Torah Psalms


This is the seventh post in the “Types of Psalms” series where I will be highlighting the various types of Psalms that you will encounter in the book of Psalm. This is by no means the ultimate and final arrangement of the Psalms, but it is one that I have found to be very helpful.

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 

2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 
Psalm 1:1-2 

So far, the psalms we have looked at could be summarized as expressions of our heart in our approach to God. Whether we are praising God for His works or attributes, lifting up a complaint or lament, or just giving Him thanks, they primarily deal with a pouring out of our hearts. The last half on the list of psalm genres we will consider focus on how it is that the people of God should live. Although it is true that the first half of the list display characteristics of a believer, joyfully worshiping God, the latter psalm genres are much more visible expressions. These psalms instruct us how to live in obedience to God, while trusting in His promises as we hear God's Word proclaimed in our lives. The first one on this list is probably my favorite genre of all the different types of psalms, the Torah psalms.

It is not because I am a pastor or that I "have" to love them; rather, I love them because I am overjoyed in my salvation and praise God that He reveals to me how it is that I can please Him! I am not left to wonder, I know. Just like my wife will tell me what she adores from me, our God has revealed to us what is pleasing in His sight. Enlightened with this knowledge, I rejoice knowing that God is receiving the glory in my life and that others are seeing the glory of God on display. In keeping with the instructions provided, we are also able to encourage and motivate others towards godliness.

The Torah psalms generally provide moral or religious instructions, such as what we read in Psalm 1. We learn that those who delight in God’s law and keep it are those who will prosper. This does not necessarily mean physical prosperity, but rather a condition of the soul prospering in faith; a flourishing of the soul with a nearness to God like a tree prospers in its nearness to water. We also understand that we do not just delight in the law of God passively, but we keep ourselves from wickedness. John Calvin, put it this way, “The sum of the whole is, that the servants of God must endeavor utterly to abhor the life of ungodly men”.

The Torah psalms are wonderful in instructing us and include other categories like testimonies, which encourage its hearers about a personal experience with God (Psalm 32) and wisdom psalms, where the hearer is instructed in practical wisdom (Ps. 49). Each of these psalms orient the reader to a life of godliness, while contrasting acts which are wicked. As you read through these Psalms, rejoice knowing that God has provided us instruction on how it is that we may please Him. But at the same time, learn from the precepts in those psalms; they are meant to instruct us in how we ought to live and not suggest a way of living.

Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez

Please subscribe and share this blog with all of your friends To subscribe, click on the "Subscribe" button at the top of the blog page (https://aogalvez.blogspot.com/)
****************************************************
These articles follow the current Bible Reading plan for Overflow Ministries. If you would like to join the reading plan, simply download the plan here: Overflow Reading Plan

You may follow Overflow Church @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity
or on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/OverflowChurchTX/

If you would like to read the previous articles in the series, you may find them below:
1. Psalms
2. Hymns
3. Community complaints
4. Individual complaints
5. Individual songs of thanksgiving
6. Royal psalms
7. Torah psalms
8. Oracle psalms
9. Blessing psalms
10. Taunt songs
11. Songs of trust

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Balance

Image
"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV) This past weekend (Month even) has been a very busy one. It often happens that when life ramps up, we cut the unimportant things out of our lives in order to accomplish the tasks we identify as most critical. To all my followers, I want to apologize for my having cutting this portion of my life out for a period of time and I will do my best to have more consistency. A years ago, the United States Army deployed a digital "fitness" test to its soldiers and certain respondents received a message that read, "Spiritual fitness may be an area of difficulty. You may lack a sense of meaning and purpose in your life. At times, it is hard for you to make sense of what is happening to you and to others around you. You may not feel connected to something larger than yourself. You may question your
Read more

Satisfaction

Image
“…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11b (NIV) This has been a very busy month for me in terms of traveling around. I returned home from Brazil after a long three weeks and, after two days, I now find myself back in a hotel in the great city of Duncan, Oklahoma. Although it is slightly inconvenient to me, in terms of my schedule for studying the word, prayer, and working out to live in a hotel for almost a full month, I have found great comfort in the words from the apostle Paul. A man who has murderous attempts on his life, been imprisoned on multiple occasions, beaten up, shipwrecked three times, and bitten by a snake was able to find a state of contentedness regardless of what situation he was in. Talk about finding complete joy. This is the same joy that the beloved disciple wrote of many times for other believers to embrace. And this is a joy that over the years I have learned to develop and enjoy. That no matter what situation I find
Read more

Light

Image
“And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 (ASV) Darkness is not a real thing. Cold is also not a real thing. They are just words that we have made up to define the conditions of an environment or state of existence at a specific period or periods of time. What do I mean then when I say that they are not real things? Well, what I mean is that the darkness that we see (or cannot see because of) is not because it is overwhelming, but because it lacks light. Darkness is the absence of light. When light comes into existence, because light is something real, darkness is expelled. That’s the same with cold. Cold is simply the absence of heat. It is not that it is cold and then at some point it shifts to being hot. It is simply that the heat that exists is too miniscule that it cannot bring warmth to anything. In verse five, we read that God is light, but not a weak source of light
Read more