The Study of The Psalms

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.

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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.

Do you need prayer? I would love to pray for you. Submit your prayer request on my website at https://yvonne-morgan.com/submit-your-prayer-request-here/