Psalms

Bible Study
Week 1: Introduction
 Opening Prayer

A paraphrase of Psalm 1
Leslie F. Brandt

From: Psalms/Now (1973)

Introductions • Name
• Do you have a favorite Psalm?
• Course Materials
• 21-Week Study over 26-week period
• Weekly Study Guide
• Class Format
• Start and End On time!
• Opening Reflection/Closing Worship
• In-class videos/materials to augment reading
and spur discussion
• My Role as Facilitator
• Discussions and Interactive participation
• General questions/observations from
the reading
• Questions for discussion
• Respect Each Other
• No politics
• Make sure everyone has a chance to
contribute
• Anything said in the group is confidential
 Zoom Etiquette

Put Your Name on

your Screen
Make sure the screen name says
who you are (not just a phone
number). If multiple people are
sharing a screen put both names.
Class Resources
Primary text/guide.
Expanded the 12-week
study so we have
more time on each Psalm.
Available on Amazon and Christianbook.com
Weekly Study Guide. I will
prepare and mail out every
Monday for the next week’s
class. Compiled from many
sources and commentaries.
Still today the Old Testament book of Psalms gives great power for faith and life. This
is simply because it preserves a conceptually rich language about God and our
relationships to him. If you bury yourself in Psalms, you emerge knowing God and
understanding life.
And that is by no means a matter, as some suggest, of the “poetic effect” of the great
language. No mere emotional lift is involved. What makes the language great and
provides the emotional lift is chiefly its picture of God and of life. We learn from
the psalms how to think and act in reference to God. We drink in God and God’s world
from them. They provide a vocabulary for living Godward, one inspired by God
himself. They show us who God is, and that expands and lifts and directs our minds and
hearts.
From The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. Copyright © 1997 by Dallas Willard.
Goals of this Study
• Develop an appreciation for and working
knowledge of the Psalms
• Develop a clearer picture of God’s character
• Learn more about the Christ in prophecy
• Become more familiar with Old Testament
poetry
• Explore ways to work the Psalms into
personal study time
 • Provided separately.
• Each week there is a reading of the Study Book, specific
Reading Psalms, and one of the two other books (either C.S.
Lewis or N.T. Wright). For example:

Schedule • Each Monday I will send out a Study Guide for the next
week and remind you what is expected to be read.
• If you don’t get everything read it’s okay – we will talk
about the materials in class. Don’t skip class just because
you weren’t able to get the reading done.
Jesus and the
Psalms
Prophecies in Psalms
Concerning Christ
 Why Study the Psalms?
• The value of the Old Testament is expressed several times in the New Testament
• For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have
hope. (Romans 15:4)
• Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1
Corinthians 10:11)
• But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the
man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

• As Christians, we are commanded to use the Psalms in our spiritual disciplines

• Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, (Ephesians 5:19)
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
• Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. (James 5:13)

• The Psalms teach us how to approach God in prayer, how to praise and worship God, how to live a holy and
righteous life, what to do when we fail, and how to deal with every human emotion we experience.
• Jesus used the psalms (Luke 24:44-47), as did the Apostle Peter (Acts 2:25-28,34-35)
 Brief History of the Psalms
Overview
• The name comes from the Greek word psalmos, which is a translation of the Hebrew word mizmor (“to play a stringed instrument”). The
Psalms were written to be sung.
• The traditional Hebrew name for the book is tehillium (“praises”), which is related to the word hallelujah (“praise Yahweh”).
• Individual psalms were originally hymns, used on various occasions and at various sacred sites. Later some were made into anthologies.
Individual psalms might be understood within the Psalter as a whole, narrating the life of David or providing instruction like the Torah.
• In later Jewish and Christian tradition, the psalms have come to be used as prayers (individual or communal) and as traditional expressions
of religious feeling.

When were they written?

• The Psalms span at least 5 centuries and some are clearly from the post-Exilic period (not earlier than 5th century BC).

C1406 BC C970 BC C400-300 BC

Death of Moses Death of David Book of Psalms compiled
(Psalm 90 ascribed to him) (Wrote many Psalms)
Who Wrote the
Psalms?
We can’t know for certain. It’s hard to
assign authorship to ancient literature.
Most of the Psalms are traditionally
attributed to David
David and the Psalms

• It is reported that after David’s secret

anointing as king, he was called to play the
harp for King Saul, who was abandoned by
God and plagued by an evil spirit.
• Whenever the evil spirit from God was upon
Saul, David took the lyre and played it with
his hand so Saul was refreshed and was
well. (1 Samuel 16:23).
• That may have been the beginning of the
writing of the Psalms by David.
Video
How to Read The Book of Psalms

Questions? Comments?

