WWUTT 914 Introduction to the Psalms?

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The book of the Psalms is a collection of songs, just like a hymnal is a collection of songs.

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But these songs in particular were given to us by God Himself when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the word.

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Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday and our

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Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Well, today we begin a brand new study in the

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Psalms. It's been a while since I've taught a class through the Psalms. I think 2012 or 2013, probably both years.

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We had a Bible study class at our church that was specifically for going through the Psalms.

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Today we're going to do an overview of what we refer to as the Psalter and probably only get as far as reading

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Psalm 1 and Psalm 2, but that's perfect because those two Psalms are like double doors opening us up into this collection of songs.

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That's what Psalms are. They are songs. The word comes from the Greek word psalmos, meaning song.

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In the Hebrew though, it was tehillim, which means praises. But then when the

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Psalms were translated into Greek, the Septuagint, the name of the Psalter took on psalmos instead of praises.

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It was called songs. So these are meant to be set to music and all of Israel would sing these songs together, these praises unto the

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Lord. Now we know the Psalms by the numbers that they are given, just like we might refer to chapters in the

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Bible. So we have, you know, Psalm 1, Psalm 2. How many people know Psalm 23? The longest one is

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Psalm 119, which is also the longest chapter in the Bible. But the way that the

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Hebrews would refer to the Psalms, they knew the Psalms by the first line. Now, that's not terribly unusual.

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Even we in a Western culture and in the English speaking world, we used to title our own hymns the same way.

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So think of like, great is thy faithfulness. That's the first line of that song. Holy, holy, holy.

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It's not just because it's the repeating phrase in the song, but it was the opening line. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

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Amazing grace doesn't even repeat through that hymn. It starts the hymn. So that's the way that we have titled that song.

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Think of a hymn like, it is well with my soul. We call the hymn by that title because that's the repeating line in the chorus.

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We tend to think of it in terms of chorus now. But originally the song was called, when peace like a river attendeth my way.

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And this is why when you go to the back of your hymnal, when you look through the index of titles, you can find hymns not only by the title that you probably typically know that hymn by, but you can also find hymns according to the opening line.

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That's the way those hymns get indexed. Well, the Hebrews used to know the Psalms the same way. They weren't numbered, but they identified the

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Psalms by the opening line. In fact, we even see this in Matthew 27, when Jesus is hanging on the cross.

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Do you remember which Psalm it is that he prays? He prays Psalm 22. Here's what

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Matthew says, Matthew 27, starting in verse 45. Now, from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

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And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lemme subachthanai.

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That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's the opening line of Psalm 22.

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Now, that's all that Matthew gives us as far as Jesus quoting that Psalm.

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But the likelihood was that he quoted all of it, or at least he quoted as much as he could with what little breath he had.

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And while he was praying this Psalm, some of the bystanders hearing it said, this man is calling

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Elijah. And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

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It's like they were trying to shut him up. And and the other said, no, wait, let's see whether Elijah will come and save him as he continues this

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Psalm, maybe the call that he's given to heaven will be answered.

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And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit, Matthew 2750.

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So Jesus was praying the 22nd Psalm, which also, by the way, was prophetic.

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Messianic said something about the coming savior who was going to die on the cross for our sins.

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We have prophecy all throughout the Psalms. Let's talk about some of these themes that we will find in the

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Psalms. Well, first of all, who authored the Psalms? David authored the majority of them.

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We have 73 titles in the Psalms attributed to David. And then in the book of Acts, Psalm two is attributed to David.

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And in the book of Hebrews, Psalm 95 is attributed to David, even though we don't have that in our titles.

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So at least according to what scripture tells us, seventy five Psalms, half the

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Psalms were either written by David or they were in honor of David.

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Sometimes a Psalm of David doesn't necessarily mean David took pen to parchment and wrote it himself.

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It could have been somebody else, but was nevertheless written in his honor. I think I've mentioned this before, but Song of Songs or Song of Solomon was not written by Solomon, but was written in his honor.

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So we have some of the Psalms the same way. Many of them were actually written by David. He was the psalmist.

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He was a songwriter who played the law, the lyre and the harp with skill.

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And even when he was out tending sheep as a shepherd boy, we have references to David singing songs even while he was out there in the field.

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So he was a very skilled musician, very musically minded, and even put together a court of musicians when he was king.

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Other authors of the Psalms include Moses, having written one of them, at least the sons of Korah.

