Joy In The Psalms (Message 1)

Lessons

God is HOLY. He wants His people to acknowledge His holiness through WORSHIP, and He desires holiness from THOSE who worship Him.

This holy God is all-powerful and yet longs for a PERSONAL relationship with all those who call on His name. To draw near to Him is to know great JOY!

An Overview of the Psalms

The Book of Psalms is the LARGEST book in the Bible and no book is more READ or referenced than this one.

The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 lyric POEMS written over a 1,000-year period. A lyric poem is defined as “that which directly expresses the individual EMOTIONS of the poet.”

The Psalms are quoted more frequently in the New Testament than ANY OTHER book of the Old Testament. There are about one hundred DIRECT references or allusions from the Psalms in the New Testament.

Some Psalms were written in GOOD times (65) and some in very DIFFICULT times (51), but they all find HOPE, purpose and eventually JOY in the God of heaven.

1. His Grace (God of Zion)

The Flow — From His TEMPLE to All PEOPLE
Psa. 65:1 Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. 2 You who answer prayer, to you all people will come. 3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. 4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

a. The blessings of KNOWING God. This psalm begins with silence and EXPLODES into worship for the following reasons:
Psa. 65:1 To Thee, silence — praise, O God, [is] in Zion, And to Thee is a vow completed. (Young’s) לְךָ דֻֽמִיָּה תְהִלָּה אֱלֹהִים

-1. God is in His rightful PLACE (Zion).

-2. He ANSWERS prayer of Israel and of ANYONE who calls on His name!

-3. He FORGIVES sin. (The word is kaphar (כָּפַר) which means “to cover.”)

-4. He chooses us and DRAWS us to “live in His courts.”
. John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

-5. He satisfies (saba, שָׂבַע) us with GOOD things from “His house.” (Remember, the temple had NOT yet been built.)

b. The responsibilities of God’s PEOPLE.

-1. To fulfill our VOWS (promises). What are these?
— To FOLLOW Him.
— To CONFESS Him.

Rom. 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
— MARRIAGE
—

-2. To DESPISE our sin (overwhelmed; “mightier than I”).

-3. To come BEFORE Him.

-4. To acknowledge His GOODNESS (which is modeled for us in the rest of the Psalm).

2. His Greatness (God our Savior)

The Flow — From the Heights to the DEPTHS, and from MORNING to EVENING
Psa. 65:5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, 6 who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, 7 who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. 8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.

a. He is our SAVIOR and the hope of the whole world.

b. He formed the MOUNTAINS with His great power.

c. He stills the SEAS and the NATIONS.

d. The whole world sees His WONDERS from sunrise to SUNSET. And as we view these wonders, we are filled with JOY.

3. His Gifts (God of Streams)

The Flow — From WINTER to FALL
Psa. 65:9 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. 10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. 11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. 12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. 13 The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

a. God cares about the LAND. He waters it and makes it RICH for producing food. It is all by His DESIGN!

b. He CONTROLS the seasons:

-1. He DRENCHES in the winter (spring) to prepare the land.

-2. He SOFTENS with rain in the summer to cause growth.

-3. He produces a HARVEST in the fall to abundance (hills are clothed with GLADNESS).

-4. The grain feeds the FLOCKS and His PEOPLE.

The Conclusion

The Flow of the Psalm — From SILENCE to SHOUTING and Singing. When we acknowledge Him, it leads to REJOICING!

Walk The Talk

Which are your favorite Psalms and why?

What did you like about the “movement” of this Psalm? How does it help you understand and worship?

What parts of this Psalm drew you towards worship? Which lines filled you with awe?

What was your best thought?