Ask the Lord's blessing on this time and on the sessions we have ahead of us yet tonight. Heavenly Father, we bow before you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for your saving grace. We thank you for your keeping grace. We thank you for your sanctifying grace. We pray, Father, that you'd give us eyes to see and ears to hear. We pray that your Holy Spirit would arrest our attention as we look at your word this evening. We pray, Father, that you would make this a profitable time. that our Lord Jesus Christ would be exalted, that he would be preeminent in each heart, for we pray it in his name, amen. I want us to play a little game tonight before we get started. I'm not a psychologist and I don't play one on TV. But we're going to play a little psychological game just to wade into this series we're going to do. I'm sure all of us are familiar with the word association games that, well, I guess they don't think they're games, they're actually technical strategies for finding out how clients are thinking. But you know how a psychologist will say something like, tell me the first word that comes to your mind when I say dog. Probably most people are going to say cat, right? Most people. I mean, some of you may say pet, some of you may say Fido, but there's a word that comes to your mind. What's the first word that comes to your mind when I say sky? Cloud, okay. I was playing this game one time with somebody and the word that came to his mind was helicopter. I thought that was an interesting response, but that was the first thing that came to his mind. So we're going to play that game tonight. I want you to think in your head, when I say the word Psalms, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? I'm sorry? David, David, probably that is the number one answer. David wrote so many of the Psalms. David wrote Psalms back in the 10th century before Christ, but there was a Psalmist before David. Psalm 90 was written by Moses and that would have been 15 centuries before Christ. There would have been Solomon, which would have been a generation after David. There would have been Asaph, but David's probably the first name that comes to mind. What else comes to your mind right away when you think of Psalms? Poetry. There's something unique about the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms isn't the same as Genesis. It isn't the same as Exodus. It isn't the same as Leviticus. It is Poetry, and in a little bit we're going to be talking about poetry, about Hebrew poetry. If we're going to read the Psalms with understanding and benefit, we need to understand something about the way Hebrew poetry works. It helps us to understand what the Psalm is saying. What else come to your mind? Repentance, okay. The psalmist certainly talks about repentance. That's what David is doing in Psalm 51. That's what's happening in Psalm 32. Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven. And David there talks about how miserable he was until he came to grips with his sins, until he confessed it, and until all was well between him and the Lord. There are other psalms that may come to mind. What's the first psalm that comes to your mind? Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. We're all familiar with that psalm. We hear it so often at funerals, but it's really more than about dying. It's about living. It's about walking through the ups and downs and the difficulties in life. It's about feeling a sense of security. and peace in the Lord's presence. Something else that might come to your mind when you think about the Psalms. Comfort, it certainly offers comfort, certainly offers comfort. And we're going to be looking at that as we look at some of these Psalms tonight. But if someone were to ask you, what's the longest book in the Bible, what would you say? Okay, Psalm 119 is the longest chapter, but most people would say that the book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible. And it is in the English Bible. But it's not the longest book in the Hebrew Bible. Jeremiah, that your pastor did a series on, is actually the longest book in the Bible from the Hebrew text. But Psalms is the longest. It takes up more pages. It has more chapters than any other book. in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. So these are just some initial impressions we have about the Psalms. Now I'd like for us to think about some notable facts about the Psalms. I want us to get some feel for why it is so important for us to take the time to look at the Psalms. Would it surprise you tonight if I told you that the Psalms are quoted or alluded to more than any other book in the Old Testament in the New Testament. The New Testament makes more reference, gives more direct quotations or more indirect references to the Psalms than any other book in all the Old Testament. something like 505 times. That comes to an average of almost two Psalms, two quotations or two references to the Psalms, per every page in your New Testament. In the New Testament what we have is a weaving. We have a fabric. And that fabric is taking the truths of the Old Testament and interweaving them with the truths that are revealed and made clear in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And more than any other thread in the New Testament, the book of Psalms is interwoven into that fabric that gives us our New Testament. Would it surprise you to know that Jesus Christ quoted the book of Psalms more than any other book in the Old Testament? If you read the Gospels, he makes reference to the Psalms 14 times. Now that may not sound like a lot, but that's more than any other book in the Old Testament. Do you think that might suggest something to us? Do you think that that might suggest to us that the Psalms is worth taking a serious look at? That the Psalms are worth taking a very careful look at? Fourteen times Jesus quotes the Psalms in the Gospels. How many of you have ever heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls? When we were in Israel, Pastor Daryl and I were at a place called Qumran, and you could see the caves where they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. Number of manuscripts, number of scrolls found there. