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8: How to Read the Psalms
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
Orientation: celebrate order in creation and in morality (Psalm 8)
Disorientation: complaints about injustice and God’s inactivity (Psalm 88)
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
Praise Psalms
Historical Psalms
Torah Psalms
Creation Psalms
Royal Psalms
Enthronement Psalms
Wisdom Psalms
Prophecy Psalms
Trust Psalms
Petition Psalms
Complaint Psalms
Repentance Psalms
Imprecatory Psalms
Thanksgiving Psalms
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)
First reading
Read the psalm or a section of it twice.
Pause to reflect on what you read.
Second reading
Read text once.
Look for a verse or phrase that sticks out to you.
Pause and reflect on that phrase turning it over in your mind
Third reading
Read text once.
Ask God what he wants you to do in relation to the phrase you have been contemplating.
Listen for a response.
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; m
View all episodes
By Sean FinneganLesson 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
Orientation: celebrate order in creation and in morality (Psalm 8)
Disorientation: complaints about injustice and God’s inactivity (Psalm 88)
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
Praise Psalms
Historical Psalms
Torah Psalms
Creation Psalms
Royal Psalms
Enthronement Psalms
Wisdom Psalms
Prophecy Psalms
Trust Psalms
Petition Psalms
Complaint Psalms
Repentance Psalms
Imprecatory Psalms
Thanksgiving Psalms
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)
First reading
Read the psalm or a section of it twice.
Pause to reflect on what you read.
Second reading
Read text once.
Look for a verse or phrase that sticks out to you.
Pause and reflect on that phrase turning it over in your mind
Third reading
Read text once.
Ask God what he wants you to do in relation to the phrase you have been contemplating.
Listen for a response.
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; m