Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
There is power in music. The Psalms are the lyrics of an Old Testament hymnal. The topics of the Psalms can be grouped into several major groups like doctrine, the Messiah, prayers, thanksgiving, praise of God, or history. I love how the Psalms testify and teach about Jesus Christ, which is this week's focus. I hope that you "see Christ" in the Psalms and that what we study together will uplift and encourage you today.
First Presidency: “Music can enrich your life. It can edify and inspire you and help you draw closer to Heavenly Father. Music has a profound effect on your mind, spirit, and behavior.
"Learn and sing the hymns. Hymns can lift your spirit, move you to righteous action, and help you withstand the temptations of the adversary.” (For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet, 2012)
President Dallin H. Oaks: “The First Presidency has said: “Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.
“Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end” (Hymns, 1985, p. ix).
“The singing of hymns is one of the best ways to put ourselves in tune with the Spirit of the Lord. I wonder if we are making enough use of this heaven-sent resource in our meetings, in our classes, and in our homes.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1994/10/worship-through-music?lang=eng)
Background to Psalms:
Most Psalms can be grouped into themes/topics!
Instruments and phrases to know!
Ps. 4 neginoth = harp
Ps. 5 nehiloth = flute
Ps. 6 sheminith = lyre
Ps. 9 muth-labben = men’s voices/chorus
Ps. 46 alomoth = female chorus;
Selah (vv. 3, 7, 11) = instrumental pause, or beginning “Strike up the music.” In verb form, though, it means to “lift up, exalt.”
Some Prophecies concerning Christ in Psalms:
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “Jesus Himself quoted the book of Psalms more than any other Old Testament text. Beyond the Savior’s own use of these writings, the authors of the four Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John] drew heavily on the psalms as they strove to document His life and ministry, particularly those excruciating hours of His arrest, trial, and Crucifixion.” ( For Times of Trouble [2012], 7–8)
Elder Richard G. Scott: “[Christ] said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”(Matthew 25:46). I don’t believe the Father ever forsook His Son. That comment may have hurt temporarily the Father’s feelings, but what He had done was to remove support the Savior had always enjoyed so that the Atonement could have been wrought totally, completely, fully by reason of the effort of His Beloved Son without additional support from the Father. (“Act under the Direction of the Spirit,” February 23, 2011")
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “There was nothing about [Jesus] to cause people to single him out. In appearance he was like men; and so it is expressed here by the prophet that he had no form or comeliness, that is, he was not so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognize him as the Son of God. He appeared as a mortal man.” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. (1954–56), 1:23)
“The "hill of Bashan" was compared to the "hill of God . . . an high hill" (Psalm 68:15), meaning that Bashan was a beautiful and desirable place. Its oaks were compared with the cedars of Lebanon (Isaiah 2:13). Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets employed Bashan as a metaphor for the proud and mighty who will be made low (Jeremiah 22:20; 50:19; Ezekiel 27:6). It is likely that the "bulls of Bashan" symbolize all that is worldly and proud about the Israelites (Amos 4:1) and, in the case of Christ, the haughty and arrogant Jewish leaders who would bring Jesus to trial and would, with a quick shift of metaphor, seek his life as would "a ravening and a roaring lion.” (Hoskisson, “Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament,” p. 294)
Poured out like water refers to blood of Christ that was poured out during His atonement. When His side was pierced "forthwith came there out blood and water" (John 19:34).
“There is no better poetic imagery for [Christ’s] extreme thirst [during the crucifixion] than a potsherd, a broken piece of pottery. In those days, everyday pottery was not glazed. Therefore, if a drop of water was put on a broken piece of unglazed pottery, the drop would be soaked up almost instantly. Severe dehydration also causes the mouth to become dry and the tongue to swell up so that it "cleaveth" to the jaws. (Hoskisson, “Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament,” p. 295)
Psalms 22
22 I [the poet] will declare thy [the Messiah's] name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee [the Messiah].