The Bible Project

Challenges of The Psalms
• The Psalms are a collection of 150 poems that at first may not
appear to be organized
• The Psalms have a poetic literary form that requires us to slow
down and meditate on them.
• The Psalms require that we understand who is speaking to us in
them
• The Psalms must be read with an understanding of the
relationship between the Old and New Testament to see their
relevance.
• The Psalms are difficult to outline. They are poetry, not historic
narrative
• The Psalms require that we feel them, like music and poetry
The Psalms are a Cohesive Collection
• At some stage in history, the Psalms were assembled in
collections or groups that became the Book of Psalms.
• Not put together randomly
• Psalms 1 and 2 introduce the book and the psalms of praise in
Book 5 are its conclusion
• Many adjoining psalms share words and themes with
neighboring passages. Repeated words and phrases create
bridges between psalms. Sometimes one psalm picks up
where another left off. Sometimes clusters of psalms begin
and end with the same lines. Other psalms tell a story when
read together.
• The movement of the Psalms mirrors the lives and
experiences of the People of God, giving us the language to
pray to God in crisis and remind us of His faithfulness so we
might praise Him.
• The book of Psalms is a carefully crafted anthology loosely
reflecting the story of God’s covenant with David that covers
hardship and exile but culminates in a restored people from
all nations worshipping God under the rule of his anointed
king.
Key Theology of the Psalms - 1
• Monotheism: The one true God, Maker of heaven and earth and
ruler of all things, will vindicate his own goodness and justice, in
his own time. Every human being must know and love this God,
whose spotless moral purity, magnificent power and wisdom,
steadfast faithfulness, and unceasing love are breathtakingly
beautiful.
• Creation and fall: Though God made man with dignity and
purpose, all people since the fall are beset with sins and
weaknesses that only God’s grace can heal.
• Election and covenant: The one true God chose a people for
himself and bound himself to them by his covenant. This covenant
expressed God’s intention to save the people, and through them to
bring light to the rest of the world.
• Eschatology: The story of God’s people is headed toward a
glorious future, in which all kinds of people will come to know the
Lord and join his people. It is part of the dignity of God’s people
that, in God’s mysterious wisdom, their personal faithfulness
contributes to the story getting to its goal. The Messiah, the
ultimate heir of David, will lead his people in the great task of
bringing light to the Gentiles.
Key Theology of the Psalms -2
• Covenant membership:
⁃ In his covenant, God offers his grace to his people: the forgiveness of
their sins, the shaping of their lives in this world to reflect his own
glory, and a part to play in bringing light to the Gentiles.
⁃ Each member of God’s people is responsible to lay hold of this grace
from the heart: to believe the promises, to grow in obeying the
commands, and to keep on doing so all their lives long.
⁃ Those who lay hold in this way are the faithful, as distinct from the
unfaithful among God’s people; they enjoy the full benefits of God’s
love, and they find boundless delight in knowing God.
⁃ Each of the faithful is a member of a people, a corporate entity; the
members have a mutual participation in the life of the whole people.
Therefore, the spiritual and moral well-being of the whole affects the
well-being of each of the members, and each member contributes to
the others by his own spiritual and moral life. Thus each one shares
the joys and sorrows of the others, and of the whole.
⁃ The faithful will suffer in this life, often at the hands of the unfaithful,
and sometimes from those outside God’s people. The right response
to this suffering is not personal revenge but believing prayer,
confident that God will make all things right in his own time.
Key Themes of the Psalms:
A Portrait of God
A Portrait of God
• Our Shepherd (Psalms 23, 95, 100)
• The warrior who saves us from
our oppressors (Psalm 18)
• Our king (Psalms 45, 47, 97)
• Our refuge (Psalms 46, 91)
• Our judge (Psalms 50, 52, 75, 76)
• Champion of the poor and
downtrodden (Psalms 72, 113)
• Provides hope through glorious
eternal future (Psalms 37, 73)
God’s Characteristics
• Righteous (Psalms 11, 128, 144)
• Great (Psalms 48, 135)
• Eternal (Psalm 90)
• Perfect (Psalm 92)
• Powerful (Psalms 76, 104,
145, 147)
• Patient (Psalm 78)
• Just (Psalms 82, 101)
• Forgiving (Psalm 103)
• Loving (Psalms 136, 145)
• Good (Psalms 86, 104, 116)
Key Themes of Psalms: A Model of
Personal Relationship With God
Openly express a range of emotions experienced in
life. The openness inspires us to authentic
communication with our loving, compassionate and
understanding God
• Fear (Psalm 56)
• Love (Psalms 91, 116)
• Distress (Psalms 31, 42, 102, 142)
• Dismay (Psalm 10)
• Joy (Psalms 98, 100, 126)
• Impatience (Psalm 13)
• Gratitude (Psalms 107, 118, 136)
• Shame (Psalms 25, 38, 44, 69)
• Guilt (Psalms 32, 38, 51)
• Forgiveness (Psalms 32, 103)
• Depression (Psalms 31, 42, 43, 130)
Overview of the Book of Psalms The Bible Project
Characteristics of Hebrew
Poetry: Parallelism - 1
The psalms say something from one angle and then repeat it
from a slightly different one (called parallelism).Poetic rhythm
was of secondary consideration in hebrew poetry. The focus
was thought rhythm not word rhythm. Parallelism arranges
thoughts in relation to each other. There are several different
kinds of thought rhyme.
• Synonymous Parallelism: The thought of first line is repeated in
the second line, expressed in different words for the sake of
emphasis. Example is found in Psalm 24:2:
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters. (same idea, reworded)
• Antithetical Parallelism: The truth presented in one line is
strengthened by a contrasting statement in the next line. Example
Psalm 1:6
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish. (note the contrast)
• Synthetic Parallelism: The first and second lines bear some
definite relation to each other (such as cause and effect, or
proposition and conclusion). A good example is Psalm 119:11.
Your word I have hidden in my heart, (cause)
That I might not sin against You! (effect)
Characteristics of Hebrew
Poetry: Parallelism - 2
• Stair-like Progressive Parallelism: Composed of several lines,
each providing a complete element of the aggregate or composite
thought. A good example is Psalm 1:1.
Blessed is the man...
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (note the progression

