The power of the Psalms

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Mystic_Warrior said:
I could be wrong, but I believe there’s a lot of hyperbole in the Psalms. We have to remember that for many of the Psalms, particularly authored by King David, he had a very rough time with people conspiring against him, including one of his own sons. I believe he was expressing what was in his soul, right or wrong.

MW
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I’ve purchased the Navarre Study Bible on the Psalms and I have “Come and See”, David and the Psalms (which is very good). I’ll spend time this summer on the Navarre, in the hopes that I’m able to appreciate all of the Psalms.

On a related note, I was talking to a priest about a couple of books of the Bible. I told him that I can’t relate to Job, while I enjoy Tobit so much more. He said its because I haven’t had very many disappointments and setbacks in life to appreciate Job. I had to agree with him. Maybe this has something to do with my preference on different Psalms over others. :hmmm:
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
Doubtful, very doubtful.

What he means is a lot of the Psalms are very revengeful. They asked that God would bring revenge to the supplicant’s enemies. As Christians we are not supposed to pray to God to get revenge over others. We are supposed to forgive our enemies and even love our enemies. At most, we pray for God’s mercy and foregiveness.

But Not Worthy is right, there are beautiful beautiful psalms praising God and his majesty, power, and love!
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Well, you either have to say that Christians do not believe in reciting all the psalms or you have to come up with an explanation for the psalms in which the author is beseeching God to punish his enemies. These psalms are generally addressing justice on those who attack the author because of his love of God.
 
Valke2 said:
Can you tell me what “ten per decade means”? Thank you.
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There were 3 rosaries; the Joyful (Jesus’ birth and infancy) the Sorrowful (His Passion), and the Glorious (His Resurrection and Ascension). Now there are 4 - the Luminous Mysteries, which reflect on the teachings of Jesus.

Each Rosary has 5 decades, each decade focuses on an individual element of the rosary. For instance, the Sorrowful Mysteries focus on:
  1. The Agony in the Garden
  2. The Scourging
  3. The Crowning of Thorns
  4. The Carrying of the Cross
  5. The Crucifixion.
During each individual mystery, we meditate on the mystery while reciting 10 “Hail Mary’s” - hence the term, “Decade”. So an individual rosary will have 5 decades or a total 50 Hail Mary’s. We also recite three Hail Mary’s to begin each rosary, to ask for Faith, Hope, and Charity.
 
Valke2 said:
Well, you either have to say that Christians do not believe in reciting all the psalms or you have to come up with an explanation for the psalms in which the author is beseeching God to punish his enemies. These psalms are generally addressing justice on those who attack the author because of his love of God.
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I don’t think that neither Christine or I are speaking for all Christians.

What we are saying is… well, let’s look at it this way. Valke, do you get the same feeling and inspiration reading Leviticus as you do reading Exodus and Genesis? Just as some books inspire me more, so do some of the Psalms.
 
Valke2 said:
Well, you either have to say that Christians do not believe in reciting all the psalms or you have to come up with an explanation for the psalms in which the author is beseeching God to punish his enemies. These psalms are generally addressing justice on those who attack the author because of his love of God.
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I am currently involve in a Jeff Cavins study of Psalm. This week we are currently working on lesson 3 of 10.

As with all books of the Bible one must be mindful of its style and genre. One of the aspects that we are studying is that the Psalms are a record of the psalmists’ prayers. They often use simile and metaphor to express the depth of the psalmists feelings.

The Psalms are not necessarily meant to teach doctrine, but are intended help to us find words to express our thoughts and feelings to God.
 
Valke2 said:
Well, you either have to say that Christians do not believe in reciting all the psalms or you have to come up with an explanation for the psalms in which the author is beseeching God to punish his enemies. These psalms are generally addressing justice on those who attack the author because of his love of God.
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I think they are all great, but not all particularily Christian in nature. I realize that many of them are very Old Testament thought, and that David was beseeching God to help him over his enemies, which God actually did do. The psalms are very human songs, and they run the gamet from praise, mourning, despair and revenge.