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Eleven Psalms are attributed to them. Asaph wrote 12 Psalms. Solomon wrote possibly two, but then the rest was about 50

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Psalms or so. Don't have any author attributed to them at all. So David writes the majority.

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Then we have a few other authors and then the other 50. We don't know who wrote them, but they were certainly songs that were sung in the court of Israel whenever they would gather together in the temple, like on Yom Kippur, the

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Day of Atonement. The people would sing songs together or whenever procession was led to the temple or into worship on the

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Sabbath. There would be singing and all of the songs that would be sung by the people of God would come from the

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Psalms. We have Psalms that are assembled in the Psalter that we find in other places in Scripture, like, for example,

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First and Second Chronicles, First and Second Samuel, the song that Moses sings in Exodus after the destruction of the

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Egyptians in the Red Sea. That Psalm is also written down and chronicled in the

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Psalms. And so it is a it's a hymn book. It was Israel's hymn book. And here are seven main themes that we will find throughout the

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Psalms. Number one, monotheism. There is one God whom we are to worship that is evident throughout the

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Psalms. Now, the Mormons will actually argue that from the Psalms you can find evidence of polytheism.

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And of course, they're going to say that because they are polytheists. They believe in multiple gods and they think that Israel used to believe in multiple gods.

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And you can find evidence of it in the Psalms, but it's simply not there. It is very clear in the

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Psalms that there is one God and we are to worship the one

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Lord and no other gods. Number two, second theme that we find it throughout the

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Psalms is creation. There is praise unto God for being the creator and all he has made and given to us to enjoy

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God as our creator, being made in his image. He's praised for these things. The third theme we will find throughout the

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Psalms is reference to the fall. So knowing that everything has been subjected to corruption and futility because of the sinfulness of man.

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And we find references to sin and repentance and grief and mercy from God as a result of these things.

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Also pleading with the Lord to be delivered from calamity or from oppressors and enemies, all of these things as a result of the fall.

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So that's a very common and reoccurring theme throughout the Psalms. Let's see. That was three themes.

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The fourth one is election. In fact, of all the books in the Old Testament, there's probably not a book more clear about election than the

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Psalms. Just consider what we read here in Psalm 71, starting in verse five.

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For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth upon you.

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I have leaned from before my birth. You are he who took me from my mother's womb.

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My praise is continually of you. And then another popular Psalm that is very clear about election is

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Psalm 139, where it says in verse 16, your eyes saw my unformed substance.

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In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

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A fifth theme throughout the Psalms is covenant, that God has a covenant relationship with his people.

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Psalm 7420, have regard for the covenant, but strike down your enemies. So those who are part of the covenant receive the blessing of God.

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And those who are who are not part of the covenant are the enemies of God, whom the

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Lord will strike down. The sixth theme I've already kind of mentioned is blessing. As a matter of fact, it is the very first word of the entire

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Psalms. Blessed is the man. And we'll talk about that when we open up that first Psalm here.

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But those who are the people of God experience and enjoy and receive the blessing of the

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Lord, a continuing theme throughout the Psalms. And then a final theme of the

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Psalms is eschatology, end times looking toward a final conclusion, a final restitution that the

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Lord is going to bring about. Eschatology is even a continuing theme in the Old Testament, especially in the

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Psalms. So there we have our seven main themes of the Psalms, monotheism, worshiping one

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God, creation, the fall of creation, election, covenant, blessing and eschatology.

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Now, in addition to these recurring themes, there are also various language devices that are used.

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And we need to keep this in mind because it helps us in how we are to interpret the Psalms. Remember, these are songs.

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So all of this is written as poetry. There are various ways in which certain things are going to be described.

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And we have to remember the various language devices that are at play here. They include image, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole and apostrophe.

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Let's kind of break down each one of those terms very briefly. So an image is going to be a word or a phrase that describes a concrete thing.

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So like, for example, the way the way a man should go, that would be an image or the congregation kind of brings up imagery of a collection of people, right, or an assembly.

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Or we talk about the harvest also might refer to a group of people. So that's example of image.

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Then you have metaphor, which is a comparison that does not use like or as.

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So the most popular example would be Psalm twenty three one. The Lord is my shepherd.

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That's metaphor. The Lord is like my shepherd would be simile. So in that particular instance, we have metaphor, not simile, although simile also comes up.

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That's the next language device in the Psalms. Think of Psalm one three, which we're going to be reading here in just a moment.

