Psalms Of Christmas Series

Intro: Among many things, holiday music, and hymns are a big part of the Christmas season and celebration!

Why is that?

As one music aficionado put it: There’s something about “that Christmas feeling” that words can’t describe, but the music can capture. There’s a feeling associated with the whole Christmas season, a feeling of warmth, love, peace, and joy that wonderfully counterbalances the frigid December cold. Christmas music captures that feeling with a few beautifully pieced together melodies, harmonies, accompaniment, and (often) lyrics.

As I considered what I would focus on during the advent season, I reached not for my traditional hymn book, but rather what is known as the nation of Israel’s hymn book, the book of Psalms!

It is the longest book in your bible, there a 150 of them! It was written over a period of about one thousand years from the time of Moses (about 1500 B.C.) to the time of Ezra (about 450 B.C.). And perhaps one of the most amazing parts of it is that it has much to say about the Advent of Christ!

Jesus himself pointed that out in: Luke 24:44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”-NIV

So during the advent season I will bring a series of messages around the theme:

The Psalms of Christmas

Proposition: A study of the Psalms of Christmas, will take us beyond the warm, traditional feeling that we have regarding Christmas, into a height, length, width, and depth, that not even the gospels take us! For those accounts were recorded after the birth of Christ, but the Messianic Psalms were written hundreds even a thousand years before! They bring you into a heavenly view of what the advent of Christ is all about!

I think this whole series and season needs to start with what I would call the obvious place to start:

I. The Reason for the Advent?

The Reason for the Season?

A) Advent:

1. The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming.”

a) Of Christ!

It all had to do with…

II. The Revolt!

A) Recorded in Psalm 2 and beyond!

1. The insurgency

2. The attempt to put an end to the authority of someone or something by fighting and rebelling against it.

B) Rebels?

Psalm 2:1a Why do the heathen rage,

1. Heathen – ?????- gowy - Non -Hebrew nations; Gentiles.

C) Rage --????????? (ra·??·šu) - To conspire against, to plot!

And also in this conspiracy are…

Psalm 2:1b and the people….

2. People – the nation of Israel – Jew

B) Ridiculousness of the resistance:

Psalm 2:1c [they] imagine a vain thing?

1. Imagine – ????? -hagah

a) To moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, plan

2. Vain – ???? -riyq

a) empty, of no purpose, useless -thing!

3. This speaks of a whispered treasons passing to and fro among the Gentile and Hebrew nations.

C) Range? (The extent or scope of it?)

Psalms 2:2a The kings of the earth…

1. Kings – ?????? -melek

a) Governors, and governments of the earth.

i. Organized governments of the earth.

Psalms 2:2b set themselves,

ii. Take their stand

iii. Band together

Psalms 2:2c and the rulers

2. Rulers - ???????????? (w?·ro·wz·nîm)

a) To be judicious.

i. Judicial government of the earth.

Psalms 2:2d Take counsel together

Psalms 2:2d band together - NIV

ii. Band together -?????? (ya·?a?)- Unite, altogether, all together, alike

iii. They form a coalition over a cause, one cause!

D) Reason?

Psalms 2:2e against….

E) Resistance!!

1. Against -???? (‘al-)

a) Upon a common ground

i. Basis of their banding is to oppose:

Psalms 2:2f the Lord,

2. Lord – ??????? – Yehovah

a) Jehovah = "the Self -Existing; Eternal One"

Psalms 2:2g and against his anointed,

2. Anointed – ???????? – mashiyach

a) The Messiah, Messianic prince

b) The King of Israel

Psalms 2:2h saying, 3a Let us break…

1.“Let us break” ???????????? (n?·nat·t?·qah)

a) Pull apart, tear away, tear apart, snap

Psalms 2:3b their bands asunder,

2. Bands – ?????? -mowcer

a) Bonds, restraints, restrictions.

Psalm 2:3c and cast away their cords from us.

3. Cords – ????? -`aboth

a) Rope, cordage, chains.

F) Record of the bible?

1. That a global, world-wide revolt, rebellion of man against God, that took place right from the beginning (genesis of man)!

a) Started with satan:

Isaiah 14: 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. - KJV