I’m not saying that Christians do or do not believe in reciting the psalms. I know we sing most of our songs in Mass that are based on the Psalms, I have read them all, but I don’t pray the rosary by reciting psalms.

I like some of them more than others that’s all. I guess I have a right to have my preferences.
 
NotWorthy said:
There were 3 rosaries; the Joyful (Jesus’ birth and infancy) the Sorrowful (His Passion), and the Glorious (His Resurrection and Ascension). Now there are 4 - the Luminous Mysteries, which reflect on the teachings of Jesus.

Each Rosary has 5 decades, each decade focuses on an individual element of the rosary. For instance, the Sorrowful Mysteries focus on:
  1. The Agony in the Garden
  2. The Scourging
  3. The Crowning of Thorns
  4. The Carrying of the Cross
  5. The Crucifixion.
During each individual mystery, we meditate on the mystery while reciting 10 “Hail Mary’s” - hence the term, “Decade”. So an individual rosary will have 5 decades or a total 50 Hail Mary’s. We also recite three Hail Mary’s to begin each rosary, to ask for Faith, Hope, and Charity.
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Thank you for the info. So when you meditate on the rosary you are not actually repeating individual psalms but you are saying “Hail Mary’s”, correct? That sounds like a great tradition. And a great way to focus on the Divine.
 
NotWorthy said:
The early Jews and Christians would recite the psalms - all 150 of them.

The rosary became the illiterate’s Psalter. Instead of memorizing each Psalm, the Christian would recite a Hail Mary. That’s probably how we came up with 3 sets of mysteries, to get 150 of them in all.
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so did monks at the time
 
NotWorthy said:
I’ve purchased the Navarre Study Bible on the Psalms and I have “Come and See”, David and the Psalms (which is very good). I’ll spend time this summer on the Navarre, in the hopes that I’m able to appreciate all of the Psalms.
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I think it’s natural to relate to some books and passages than others. I know I do it. For example, my favorite book is the book of Hebrews. Hey, God is molding all of us. I’m certainly a work in progress.
On a related note, I was talking to a priest about a couple of books of the Bible. I told him that I can’t relate to Job, while I enjoy Tobit so much more. He said its because I haven’t had very many disappointments and setbacks in life to appreciate Job. I had to agree with him. Maybe this has something to do with my preference on different Psalms over others. :hmmm:
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Yes, there are those, such as myself, that can really appreciate the trials of King David who was beset by so many enemies and prayed for them to be stopped. However, other passages don’t resonate with me as much. So, it’s quite alright.

I find that certain passages resonate with me depending on the day also. I receive a daily verse by email from the NLT folks. It’s a random passage and I think of it as God’s own message to me for that day. Happy studying! 🙂
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
I think they are all great, but not all particularily Christian in nature. I realize that many of them are very Old Testament thought, and that David was beseeching God to help him over his enemies, which God actually did do. The psalms are very human songs, and they run the gamet from praise, mourning, despair and revenge.

I’m not saying that Christians do or do not believe in reciting the psalms. I know we sing most of our songs in Mass that are based on the Psalms, I have read them all, but I don’t pray the rosary by reciting psalms.

I like some of them more than others that’s all. I guess I have a right to have my preferences.
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absolutely. I of course also have preferences with Psalms (I like number 1, in particular). I view psalms as the 2nd element in a conversation with God. It seems that while the Torah is a conversation initiated by God to man, the Psalms are a conversation initiated by us to God. To that end, I note that the Decalouge starts with “I am the Lord, your God” and ends with “your neighbor.” While the book(s) of Psalms open with “The praises of man” and ends with “Hallelujah! Praise God in His holy place, praise Him in the firmament of His might.” God to man and Man to God.
 
