Old LHIM Classes

8: How to Read the Psalms

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Lesson 8 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 expected to abandon it (e.g., because the other person has done so).  It is the Hebrew equivalent to the Greek agape.”1

      • Walter Brueggemann’s Three Kinds of Psalms

      1. Orientation: celebrate order in creation and in morality (Psalm 8)
      2. Disorientation: complaints about injustice and God’s inactivity (Psalm 88)
      3. Reorientation: renewed sense of trust; thanksgiving for deliverance (Psalm 30)
        • The psalms nicely compliment the various types of wisdom literature we covered last time.

          • 14 Types of Psalms

          1. Praise Psalms
          2. Historical Psalms
          3. Torah Psalms
          4. Creation Psalms
          5. Royal Psalms
          6. Enthronement Psalms
          7. Wisdom Psalms
          8. Prophecy Psalms
          9. Trust Psalms
          10. Petition Psalms
          11. Complaint Psalms
          12. Repentance Psalms
          13. Imprecatory Psalms
          14. Thanksgiving Psalms

            15. Hebrew Poetry

            • Word play
            • Acrostic psalms
            • Thought rhyming instead of word rhyming
            • Synonymous parallelism
            • Antithetical parallelism
            • Synthetic parallelism

              • Transliterated Terms

              • Selah (71x) may mean a pause (perhaps for a musical interlude).
              • Maskil (13x), miktam (6x), gittith (3x), alamoth (1x), higgaion (1x), and shiggaion (1x) were probably musical instructions of some sort.

                • Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)

                1. First reading
                  1. Read the psalm or a section of it twice.
                  2. Pause to reflect on what you read.
                  3. Second reading
                    1. Read text once.
                    2. Look for a verse or phrase that sticks out to you.
                    3. Pause and reflect on that phrase turning it over in your mind
                    4. Third reading
                      1. Read text once.
                      2. Ask God what he wants you to do in relation to the phrase you have been contemplating.
                      3. Listen for a response.

                        4. Review

                        • The book of Psalms contains 150 poems, songs, and prayers written by several different authors, divided into five books.
                        • More psalms are associated with David than anyone else (73). He was responsible for tasking the Levites with praising God through music.
                        • A key reason to praise God in the Psalms is because his chesed (steadfast love) endures forever.
                        • Psalms of orientation celebrate the orderliness of creation and the moral universe.
                        • Psalms of disorientation cry out for help amidst times of injustice, persecution, and suffering.
                        • Psalms of reorientation thank God for his deliverance in a situation.
                        • The many kinds of psalms are for you to use when you go through similar blessings, trials, doubts, and deliverances.
                        • Lectio Divina is an ancient meditative practice that you can use to get more out of the psalms you read.

                          • Appendix: All the psalms categorized by type

                          #
                          Types
                          Description
                          Psalms
                          1
                          praise
                          extolling God for his character and actions
                          23, 24, 34, 46, 67, 76, 95, 100, 103, 111, 117, 139, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
                          2
                          historical
                          overviews of interactions between God and his people
                          78, 81, 89, 105, 106, 114, 132, 135, 136
                          3
                          Torah
                          poems about the Torah and the benefits of obedience
                          1, 19, 112, 119
                          4
                          creation
                          songs about the well-ordered creation
                          8, 19, 65, 104, 148
                          5
                          royal
                          poems about the king; messianic psalms
                          2, 20, 21, 45, 61, 72, 101?, 110, 144?, 149?
                          6
                          enthronment
                          poems about God sitting on his throne and ruling
                          9, 24, 29, 33, 47, 50?,  93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 102?, 113, 145, 146
                          7
                          wisdom
                          extolling wisdom and disparanging folly
                          1, 14, 15, 37, 49, 52, 53, 73, 90, 101, 112, 127, 128,
                          8
                          prophecy
                          words spoken by God to the people
                          2, 50, 81, 82, 91, 108, 110, 132
                          9
                          trust
                          expressing confidence in what God will do
                          57, 61, 62, 63, 68, 69, 71, 73, 77, 82, 85, 91, 94, 102, 115, 121, 125, 131
                          10
                          petition
                          asking for deliverance (usually from enemies)
                          3, 6, 7, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 31, 36, 40, 41, 54, 56, 59, 60, 69, 70, 79, 86, 108, 123, 141, 142, 143, 144
                          11
                          complaint
                          complaining, asking “how long?” “why?” etc.
                          13, 42, 43, 44, 60, 74, 80, 88, 89, 120
                          12
                          repentance
                          repenting from sinful action(s)
                          32, 38, 39, 51, 130
                          13
                          imprecatory
                          wishing God to harm one’s enemies
                          5, 10, 11, 12, 28, 35, 55, 58, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140
                          14
                          thanksgiving
                          thanking God for the deliverance he has provided
                          4, 16, 18, 30, 40, 64, 65, 66, 75, 92, 107, 116, 118, 124, 138
                          15
                          Zion, pilgrimage
                          songs praising Zion/Jerusalem or talking about going there
                          48, 84, 87, 122, 125, 126, 128, 129, 133, 134, 147

                           

                          1. John Goldingay, Psalms, vol. 3: Psalms 90-150, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Wisdom and Psalms, ed. Tremper Longman III, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 753.  I altered his spelling from hesed to chesed to conform to the actual pronunciation.
                          The post 8: How to Read the Psalms first appeared on Living Hope.
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