Psalm
The Hebrew title for the book means
[Note: Hebrew is the language of the Jews. Greek was the common language during New Testament times.]
So, the book of Psalms is a collection of Hebrew songs. It is a great collection. We know the names of several of the authors. David was one of them. But we do not know who wrote many of the Psalms.
Several of the writers had serious problems. And they were not afraid to speak about their doubts and fears. They also proved that God is near in bad times. They told how grateful they were. Sometimes, they said how sorry they were too. They said many things in these wonderful songs.
There are songs of
The authors wrote the psalms in different years. Some psalms are early songs of the Hebrew (Jewish) people. The time was soon after God had rescued them out of Egypt. Other psalms are sad. They were about the troubles during the time of the
The contents of the book of Psalms vary. We cannot separate the subjects in a brief way. We might miss important things. But we can study the teaching about God. Some psalms show several things about God. Other psalms give more information about one quality of God.
In this wonderful book of songs, God is:
The Creator who Deserves our Praise
[Note: A creator is someone who creates.]
Many of the psalms are about worship. The English word ‘worship’ comes from ‘worth-ship’. This means the worthy one. It means the one who deserves everything that we could ever give to him. The Greek word is ‘axios’. It has the same meaning. People who were watching the Greek Games knew it well.
[Note: The Games are now called The Olympic Games.]
They shouted ‘Axios’ when they saw the winner. ‘You are worthy’. (Compare Revelation 5:9.)
The ‘worship’ psalms have a subject. It is ‘praise’. They usually start by referring to God's goodness in:
Creation: what God has made (Some of these psalms are 8, 24, 29, 33, 65 and 67).
History: what God has done (77:5, 14-20. Psalm 87 said that God had established a city. The city was Jerusalem. Psalms 105, 106 and 107 have another subject. It is about the time when the Jews left Egypt. Then it is about the time when they wandered in the desert).
Experience: what one man proved (84). He learned the value of worship with God's people. Other psalms of experience are 89, 90, 92 and 94.
Other worship psalms are 93, 95-97, 99, 100,104,113,115,117,122,134-6 and 145-50.
The Teacher who Demands that we Obey
God created the world and he created humans. And he continues to speak to people. Many psalms are about this great subject. We use the word revelation for this subject. It means that God shows himself to his people. And he shows them what he wants.
Psalm 1 is this type of psalm. Psalm 19 is great. It shows that God speaks in nature (19:1-6). This is in a general way. It also shows that he speaks with words (19:7-14). This is in a particular way. More examples of this type are Psalms 50, 78, 95 and 128. But the best example is the special Psalm 119.
The Lover who Expects us to Repent
[Note: A lover is one who loves very much.]
God created us. And God speaks to us. But humans refuse to accept God's authority. They are all sinful. And many of the psalms deal with the problem of sin. It is a common problem for all people everywhere. And sin always leads to bad relationships too.
Many of the psalms are about the need to confess sin. A person asks God to forgive him. But God is the first to act. Already, he has called that person to return to him. God does this because he is full of
Psalm 32 is about psychological illness. This was long before people knew about this sort of medicine. But it is the subject of 32:3 and 4. People who feel guilty often become ill. The writer also saw something about all sin. It is sin against God before it is sin against other people. (An example of this fact is 51:4.)
The Judge who Examines our Intentions
God is the Great Lover. But he is much more than this. And we need to understand him fully. God is holy and God is fair. He sees and understands everything about us. God sees the whole of our lives. This subject is in many of the psalms. It has great spiritual importance. (Some examples of these facts are 7, 12, 14, 15, 26, 44, 53, 58, 60 and139.)
The Helper who Rewards our Trust
Most of the psalms are in this group. But they contain many of the other subjects too.
A psalm may not be in only one group. Sometimes, one psalm has all five truths in it. However, the majority deal with this subject. God is a helper. We might be suffering. It might be a time of difficulty. There might be
The main idea is that of rescue. The writers speak about national history and personal experiences. (This is the same as the first group.) Here are some examples:
Psalm 2 speaks about ‘kings of the earth’ (2:2). Psalms 27 and 37 are personal. (‘war…against me’; 27:35. ‘I saw a wicked person…but…’; 37:35 and 36.)
Examples of this type of psalm are: 3-6, 9-11, 13, 16-18, 20-23, 25, 28, 30-31, 34-36, 38, 40-43, 45-49, 52, 54-57, 59, 61-64, 66, 68-76, 79-83, 85, 86, 88, 91, 98, 102, 106, 108-112, 114, 116, 118, 120-121, 124-127, 129-132 and 137-144.
Some psalms do not fit easily into any of these groups. Psalm 133 is one of them. This psalm says that unity among God's people is very good. But most psalms are about one or more of the five great subjects.
The book begins with blessings (good things) for the man who listens to God (1:1). It ends by offering praise to the Lord. God has done so much for his people (150). This final psalm calls to everyone. It asks us all to worship God. ‘Let everything that breathes praise the Lord’ (150:6). We should ‘Praise him for all his greatness’ (150:2). The writers believed that our worship is necessary to God. But they believed that it is important for us too. (Read 92:1; ‘It is good’.)