Journey Through The Psalms

I don’t know about you but whenever I have read the Psalms in the past I never fully got everything out of it that I probably should have. I’m not one to really understand poetry which made this even harder for me. Until recently. It was the beginning of a new year and I was planning to start over in my Bible reading it from front to back like I did the last year. I really felt I needed to put a pause on that and be in the Psalms. But this time I decided that I couldn’t do the same old thing and just quickly read through it. I knew I wouldn’t get much out of it. I was going to do a deep dive, blow the dust off my commentary book and really study the book of Psalms. Which lead me here…

For the next little bit I will be journeying through the Psalms and sharing it with you here online. Each Monday you can find a short little video on my instagram page and for the longer Psalms, a break down and write out here on the blog. But first things first let’s learn a little bit about the Psalms.

Fun facts about the book of Psalms:

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day.”

- Psalm 46: 5

• The time frame of Psalms is debated by scholars. Some believe it was during David’s life, while other’s say it was before and during. It is understandable due to the collection of authors that the time frame is not accurately known.

• The word Psalms in Hebrew is Tehillim which means “songs of praise”.

• The word Psalms in Greek is Psalmos which means “a song sung to the harp.”

• The majority of the psalms have titles explaining who wrote them and their purpose

  • A maskil is a Psalm directed to teach

  • A miktam is a Psalm of expiation or making amends

  • There are also songs, poems and petitions

• We know the Book of Psalms to be one book however, it is actually a collection of 5 books with multiple writers.

• 5 books broken down

  • Book 1: Psalms 1-41

  • Book 2: Psalms 42-72

  • Book 3: Psalms 73- 89

  • Book 4: Psalms 90-106

  • Book 5: Psalms 107-150

• From what we know there were multiple authors

  • David is the main author with approximately 73 Psalms in his name or associated to him

  • Moses is also seen in the Psalms

  • The sons of Korah have several Psalms to their name

  • Solomon

  • Asaph who was a Levite singer

  • and several more

• The Psalms are also a variety of literacy types and themes

  • hymns and songs of praise

  • praises of God’s character

  • laments; both national and personal

  • psalms of thanksgiving

  • poems

  • psalms of God’s power and glory

  • psalms of God’s judgement

  • confident trust the people have in God

I have grown to love the Psalms immensely. There is always something new to learn in them. They are beautiful writings that reveal so much about God’s character and his unfailing love for us. We also get to see a glimpse as to why David was known as a man after God’s own heart. David pours out his heart in the Psalms, holding nothing back from the Lord. He didn’t hide his feeling from the Lord, instead he brought all of his feelings and questions before the Lord.

As we journey through the Psalms I pray you not only learn something new and are encouraged but that God’s loving character is revealed to you in ways you never realized before. I pray for a fresh hope and fire to spark in your heart.

With love,
Kayla

Resources:

Using the NIV Bible