• Climatic Progressive Parallelism: Here the principal idea in the

first line is repeated and expanded to complete the thought. An
example is found in Psalm 29:1.
Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones (give what?)
Give unto the LORD glory and strength. (the answer)

• Introverted parallelism - The first line is closely related in thought

to the fourth, and the second to the third. For example, consider
Psalm 91:14.
Because he has set his love upon Me, (note line 4)
therefore I will deliver him; (note line 3)
I will set him on high, (note line 2)
because he has known My name. (note line 1)
Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry: Use of
Figurative Expression
The Psalms are full of concrete word-pictures that communicate
vividly from many sources and settings
• family life, work, agriculture, the creation account, nature and
wildlife, music and song, food and drink, military warfare,
kingship and politics, the temple and priesthood, health and
sickness, laws and festivals, ancient myths and legends, the
legal system, the geography/topology of Israel, covenants and
promises, Old Testament stories, language of the prophets…
Metaphor: a comparison that is stated or implied
• The Lord is my shepherd
Simile: uses like are as to make a comparison
• I am like a weaned child
Hyperbole: exaggerated language, used to move the heart.
• If I rise on the wings of the dawn…
Personification: attributes human features or actions to non-
humans, used.
• Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing with joy
Other Poetic Devices
• Acrostic poems, where each line of the Psalm or
stanza begins with the successive letter of the Hebrew
alphabet (Psalm 119)
• Antiphonal songs, where groups sing alternate parts
(Psalm 136)
• Framing devices are used where a key idea bookends
a section by appearing at the beginning and the end of
the Psalm (Psalm 73)
• Refrains where a statement is repeated at key
junctures (Psalm 107)
Key Types of Psalms
Laments Praise
Presenting a Calling believers to
troubled situation to admire God’s
the Lord attributes

