March 29, 2024

541 Read the Bible for Yourself 8: How to Read the Psalms

48 minutes

This is part 8 of the Read the Bible For Yourself.

The Book of Psalms is an eclectic collection of poetry that you can use to connect to God. In today's episode you'll learn about the different kinds of psalms, who wrote them, and how Hebrew poetry works. The goal, as always, is to equip you to read and understand on your own. Whether you've been reading the Psalms for years or are brand new to them, this episode should empower you to get more out of them than ever before. Also, I conclude by recommending a method of reading, called Lectio Divina, which you can use to meditate on the Psalms.

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Check out All 150 Psalms Categorized

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—— Notes ——

Basic Facts

Phenomenal for devotional reading, emotional connection

150 total psalms

Called psalms, not chapters (Psalm 50:4 not Psalms 50:4)

Authors: David (73), Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Heman the Ezrahite (1), Ethan the Ezrahite (1), Moses (1), Solomon (2), Anonymous (49)

Book 1: 1-41

Book 2: 42-72

Book 3: 73-89

Book 4: 90-106

Book 5: 107-150

David reassigned the Levites to develop a music ministry to worship God (1 Chron 16:4-6, 41-42).

Chesed

כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ (1 Chron 16:41) for his chesed (is) forever.

הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טוּב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ (Ps 118:1) O give thanks to Yahweh for (he is) good for his chesed (is) forever.

chesed is an extremely important word in the Psalms.

“EVV [English versions] translate chesed by expressions such as ‘steadfast love’ and ‘constant love.’ It is sometimes described as covenant love, though in the OT it rarely appears in the company of the word ‘covenant.’ It is used in two connections: when someone makes an act of commitment for which there is no reason in terms of prior relationship, and when someone keeps their commitment when they might be ex