The Psalms: An Introduction

About five years ago I attended a pastor’s conference/gathering where time was set aside to sit, chat, and compare thoughts on various things. One pastor said something that has stuck in my mind ever since:

“I recently heard that the Psalms aren’t for preaching, they are for praying“.

A few summer’s ago we used some Psalms for our summer sermon series (along with some hymns and spiritual songs) and it didn’t feel wrong to preach them, but, would a journey through 150 of them work? Maybe, maybe not.

Instead of taking three years to work through them all, my pastor friend’s comment has stuck with me and since then I’ve viewed them (generally) as a resource for personal devotion and corporate prayer as opposed to a text to teach. They are, however, still part of the inspired and inerrant Scriptural canon we carry in our Bibles and therefore of infinite value and help to us. So, day by day, over the next few weeks we will walk through them and see how the Lord uses these ancient prayers, poems, and songs to draw us closer to Himself.

The Big Picture

Psalms is a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers that come from different eras in Israel’s history (Bible Project). Around half (73) are known to be written by David, 12 are attributed to Asaph, 11 to the sons of Korah, and the rest belong to other worship leaders or are without name. Interestingly, King Solomon and Moses are each named as authors in the book, too. As a book there is an introduction (ch.1-2) and then a division into five parts; Book 1 (3-41), Book 2 (42-72), Book 3 (73-89), Book 4 (90-106), and Book 5 (107-150). Each section has a broader theme, and bigger picture the Psalms can be divided into two larger groups: lament or praise.

“Poems of lament express the poets’ pain, confusion, and anger surrounding the horrible things happening around them or to them. They draw attention to what’s wrong in the world and ask God to do something about it…[Praise] poems of joy and celebration…draw attention to what’s good in the world. They retell stories of what God has done in the lives of his people, and they thank him for it.”

(ibid.)

The Psalms for today

Being a believer in the risen Jesus in our modern world can be difficult. There are things we see and experience every day that are diametrically opposed to the ways of His Kingdom. There is inherent tension in trying to live as citizens of heaven in a world that is fallen and fallible (Philippians 3.17-21). As we read through the Psalms we are counselled to see the disappointments around us and not ignore them, but, at the same time, to not let them define our existence or deter us from our eternal focus. The Psalms show us the true condition of our hearts and the world around us, yet at the same time they offer us the hope of better things to come.

I hope you will join me as we work through the Psalms, day by day.