Hymns of Instruction/Wisdom
Thanksgiving Guide and
Thanking God for encourage
answered prayer worshipers’
Unclear Terms Used in
the Psalms
There are terms used in the Psalms where the meaning is not clear
or known. Some thoughts on what terms may mean:
• Alamoth: plural form of the word maiden may indicate a high-
pitched voice or a treble register.
• Sheminith: translates as eighth. May refer to a particular mode
or rhythm or to an instrument with eight strings
• Gittith: perhaps an instrument associated with the city of Gath
• Mahalath: Possibly “song dance” or referring to musical
instruments.
• Selah: Possibly indicates a dramatic pause for musical effect or
the place where the benediction was sung.
Journaling and Praying the Psalms
You can just read the Psalms each week or you might want to
consider journaling each Psalm. There are many ways to do
that. Here is one model.
• Begin by reading through the entire Psalm to get the big
picture.
• Make note of what God is revealed to be in the Psalm. What
attributes of God’s character are shown in the Psalm? How
is God’s character connected to the emotions or feelings of
the Psalmist?
• Personalize the psalm. Are you experiencing any of the
emotions you’ve identified in the Psalm? If so, what in your
life triggered these feelings. Connect how God’s attributes
in the Psalm could help connect to your circumstances.
• Pray the Psalm and make it personal
Lord, I can’t seem to overcome my fear, so I ask to know your protective
care in a way that deepens my trust in you. OR God, I dread going to
bed because anxiety has been keeping me awake, but I am reminded that
you’re the one who sustains my life, so I pray for help to be mindful of
that as I prepare for bed tonight.
DISCUSSION
▪ General questions on the class?

▪ What do you hope to get out of a better

understanding of the Psalms? Why is the
study important to you?

▪ From the introduction, are there ideas

about the Psalms you hadn’t thought
about before? Any questions/concerns?

Mimkomcha malkeinu tofia
From your place, our King, may you appear
V’timloch aleinu, ki m’chakim anachnu lach.
And reign over us, for we are waiting for You.
Matai timloch b’tzion, b’karov, b’yameinu
When will you reign in Zion? Soon, in our days,
L’olam va’ed tishkon.
Forever may you dwell there.
Titkadal v’titkadash b’toch y’rushalayim ircha,
May You be exalted and sanctified within your city Jerusalem
L’dor vador ul’netzach n’tzachim.
Generation after generation, and for all eternity.
V’eineinu tirenah malchutecha,
May Your eyes see Your kingdom.
Kadavar ha’amur b’shirei uzecha.
As this matter is expressed in the songs of Your might.
ve'al yedey David, mashiach ztidkecha
And by David, the messiah of your justice
Closing Worship
A Jewish Prayer
The Shofar is the Jewish calling voice. It was used in
ancient Israel to announce the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh)
and call people together. We meet it in the bible during
times of joy and war and in the temple. The Shofar is
related to forgiveness and mercy and it is blown in every
Israeli community during Rosh Hashanah (New Year). The
blasts of the shofar are wake-up calls. Rosh Hashanah is
the time to shake out of our spiritual slumber, reconnect
to our source, and recommit to our divine mission in this
world. It is considered a mitzvah (commandment) to hear
the shofar blown. Using the Shofar as a musical
instrument is rare. This blast of biblical horn is believed by
the Jewish faith to open up the gates of heaven
Performed by the Yamma Ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnkb7M3dKTg
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE PSALMS
There are 150 Psalms in The Psalter (the Book of Psalms),
containing the themes and topics found in the rest of the Old
Testament. The psalms are timeless, and the psalter has been
the hymnbook and prayer book for countless generations of
Jews and Christians over centuries.
The English title “Psalms” comes from the Greek
title, psalmoi, which was already established by the time of
the New Testament. Psalmos translates the Hebrew
word mizmôr (“a psalm”), both having to do with songs sung to the accompaniment of stringed
instruments. The Greek speaking church sometimes used the alternate title psalterion (meaning string
instrument, then a collection of harp songs), from which the English term Psalter is derived. This gives
us insight into the nature of the book of psalms: a collection of songs for worship. The Hebrew title
is tĕhillîm (“praises”), which gives us a further insight into the book’s nature. Despite the many psalms
of lament and disorientation, the Psalter’s overall message is that praising God is the desired mode in
which people should strive to live.
The primary purpose of the Book of Psalms is to provide God’s people with a collection of poems
appropriate for worship; poems that express prayer, praise, thanks, confession, lament, and confidence,
as well as encourage obedience in faith. The Book of Psalms contains the entire range of human
emotion, from the highest points of joy and thanksgiving to the lowest points of depression and loss --
everything in between. From the deepest pits to the highest heavens, these songs tell stories about real
life in a cursed world with a covenant God. The Psalms deal with dark times because their authors wrote
them in dark times, but the Psalms do not leave us in darkness.
The Psalter expresses almost every major OT theme, adding to our understanding of them. The
marvellous work of God in creation, judgement, and salvation, Israel’s story, the law of life, the holy
city of Jerusalem and God’s presence there, the once and future Davidic messiah, warning against
wickedness and exhortation to righteousness, the majesty and tragedy of the human condition, the
everlasting and present and coming kingdom of God – all are contained in the psalms. The message
inextricably follows some important threads of biblical theology, including the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and
Davidic covenants, and it anticipates the new covenant in significant ways.
The single, overarching theme of the book of Psalms is God’s kingship, his status as the divine King
who rules over all peoples, nations, gods, even elements of nature.