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, there are more manuscripts from the Psalms than any other book in all the Old Testament. Now, what does that say? What that tells us is for the Essenes, the people who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, the people who stored the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Psalms was a very, very important book for them. More manuscripts than any other book in the Old Testament, Psalms is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. But some other notable facts. Let's open our Bibles tonight to Luke chapter 24. Our Lord has been raised from the dead. He has appeared to his disciples. He has eaten fish with them. He has eaten bread with them. And we read in Psalm 24 verse 44 And he said to them, these are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Jesus told his disciples after his resurrection, the things written about me in the Psalms had to be fulfilled. There was a divine necessity that they be fulfilled. So when Jesus is talking to his disciples after his resurrection, yes, he points them to the law of Moses. Yes, he points them to the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel, but he points them to the Psalms. He points them to the Psalms. There's another important reference to the Psalms in Paul's epistles. Both in Ephesians chapter 5 and in Colossians chapter 3. Paul wrote to the believers at Ephesus and said don't be drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit speaking to yourselves in Psalms, in hymns and spiritual songs. He gave three classifications of songs that were supposed to be used as believers gathered together to worship their risen Lord. Speaking to yourself in Psalms. Could I suggest to you tonight that We have those Psalms. You have it right in your Bible in front of you. The 150 Psalms that we have in the book of Psalms was the inspired hymnal of Israel. That was the hymnal they sang from as they would come to the temple, as they would meet for the various feasts, for the various celebrations. They would sing from the Psalms. And guess what? When the early church met together, Paul says you need to speak to yourselves. As you come together, you need to encourage one another by singing psalms. Wow. How many churches sing psalms anymore? The Puritans did. The Pilgrims did. The very early church did. But we've kind of gotten away from singing psalms. And I don't think it was anything intentional, but I think it's something that has happened to the detriment of the church. Because as we sing the Psalms, we see the majesty of God, we see the reason for worshiping God, and the point that we want to make in this conference is that we see Jesus Christ. We see the Messiah. So he says, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns. What's the difference between a psalm and a hymn? Well, a psalm is what is inspired and in our Bible. A hymn is a song of praise that directly addresses God. For instance, holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty. That is a hymn. That psalm is direct directly to God. The song Invisible and Mortal, God Only Wise, that's a hymn. That addresses God. He says speaking to yourselves in psalms, in hymns, and spiritual songs. What's the difference between a spiritual song and a hymn and a psalm? Well a spiritual song is something that has a spiritual character about it. It's something that is edifying but it doesn't directly address God. Let me give you an example of that. What a friend we have in Jesus. all our sins and griefs to bear. Now, we're singing about Jesus, we're singing about what a friend he is, but we're not directly addressing him. The song that the brothers and sisters shared with us today, I'll Fly Away, that's not a song, it's not a hymn. It's a spiritual song. It's on a spiritual theme. So Paul said that when the church comes together that we should be speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. This isn't a specific reference to the psalms, but it's a reference to the whole Old Testament. Do you realize that most Christians ignore the Old Testament? Most Christians relegate the Old Testament to a second-rate standing. Most Christians spend most of their time studying the New Testament. I'm not saying that's wrong. But I am saying that it is a serious mistake to neglect the Old Testament. Why do I say that? Because when Paul was on death row, writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, he says this, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is God breathed. It is God-breathed. The very breath of God is in the scripture. Paul told Timothy all scripture is God-breathed and because it is God-breathed it is profitable. There is a benefit to it. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God, that the servant of God may be perfect, that he may be equipped for every good work. So the Psalms are important. They're important because of the way they're used in the New Testament, more than any other book of the Old Testament. So do you think if the New Testament writers gave more attention to the Psalms than any other book of the Old Testament, that maybe we ought to give it some attention? I think so. Now, when we ask the question, what's one of the first things come to your mind when you think about the Psalms? Someone said poetry. Poetry. The Psalms is poetry. Job is poetry. The Song of Solomon is poetry. But when we look at the poetry of the Old Testament, when we look at Hebrew poetry, it's not like English poetry. I remember when I was a little squirt preschool, my mom sent me to play school. So I would learn to play nicely with the other boys and girls. And we would go and we would play with clay and we would play little games and sing songs. And at the end of the year, they had a graduation. I mean, caps and gowns. And the first degree I ever got in my life was a bachelor of friendship degree from play school. But I had to make a recitation at that graduation. Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, and down he run, hickory dickory dock. Now you see the rhyme and the rhythm in all that. But when you read the Psalms, you don't see that kind of rhyming, do you? You don't see that kind of rhythm, that kind of meter. But let me tell you something, it is there in Hebrew. It is there in Hebrew. But we don't get that when we're reading English. There is assonance in Hebrew poetry. That means that there are words that sound alike. There are sounds that are similar and there's a play upon a sound here and a sound there. We don't see that in English but it's there in Hebrew. There's alliteration where we're in a verse or in a series of verses that will be a sound, a syllable that follows one another, and it's pleasing to the ear. You see it in Hebrew, but you don't get it in an English translation. There is rhythm, there is meter in Hebrew poetry, but we don't get it in English because it's a translation. Something else that exists in Hebrew poetry, in poetry there is metaphor. There are figures of speech. There are similes. There are comparisons. For instance, the psalmist will refer to the Lord as a rock. Now, does that mean that God is some mineral out there in space somewhere? No. When it says that God is my shield, does that mean that God is a piece of metal that's used for defense, like a medieval soldier? No, that is a metaphor. It's a figure of speech. So we see that kind of thing in Hebrew poetry. But the one thing I want to leave with you tonight, something you can look for in your English translation as you read the Psalms, is something we call parallelism. Parallelism, and what do I mean by that? David or Moses or Asaph or Solomon will put two ideas side-by-side, parallel, like a railroad track. In the first part of a verse he'll give one line and second part another line. And what happens, what happens in Hebrew poetry is that the second line, the second line is always bringing the first line in closer, clearer focus. Let me give you an example. There is something that we call synonymous parallelism. That means that in the first line, the psalmist says one thing, and in the second line, he's saying the exact same thing. He's just using different words to say it. and by saying it again he's emphasizing it and he's making it clear. Let me give you an example. Open your Bibles with me to Psalm 15. Psalm 15. David asked a question. Oh Lord Who may abide in thy tent? Who may dwell in thy holy hill? He's asking the same thing. In essence, he's asking, Lord, who can dwell, who can live, who can reside in your presence? In the first line, he talks about abiding in God's tent. In the second line, he talks about dwelling in his holy hill. He's saying the same thing. That's called synonymous parallelism, saying the same thing in just little different words. But then there's another kind of parallelism you see in the Psalms. And you need to be able to recognize this. It's called antithetical parallelism. And what it means is the second line in the verse is going to contrast with the first line in the verse. It's going to contrast with the first line in the verse. And what the psalmist does then is he makes a statement and then by putting something in contrast to it, He makes it all clearer. Let me give you an example. Let's look at Psalm 1. Psalm 1. There the psalmist says, For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. The Lord knows the way of the righteous. He's talking about the way, the path of a righteous man. Then he's talking about the way of a wicked man. Now in both lines, he's talking about a way, but he's talking about two different kinds of ways. He's talking about one that a righteous man is on, and the other he's talking about the way that a wicked man is on. The Lord looks with approval, looks with favor, upon the path of the righteous man. But the psalmist says that the way of the wicked man will perish. So there's a contrast there. Still parallel, but that's the way he's making his point. One other kind of parallelism I want you to be aware of, and I hope you'll find this helpful. If you read the Psalms and you're thinking about these, it'll make a lot of the Psalms become a lot clearer to you. In Psalm 1, verse 1. Psalm 1, verse 1. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Okay, so he's pronouncing a blessing. He's pronouncing a blessing upon the man that doesn't walk after the advice of ungodly men. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. But then he takes it a step further. He's not just repeating it and he's not making a contrast. He's actually making progression. He's taking it a step further. He says, How blessed is the man who does not stand in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners. He doesn't align himself with sinners. He doesn't march the same direction they are. He doesn't align themselves and say, this is, this is my team. This is my side. The blessed man doesn't do that. And he says, finally, he doesn't sit in the seat of scoffers or scorners. And what has happened here is the person has become completely comfortable. He's become absolutely comfortable with the wicked so that he can sit in the seat of the man who in his pride holds God in contempt. So there's a progression there. There's a progression. So it's good to understand those things about Hebrew poetry before we get into this. Let's think about something else. Let's think about some of the really important words in the Psalms. And now I hope you'll see something that is more obviously practical than what we just talked about with the poetry. But let's think about some of the key words in the Psalms. When you think of the Psalms, I think one of the things we think of is praise. Praise. Do you have any idea how many different ways the psalmist talks about praising God? Sometimes he'll use the expression hallelujah, that is praise Jehovah, praise Jehovah. Sometimes you'll read the word sing, simply to sing. Sometimes you'll read in the Psalms, not singing, but shouting for joy. It's not necessarily musical, it's shouting for joy. The psalmist talks about blessing the Lord, speaking well of him. magnifying him, blessing the Lord. And he also speaks about being glad, being glad. All of these words are words that you can't read the Psalms without bumping into them. Now, as a matter of fact, it happens so often in the Psalms that I think sometimes we almost miss it. It's kind of like walking out into a field around here, a prairie around here, and looking around, and what do you see? Well, there may be so much prairie grass that you don't even take note of it, but it's there. There may be so much sagebrush that you don't take notice of it, but it's there. The idea of praising God, the idea of blessing God, the idea of magnifying his name occurs over and over and over again in the Psalms. But besides worship, besides praising God, there is another idea, another concept that we find over and over again in the Psalms, and that is trusting God. trusting him. Over and over again when the psalmist has his back against the wall, over and over again when the psalmist is in water over his head, he is trusting in the Lord. He is putting his confidence in the Lord. He is relying on the Lord. Over and over again we find another concept that goes hand in hand with trusting God, and that is the idea of waiting, waiting on the Lord. The psalmist wrote, fret not yourself because of evildoers, but what did he say to do? He said to wait on the Lord. What does it mean to wait on the Lord? I know Pastor Daryl and I waited in the airport because of a flight that was canceled, and our waiting was basically sitting there and twiddling our thumbs while they tried to figure out what to do with three of us that were trying to get back to Roanoke, Virginia. But in the scripture when it talks about waiting on the Lord, what does that mean? You can't read the Psalms very long before you run into this concept of waiting on the Lord. To wait on the Lord means to patiently trust him. It's connected with trusting him, but it's the idea of patiently trusting him. And it's the idea of patiently trusting him when there doesn't seem to be an answer on the horizon. You know, it's easy to trust the Lord when everything's falling in place, right? It's easy to do that. but to trust, to patiently trust the Lord. Another word that you need to be on the alert for as you read the Psalms is the word, if you're using the New American Standard Bible, is the word loving kindness. Loving kindness. Some other translations will render it steadfast love. Some other translations will render it unfailing love. But loving kindness. I want you to learn a little Hebrew word tonight. The Hebrew word is chesed. Chesed. And chesed talks about the loving kindness of God. Where would you be Where would I be if it weren't for the loving kindness of God? We know that God is holy, right? We know that he is righteous. We know that he is just. We know that he is all powerful. But what if there were such a being and there was no loving kindness? Where would that leave us? I want you to look with me at a Psalm, Psalm 136. And I want you to listen to the refrain. The psalmist is talking about the Lord's goodness, what the Lord has done. Listen to what he says. Psalm 136 verse one. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his chesed, his loving kindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods for his Chesed, his loving kindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords for his loving kindness is everlasting. To him who alone does great wonders for his loving kindness is everlasting. Every verse, every verse in Psalm 136 is punctuated with this truth. That his loving kindness. His loving kindness endures forever. What if it didn't? What if God's people couldn't count on his love being unfailing? What if God's people didn't know whether his love would be on today and off tomorrow? Where would we be? How can you face life like that? The one truth that has gripped my heart in studying the Psalms is this. His loving kindness is forever. When everything around me is falling apart, when everything in your life is falling apart, there's one thing that is not falling apart. His chesed, his loving kindness is forever. Another word that we see a lot in the Psalms is the word righteous or righteousness. To be righteous simply is to do what is right. To be righteous is to conform to a standard of what is right. And over and over again the psalmist is gripped with the consciousness that God is righteous. But you know for the psalmist what that means? For the psalmist that means God is going to do what is right. God is going to do what is right when I'm being falsely accused. God's going to be, God is going to do what is right when I am being attacked. God is going to do what is right by fulfilling the promises that he has made to his people. Let me say it clearly tonight, but at the same time, let me say it reverently, that if God does not keep his promises to his people, he is not a righteous God. God proves his righteousness by keeping his promises. God does not break his word. If God breaks his word, He is not a righteous God. And this is a big theme for the psalmist. He's confident that God is going to do what is right. One other word just very quickly that we could go on and on tonight with important words in the Psalms. I'm sure all of us have been reading in the Psalms and we come to that little Hebrew word that punctuates so many verses. Silah. Silah. What does that mean? Let me tell you a secret. Nobody really knows. Nobody really knows. It was probably some kind of musical notation. It probably had reference to a musical interlude. between parts of a psalm, like sometimes when a choir is singing, choir will all be singing and then the choir will stop singing and the pianist or the orchestra will play a musical interlude. And in the psalms, when we come to the word selah, it's probably a musical interlude and the idea is to pause and to think. to reflect on what has been said. So that's something helpful to know as we read the Psalms. When you see the word Salah, it may be best not to read it, but just to stop and reflect. The psalmist above all things was conscious, was aware of the existence, of the presence, and of the work of God. The Psalms are rich in theology. When we look at the Psalms, we see a number of Hebrew words used in reference to God. There is the word Elohim. The word Elohim. The Hebrew word Elohim comes from a root El that means strong, mighty, powerful. And Elohim is the plural of El. It is a plural that doesn't say that there are many gods, but it's a plural of El. What is called a pearl of intensity means that he is the strongest one of all. There is none stronger than he and over and over and over again as the psalmist is praising God and as the psalmist is praying to God when he finds himself sinking in mire, he's praying to the one who is stronger than any other being in the universe. Another word that is used in reference to God is the Hebrew word Yahweh. Yahweh. We usually say Jehovah. That word means I am. When Moses asked the Lord, who shall I say has sent me? Remember the Lord said, I am. Tell them that I am has sent you. The one who eternally is, the one who is eternally faithful to his people, the one who always keeps his covenant, He is the one who has sent you. Oftentimes, in the Psalms, we see the word Adonai, translated Lord. In your English Bible, it would be capital L, small case O, small case R, small case D, and the word Adonai simply means the one who is the sovereign master. Do you know something? Satan is not the sovereign master. He is not. The devil is God's devil. He can do no more than God will allow him to do. If you look at the book of Job, you find that God told Satan, you can only do so much to Job. You can take away his family, you can take away his wealth, but you can't touch Job. Finally, God lets Satan touch Job, but he says, you can't take his life. So Job is covered with boils and sores from the top of his head to the sole of his feet. Satan can do no more than God will allow him to do. God is sovereign, and that's something that the psalmist acknowledges. Over and over again in the Psalms, there is emphasis on God being the creator. This world didn't just happen. It wasn't Some kind of chemical accident? It wasn't some kind of physical accident? There was an intelligent being, an intelligent designer, who created the heavens and the earth and he holds it together by the word of his power. Psalm 19, the psalmist says, the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows his handiwork. God's the creator. The psalmist acknowledges that all throughout. Something else the psalmist acknowledges about God is that he is king. He is king. He is king over all the earth. Think about the ancient world. There was Egypt with its Pharaoh. There was Babylon with its king, with its emperor. There was Nebuchadnezzar. There was the Assyrians with their kings. The Syrians had kings. The Moabites had kings and princes. But for the psalmist, there was one king who was supreme. One king who was supreme. And you know, in the ancient world, you need to remember something about kings. They were always localized. They were tribal kings. They were regional kings. Their realm was limited, but not the king that the psalmist worshipped. Something else in the Psalms, the psalmist looks upon God as the judge. He appeals to God as the judge. He appeals to God to right the wrongs that are in the world. We have a judicial system here in the United States, and oftentimes it is a