Bible 101 - Introduction to the Psalms

Presented February 6, 2006 by Phyllis Gilbert

A brief outline of the Psalms (From The New Living Translation Open Bible Introduction to the Psalms)

There are 150 psalms or hymns in the book of Psalms and they have been divided into five books, each ending with a doxology or hymn of praise to God.

Authorship: of the 150 psalms, nearly half (73) are attributed to David; Psalm 90 was written by Moses; two were composed by Solomon, others were written by Asaph and/or his staff (recall he was the first Levite choir director), and still others by Korah and his sons, again, part of the Levite choir division. Orphan or anonymous psalms number 50. The authorship is generally attributed in the superscript of the Psalm; e.g. Psalm 3: "a psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom," a note or subtitle appearing before verse 1.

Themes: Because the Psalms are a hymnbook, they feature songs of worship and praise. The theme that God alone is worthy of human praise is shown in psalms that praise God's power in creation, in dealing with his people, and in the way he is concerned for us as individuals (e.g. Ps. 37:5, 23: "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him and he will help you. . . The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.") Several of the psalms are Messianic; that is, they look ahead to the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. One of the most well-known is Ps. 22 which describes Jesus' death on the cross. Other themes such as dependence on God are seen in cries for God to punish enemies, supply needs, guide our steps, etc.

Types: Some of the psalms are hymns or songs, some are prayers, others are a combination of both; there are imprecatory psalms, or those which call down God's wrath on enemies or the wicked (Ps. 7, 35, 40, 55, among others); some psalms are laments both by individuals or by the community. Psalm 137 is subtitled "tears in exile" because it pictures captives in Babylon weeping for Jerusalem. Alphabetic acrostic psalms like Ps. 119 are a special form of Hebrew poetry in which "the 22 sections of 8 verses each begin with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebrew, then, each verse in these major divisions of the psalm begins with the Hebrew letter that appears in the heading for that section." (NLT Open Bible article "Hebrew Poetry," in Prov. 28). Psalm 119 praises the Word of God or the Law. Some psalms are called pilgrimage or ascent psalms because they were sung by Pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem (Ps. 120-134). In addition, there are several psalms which review Israel's history (e.g. Ps. 78, 105). The psalms whose focus is wisdom show us why the book of Psalms or the Psalter was used as a textbook in early American classrooms (Ps. 119 is the prime example, but see also Ps. 1, and 37).

Style: The Psalms are poetry, and while they use the common poetic devices such as imagery, figures of speech (e.g., personification, metaphors and similes), repetition and meter, because they were first composed in Hebrew, their style also relies on parallelism (synonymous, antithetic and progressive) and the acrostic construction mentioned earlier. Here's an explanation of parallelism which is the principal characteristic of Hebrew poetry: "This is a construction in which the content of one line is repeated, contrasted or advanced by the content of the next." In a synonymous parallel, we'd read "Lord, don't rebuke me in your anger! / Don't discipline me in your rage" (Ps. 38:1); the second line echoes the first, saying the same thing for emphasis. In an antithetical parallel, there's a contrast between what the two lines say: "Oh the joys of those who trust the Lord, / who have no confidence in the proud, or in those who worship idols" (Ps. 40:4). Last, in progressive parallelism, we'd read "God has ascended with a mighty shout. / The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring" (Ps. 47:5).

Emotional content: Psalms has often been called "the book of human emotion." It's a catalogue of human experience and emotional response to it: anger, love, resentment, fear, discouragement, happiness, worry, anxiety, gratitude - all are in the psalms, and it is because they are present that they are such wonderful vehicles for prayer and worship. They express the human heart at its deepest core.

Poetry: In general, poetry is a complete experience for a reader. Whereas a narrative moves a plot from the opening conflict to the final resolution, poetry is meant to be savored for its word choice, its rhythms and its sounds. We as humans appreciate it for its emotional connections, its ability to expand our knowledge of love or nature, birth or death, and sometimes, we just enjoy the way its words chant or "sing" in our ears. When I teach poetry in a literature class, I often lead the class in reading a poem out loud so that we can hear it. As readers in church, we've read the Psalms in unison, responsively and even antiphonally. We've heard them sung and chanted. To get started tonight, I'd like for us to read aloud Psalm 1 from the BCP (p. 585). We'll read it together. Listen as you read these six verses for the theme the psalmist is presenting and how it's presented. What in particular helps us understand what the psalmist wants us to remember?