TYPES OF PSALMS:
There are various ways to categorize Psalms, and different scholars attribute different categories to the
Psalms. There can be overlap as to which categories a Psalm is assigned. Some typically used
categories include:

• Prayer for Help or Lament: Over a third of the Psalms are prayers of lament. They include
requests for guidance, protection, favor, attention from God, deliverance from crisis,
intervention, reconciliation, healing, and long life. Much of the language in these prayers was
general and metaphoric, allowing the texts to serve as examples for others to use in their specific
circumstances. While the details of hardship may differ, the emotional experiences and
theological thoughts can be shared by anyone.
 The petitions that accompany lament in the Bible are very similar to those found in prayers from
other civilizations in the ancient Near East. As in Biblical psalms, Mesopotamian prayers
included protests of innocence, praise to the deity, and vows to offer thanks for deliverance.
Often specific attributes of the deity are named that correspond to the affliction and desired
deliverance of the worshipper. Such elements function within the lament as motivation for the
deity to respond to the worshiper’s plight.

Individual lament psalms are typically composed in first person as a direct address to God. The
prayer may, however, be related to an individual or a whole community. The petition usually
asks to be heard and helped. There is a description of trouble, typically in relation to God, to
others, and/or to self. When reading, it’s important to consider who the “I” is in the psalm.
Descriptions of trouble use language that typically belongs to three kinds of experiences:
sickness, accusation (from formal proceedings of the community to betrayal of neighbors and
family), and armed conflict (local fights to national warfare). The prayers regularly speak of an
environment of hostility and the protagonists of the hostility correspond to the roles and terms of
the individual’s identity (The enemies of God vs the servants of God; the wicked vs the
righteous; the lowly poor vs the strong and ruthless).

When disaster threatened the existence of the entire national community, urgent prayer was
offered on behalf of the people of God. These psalms typically describe circumstances created by
the superior military power of other nations. The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple seem to
be the occasion for at least two. The prayers are composed primarily as the voice of the
community, so they use we instead of I. The corporate prayers feature recollections of God’s
way and work in the past. Petitions to hear and help are the defining element. They often speak
of God’s absence or wrath, the community’s humiliation and suffering, the power and arrogance
of enemies. Appeals to the community’s identification with God and to God’s honor and glory
support the petitions. There are often assertions of trust in God. The prayer remembers what God
has done to help the community in the past (and even in the creation of the world) as a way of
making the suffering of the community an issue of the Lord’s sovereignty in the world. Praise is
promised in gratitude for the help that is sought. These corporate prayers have immense
theological importance and contain some of the most important statements in the Psalter about
God’s way with Israel and the world. The community knows that its last and best hope lies in
the sovereignty of its God.
• Thanksgiving: The psalms of thanksgiving are a counterpart of a prayer for help. Praise is
addressed to God and psalms of thanksgiving typically are responding to God for things He has
done for the psalmist or the overall community. Psalms that are exclusively psalms of
thanksgiving are not common, but they demonstrate a canonical witness that the cycle of trouble,
prayer, and help is not complete without specific and public acts of gratitude. The statements in
the songs about the new meaning that salvation has brought to the life of the one helped is a
testimony to the transforming power of grace.
• Hymn of Praise/Devotion: Over a third of the psalms are the hymn, a song of praise of which
God is the sole subject. In exuberant joy, the hymn says what God is like and has done and
characteristically does. We can assume that most of the hymns in the Psalter were composed for
performance at seasonal festivals and other high occasions of corporate worship.
• Wisdom Psalms/Didactic Psalms/Psalms of Instruction: These are composed out of a concern
to guide and encourage the trust and obedience of worshipers. The strategies and styles of the
literature of teaching were combined with those of prayer and praise to teach people at worship.
There is a lot of variety in these psalms, including didactic sentences that exhort, warn, and
 assert; acrostic or alphabetic poems that are organized by the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, with
a structure that guides the listener; and, beatitudes that commend a kind of conduct.
• Narrative Praise (Storytelling). To remember the work of God leads to praise to God. These
Psalms remind us to reminisce with prayer of praise on our lips.
• Other. A few reflect ceremonies of procession and entrance; ceremonies that centered on
Davidic king with a setting for inaugural declarations (Royal); prayers for success and war;
thanksgiving over victory and lament over defeat; songs of confession, and the songs of ascent,
which were used on pilgrimages to Zion.

