It’s the most voluminous book in the Bible; it has 150 chapters which were written over a period of thousand years starting from the time of Moses (Psalm 90) down to the Psalms written during the time of Ezra! The Psalms also has the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. A verse by verse study of Psalm 119 can probably take months to do. Such is the depth and riches of wisdom in the book of Psalms. The book is not just the biggest book in the bible but also the most read! Even outside of the Christian faith people of the other faiths also read the book of Psalms. Everyone knows the book of Psalms.
While growing up my mother just had a little sweet cute baby who happened to be our last born, and back then each time she puts him to sleep she will open a passage in the book of Psalms and place this behind where the baby little head is placed! Is this a sort of protection for the baby or a religious rite? I don’t know! Maybe the Psalms will leap out of the pages to fight any power that might disturb the baby? Anyway, such was the belief in the power of the book of Psalms.
And really my mother, like many other women that practice such are in good company in believing in the power of the Psalms. Even in the New Testament, the most quoted passages are from the book of Psalms. Of the 238 direct quotations of old testament scriptures in the New Testament, 116 of these are from the book of Psalms! Jesus asked the Jewish leaders of his day, “How then doth David in the Spirit call him [the Messiah] Lord?” Christ was quoting from Psalm 110. Again, Peter, quoting from Psalm 69, declared, “The Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas” (Acts 1:16).
Matter of fact, Jesus declared that a lot of things written about him in the book of Psalms, this he said shortly after his resurrection, must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). And indeed a lot of this were fulfilled. For examples, the Psalmist prophesied about his sonship in Psalm 2:7 which was fulfilled in Matthew 3:17. It recorded how Jesus will be praised by children in Psalm 8:2 and this was fulfilled in Matthew 21:15-16. And at his death the Psalmist prophesied about how the master’s bones will be unbroken in Psalm 34:20 and this was fulfilled in John 19:32-33, 36. The book of Psalms is a book about the master, all this adds to the power, depth and riches of Gods wisdom and glory revealed through its pages!
But what is it that makes this book so different from every other book of the bible and makes it so popular both within the Christian faith and outside of it? Author Gene Taylor wrote about the Psalms and he said, “While most of the Bible is God’s voice calling to His creatures, the book of Psalms is mankind's voice raised to the lord as the various writers express their deep personal feelings, desires, and needs, with the Spirit of God helping them to strike a chord with the heart of God”. No wonder that when we want to express our deepest fears, joy, desperation, need, celebration desire, mention that emotion, to God, we always turn to the book of Psalms.
Read full message and article here THE PRAYERS OF DAVID - AN INTRODUCTION
While growing up my mother just had a little sweet cute baby who happened to be our last born, and back then each time she puts him to sleep she will open a passage in the book of Psalms and place this behind where the baby little head is placed! Is this a sort of protection for the baby or a religious rite? I don’t know! Maybe the Psalms will leap out of the pages to fight any power that might disturb the baby? Anyway, such was the belief in the power of the book of Psalms.
And really my mother, like many other women that practice such are in good company in believing in the power of the Psalms. Even in the New Testament, the most quoted passages are from the book of Psalms. Of the 238 direct quotations of old testament scriptures in the New Testament, 116 of these are from the book of Psalms! Jesus asked the Jewish leaders of his day, “How then doth David in the Spirit call him [the Messiah] Lord?” Christ was quoting from Psalm 110. Again, Peter, quoting from Psalm 69, declared, “The Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas” (Acts 1:16).
Matter of fact, Jesus declared that a lot of things written about him in the book of Psalms, this he said shortly after his resurrection, must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). And indeed a lot of this were fulfilled. For examples, the Psalmist prophesied about his sonship in Psalm 2:7 which was fulfilled in Matthew 3:17. It recorded how Jesus will be praised by children in Psalm 8:2 and this was fulfilled in Matthew 21:15-16. And at his death the Psalmist prophesied about how the master’s bones will be unbroken in Psalm 34:20 and this was fulfilled in John 19:32-33, 36. The book of Psalms is a book about the master, all this adds to the power, depth and riches of Gods wisdom and glory revealed through its pages!
But what is it that makes this book so different from every other book of the bible and makes it so popular both within the Christian faith and outside of it? Author Gene Taylor wrote about the Psalms and he said, “While most of the Bible is God’s voice calling to His creatures, the book of Psalms is mankind's voice raised to the lord as the various writers express their deep personal feelings, desires, and needs, with the Spirit of God helping them to strike a chord with the heart of God”. No wonder that when we want to express our deepest fears, joy, desperation, need, celebration desire, mention that emotion, to God, we always turn to the book of Psalms.
Read full message and article here THE PRAYERS OF DAVID - AN INTRODUCTION
