa 90) by Isaac Watts; “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (Psa 103; 17; 23; 106; 150) by Joachim Neander; “Joy to the World!” (Psa 96; 98) by Isaac Watts; “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken” (Psa 87) by John Newton.

10. Singing the Psalms helps in memorizing large portions of God’s Word. We all know from our younger days that memorization is often facilitated by singing what we want to memorize. How many verses in the Psalms have you committed to memory by singing them every Lord’s Day worship?


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