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Book of psalms essay
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Psalm 13
I chose Psalm 13 because I could relate to it in many ways. The first thing that comes to mind for me is my Dad always said when you have problems you can always turn to God. I know this wasn’t just his easy way out of answering some of the hard questions as a parent but to let me see that I had my own relationship with God. The meaning and the symbolism is what brought intrigued me.
The title of the Psalm is “Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies” and although most issues in life aren’t as dramatic as described in the Psalm although at the time of the event it may seem as bad. Some examples I have thought about are a Death in the family, a breakup with a loved one, and when you wished you wouldn’t have done something you regret. In these times I have asked God myself if he/she could correct the problem or make it go away and I would do anything (at the time) if he could make it happen and sometime the requests were pretty unreasonable. I would even ask, if I followed the laws of the Lord and I believed in him how could the situation happen? If God loves me he/she would get me out of the situation?
This is a complaint Psalm and after the complaining the psalm writer asks for help. As you can see in the Psalm it is pretty dramatic how the writer asks “How long?” 4 times to show the complaint about God in how he hasn’t responded. The following complaints are found:
You Complaint – God
I Complaint – I bear pain
They Complaint – My enemy, my foes
There is a request to God for help and the writer gives reasons for God to come to his aid such as, if you don’t help my enemy will be happy. In this case the writer assumes that the enemy doesn’t believe in God so the writer should be saved by God as he does believe in him.
The writer also shows trust and steadfast love with “But I trusted in your steadfast love;” Also, there is evidence that the writer doesn’t doubt that God will come to his salvation as he states “he has dealt bountifully with me.” The writer is confident that God will help.
The imagery that I get from this Psalm is the writer scared, nervous, and in a bad predicament where he is either hiding from the enemy or laying in bed waiting to face them the next day.
St. Albans Psalter Psalm 68 is not long, but it does have lots of detailed material to study the author’s choice of language, and the power of the images that are being conveyed to the readers through an emotional and sentimental way. The simplicity of this psalm’s gives it power, since it expresses an emotional despair in a careful shaped prayer, which comes from a human being in what seems to be a life-threatening situation. In the image and the content, the psalmist’s travels an arc of desperation to salvation, in a vivid personal plea to Christ to save him from what seems to be a swirling vortex of hopelessness that threatens to pull him under forever.
When you are in a tough situation, does God take your side and lead you? During the revolutionary time period, the 13 colonies were under British control. After the British put a stamp tax on the colonies to help pay for the Seven Years War, the colonists were done with the king of Great Britain. In Crisis, number one, Thomas Paine wrote his thoughts and ideas of what was needed from the colonies to escape British control. He told the people they needed to fight and used pathos to persuade them. God played a big role in the colonists and revolutionaries lives, therefore Paine insured them that God was on their side and that they would win the war.
The fiftieth psalm begins with the heading “A psalm of Asaph”. Whether it was officially written by him or simply dedicated to him , it is noteworthy to understand who Asaph was and the impact he had on the music and worship of Israel. Asaph was part of a music guild in the court of David along with Heman (1 Chronicles 6:39 ) and Ethan (1 Chronicles 15:19). These men were appointed to lead the musical celebration for the return of the Ark of the Covenant when King David danced passionately enough to embarrass his wife Michal (1 Chronicles 15:16ff). He also served under the leadership of King Solomon during an incredibly significant theophany of the glory of God (2 Chronicles 5:12-14). Perhaps this dramatic encounter with God led to the divine inspiration of Psalm 50’s theophany. Not only was Asaph a music leader, but also a writer of music and referred to as a “seer” (2 Chronicles 29:30). Evidently Asaph’s ability to “see” was an asset in the writing of this psalm, for Asaph “saw” quite a startling prophecy of God and his coming judgments on His people.
The second verse tells us about the many attempts the mentor has made to rejuvenate the teens life, ?Lay down a list of what is wrong/The things you've told him all along.? The last two lines in the second verse are repeated ?and pray to God he hears you/and pray to God he hears you? which is emphasizes the angst of the mentor because of the numerous times he has tried to save the teen.
...ed. The psalmist said, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.” The psalmist remains caught between despair and hope.
Psalm 89 of the Book of Psalms, advocates the message of consequentialism, foreground by man’s relationship with God, with direct lin...
It consists of four stanzas, each a bit longer than the preceding one. Each stanza has it's own
Psalm 109 begins with a superscription that we have seen several times before, “A Psalm of David” (Bible 873). David is believed to be the author of this Psalm. Psalms 109 though is not a usual Psalm by David; this particular Psalm is classified as an Imprecatory Psalm or a Cursing Psalm. The idea of Imprecatory Psalms is very unsettling for people and the church. This though goes with a misunderstanding of what is involved in actually making an imprecatory prayer.
The speaker starts sadly with a little anger, but sooner after that she changes her tone to accept God’s will. She believes that he is not going to be alone because he will meet the other deceased in the eternal life. She proclaims: “ Three flowers, two scarcely blown, the last i’th’ bud, / Cropped by th’ Almighty’s hand; yet is He good” (3-4). She is happy because her grandchildren will be more secure in heaven under the grace of God. She begins to accept God’s will: “Such was His [God] will, but why, let’s not dispute” (6). She knows it is a sin to interfere and complain about God’s plan for the universe. Thus, she reforms her hypocrisy and dissatisfaction and considers God to be “merciful as well as just”
... bow in honor and bear treasure, but the Lord which was responsible for all creation: God. "It will be well with him who seeks favor, comfort from the Father in heaven, where for us all stability resides" (Wanderer 70). The wanderer has now completed the cycle which he began in the beginning of the poem by referring to his kingdom lord as the almighty. Stability lies in the "high-earth" where Christ resides, not in the "middle-earth" with his former kingdom's lord. The earth-dweller was able to go through a complex process of self-healing in order to reach his desires for stability. Now he will never be alone. He will always live in the company of his true Lord: the one who gave him salvation and guided him through the journey of his soul.
As previously, stated God uses difficult situations as a way to improve the relationship we have with Him. Why suffering though? Frederick Sontag wrote in his book that evil or suffering are the best circumstances in which to find a God, unlike times where everything goes well
Psalm 43 is a cry to God: “Judge me O God and plead my cause against
Deuteronomy, 31:8 is one of the best verses I have read in the Bible. It tells you that God is wherever you go and as long as you have a strong faith on him, he will never forget about you. It encourages us to have faith in God no matter what the circumstances are. Since the beginning of time people believe that having faith in God is an important role in someone’s life. I do have faith in God because of the experiences I have had that testify that he is real. When I read in the scriptures, when I go to pray, I have the most comforting feelings, it’s like a confirmation, that what I believe is real. I have even prayed, and had those prayers answered, sometimes right away, other times in his own time but answers nonetheless.
fortunate components of life, but they are inescapable, nonetheless. For the people in the world who do not have Christ to rely on, these struggles can be significantly more difficult. Believers, however, have a bounty of strength to draw from- God’s strength. When followers of Christ struggle, they have an infinite wealth of strength that is accessible at any time. However, for a Christian to be strong in the presence of struggles they must first know from whom they draw their strength. Because of the struggles and trials that all people will face, it is important for believers to understand that in order to find a deep-rooted sense of strength, they must grow in their faith when times are easy, draw near to God when times are hard, and rely on God for restoration after a season of pain has ended.