Psalms In A Nutshell

By Zebron Ncube

A church owned school in a rural area of Zimbabwe was falling apart for lack of money. One day the Anglo-American Company discovered gold right where the school was located. The school was bought out and relocated. For many decades it sat on top of a gold mine but did not know it. Many Christians are just like that. The Book of Psalms is a gold mine that they know very little about. They tend to use Psalms only as a reference book as we do with an encyclopedia. They use the Book of Psalms as a trouble-shooting tool to be used only when needed. The focus on favorite selections limits their appreciation of the entire Book of Psalms. Psalms In A Nutshell was written with one goal in mind – to encourage regular people to read and appreciate the entire Book of Psalms and feel confident in using the psalms for their personal devotional study, church afternoon Bible study, mid-week prayer meetings, sermon preparation and preaching, and teaching on a variety of subjects and themes. Almost every Bible truth can be found in the psalms. In Psalms In A Nutshell, Zebron Ncube introduces his readers to the gold mine – the Book of Psalms. It is the Good News.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zebron Ncube
• Release date: Mar 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9780692822197

Book preview

Psalms In A Nutshell

Psalms In A Nutshell

Exploring, Experiencing, and Expressing the Good News

Zebron Ncube

Copyright © 2017 Zebron Ncube

Published by Zebron Ncube Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Printed and bound by Novus Print Solutions

Edited by Tony van der Watt for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

About the Author

Dr. Zebron Ncube grew up in his native country of Zimbabwe, where he was educated and graduated from Solusi University with a Bachelor’s degree in theology. He is also a graduate of Andrews University, USA, where he earned Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He has worked as pastor, evangelist, church administrator, and university professor. Dr. Ncube is the author of A Roadside Dream, Going the Distance, and Episodes in Visions. He has also published articles in religious journals and magazines and contributed many articles to the Herald Palladium’s Insight column, a Berrien County newspaper in Michigan, USA, where he resides and served as a pastor.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my late father Shiri Daniel Ncube and my mother Velina, who even though they never went to school sacrificed everything for me to gain a Christian education. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit my father could only read the Bible and the Sabbath School Quarterly. He was a church planter who never preached a sermon. All he did was to simply meet under a tree with a few people, read the Bible, study the Sabbath School lessons, and pray. On his way back home he visited people in their homes just to socialize. He never gave Bible studies or employed any known methods of evangelism. All he did was to associate with people. As a result of this, three churches were raised.

Benefits of this Book

The Book of Psalms is often left for theologians, preachers, and musicians to study and use in their work-related areas. Only they, some think, have found the Book of Psalms to be a goldmine. Many Christians recite certain psalms or portions of some of the psalms as a source of encouragement in times of distress or need. However, few have taken the time to read the entire Book of Psalms to experience the good news, just as they do with the Gospels. In fact, one can find a parallel in the way the two are often used. In the Gospels the most recited portion is what is generally referred to as the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13), while in the psalms it is the Shepherd’s Psalm (Ps. 23). We naturally fall back on these two almost instantly when we end our prayers and when tragedy strikes.

Also, many Christians tend to use Psalms only as a reference book as we do with an encyclopedia. They copy and paste or use the Book of Psalms as a trouble-shooting tool to be used only when needed. The focus on favorite selections limits their appreciation of the entire Book of Psalms.

Psalms In A Nutshell was written with one goal in mind – to encourage regular people to read and appreciate the entire Book of Psalms and feel confident in using the psalms for their personal devotional study, church afternoon Bible study, mid-week prayer meetings, sermon preparation and preaching, and teaching on a variety of subjects and themes. Almost every Bible truth can be found in the psalms. For that reason, the Book of Psalms is the Good News.

Here are other ways this book is helpful to you as a reader. First, you are given the background information on the Book of Psalms. That way, you have some knowledge of the Book of Psalms in general. It also equips you with practical skills for understanding the meaning and purpose of each psalm.

Second, titles to the psalms are crafted with a purpose of capturing the theme or main idea in each psalm. This is the most important step that a reader should do when reading any portion of the Bible. Instead of following the standard superscriptions that appear on each psalm, the titles are crafted to appeal to the contemporary mind. In an interview by Derek Morris (Morris 2014, 6), Haddon Robinson, a renowned preacher, suggested that this is the most important part in a Bible study. He says, Strong biblical sermons must be bifocal. They need to reflect the big idea of the text and also reflect the concerns, needs, and questions of the listeners today.

Third, the reader will find this book helpful in identifying the type of each psalm and giving the historical context within which it was written or used. Some of the psalms are hard to determine in respect of their history and source, yet Bible scholars have unearthed helpful insights that shed light on those psalms.