THE HISTORY OF PSALMS:

• Individual Psalms come from diverse periods of Israel’s history: from the time of Moses (15th or
13th century BC, to the time of David and Solomon (10th century BC), to the exile and postexilic
times (400 BC).
• The Psalms are not history, nor are they directly about history, but they do have a history. Little
is known for certain about the who, when, and why of the composer of particular psalms. They
are hard to date and can only be placed into broad eras (monarchy, exile, post-exile), but we
don’t need precise answers to these questions to effectively use the Psalms. We do know that
Psalms were written by somebody in Hebrew in circumstances and for purposes that belonged to
the history of Israel. They are Israel’s religious poetry. The authors were guided by the Holy
Spirit. Traditionally, Psalms have been attributed to David (73), Moses (1), Solomon (2), Sons of
Korah (11), Asaph (12), Heman (1), Ethan (1), Hezekiah (10) and the author of 39 is unknown.
Scholars do not all agree on authorship and some discount the reliability of the attributions in the
titles of the Psalms. The New Testament repeatedly authenticates ascriptions of certain Psalms to
David. For this study, we will assume the traditional attributions.
• David, the author of most of the Psalms, loved to worship God. He praised the Lord during good
times and bad, he sang of God’s faithfulness to him in times of trouble, he told God when he was
angry about injustice and cried out to God for comfort during times of personal pain. David
wrote of his raw passion and dependence upon God. True worship manifests itself in action and
emanates from a heart for God. David had a heart for God and lived a lifestyle of worship. Every
believer can live a lifestyle of worship as David did.
• As the psalmists composed their songs and poems, they were doing so not simply as private
individuals, composing words to and about God. They were also God’s mouthpieces; they passed
along great truths via the praises, thanksgivings, laments (and more) that they composed. They
revered God’s revelation in event and word and they modeled proper ways to express our joys,
sorrow, and more. Their words to God are also God’s words to us. They give words to the deep
thoughts and emotions we experience in our relationship with God even today.
• Psalm writing in Israel was part of a broad and imposing religious culture of the ancient Near
East. The psalmist used genres and compositional matter common to that culture. No other
collection from the ancient Near East offers the variety in types of songs or exhibits the degree of
internal organization that is recognized in the Psalms.
• Psalm titles are on 116 of the 150 psalms. These titles carry short titles that show several types of
information: authorship, names of collections, types of psalm (many of the classifications not
fully understood today), musical notations, notes on the use of psalms, and historical notes about
an occasion in David’s life.
• David’s skill with the lyre is associated with the Lord’s presence with him (1 Samuel 16:18).
• The hallmark of rhetoric in ancient Near Eastern literature is repetition. In poetry this takes the
form of what scholars call parallelism. Unlike English poetry, which often depends on rhyme for
its effect, these ancient cultures attained impact on listeners and readers with creative repetition.
 • Existing psalms were revised and expanded to adapt them to different contexts, much as hymns
have been adapted from time to time. When there were no longer reigning kings in Israel, the
psalms written for royal ceremonies were reread as divine promises and prophecies of a future
messiah. The function of psalms sometimes shifted from a focus on performance in ritual
proceedings to instruction.
• It is reported that after David’s secret anointing as king, he was called to play the harp for King
Saul, who was abandoned by God and plagued by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:23). That may have
been the beginning of the writing of the Psalms by David. In the power of the spirit of God,
which had come upon him at the time of his anointing, David drove away the evil spirit through
his song. No Davidic psalm has been transmitted to us from the time prior to the anointing.