23 Ye [in the congregation] that fear [the Messiah, Jehovah], praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify [the Messiah]; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel."
24 "For he [God] hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted [of the Messiah]; neither hath he [God] hid his face from him [the Messiah]; but when he [the Messiah] cried unto him [God], he [God] heard." (Hoskisson, “Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament,” p. 297-8)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “We need a shepherd because in innocence or ignorance—but on occasion willfully and against counsel—we turn ‘every one to his own way’ and as a result ‘have gone astray’ [Isaiah 53:6].” (For Times of Trouble [2012], 204)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “We wander here and scamper there, inspect this and nibble at that, until at some point we look up and realize we are either lost or about to be destroyed. We realize that we, or others who affect us, have done either something stupid or something wrong—which are so very often the same thing. We realize we desperately need help; we are in trouble and frantically look about for our shepherd, our defender, our Savior.” (For Times of Trouble [2012], 204)
Elder David A. Bednar: “Let me suggest that hands are made clean through the process of putting off the natural man and by overcoming sin and the evil influences in our lives through the Savior’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening power to do good and become better.
“All of our worthy desires and good works, as necessary as they are, can never produce clean hands and a pure heart. It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength.” “Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 82)
Psalms of Encouragement
Teaching Thoughts:
First Presidency: “Music can enrich your life. It can edify and inspire you and help you draw closer to Heavenly Father. Music has a profound effect on your mind, spirit, and behavior.
"Learn and sing the hymns. Hymns can lift your spirit, move you to righteous action, and help you withstand the temptations of the adversary.” (For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet, 2012)
President Dallin H. Oaks: “The First Presidency has said: “Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.
“Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end” (Hymns, 1985, p. ix).
“The singing of hymns is one of the best ways to put ourselves in tune with the Spirit of the Lord. I wonder if we are making enough use of this heaven-sent resource in our meetings, in our classes, and in our homes.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1994/10/worship-through-music?lang=eng)
Background to Psalms:
- The book of Psalms attributes at least 73 (or about half) of the psalms to David and attributes other psalms to other authors, including Asaph (Psalms 50; 73–83) and Heman (Psalm 88).
- The multiple authors who wrote the psalms lived at different times, most of them between about 1000 and 500 B.C.
- It is not certain when the book of Psalms was compiled in its current form, but events mentioned in Psalm 137 indicate this process was not completed until after the Jewish exile in Babylon.
- Psalms is the Old Testament book most quoted in the New Testament, for “no book of the Old Testament is more Christian in its inner sense or more fully attested as such by the use made of it than the Psalms”- Bible Dictionary
Most Psalms can be grouped into themes/topics!
- Doctrine (Psalms 8, 24, 109, 127)
- Messianic (Psalms 21-22)
- Pleading/Prayerful (Psalms 51)
- Thanksgiving/Gratitude (Psalms 95)
- Historical (Psalms 106)
- Praise (Psalms 150)
Instruments and phrases to know!
Ps. 4 neginoth = harp
Ps. 5 nehiloth = flute
Ps. 6 sheminith = lyre
Ps. 9 muth-labben = men’s voices/chorus
Ps. 46 alomoth = female chorus;
Selah (vv. 3, 7, 11) = instrumental pause, or beginning “Strike up the music.” In verb form, though, it means to “lift up, exalt.”
