Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 12 30 2023 How to Read the Psalms

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12 30 2023 How to Read the Psalms · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

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  Most of us eat every day, some of us too much, because yesterday's
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  food is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do
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  some of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to
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  keep us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change
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  all of that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need
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  to live healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host,
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  author speaker, Elle David Harris. Good morning, good morning, Good
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  morning. It is Sabbath, December thirty, twenty twenty three. Hello,
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  my name is El David Harris. I am your host, and this is
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  your Daily Portion where we give you God's Word every single day, and today
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  is no exception. We are continuing in our new I shouldn't say continuing.
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  We are beginning our new lesson study series in the Book of Psalms, the
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  Book of Psalms, and our caption for today is how to read the Psalms.
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  How to read the Psalms. We'll get into that in just a moment,
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  but first I'd like to say welcome to you and ask you to go
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  over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community. Also,
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  please let us know in that same link where you are in the world,
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  and pick up the Your Daily Portion book at your Daily Portion dot com.
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  This is how we build faith and fellowship. Let's go ahead and pray
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  and then we will get underway. Father in Heaven, thank you for giving
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  us this new Sabbath morning and for the privilege that we have to open up
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  your word. And I'm asking you now to please fill us with your holy
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  spirit. Please give us your understanding and teach us how to hear from you
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  in your word. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and Amen again.
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  How to read the Psalms? Okay, so the first thing that I'm
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  going to share with you is basically, how do we read anything the Bible?
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  How do we read anything in the Bible? The question I have for
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  you is what is the definite purpose for reading in scripture? Go ahead and
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  type it in the chat. What is the definite purpose? Maybe pick your
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  number one purpose for reading in the scripture? Could it be discovering God?
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  Think about it? Could it be discovering God? Inspiration tells us that when
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  we are reading in the scriptures, it would be better for us that to
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  read with a definite end in view, a definite purpose in view, and
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  that definite purpose being how does this relate to my salvation? Then reading a
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  whole lot of passages with no definite purpose or end in view one passage,
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  how does this relate to my salvation? How does this relate to the plan
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  of salvation? Then to read a whole lot of passages with no definite purpose
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  in view. That's something just to think about. And that is the same
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  case for the Book of Psalms. Part of me. Let me read now
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  from the Book of Luke, chapter twenty four Versus forty four and forty five,
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  just to continue this idea, and the Bible reads. Then he said
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  to them, these are the words which I spake unto you while I was
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  still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in
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  the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me. And
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  he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Wasn't it wonderful that
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  the Bible is saying Jesus reporting in his own voice that the scripture is all
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  about Jesus, That the scriptures are highlighting who Jesus is and how he is
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  saving us from our sins. Who Jesus is as creator, who Jesus is
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  as redeemer. It's a beautiful thing. I'm getting tongue tied this morning.
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  It's a beautiful thing to see that Jesus gave clarity the love of Moses.
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  The prophets, and the Psalms actually identify who Jesus is, and then we
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  can see the workings of God through that ministry, even before Jesus was revealed
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  as Jesus or Emmanuel, meaning God with us. It's a wonderful thing.
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  So the lesson writer actually says, the Psalms have been a prayer book and
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  a hymn book for many of God's people throughout the ages, and through the
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  Psalms are predominantly the psalmist's own words addressed to God. The Psalms did not
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  originate with mortals, but with God inspired their thoughts. Very interesting perspective,
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  and so of course you know we're going to get some takeaways here. Number
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  one, I want you to read as inspired prayers and hymns. Inspired prayers
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  and hymns. When you go to Psalm chapter forty two as an example,
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  the Bible says you know, David is really trying to get out of the
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  dumps, and he's saying, why art thou cast down O my soul?
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  Like, why art thou disquieted within me? And then he begins to bolster
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  his own confidence through the power of God, and he says, hope thou
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  in God, even the Living God. And he goes through this time of
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  darkness and he remembers when he used to enjoy going into the presence of God,
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  and something just isn't working so well at this moment in his life.
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  And he's saying, Okay, you don't need to be discouraged, you don't
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  need to be sad. God is still on his throne. You can have
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  hope in God. And so if you are down in the dumps, if
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  you are having difficulties with your relationship with God, if you need to repent,
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  you can think of some of these prayers in the Psalms, in Psalm
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  fifty one, in Psalm chapter thirty two, Psalm chapter forty two, and
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  say, Okay, these are inspired prayers, and so I can model my
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  life after these kinds of prayers. And the same thing with hymns. If
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  you read in Psalm chapter one hundred. You read in some of the Psalms
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  in the sixties, you can do the same thing. These are a divinely
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  inspired collection of prayers and hymns that express deep spiritual truths and human emotions.
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  We are not trying to hack our spiritual our human emotions, but we cannot
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  be driven by them. Utilize them in personal devotions and even in community.
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  Okay, here's another one. Understand the historical and cultural context. Acknowledge the
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  historical and cultural background of the Psalms, recognizing that they were written in ancient
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  Israel and reflect the experiences and worldviews of their authors. There are times that
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  you have to apply these things based on your own experience, but understand clearly
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  from the context what was happening in the days and for the people that were
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  writing and to the people who were receiving the Psalms at that and then number
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  three. Embrace their universal messages despite their specific historical context. Recognize the universality
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  of the psalm's themes. We find faith in the Psalms, we find repentance
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  in the Psalms. I did cite Psalm chapter fifty one on we do see
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  praise. I cited John Is on my mind. I cited Psalm chapter one
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  hundred and praise and apply their timeless messages to our lives today and our spiritual
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  practice. And so those are just a few tips about how we can read
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  the Psalm so much more, so much more. But I'll just pause right
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  there. The lesson writer says, the Psalms have been written in Hebrew poetry
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  by different authors from ancient Israel, and so the Psalms reflect their particular world.
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  However, universal messages. Accepting the Psalms as God's word and giving close
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  attention to the Psalm's poetic features as well as their historical, theological and liturgical
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  context, is fundamental to understanding their messages, which reach across thousands of years
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  even to our day. And now I'm done with reading from there, let
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  me ask you, what is your favorite song? What is your favorite psalm?
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  And why? Go ahead and type it in the chat? What is
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  your favorite Psalm? And why? Let me read one before we go,
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  from Psalm chapter sixty two, and I'll just read verse eight. Trust in
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  Him at all times, e people, pour out your heart before him.
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  God is a refuge for us. Sillah. That means pause, contemplate.
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  I love that Psalm because it shows that we can trust God and that he
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  will always be our refuge. Have a wonderful rest of your Sabbath Peaks.
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  Thanks for joining us listening. Friends. Always remember we cannot live by bread
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  alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. This
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  has been your daily portion with El David Harris. Make it a great day. Yeah,