THE BOOK OF PSALMS:

• Comprised of independent compositions (Psalms) from different authors, times, and backgrounds
that range across Israel’s history. The creation of the Book of Psalms was a very long process
that stretched across eras of change. The preservation of the psalms was not a neutral archival
process, but involved selection, reuse, revision, and grouping of the psalms that coincided with
their use in worship and the emergence of Scripture.
• The book of Psalms was gradually collected and came to be known as the Sepher Tehillim (Book
of Praises), because almost every psalm contains some note of praise to God. The Book of
Psalms was formed sometime at the end of the Old Testament Period in the post-exilic times, but
the exact date is unknown.
• The Septuagint (pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses the Greek term
Psalmoi as a title for the Book of Psalms. It adds one Psalm of David (Psalm 151). The Psalms
are numbered differently than our English and Hebrew Bibles.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s included at least 39 psalms
in manuscripts among them. Most are fragments, but mostly follow the same structure and order
of the Hebrew Bible. There are 8 psalms not found among the standard 150, but these may have
been from a scroll that served as a prayer book. They establish the Persian era as the latest
possible point for inspired psalmody.
• The Psalms were probably all set to music, both vocal and instrumental. They are mostly lyrical
poetry, which means poetry adapted to the harp or lyre. Lyric poetry is an expression of deep
feeling and as its foundation in feeling or emotion. The Psalms were to be sung, not read. The
people of Israel sang these songs in temple worship, Jesus sang them with his disciples, and
Christians of every generation continue to use them.
• The Book is divided into five books, which may be a way of making it correspond to the five
books of the Torah. The Psalm that ends each book finishes with a similar sounding doxology
that includes a command to praise the Lord forever and a double Amen. The final Psalms itself
functions as a concluding doxology to the whole Book of Psalms.
• Different Christian denominations have different numbers of Psalms, primarily due to some
Psalms being divided into two Psalms; some Psalms being combined into one.
• The book is a collection of individual compositions. They are usually read and interpreted one by
one. But the order of the book is not haphazard. The psalms are arranged in an order that gives
form to the whole. There is an introduction (Psalms 1 and 2) and a conclusion (Psalm 150).
There is a movement within the book from an emphasis on prayer to that of praise.
• “While most of the Bible is God’s voice calling to His creatures, the book of Psalms is
mankind’s voice raised to the Lord.” - Rubel Shelley
• Psalm 1 elevates torah as a medium through which God gives and human beings may receive
life. Torah in Psalm 1 means instruction in the broadest sense, written tradition that is
authoritative for the people of God. Psalm 1 introduces the psalms as torah, as Scripture to be
 studied, heeded, and absorbed. In the psalms, you may find instruction about what God is like
and how God deals with people and the world. You can learn about the human predicament and
human possibilities in a world populated by the powerful and the lowly, the wicked and the
righteous. You can learn about the conduct of life and how that affects its outcome. You will be
taught trust and the language of trust, prayer, and praise. Through the Book of Psalms God will
give you strength in adversity and gratitude in success, penitence in guilt and thanksgiving for
forgiveness.
• Psalm 2, as part of the book’s double introduction, lets us hear the voice of the anointed king
whom the king of heaven has put in Zion as the response by the kingdom of God to the kings and
rulers of the earth. The king represents the kingdom of heaven on earth and will extend the reign
of God over the unruly, rebellious kings of the world. There are various places in the Book of
Psalms that feature God’s anointed king in various ways. The Psalms can be viewed as a
messianic book of prayer and praise.
• The social context of the psalms is the adversarial pressure of arrogance, deceit, and cynicism.
Salvation is the persistent theme. The prayers themselves become a means of taking refuge in
God.
• Psalm 150, the final concluding Psalm, begins and ends with a call to “praise the Lord.” It’s call
to praise is at the same time an offer of the Book of Psalms as the repertoire of praise. Even
songs of prayer and instruction are praise.
• The Book of Psalms leads those who use it to find the principal purpose of existence in the
orientation and joy of praise.
• There is a tradition of using the Psalms throughout church history. When reading the Psalms we
can connect with believers throughout the centuries of Christian worship.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
• Unlike the other books in the Bible, the book of Psalms consists primarily of humans’ words to
