Psalmic Worship

1
Psalmic Worship

• Zion, Temple the Reign of Yahweh

2
Worship wars continue

• New crisis of worship in Canaan
• Joshuas challenge is simple (Jos 2414-28)
• What could the idols possible do for you?
• Commit yourselves to worship the True God!
• Joshuas doubts (2419) become reality
• Book of Judges shows moral and religious downward
  spiral
• False worship (211-15)
• Lead to moral decline (216-17)

3
Reality of the worship wars

• Worship wars are no contest Yahweh rules!
• 1 Sam 4-6 shows why we worship the Creator alone
• Crisis of leadership impacts people (Eli sons,
  4)
• Empty worship is no worship (Ark as talisman, 4)
• Gods presence did not go with them, only symbol
• Yahweh will not share his glory!
• Dagon bows down to worship (53), then loses his
  head and hands (54, just a fish!)
• Only the Creator is worthy of worship!

4
Leadership and worship

• Judges introduces new strand to worship theme
• As the leader so the people (rule of thumb)
• Generally, the people follow the leadership
• Faithful leader, faithful people or opposite
• In those days Israel had no king everyone did
  what was right in his own eyes (2125)
• How would kingship affect worship?

5
Leadership and worship

• Samuel arch-leader judge, prophet, priest
• Prototype of true Israelite leadership
• Is kingship wrong? (1 Sam 8-12)
• Text seems to argue for and against kingship
• Key is the type of kingship (Deut 17 cf. 1 Sam
  85)
• First king, Saul, lost his way (1 Sam 15)
• Saul rejected for putting people before God
  (1524)
• Speaks to worship issues (1522-23) ceremony
  cannot be separated from listening obeying

6
Jerusalem, Temple and Worship

• David a House of Worship

7
A central sanctuary

• Deut 12 foresees foundation of a central place of
  worship
• v 5 seek the place Yahweh your God will choose
  from among all your tribes to put his Name there
  for his dwelling. To that place you must go and
  offer your sacrifices etc.
• Place of pilgrimage (5), place of official
  wor-ship (8), place of Gods special presence (7)
• Tabernacle fulfilled worship purpose for nomadic
  people central sanctuary was for a settled
  people

8
David Jerusalem

• Ultimately, Jerusalem became this special place
  of divine presence
• David replaced Saul as king to lead the people
• Jerusalem chosen as seat of power (2 Sam 5)
• First a political capital (neither Judah/Israel),
  only later worship sanctuary
• No magical significance about city, place of
  central sanctuary could and did change
• However, location of sacred space for a settled
  people bore symbolic significance for Hebrews (2
  Sam 24, 2 Chr 3)

9
Temple worship

• Ultimately Jerusalem reflected special symbol of
  Gods dwelling on earth
• Dwelling symbolism (cf. Tabernacle, 1 Chr 2325)
• Graded holiness (cf. Tabernacle, 1 Kgs 6)
• Eden imagery (cf. Tabernacle, 1 Kgs 620ff.)
• Prophets expand dwelling theme pointing to
  greater international significance (e.g. Micah 4)
• Somehow, Jerusalem would become significant for
  the salvation of the nations

10
Temple worship

• Acts of worship in the Temple reflect closely the
  practices of the Tabernacle
• Sacrifice, prayer and teaching still form the
  backbone of public worship in the Temple (see
  e.g. Ps 6613, 1 Kgs 8, Jer 1818)
• Great preparations for building of Temple add
  another element to worship patterns of Tabernacle
  song (1 Chr 235)!
• Temple worship was to be filled with joy and
  praise and music (Ps 150)

11
Temple worship

• Sabbath and festival celebrations
• These are my appointed feastswhich you are to
  proclaim as sacred assemblies The seventh day
  is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly.
  These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred
  assemblies you are to proclaim Passover, Weeks,
  Booths Lev 232-5
• Echoed in preparations for Temple worship 1 Chr
  2328-32
• Temple was a place of regular acts of worship
  holy convocations
• Community came together to sacrifice and pray and
  learn and sing

12
Worship wars of a settled people

• Dangers of having a Temple (Isa 1, Mic 6)
• Trust in symbol over the reality Temple be-came
  talisman rather than a place of worship
• Idolatry is different this time
• Not serving foreign gods or idols (Comms 1-4)
• But failure to live rightly with one another
  (Comms 5-10)
• Jer 74-11 combines both moral indifference and
  idolatry they are the same thing in Gods eyes
  rejection of true service/worship

13
Psalmody and Worship

• The Psalms OT Worship

14
Insight from the Psalms

• Psalms, as acts of prayer/praise, give special
  insight into Israels worship
• Many (not all) of the psalms would have been used
  in Temple worship
• Evidence is limited, but Pss 113-118 used in
  Passover, Pss 120-134 in Tabernacles
• Content of Israels psalms of public worship is
  sometimes surprising and should inform our
  worship practice!

15
Genre is helpful

• Theology students everywhere groan at the word
  genre!!
• In pss it does give helpful insight into some
  realities of Israels worship
• Two genre categories are of particular interest
• Community Praises
• Community Laments

16
Praises of the people

• Psalmic praise is confessional. Praise as
  doxology declares that God is. Praise as
  confession says who God is. The hymns of the
  Psalter were Israel's confession of faith.
• Mays, The Lord Reigns, p. 65
• Praises are not just feel good songs
• Reflect on character of God (Ps 8)
• Reflect on history of Gods dealings w/his people
  (Ps 136)
• Real praise is based firmly in character and
  works of Yahweh!

17
Laments of the people

• Lament psalms of individuals were also offered as
  prayers of petition in Israel's worship. All of
  this means that the psalms are at base cultic
  literature... used in community worship.
• Wm. Bellinger, Proclaiming the Psalms
• Lament is essentially complaint re. covt
  unfaithfulness on Gods part (Ps 73)
• Essential part of spiritual formation!
• True worship is never simplistic, but is always
  grounded in the reality of life!

18
Central theme of psalmic worship

• Central to Israels worship is idea of Yhwh malak
  Yahweh reigns (Pss 93-99)
• Why pray or praise or lament or curse?
• Because Yahweh rules in heaven!
• He is there
• He hears prayers
• He is able to answer them
• Why worship? Because the Lord reigns!!

19
The psalms on ceremony

• Psalms are silent on ceremony as theme
• Emphasis is on attitude of heart rather than
  formal religious practice
• Ps 406 whole life response, not sacrifice
• Ps 50 sacrifice is meaningless if we reject
  Gods instruction
• Ps 5116-17 forgiveness is found in grace not
  ceremony
• Pss 15 24 how to approach? Holiness!

20
OT theology of worship

• Worship is
• Service of God based in created order
• Integral to identity calling of Gods people
• Grounded in idea of divine presence
• Linked to the idea of graded holiness (sacred
  space, sacred times, sacred people)
• Based in lifestyle and including ceremony
• Constant source of tension whom shall we
  worship?