The fourth benefit this book offers is the talking points of each of the psalms. These are meant to be the key points for each section of the psalm. Since this is not a commentary, verse-by–verse discussion has been avoided. This allows the reader to get personally involved and flesh out the details, and not rely on canned details. As we know, the food we take time to prepare is always better than the one coming in cans, ready to warm up and eat. Therefore, the talking points in each psalm in this book are the recipe for the reader to use in preparing the food.

Mention must be made that while the titles and talking points in this book reflect the author’s understanding, the reader may come up with a different understanding altogether. Be that as it may, common ground will always be found. At least this book helps start the process of understanding each psalm.

Finally, this book is designed to meet existential needs today, with Craig C. Broyles’ counsel in mind (Broyles 1999, 67):

Psalms generally are written not out of the particular experience of their composers but for the various experiences Yahweh’s worshipers may face. Therefore, we should ask not, ‘Out of what circumstances was this psalm written?’ but rather, ‘For what kind of circumstances is it appropriate?’

Thus as a reader you will observe this plot, particularly with titles and talking points of each psalm. The idea is to make the psalm as relevant to the reader’s experience as possible. Texts quoted in this book are from the New King James Version (NKJV), unless otherwise stated.

Table of Contents

About The Author

Dedication

Benefits Of This Book

Introduction

Background To Psalms

How To Approach Psalms

Who Wrote Psalms?

Origin Of The Word Psalm

Numbering Of Psalms

Purpose Of The Psalms

Types Of Psalms

Literary Features Hebrew Poetry

Alphabetic Acrostic

The Plot In Psalms

Themes In Psalms

Book I: Psalms 1 –

Psalm 1 - Character And Destiny

Psalm 2 - When The Wicked Plot

Psalm 3 - Trouble Falling Asleep – #

Psalm 4 - Trouble Falling Asleep - #2

Psalm 5 - When Lied About

Psalm 6 - Trouble Falling Asleep – #3

Psalm 7 - When You Have A Cush In Your Life

Psalm 8 - Our Ground For Praise

Psalm 9 - Praise After Victory

Psalm 10 - God And Godless People

Psalm 11 - Why I Can’t Quit

Psalm 11 - What Can The Righteous Do?

Psalm 12 - How You Speak Matters

Psalm 13 - The Stages Of Despair

Psalm 14 - The Age Of Fools

Psalm 15 - Folk, It’s Time To Go To Church!

Psalm 16 - Qualities Of Mature Christians

Psalm 17 - Undeserved Suffering

Psalm 18 - Take Time To Count The Blessings

Psalm 19 - God Reveals Himself

Psalm 20 - Prayer Before Battle

Psalm 21 - Praise After Battle

Psalm 22 - The Good Shepherd Dies For The Sheep

Psalm 23 - Because I Trust God

Psalm 24 - The Indisputable Things Of The Lord

Psalm 25 - How To Seek God’s Help

Psalm 26 - How To Keep A Clean I

Psalm 27 - Sources Of Strength

Psalm 28 - Your Reputation And Work Under Assault

Psalm 29 - God’s Incomparable Power

Psalm 30 - When You Feel Miserable

Psalm 31 - Ingredients Of Adversity

Psalm 32 - The Road Most Traveled

Psalm 33 - Celebrating The Works Of The Lord

Psalm 34 - Go And Tell

Psalm 35 - What To Do With Revenge

Psalm 36 - God And Man At Odds

Psalm 37 - Keep Your Status Current

Psalm 38 - After You Have Sinned, What?

Psalm 39 - The Shortness Of Life

Psalm 40 - A Praise Report

Psalm 41 - The Looks Of A Sick Person

Book Ii: Psalms 42 –

Psalm 42-43 - How To Cure Depression

Psalm 44 - When God Sides With Your Enemies

Psalm 45 - The Wedding Of The Century

Psalm 46 - Take Your Hands Off

Psalm 47 - The Coronation Of The King

Psalm 48 - When God Is On Our Side

Psalm 49 - A Traveler’s Guide

Psalm 50 - The Judge Is Coming

Psalm 51 - It’s All About Me

Psalm 52 - Living In The Future

Psalm 53 - Living Without God

Psalm 54 - When Things Go Wrong

Psalm 55 - Stress In Leadership

Psalm 56 - Safe In God’s Presence

Psalm 57 - Prayer And Song In The Cave

Psalm 58 - Rampant Social Injustices

Psalm 59 - God Is My Strength

Psalm 60 - Confidence While Under Crossfire

Psalm 61 - No One To Turn To But God

Psalm 62 - The Art Of Waiting

Psalm 63 - Finding Joy In The Wilderness

Psalm 64 - Thoughts, Plots, Shots, And Shouts

Psalm 65 - Let The Community Give Thanks

Psalm 66 - The Value Of Biblical Worship

Psalm 67