and about God, not God’s words to humans.
• Psalms is the longest book in the Bible.
• The Psalms and Isaiah are the two Old Testament books most quoted in the New Testament.
There are over 400 quotations or allusions to the psalms in the New Testament.
• Numerous psalms point forward to a day when God will answer the longing of his people by
sending the Messiah who will deliver his people from the burden of their sin. Psalms plays an
essential role in New Testament literature and thought, particularly in identifying Jesus as God’s
promised Messiah and Israel’s true king. Sometimes Jesus quotes David’s words as his own.
Sometimes Jesus’ ministry, actions, enemies, or hardships are shown as fulfilling prophecy or
pattern from the Psalms. Jesus himself taught his disciples that the Psalms testify about him
(Luke 24:44). The early Christian church used the Psalms in their preaching and singing psalms
was part of their worship.
• The psalms are transparent, passionate, emotive, personal, and genuine, and they provide
believers with language with which to express their own deepest emotions and passions.
• The Psalms all praise and pray to the monotheistic God who is the true God. A varying pattern in
the use of God’s name is visible in the five books: yhwh (shown as LORD in our translations)
predominates in Psalms 1-41 and 84-150, whereas ʾĕlōhîm (“God”) predominates in Psalms 42-
83 (Book II and the Asaph psalms of Book III). The psalms are about God and His relationship
to His creation, the nations of the world, Israel, and His believing people.
• The psalms cover a multitude of life experiences and emotions, more than any other book of the
Bible. They instruct the faithful in the best ways to praise and thank God and model legitimate
ways to grieve and address God boldly and directly, in the midst of pain and sorrow. The psalms
record deep devotion, intense feeling, exalted emotion, and dark dejection. They run the
 psychological gamut and express the deep feelings of all believing hearts in all generations. They
express a wide variety of emotions, including: love and adoration toward god, sorrow over sin,
dependence on god in desperate circumstances, the battle of fear and trust, walking with god
even when the way seems dark, thankfulness for god’s care, devotion to the word of god, and
confidence in the eventual triumph of god’s purposes in the world.
The psalms teaches us how to express our love for god, how to pray, and how to worship. The
psalms teach us to seek god with a whole heart, to tell him the truth and tell him everything, and
to worship him because of who he is, not just because of what he gives. They show us how to
accept trials and turn them into triumphs and when we’ve failed, they show us how to repent and
receive god’s gracious forgiveness. It has been said that in the Psalms one finds expressed the
eager yearning and longing for God’s presence. Every emotion known to man is expressed in
beautiful and inspired terms (e.g., joy, anger, praise, repentance, trust, doubt).
• Reigning and kingship are root metaphors throughout the psalms, which are the poetry of the
reign of the Lord.
• The Psalms are full of Christ. They prophesy the coming of Christ and pulls the soul to Christ
and His great saving work. The Psalms intensity our fellowship with Christ. The king and the
kingdom are throughout the Psalms.
• The language of the Psalms are foundational to what is said and done in worship services. The
Psalms were used as songs to God in Jewish tradition. Hymns have been composed as Christian
renditions of their text. Their influence and effect are present in corporate worship of Christians
even where a conscious intention to use the psalms is absent.
• The Psalms are used widely and continuously to nurture and guide personal meditation and
devotions. They are used as prayers and as texts through which we can come to know God. The
Psalms bind our prayers across centuries.
• The foci of the psalms are God and the human being—human beings in their individual and
historical existence under God. Because they deal with the principal functions of religion and the
basic tenets of God’s way with us, the psalms are crucial texts for theological work.

REFERENCES
− Biblical Theology Study Bible. Zondervan, 2019
− Bonhoeffer, D. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 1946.
− Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Zondervan. 2016.
− Jesus Bible. Zondervan. 2016.
− NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 2011
− Godfrey, W. Robert. Learning to Love the Psalms. Reformation Trust Publishing Ligonier
Ministries. 2017
− Grace and Truth Study Bible. Zondervan, 2021.
− Graham, Mike. Summer in the Psalms. Bible Center.
− Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Zondervan. 2011.
− Mays, James L. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching on Psalms.
John Knox Press. 1994.
− McGee, Dr. J. Vernon. Notes and Outlines Psalms. Thru the Bible Radio Network.
− Taylor, G. An Introduction to the Psalms. Centerville Road Church of Christ. 2014.
− Wiersbe, Warren. Be Worshipful. David Cook Publishing. 2004.