The Blessing of Worship

I feel incredibly blessed in my reading right now, as I am in the midst of the Psalms. I wake up every morning to read a few of the beautiful Pslams before I start my day, and I end every night in the same way. In the past, I always read the Psalms as simple poems or songs praising God. I found them comforting and encouraging, but I never put a lot of thought into who wrote them and why. Although they are still very beautiful, I am learning a lot about the different purposes behind the Psalms. Basically, David was instrumental (ha - pun!) in adding organized worship to the various duties of the priests and as a part of temple practices. Although there was still no temple in his day, since God said that David's son Solomon would build the temple after him, David prepared the way for the structure to be built and to function properly. He collected most of the materials that were used to build the temple and created new positions within the priesthood to organize worship when the temple was finally built (I Chronicles 25), in order to call the people into corporate praise to the Lord.

I love that David was such a worshipful man, paving the way to modern church worship today. As he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem after it was stolen, "David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals" ( II Samuel 6:5). The majority of the Psalms were written by David, so clearly he spent a lot of time praising God. I always thought the Psalms were David's personal praises and complaints before the Lord, but I am learning that many of them were written for the whole body of believers. They are meant to express the various feelings a child of God may experience during life and allow the congregation to speak to the Lord in different circumstances...

Psalm 8 is a song of pure praise - worshiping God as the Creator of all things...
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the Earth!"

Psalm 28 is a group lament, pleading to God for help in the face of evildoers...
"The Lord is the strength of the people; he is the saving refuge of his annointed."

Psalm 34 is an expression of thanksgiving...
"I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 37 is known as a wisdom Psalm, because it praises God using ideas from the wisdom literature, mainly as a reminder that it is better to remain loyal to the Lord, even when evil people are prospering all around...
"In just a little while, the wicked will be more..."

Psalm 39 is an individual lament where a person who is suffering is able to express their bewilderment to God...
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry..."

Psalm 44 is a group prayer - seeking God's help when the whole congregation is suffering...
"O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days..."

Psalm 52 is a "penitential Psalm" - praising God for his forgiveness of sin. In this case, David is repenting of his sin with Bathsheba, but it sets an example for all believers in how to praise God with the act of repentance...
"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

The Psalms have so many individual purposes, but their commanality is that they all encourage the believer to praise God despite circumstances. Whether I am in time of peace or a time of conflict, whether I am thankful for the abundant blessings in my life or suffering through various trials, whether I am being disciplined for my own sin or suffering under the sin of others, I am called to praise the Lord. I have tasted and I "see that Lord is good!" (Psalm 34: 8) no matter what is going on in the world around me.