Today, we continue our journey through the Bible with today’s study of Psalm. May God show us what He wants us to learn? Psalm 19:14; “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.”
As we study the Bible alone or in a group setting, there are several questions we can ask ourselves to help us dig deeper. The five questions are:
- What does the scripture say about God?
- Then what does the scripture say about me?
- Does something in this passage challenge me?
- What gives me hope in this passage?
- Is anything unclear to me.
I hope these questions help you as much as they help me.
The Psalms
- Author: David wrote 73 psalms; Asaph wrote 12; the sons of Korah wrote 9; Solomon wrote 2; Heman (with the sons of Korah), Ethan, and Moses each wrote one; 51 psalms are anonymous. The New Testament ascribes two anonymous psalms (Psalms 2 and 95) to David.
- Audience: The people of Israel to provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, and confession to God
- Date Written: Between the time of Moses (approximately 1440 B.C.) and Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.)
- Length: 150 Chapters
- keywords: Worship
- Key Verses: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” (29:2)
- Key People: David
Summary of Psalm:
We can consider the psalms the ancient hymnal of God’s people, much like our hymnals today. But there are some differences that we will see in other sections. They often set these poetic verses to music—but not always. The psalms express the emotion of the individual poet toward God or about God. They wrote different psalms to communicate various feelings and thoughts regarding the writer’s current situation.
The book of Psalms teaches us how to worship God. Throughout its many pages, Psalms inspire its readers to praise God for who He is and what He has done. The writers show us the greatness of God through their words. Also, the messages document His faithfulness to us in times of trouble. Finally, they remind us of the indisputable truth about God.
Sections of the Book:
The book of Psalm contains nine significant themes, which are:
- Humanity
- The worldly and the wicked
- Religious experiences
- The church
- Words of God
- Missionaries
- Duty of leaders
- Divine characteristics
- Israel’s experiences
Messages in Psalm:
The Psalms call the global church to take up the cause of reaching the world so they can join us in these eternal songs that teach us to trust in, delight in, and worship God for His saving mercy.
Many of the Psalms directly anticipate the coming of the Messiah and King through the line of David. Since Christ directly descended from the royal life of David, messianic psalms often refer to Christ as a Son of David or use David as a type of Christ. Some specific messianic prophecies and their fulfillment
Final thoughts:
And like so many other books in the Bible, we see God’s character on display in this book. They are:
- Accessible – 15:1; 16:11; 23:6; 24:3, 4; 65:4; 145:18
- Delivering – 106:43-45
- Eternal – 90:2; 102:25-27; 106:48
- Glorious – 8:1; 19:1; 57:5; 63:2; 79:9; 90:16; 93:1; 96:3; 102:16; 104:1, 31; 111:3; 113:4; 138:5; 145:5, 11, 12
- Good – 23:6; 25:8; 31:19; 33:5; 34:8; 52:1; 65:4; 68:10; 86:5; 104:24; 107:8; 119:68; 145:9
- Gracious – 116:5
- Great – 86:10
- Holy – 22:3; 30:4; 47:8; 48:1; 60:6; 89:35; 93:5; 99:3, 5, 9; 145:17
- Immutable – 102:26, 27
- Just – 9:4; 51:4; 89:14; 98:9; 99:3, 4
- Kind – 17:7; 24:12: 25:6; 26:3; 31:21; 36:7, 10; 40:10,11
- Merciful – 6:2, 4; 25:6; 31:7; 32:5; 36:5; 51:1; 52:8; 62:12
- Omnipresent – 139:7
- Omniscient – 139:1-6
- Powerful – 8:3; 21:13; 29:5; 37:17; 62:11; 63:1, 2; 65:6; 66:7; 68:33; 35; 79:11; 89:8, 13; 106:8; 136:12
- Promise keeper – 89:3, 4, 35, 36; 105:42
- True – 9:14; 11:7; 19:9; 25:10; 31:5; 33:4; 57:3, 10; 71:22
- Unified – 83:18; 86:10
- Unsearchable – 145:3
- Upright – 25:8; 92:15
- Wise -1:6; 44:21; 73:11; 103:14; 104:24; 136:5; 139:2–4, 12; 142:3; 147:5
- Wrathful – 2:2–5, 12; 6:1; 7:11, 12; 21:8, 9; 30:5; 38:1; 39:10
We must remember this message from Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV); “8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” It is our responsibility to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, even when we don’t understand it.
All Lessons from the Bible
Each book of the Bible contains lessons for us to learn and historical information. We must study God’s Word to see what to do and what not to do in life. Paul reminds us of the importance of the words within the text in 2 Timothy 3.
2 Timothy 3:14-17; “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Prayer
Grant me the understanding and knowledge of You and Your word. As I open my Bible to read the scriptures, it gives me wisdom and discernment. And even as I sit and listen to the pastor, preacher or apostle reveal what Your Holy Book is speaking into my life, help me see and understand. Help me know Jesus Christ and how He lived His life so I can follow in His precious footsteps.
I read psalms regularly. You’ve done amazing work here, Yvonne. Thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord and this writing ministry. God bless!
Thanks Nancy. So much beauty and wisdom is found in the Psalms. So amazing. Blessings
Excellent job on this! The psalms capture so many human emotions and truly do show us how to worship God. Thank you!
Thank you Jessica. I appreciate it. I love the Psalms. Blessings
I enjoy studying the Psalms. There is so much to unpack and learn. Thank you for highlighting this book of the Bible.
Thanks Melissa. Blessings
A great post. I’m so glad you had all of that information about the specific authors. Until I read your post, I had never considered the psalmists to be poets, but you are absolutely right. Just as David spoke and wrote poetically, so, too, did all of the writers of Psalms. These verses are a gift from God.
They wrote so much beautiful things for us to read and appreciate thousands of years later. Amazing. Thanks Melinda. Blessings
Of all the books of the Bible, Psalms is the one that I always think I have to most yet to learn from. So enjoyed this summary view and your key takeaways from this study of God’s word. So much for us to learn together sweet friend.
I love reading and rereading the Psalms. So much wisdom. Thanks JD. Blessings
The Psalms are one of my favorite books of the Bible, offering so much wisdom and counsel. Still further, the Psalms show us how to cry out to God when we’re lamenting, give us a bit of history of God’s people, and how to worship. Thanks, Yvonne.
Thanks Karen. They are so wonderful. Blessings
Yes, we must trust God’s way even when we don’t understand it, Yvonne. But I’m grateful that you’ve given a great overview of the psalms to aid in understanding.
Amen. Thanks Annie
I love your list of God’s character. I want to print it out to study. Thank you.
Thanks Jennifer. Blessings
The Psalms are beautiful poetry, filled with praise and inspiration. I always learn so much from you posts and this one is no exception. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Katherine. They are one of my favorite books of the Bible. Blessings