Some Prophecies concerning Christ in Psalms:
- Psalm 16:9-10
- Psalm 22:1
- Psalm 22:7-8
- Psalm 22:16
- Psalm 22:18
- Psalm 31:5
- Psalm 34:20
- Psalm 41:9
- Psalm 65:7
- Psalm 68:18
- Psalm 69:21
- Psalm 91:11-12
- Psalm 110:1,4
- Psalm 118:21-22
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “Jesus Himself quoted the book of Psalms more than any other Old Testament text. Beyond the Savior’s own use of these writings, the authors of the four Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John] drew heavily on the psalms as they strove to document His life and ministry, particularly those excruciating hours of His arrest, trial, and Crucifixion.” ( For Times of Trouble [2012], 7–8)
Elder Richard G. Scott: “[Christ] said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”(Matthew 25:46). I don’t believe the Father ever forsook His Son. That comment may have hurt temporarily the Father’s feelings, but what He had done was to remove support the Savior had always enjoyed so that the Atonement could have been wrought totally, completely, fully by reason of the effort of His Beloved Son without additional support from the Father. (“Act under the Direction of the Spirit,” February 23, 2011")
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “There was nothing about [Jesus] to cause people to single him out. In appearance he was like men; and so it is expressed here by the prophet that he had no form or comeliness, that is, he was not so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognize him as the Son of God. He appeared as a mortal man.” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. (1954–56), 1:23)
“The "hill of Bashan" was compared to the "hill of God . . . an high hill" (Psalm 68:15), meaning that Bashan was a beautiful and desirable place. Its oaks were compared with the cedars of Lebanon (Isaiah 2:13). Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets employed Bashan as a metaphor for the proud and mighty who will be made low (Jeremiah 22:20; 50:19; Ezekiel 27:6). It is likely that the "bulls of Bashan" symbolize all that is worldly and proud about the Israelites (Amos 4:1) and, in the case of Christ, the haughty and arrogant Jewish leaders who would bring Jesus to trial and would, with a quick shift of metaphor, seek his life as would "a ravening and a roaring lion.” (Hoskisson, “Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament,” p. 294)
Poured out like water refers to blood of Christ that was poured out during His atonement. When His side was pierced "forthwith came there out blood and water" (John 19:34).
“There is no better poetic imagery for [Christ’s] extreme thirst [during the crucifixion] than a potsherd, a broken piece of pottery. In those days, everyday pottery was not glazed. Therefore, if a drop of water was put on a broken piece of unglazed pottery, the drop would be soaked up almost instantly. Severe dehydration also causes the mouth to become dry and the tongue to swell up so that it "cleaveth" to the jaws. (Hoskisson, “Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament,” p. 295)
Psalms 22
22 I [the poet] will declare thy [the Messiah's] name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee [the Messiah].
23 Ye [in the congregation] that fear [the Messiah, Jehovah], praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify [the Messiah]; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel."
24 "For he [God] hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted [of the Messiah]; neither hath he [God] hid his face from him [the Messiah]; but when he [the Messiah] cried unto him [God], he [God] heard." (Hoskisson, “Covenants Prophecies and Hymns of the Old Testament,” p. 297-8)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “We need a shepherd because in innocence or ignorance—but on occasion willfully and against counsel—we turn ‘every one to his own way’ and as a result ‘have gone astray’ [Isaiah 53:6].” (For Times of Trouble [2012], 204)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “We wander here and scamper there, inspect this and nibble at that, until at some point we look up and realize we are either lost or about to be destroyed. We realize that we, or others who affect us, have done either something stupid or something wrong—which are so very often the same thing. We realize we desperately need help; we are in trouble and frantically look about for our shepherd, our defender, our Savior.” (For Times of Trouble [2012], 204)
Elder David A. Bednar: “Let me suggest that hands are made clean through the process of putting off the natural man and by overcoming sin and the evil influences in our lives through the Savior’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening power to do good and become better.
“All of our worthy desires and good works, as necessary as they are, can never produce clean hands and a pure heart. It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength.” “Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 82)
Psalms of Encouragement
- 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
- 31:23-24 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
- 32:11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
- 46:10-11 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Teaching Thoughts:
- Focus on what can we learn about Christ and His attributes from your study of Psalms.
- Introduction to Psalms with current hymnbook. What are their favorite hymns? Why? Write the reasons down and look for favorite Psalms that relate to your favorite hymn.
- The power of music.
- Make a personal list of your favorite Psalms of encouragement.