Valke2 said:
Thank you for the info. So when you meditate on the rosary you are not actually repeating individual psalms but you are saying “Hail Mary’s”, correct? That sounds like a great tradition. And a great way to focus on the Divine.
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:yup: :getholy: 👍
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
I think they are all great, but not all particularily Christian in nature. I realize that many of them are very Old Testament thought, and that David was beseeching God to help him over his enemies, which God actually did do. The psalms are very human songs, and they run the gamet from praise, mourning, despair and revenge.
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You know, its funny you should say that about David. I look at his Psalms (I think he wrote about 30-40% of all of the Psalms), and feel that David was the first Christian!!!
 
Valke2 said:
absolutely. I of course also have preferences with Psalms (I like number 1, in particular). I view psalms as the 2nd element in a conversation with God. It seems that while the Torah is a conversation initiated by God to man, the Psalms are a conversation initiated by us to God. To that end, I note that the Decalouge starts with “I am the Lord, your God” and ends with “your neighbor.” While the book(s) of Psalms open with “The praises of man” and ends with “Hallelujah! Praise God in His holy place, praise Him in the firmament of His might.” God to man and Man to God.
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Not in all cases. The NAB ends with “Hallelujah” while the Latin Vulgate, Douay-Rheims, Confraternity Editon say “Alleluia” and the RSV-CE says “Praise the Lord”. The NJB also ends in “Alleluia” and the JB ends in “Yahweh”
 
Valke2 said:
Thank you for the info. So when you meditate on the rosary you are not actually repeating individual psalms but you are saying “Hail Mary’s”, correct? That sounds like a great tradition. And a great way to focus on the Divine.
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Yes, provided we are properly focusing on the mysteries.

Many non-Catholic Christians feel that the Catholic Faith is full of empty rituals. The Mass and the Rosary are the two best examples of this being completely false… or completely true.

If we recite the rosary while pondering the life of Jesus, than the “empty ritual” comment is false. But if we recite the Hail Mary’s all the while wondering what we are cooking for dinner that evening (for example), then the “empty ritual” rings hauntingly true.

I prefer the Scriptural Rosary, which precedes each Hail Mary with a verse or two of Scripture that relates to the Mystery being pondered. It helps to keep my focus where it belongs, rather than making out a “To Do list”.

But you are right, it is a marvelous tool that the Church has given us!
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
I think they are all great, but not all particularily Christian in nature. I realize that many of them are very Old Testament thought, and that David was beseeching God to help him over his enemies, which God actually did do. The psalms are very human songs, and they run the gamet from praise, mourning, despair and revenge.

I’m not saying that Christians do or do not believe in reciting the psalms. I know we sing most of our songs in Mass that are based on the Psalms, I have read them all, but I don’t pray the rosary by reciting psalms.

I like some of them more than others that’s all. I guess I have a right to have my preferences.
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If all of them are not particularly Christian then why are they sung at Mass??
 
Valke2 said:
absolutely. I of course also have preferences with Psalms (I like number 1, in particular). I view psalms as the 2nd element in a conversation with God. It seems that while the Torah is a conversation initiated by God to man, the Psalms are a conversation initiated by us to God. To that end, I note that the Decalouge starts with “I am the Lord, your God” and ends with “your neighbor.” While the book(s) of Psalms open with “The praises of man” and ends with “Hallelujah! Praise God in His holy place, praise Him in the firmament of His might.” God to man and Man to God.
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That’s interesting. A priest, one who introduced me to the daily recitations of the Psalms, told me that if we were to lose the entire Old Testament, but retain the Psalms, we could pretty much reconstruct the entire Old Testament.

I’d like your thoughts on that.
 
tobinatorstark said:
If all of them are not particularly Christian then why are they sung at Mass??
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Not all of them are - I don’t recall hearing about any smashing of heads or wishing the children of your enemies to be stillborn at Mass lately, do you?
 
tobinatorstark said:
Not in all cases. The NAB ends with “Hallelujah” while the Latin Vulgate, Douay-Rheims, Confraternity Editon say “Alleluia” and the RSV-CE says “Praise the Lord”. The NJB also ends in “Alleluia” and the JB ends in “Yahweh”
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But in all cases they end with God and begin with Man. Whereas the Decaloug begins with God and ends with man (neighbor).
 
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