Phenomenal for devotional reading, emotional connection150 total psalmsCalled 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: 1-41Book 2: 42-72Book 3: 73-89Book 4: 90-106Book 5: 107-150David reassigned the Levites to develop a music ministry to worship God (1 Chron 16:4-6, 41-42).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.”1Walter 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.Praise PsalmsHistorical PsalmsTorah PsalmsCreation PsalmsRoyal PsalmsEnthronement PsalmsWisdom PsalmsProphecy PsalmsTrust PsalmsPetition PsalmsComplaint PsalmsRepentance PsalmsImprecatory PsalmsThanksgiving PsalmsWord playAcrostic psalmsThought rhyming instead of word rhymingSynonymous parallelismAntithetical parallelismSynthetic parallelismSelah (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 readingRead the psalm or a section of it twice.Pause to reflect on what you read.Second readingRead text once.Look for a verse or phrase that sticks out to you.Pause and reflect on that phrase turning it over in your mindThird readingRead text once.Ask God what he wants you to do in relation to the phrase you have been contemplating.Listen for a response.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
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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
- 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.
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