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The Psalter Reclaimed Reflection Essay

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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

The Psalter Reclaimed Reflection Essay

Submitted to Dr. Joel Ajayi, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course

OBST 520 ? D06
Old Testament Orientation II

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Oliver M. Brown
April 24, 2016

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Introduction The book of Psalms has been divided into five major sections, like the Pentateuch, with each sections ending with a doxology. It has the most chapters in the Bible, including the longest and the shortest chapters. In completing the reading assignment, a greater insight and understanding about the book of Psalms was gained. In reading the Psalms, one is able to identify the character of God and His steadfast love to those who fear Him. …show more content…

Worship, therefore, is a freely given response to who God is and what He has done throughout creation. It is a response based upon the relation between the creator and the created, and as such, worship is a Christian?s way of life.
The act of worship may be private or communal and is carried out in various forms, such as reading the bible, singing and praying. In biblical times, the Psalms were used for offering praises to God through singing and praying. According to Wenham, ?[m]ost, if not all, of the psalms were originally composed to be sung in temple worship?[and secondarily] as a resource for private meditation and devotion.?[footnoteRef:2] The Psalms, therefore, were not only sung in temple worship but were an integral part of a layperson?s daily life. Interestingly, the book of Psalms was more than likely, the only part of the Bible available to a layperson and it generally would be memorized so that it could be recited from memory.[footnoteRef:3] [2: Ibid.] [3: Ibid.]

This poses a challenge to the modern Christian?s understanding and way of worship and begs for a re-examination of whether or not the Psalms should play a more pivotal role in worship. Wenham purports that the current approach to reading Psalms is where one reads what he wishes and ignores what he chooses, then later forgets what he had read. This approach is not empowering and life sustaining. It falls short and limits the development of

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