Hey all!
I know it's been a while--to be honest, I have hardly even had the time to check the posts lately! I won't even be around this week, as a friend and I are heading off to New Jersey to a Joyce Meyer conference!
Tell me what you know about "psalmists"! The "office" of the psalmist, how to learn. . .anything you know.
Blessings!
Moe.
:crooner:
Sorry that i missed you and FlagLady today. Bummer. Glad that you dropped by and hope that you'll share lots about what you learn from Joyce.
Psalmist: composer of sacred songs. That's the book definition. Now what about scriptural thoughts.
Psalms were indeed songs with a sacred intention, but I feel as though that hardly begins to touch what the psalms are and as a result what a psalmist is.
True psalms of the biblical variety were just a whole bunch of different things. Some were very simple little ditties, some were of the magna-opus variety (witness #119!). Some were very lofty, some were pretty earthy and dealt with deeply emotional issues. I don't know with certainty, but it's my understanding that most of the psalms in the Hebrew had definite forms and rhyming schemes. Some were very sophisticated in their structure. Each section of the 119th started with the appropriate letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section dealt with a nifty exposition of a symbolic something that's appropriate to the letter and that letter's numeric value. Not your basic shepherd song!
Some folks would say that a psalmist would be a composer and singer of songs. Those songs could be composed or spontaneous. They'd probably be in an easily identifiable rhythmic format. Skilled psalmists can produce spontaneous, rhymed, and rhythmed songs.
Some folks would say that a "modern" psalmist is one who is a singer of songs and might or might not compose them. I don't agree with this set of folks. David was one of the Bible's recognized psalmists. He did not earn that title as a teenaged singer of songs and banisher of Saulish spirits. He earned it for a lifetime of singing and playing and composing some quality poetry married to excellent song tunes.
And then our brother Paul comes along and throws in that wonderful little bit of scriptural admonition that we should be coming to meetings with songs, hymns, and "spiritual songs". I think that Paul was expecting a whole houseful of gifted people! Or he knew that Father and the Holy Spirit were fully up to inspiring awe-inspiring stuff from any vessel that's willing and available.
I wrote a psalm!
Dear Lord, I am a sinner
I focus on me and exclude the world
Yet You bring me joy and rejoicing;
You bring me wealth of riches undreamed of.
Why is it I dwell so on my misery
when You show me
such love and compassion
Help me, oh Lord, help me to see You in glory
Help me to focus on You
And on the love You have shown me
In Your generosity and mercy.
Oh let me raise my head to shout Your praise
Let me dance and wave banners.
I love You, Lord.
I would be Your servant and Your handmaiden
Forever and ever.
I have others but I'll put them in my blog.
I think a Psalmist writes poetry that is worded in such a way that when others recite or sing it, it can transport them into a place of worship, adoration, praise or intercession. A psalm is a vehicle meant to get you somewhere, to perform a function---whether it be glorification or introspection. If you can write stanza that accomplish this, then I believe you are a psalmist.
I heard (a psalmist) once say that he had been prophesied over as a psalmist. He said that he started to go around practicing by writing rhymes like "Look, there hunny, see that tree? I'm so glad we've been set free!" But he soon realized there was more to it than that. And that "more" had to do with substance.