very sad joke. But there is a judge. There is a judge who knows all the evidence. There is a judge who has all power. There is a judge to whom all men are accountable. And over and over again in the Psalms, the psalmist is crying out to that judge. We think of the words of Abraham when he said, will not the judge of all the earth do right? That truth gripped the heart the Psalmist. In the Psalms, God is seen as the Redeemer, the one who delivers his people, the one who intervenes. Tonight when we were asking about Psalms that came to mind, I think the first Psalm that comes to everybody's mind is Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. The shepherd is the one who guides. The shepherd is the one who protects from the wolves, from the lions, from the bears. The shepherd is the one who looks out for the welfare of the flock. The shepherd is the one who walks with the flock into the deadliest places, into the valley of the shadow of death. The shepherd, the shepherd is the one who dispels the fear and the terror that grips the human heart. Time would fail us to try to go on. God is described as the rock, the impregnable fortress. When Pastor Daryl and I were there in Israel, there's a place, awesome place, called Masada, rock fortress. The Jews went there to find protection from the Roman armies. In the Psalms, it's interesting that in a number of passages, when it talks about God being the rock, the Hebrew word that is used is that he is our Masada. He is our Masada. He is our impregnable rock fortress. He is our shield, our strength, our light. When everything around us is dark, He is our light. And the psalmist says, too, He is my song. He is the one who lifts my heart with joy, with jubilation, with victory, with triumph. He is the one who puts a song in my heart. He is the one I sing about. So in the Psalms, we see this rich, rich picture of God. I wish we had the time to develop this more, but time is clearly getting away from us. In the Psalms we see the Messiah. We see one who is promised. Let me give you a way to kind of pull all the Bible together. You can sum up the whole message of the Bible in about three words. In the Old Testament the message is someone is coming. That was the message in the Old Testament. Someone is coming. The Messiah is coming. Someone is coming. The message in the Gospels and in the Epistles is He has come! God kept His promise. He has come! The message of the book of Revelation is he is coming again. He's coming again. All of the Bible focuses on the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was the promised one who would come. He was the promised one who did come. He is the promised one who is coming again. So in the Psalms, in the Psalms we see a picture of Messiah and I will try to do this very quickly. I just want to point out some Psalms that talk about the Messiah. In Psalm 2, Psalm 2 is a messianic psalm. In that psalm the Messiah is the Lord's anointed. He is the Lord's King. He is the Lord's Son. He talks about the nations of the earth. devising a vain thing against Him, scoffing Him, deriding Him. But the one they're deriding is the Lord's Anointed, the Lord's King, the Lord's Son. In Psalm 16, Psalm 16, we read about the Messiah. Peter and Paul both tell us in the New Testament, even though this psalm was written by David, it couldn't have been about David. Because David died and David was buried and David's body decomposed. Listen to what the end of this psalm says. Psalm 16, 10, and 11. For thou will not abandon my soul to Sheol. Neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to see the pit or to see corruption. Thou wilt make known to me the path of life, and my presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore." In Psalm 16, he is the Holy One who did not see corruption. In Psalm 22, the psalm that we're going to focus on this week, we see the Messiah as the one that was forsaken by God. The one that was forsaken by God. The Old Testament told us that he would be forsaken, he would be abandoned. He would cry out and it would seem as though God did not hear him. In Psalm 45, In Psalm 45 we see the Messiah as the divine king, and not only as the divine king, but as the royal bridegroom. The psalmist starts out, he says, my heart overflows with a good thing. I address my verses to the king. My heart is the pen of a ready writer. He goes on in verse 6, he says, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. You wouldn't say that to any human king. You wouldn't call any human king God and say that his throne is forever and ever. Human kings come and go. This is a psalm about the Messiah. In Psalm 69, he is the one who sunk in the mire. The one who was consumed with zeal for God's house. In Psalm 72, he is the ideal king. who has dominion from sea to sea. In Psalm 110, he is the king priest. In Psalm 118, he is the cornerstone. Let me close with this. When we read the Psalms, we see a whole spectrum, a whole spectrum of human experience. We often think of the Psalms and think of joy. We think of someone who is triumphant. We think of someone who is rejoicing. We think of someone who's on the top of the world looking down on creation. Because the Psalmist is just lifted up with the goodness of God. But can I tell you also in the Psalms we find grief, we find people experiencing unrelenting grief, we find them experiencing guilt, we find them experiencing isolation where they feel like they're alienated from people and at times not only alienated from people but sometimes feeling as though they're alienated from God himself. There are a number of passages I'd like to look at with you, but we simply don't have the time. There are times that the psalmist asks the question, Lord, why do you hide your face from me? Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a situation and you're crying out to God and it seems as though God doesn't hear your prayer, as though he's not responding to your prayer? Over and over again in the Psalms, the psalmist is asking the question, Lord, why do you hide your face from me? Why do you seem so far from me? Why don't you answer my prayer? Have you ever been there? Can I tell you tonight on the authority of God's word, that good and godly men who were walking with the Lord experienced that at times in their lives. And for that reason, I'm glad that the Psalms are in the Bible. I'm glad that they're there. I'm glad that they're there to remind me that there were others who struggled. Struggled with God being righteous. Struggled with God being faithful and wondering, what in the world's going on? How can this be happening? We find in the Psalms, the psalmist even saying, Lord, don't cast me off in my old age. Some of us are getting there, aren't we? Some of us are getting there. Life doesn't seem the same as it used to. We may not be able to face life with the same buoyancy, with the same confidence that we did The psalmist cried out, Lord, don't cast me away in my old age. Don't forget me in my old age. In the Psalms, we see a man who walked with God and at the same time was ridden with guilt. Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. Psalm 32, the psalmist said, when I was struggling with my sin, when I didn't have this right with you, when I didn't have the sense of forgiveness, it was like my very energy, my very vitality, my very life was being sucked out of me. It was evaporating. My friends, the psalms are not only for the good times, the happy times, the mountaintop experiences. The Psalms are for when we are hurting. And I'm glad God put them in His Word. One final thing. What is the value in the Psalms? Well, we've already quoted 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. That all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. But. Can I just reduce it all to two things? In the first place, one of the things the psalm teaches us to do. The song informs us how to worship. how to worship. In the Psalms you'll find over and over again the psalmist is focusing on two things when he focuses on God. He's focusing on God's perfection, on God's power, on his holiness, on his righteousness, on his loving kindness, on his mercy. He's focusing on who God is, but he doesn't only focus on that, he focuses on what God has done in the past. He focuses on God's work of creation. He focuses on what God did when he brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt. He focuses on what God did when he gave the children of Israel victory in the conquest of Canaan. Sometimes the rejoicing is over what God has done for a nation. Sometimes the rejoicing is what God has done for just one person. Some of the Psalms are like that. Some of them are very communal and some of them are very individualistic and impersonal. And I'd like to leave you with this. Second thing that the Psalms are invaluable for is to inform us how to pray. Could I urge you tonight not just to read the Psalms, I would imagine just about everyone in here has read the Psalms, read through the Psalms, but let me ask you this. Have you ever started with Psalm 1, worked your way through Psalm 150, and prayed every one of those Psalms? Prayed them, made the Psalm your own. I would encourage you to pray through the Psalms. To pray recognizing God's sovereignty, to pray recognizing His unfailing love, His loving kindness. To pray through those Psalms that are jubilant, that are off the wall with joy. And to pray through those hard songs, to pray through those hard songs with a solemn heart, with a broken heart. My friend, if you'll do that, it will revolutionize the way you pray. It will revolutionize your walk with God. It will open this book up to you. like it's never been open to you before, not just to read the Psalms, but to pray them. Some years ago, Pastor Darrell was doing a series on contemplative prayer, where people just kind of emptied their minds. They just kind of emptied their minds, and whatever impression bounced off their heads, that's what they would pray. I would suggest you tonight a biblical form of contemplative prayer. And the biblical form is to let the word of God, the word of these Psalms, grip your heart. And let that give you direction in what you pray for. In what you pray for. We could look at Psalm 1. What should I be praying? I should be praying that I would be the blessed man. That I would be the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly, doesn't stand in the way of sinners. I should be praying that God would make me like a tree planted by the waters. Don't just read the Psalms. Pray that. Pray that. Let's bow our heads together. Blessed Father, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you, Father, for the Psalms. We pray, Father, that you would make this time profitable. Lord, that you would help us to realize the importance of the Psalms, the importance how they are in the New Testament, the importance they were in the life of our Lord as he quoted them over and over again. Father, help us to be men and women after your own heart. Help us to pray the Psalms. Help us to let the Psalms direct us in how we worship. We pray it in Jesus' name.