All the World & All the People: Lesson 5

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We saw in the first few lessons that the Psalter is divided into 5 books and the psalms that we’ve looked at so far (11, 26, and 39) were from Book 1.

Each of the books ends with a doxology. For instance, Book 1 ends with and verse 13 of that Psalm says, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.” (Yahweh all caps: He will Be, I am)

Jewish tradition held that there are five books in the Psalter which corresponds to the 5 books of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy). It’s true that many of the Psalms in Book 1 use illustrations from Genesis while Book two uses the theme of “ruin and redemption” from Exodus.

We look at two Psalms tonight, 49 and 50, which come from Book Two.

The first eight psalms in the book are attributed to the sons Korah who was the great-grandson of Levi. The Korahites were connected with the music in the temple and most these psalms speak of the temple and of Jerusalem as the city of the Great King.”

The first eight psalms in the book are attributed to the sons Korah who was the great-grandson of Levi. The Korahites were connected with the music in the temple and most these psalms speak of the temple and of Jerusalem as the city of the Great King. (The Levites functioned in the service of the tabernacle, though they had a subordinate position to the priests and the high priests.)

By the way, when we read “a Psalm of David” in many of the other Psalms the Hebrew preposition used for “of” (לְ) could mean by, for, to, or about. Plus, there are indications that the titles were added later and not by the author.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Priests and Levites. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1757). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

One of the two that we’ll look at tonight () is an exception to dealing with the temple and Jerusalem and instead deals with the theme of redemption.

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I never thought of this Psalm being more like one of the Proverbs - but its emphasis on wisdom does make it sound like a Proverb, doesn’t it?

Divided into two parts:

5-12: The Wisdom of the World

13-20: The Wisdom of God

Isn’t it amazing that we’re here, thousands of years after this was written and we still have the rich and powerful who think that keeping that wealth that power is the main goal of life?

Look at many (not all) great athletes, celebrities and politicians - yet,

death shall be their shepherd,

10 For he sees that even the wise die;

For he sees that even the wise die;

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others.

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd.

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd.

One major exception is the Quarterback of the Eagles (Nick Foles) who wasn’t even a starter until Carson Wentz tore his ACL in December. He also is taking online seminary classes from Liberty University and plans to go into the ministry. He has said, “If you’re not rooted in God’s Word, this world will eat you up.”

English Standard Version Psalm 49

15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me. Selah

English Standard Version Psalm 49

15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me. Selah

15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.

for he will receive me.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

That’s quite a contrast to the fool and the stupid who will perish, leave their wealth to others, and have death as their shepherd.

When most folks think of the word ransom - I think they think of kidnapping and someone being held for ransom, right? But, what is the biblical sense of the word? (Paying for something to atone for an action or to release or to set free. As Jesus said of Himself in Matthew 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

English Standard Version Psalm 49

10  For he sees that even the wise die;

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others.

Psalm 50 ESV

A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Starts with el, ehohim, Yahweh summoning the world (מִזְמוֹר 1 לְ nאָסָף.) to watch what? (The judgement of His people about their worship and their attitudes.)

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.סָ֥ף)

Godfrey says that this should alarm contemporary Christians - why? (When we people on our cell phones for the whole service, fall asleep or just don’t show up at all we have a problem.)

In 2003, Godfrey spoke at a seminary conference about worship and noted that, “worship is not primarily about getting people saved or about instructing people but about meeting with God (best definition of worship). People’s attraction to more liturgical churches is that in such churches it is often clear the people have come to meet with God, and too often in our Evangelical churches we have lost that sense of reverent anticipation in worship.” What do you think about that?

But, we 9

The Complete Word Study Concordance: Old Testament General Abbreviations

act. (active)

adj. (adjective, adjectival)

adv. (adverb, adverbial, adverbially)

ant. (antonym)

9:07

Psalm 41 LEB

For the music director. A psalm of David. Blessed is the one who has regard for the poor; in the day of disaster, Yahweh delivers him. Yahweh protects him and keeps him alive; he is blessed in the land, and you do not give him into the will of his enemies. Yahweh sustains him on his sick bed. In his illness, you restore to health. As for me, I said, “O Yahweh, be gracious to me. Heal me, for I have sinned against you.” My enemies speak evil about me, “When will he die and his name perish?” And when one comes to see me, he speaks falsely; his heart gathers disaster for itself. He goes out to the street; he speaks. All who hate me speak together against me. Against me they assume the worst for me: “A ruinous thing is poured out on him, and now that he lies down, he will not rise up again.” Even my close friend, whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, O Yahweh, be gracious to me and raise me up that I may repay them. By this I know that you delight in me: because my enemy has not shouted in triumph over me. As for me, you have upheld me in my integrity, and you have set me in your presence forever. Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

He also spoke of how Calvin was very concerned about having more heart and somewhat less emotion in worship which caused him to be very concerned about worship music. He said that, “Calvin understood that music is one of the chief ways by which we give expression to our emotions in worship. He thought about it very carefully due to knowing it was powerful and so had the potential to be either advantageous or pernicious. As a consequence, he believed music of the church needed careful regulation.

“ Calvin, in following what he thought was the teaching of the ancient church, practiced exclusive Psalmody and eliminated musical instruments in the church. He thought the church should no more retain musical instruments than that it should retain incense and sacrifice. For Calvin, the most important thing about music was that we should have the right words to sing to God supported by melodies that can appropriately carry the weight of the subject. There must be a correspondence between what we are singing and how we are singing it.” How are we doing with that?