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He is like a tree planted by streams of water. The application or the use of the word like or as would make something a simile as opposed to a metaphor.

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The next language device is personification. That's taking something that might be otherwise an inanimate object and giving personal qualities to it or a quality of personhood, though it may not actually be a person.

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Whenever you watch a movie with talking animals, that's personification because animals don't talk, but they're given kind of a quality of personhood.

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We find personification throughout the Psalms, like, for example, when it talks about the the trees clapping their hands and praising

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God, you know, that would be an example of personification. Then you have hyperbole, which is something being over exaggerated, a figure of speech in which something is exaggerated for the sake of for the sake of effect.

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Psalm 42 is a very morning Psalm, and it's in that song that David prays. My tears have been my food day and night.

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That's kind of exaggerated. And that's an example of hyperbole. And then finally, the last language device is apostrophe, not the punctuation, but apostrophe would be a figure of speech in which the writer addresses someone absent as though present and capable of responding.

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Like, for example, Psalm 148, praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars, praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens.

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There's kind of some personification going on there, but that would also be an example of apostrophe. So these various language devices are to be kept in mind.

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It helps us in interpreting the the poetry that we have in the entire

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Psalter. So we've got seven main themes. We've got six language devices.

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And finally, we've got the Psalms divided into five books. So, yeah, seven, six, five.

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Anyway, the first book of the Psalms is Psalms one through 41.

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The second book is Psalms 42 through 72. The third book is

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Psalm 73 through 89. The fourth book of the Psalms is Psalm 90 through 106.

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And the fifth book is Psalm 107 through 150. And your Psalms are divided up that way.

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And your Bible, they're broken up just like that. We'll kind of talk about why the Psalms are assembled that way as we get to them.

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But it's clear, it's evident that the Hebrews arranged these Psalms a certain way for a specific reason.

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They're not just all kind of scattered in there. But just like we have the Old Testament arranged a certain way or the books of the

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New Testament are arranged a certain way. So it's the same with the Psalms as well. It's not just a scattering of Psalms, but there is a reason why certain

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Psalms appear next to one another the way that they do. They kind of deal with the same subject matter or the same theme.

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And this is the case with the first two Psalms, Psalm one and Psalm two. They go hand in hand.

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Let's go ahead and read these. We won't necessarily break these down as much today. I think we'll look at them a little bit more in depth next week.

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But at least we get some reading in the Psalms done here and talk about it a little bit. So Psalm one, this was, by the way, the first chapter of the

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Bible that I ever memorized. Psalm one, just six verses long. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

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But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And on his law, he meditates day and night.

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He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.

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In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

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Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the

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Lord knows the way of the righteous. But the way of the wicked will perish. A beautiful first Psalm.

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Let's consider also Psalm two. This one is 12 verses. Why do the nations rage and the people's plot in vain?

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The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the

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Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.

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He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord holds them in derision.

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Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, as for me,

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I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree.

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The Lord said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.

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You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

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Now, therefore, O kings, be wise, be warned, O rulers of the earth, serve the

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Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the sun, lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled.

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Blessed are all who take refuge in him. This is a very messianic psalm, as it as it also is directing us toward Christ.

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Some of the words that we find here in Psalm two are quoted in Hebrews chapter one, pointing out that this is

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Christ that the psalmist is referring to Jesus, the coming Messiah, the one who would receive the nations.

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The Lord said to me, you are my son. And in your Bible, that word son is probably capitalized.

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It should be the letter S capitalized on son, because it's Hebrews chapter one that tells us we're talking about Jesus Christ, a prophetic psalm written a thousand years before his birth.

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We'll break down these psalms a little bit more and do something more expositional next week when we come back to Psalm one and two.

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But that's our introduction to the psalms. And I hope you are looking forward to this study together.

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It'll be a long one since we have 150 psalms to get through.

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Let's pray our wonderful God. We thank you for the beautiful spring that is a coming that is coming upon us.

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And we see in your creation how you are making all things new. All of creation declares your praise.

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But it is us whom you have ordained to sing your praise that that these songs would be the words that are on our lips, lifting up our praises unto our

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God who has made us and redeemed us by your son,

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Jesus Christ, his sacrifice on the cross, his resurrection from the grave and his coming again to bring all evil to an end and deliver us into your glorious kingdom.

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So may we consider these things, the salvation that we have received in Christ and the promise of an inheritance as we read through your psalms together.

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In Jesus name we pray, amen. Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in the study of God's word when we understand the text.