Elementary Level, Block 6—Samuel to David
Week 59
David—A Psalmist
Point to Emphasize: We can be those who write a song of thanks or praise and enjoy singing.
Reference Reading: 1 Samuel 16:16-23; Psalm 3—9; 11—32; 34—41; 51—65; 68—70; 86; 101; 103; 108—110; 122; 124; 131; 133; 138—145
Memory Verse: …And with my song do I give thanks to Him. (Psalm 28:7d)
Story Sample
In children’s meetings we always have a singing time. Oh, singing is so enjoyable! How many of the songs that we sing do you already know? Five, ten, or fifteen? Do you know that we have over one hundred songs that we sing together? All these songs were composed by some dear adults and young people among us. It is so wonderful that there are some who love God, who spend time gathering their thoughts and feelings and write poems that can be sung and enjoyed by others!
Writing songs and singing go way back in history. Actually, the Bible talks about one man that started to play the lyre for the sheep and later on for the King. He ended up writing poems that others would sing. Most of his poems were praising and thanking God for all God had done for him. He would write praises, prayers, and would sing with joy! Who was he? Yes, David!
We can say that David’s heart was SO full of feelings that he wanted to write them down. He wrote poems. Do you know what a poem is? There are many kinds of poems, but the purpose of a poem is to stir a reader’s imagination or emotions. Some poems try to express some truth about life, tell a story, honor a person or honor God. Some of David’s poems were recorded in an Old Testament book of the Bible called Psalms. We can say that David was a psalmist. The psalms he wrote were songs or poems that were meant to be sung. David’s poetry is awesome! Do you know why? In his poetry, David praised God! David’s heart was so full of good things and full of thanks that he wrote many praises to God in poems to be sung by him others.
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve liked music. I am not a musician, but I can carry a tune and I enjoy singing in every meeting. When I was about 15 years old, I was at home and I was helping my mom prepare for children’s meeting. She was reading to me what we were going to share with the children. Later I went to my room and decided to compose a song! It was a very simple song but it brought a lot of joy to me and to all the ones who sang it! Now that I think of it, I was just like David! [Storyteller, share an experience of writing a song or knowing someone who wrote a song or a hymn. Or give examples of children’s songs that David wrote from the book of Psalms and we sing today.]
At home, your parents might have hymnals. I’m sure you have seen them. The young people also have hymnals. Oh, the young people really love to sing to the Lord! You might also have seen some of the songbooks prepared for the Family Summer Camps. If you take some time to read some of the songs, you will see that they are just like poems with a tune. One day you might write a poem or a song for us to sing! Maybe you can try this week!