David: Before we get any deeper into the psalms themselves, we need to review the life of David since half of this book was written by him. In what circumstances did he write the psalms? A look at Psalm 7 makes a good start. In this psalm, we hear David asking God to protect him from Cush, a man of the tribe of Benjamin of which Saul was a member. Perhaps this Cush is pursuing David just as Saul did; he might have been one of Saul's loyal soldiers or a political ally. In any case, we can judge from the language of the psalm that David feels threatened, but he knows he can trust in God to keep him from harm.

David quiz: I gave you a quiz (see below)* on David when you came in; let's go through it and talk about David's life using these statements and answers. We first meet David in I Samuel 16 while Saul is king. God tells the prophet Samuel, who anointed Saul as the first king of Israel, to anoint another man to replace Saul. Samuel goes to Bethlehem, the hometown of Jesse, David's father. There all the sons of Jesse parade before Samuel and God rejects each one. Finally, Samuel asks Jesse if these 7 are his only sons, and Jesse says "there's David, but he's a kid out watching the flocks." Samuel says "send for him." They do, and he's the one God wants, and as a teenager, David is anointed. It will be another 15 years before he becomes king on the throne, but those 15 years are filled with experience in which God teaches him important lessons. In I Sam. 17, we read about David slaying Goliath; for much of the rest of this book, we see David on the run from Saul. Eventually, at Saul's death, David is crowned king over Judah and 7 years later, he's crowned king over all 12 tribes. By this time, David has defeated the Jebusites and taken over their city, now called Jerusalem, as his capital. He erects a new "tent of meeting," and then brings the Ark of the Covenant from storage to Jerusalem. David has several wives, one of whom was the daughter of Saul, Michael. He also married Abigail while he was hiding from Saul. In Hebron, where he's first king over Judah, he has six sons: Amnon, Kileab, Absalom, Adonijah, Shephatiah and Ithream. In Jerusalem he takes other wives and has 11 additional sons, among them is Solomon. It is in Jerusalem that he tells God he'd like to build a Temple for him; God replies that because David has been a warrior and a man of blood, he will not be the one to build this house of worship, but his son will. Furthermore, in II Sam. 7, we read that God makes a covenant with David promising that his house (his line of descendants) will be a dynasty, and that "Your dynasty and your kingdom will continue for all time before me, and your throne will be secure forever." We know this to be a promise of the Messiah, the eternal king, Jesus, a descendant of David's royal line. David has an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David's "mighty men." David has him killed, and then he marries Bathsheba. Their first child dies, but Solomon, their second child, succeeds David. At least two of David's sons challenge him for the throne: Absalom and Adonijah. Both are partially successful. David still is called "a man after God's own heart" because in spite of sin and a very human response to temptation, David loved God, repented of his sin (see Ps. 51) and depended on God. It is this dependence that we will see expressed over and over in the psalms.

For a thorough and thoroughly enjoyable introduction to the Psalms by Ray Stedman, go to http://www.raystedman.org/psalms/psalms.html#intro And if you can find it, the book Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer by Eugene H. Peterson is excellent.

1. David was the (1st, 2nd or 3rd) king of Israel.
2. As a boy, David killed (Saul, Jonathan, Goliath).
3. David served (Saul, Jesse, Samuel) as a singer when a "spirit of discontent" came upon him.
4. David was on the run for (5, 10, 15) years after he was anointed king.
5. David defeated the (Canaanites, Jebusites, Hittites) to secure Jerusalem as his capital city.
6. The first temple was built in Jerusalem by (David, Samuel, Solomon).
7. Bathsheba was the wife of (Uriah the Hittite, Bildad the Shuhite, Judah the Israelite).
8. David's favorite son, and the one who led a rebellion was (Ethan, Jonathan, Absalom).
9. David organized the (country, city, Levites).
10. David is known as (the sweet singer of Israel, a man after God's own heart, a shepherd).
11. David brought the (Ark of the Covenant, Golden Lampstand, Bronze Altar) to Jerusalem from the home of Obed-Edon.
12. God made a promise to David that (he'd live forever, his descendants would occupy the throne of Israel, his throne would be established forever).
13. David became king in (1010, 1000, 970 B.C.)
14. David's son (Amnon, Mephibosheth, Solomon) succeeded him as king of Israel.
15. David's father's name was (Jacob, Judah, Jesse)

Answers: 1. 2^nd; 2. Goliath; 3. Saul; 4. 10; 5. Jebusites; 6. Solomon; 7. Uriah the Hittite; 8. Absolom; 9. Levites; 10. All of these; 11. Ark of the covenant; 12. His throne would be established forever; 13. 1010 B.C.; 14. Solomon; 15. Jesse.