First, we want to thank you for the outpouring of love with the launch of this ministry. We are excited to see what God has in store in the next few weeks and months.
Today’s post is all about introducing the Book of Psalms for our weekly Psalm devotional. You will find some information and resources that will be useful as our study gets underway. As you read this information, we would love to hear initially from you what your go-to Psalm is and how it has been an encouragement to you in different life circumstances.
Required Text
The Psalms. Numerous (including online) options, and versions exist and made available for all to have their own personal copy. I would encourage a version you are comfortable reading and perhaps comfortable in writing notes throughout (e.g. Journaling Bible versions) your study. The Holy Bible, The English Standard Version® (ESV®) puts a great copy out. See in reference link below. The goal is to get a copy of God’s Holy Scriptures as we expand on more topics and themes within other blog posts and study.
· “Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2011 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
Ask
Ask basic questions of each psalm. The more questions we learn to ask the more insight into truth we are exposed to. Let’s keep these following questions close by and ask as we journey through these chapters. Dr. W. Robert Godrey offers the following questions to get us started:
- What details in this psalm – words, historical references, ideas – seem to require further study?
- Which of the great themes of the Psalter do I find in this individual psalm?
- What human responses to I find in this psalm?
- Is the character of this psalm primarily individual or communal?
- What are some formal poetic features of the poem I am studying, and do these features illumine its meaning?
- Is the central verse of the psalm the heart of its meaning?
- How does the individual psalm I am studying relate to the structure and primary character of the book in which it is found?
- How do neighboring psalms illuminate the meaning of the particular psalm I am studying?
- In what ways is Christ central to this psalm?
- How does this psalm seal to the people of God today?
- In what ways to you offer thankful, remembrance, joyful, praise, and hopeful prayers to God?
- What books (i.e. Book I through Book 5) do I relate most personally to and why?
Thoughts
Many genres, themes, categories, order and structure emerge, as you too may find, from many authors. I’d encourage as you read to look for these classifications, for now, let’s keep things basic and understand the Psalms have long been divided into the following outline (percentages shown are based according to selection of psalms I’ve clung over the last few months and those psalms which others’ have shared with me. See Psalter as Individual Worship section below):
- Book I, Psalms 1-41 (78%)
- Book II, Psalms 42-72 (74%)
- Book III. Psalms 73-89 (76%)
- Book IV, Psalms 90-106 (71%)
- Book V, Psalms 107-150 64%)
I’m no Hebrew scholar, but understanding and researching Hebrew poetry may also arise in helping our understanding. As they come up, let’s tackle them together and learn something new everyday (as I like to say). Parallelism and figures of speech are two Hebrew techniques.
Initially, I purposed to only study the Psalms of laments, and found a lament is really a piece of worship. Discovering this, I knew there were many Psalms remaining and continued to expand my study to include almost all 150 Psalms. This is a lot of Scripture to cover; however, I like to think of it in the same way I’ve heard and imagine how cumbersome preaching expository through the Book of Job would be. As elements and themes might seem repeating, I also find a certain level of completeness by addressing the Psalms (or Job) as a whole. Yes, they may seem like long journeys, but I think are so enriching when considering the large picture. I think we should take the challenge up and not be shy of the size of book. Scripture is too enriching to always, only pull out a theme.
Psalter as Individual Worship: The Psalms we hope to look at together.
BOOK ONE – Psalms 1-41
Psalm 1 Psalm 21
Psalm 2 Psalm 22
Psalm 3 Psalm 23
Psalm 4 Psalm 25
Psalm 5 Psalm 26
Psalm 6 Psalm 27
Psalm 7 Psalm 28
Psalm 8 Psalm 29
Psalm 9 Psalm 30
Psalm 10 Psalm 31
Psalm 12 Psalm 32
Psalm 13 Psalm 35
Psalm 15 Psalm 38
Psalm 16 Psalm 39
Psalm 17 Psalm 40
Psalm 18 Psalm 41
BOOK TWO – Psalms 42-72
Psalm 42 Psalm 60
Psalm 43 Psalm 61
Psalm 44 Psalm 62
Psalm 46 Psalm 63
Psalm 48 Psalm 64
Psalm 51 Psalm 65
Psalm 52 Psalm 68
Psalm 54 Psalm 69
Psalm 55 Psalm 70
Psalm 56 Psalm 71
Psalm 57 Psalm 72
Psalm 59
BOOK THREE – Psalms 73-89
Psalm 73 Psalm 81
Psalm 74 Psalm 83
Psalm 77 Psalm 85
Psalm 78 Psalm 86 and 87
Psalm 79 Psalm 88 and 89
Psalm 80
BOOK FOUR – Psalms 90-106
Psalm 90 Psalm 99
Psalm 91 Psalm 102
Psalm 92 Psalm 103
Psalm 93 Psalm 104
Psalm 95 Psalm 105
Psalm 97 Psalm 106
BOOK FIVE – Psalms 107-150
Psalm 107 Psalm 130
Psalm 108 Psalm 135
Psalm 109 Psalm 137
Psalm 110 Psalm 138
Psalm 113 Psalm 139
Psalm 114 Psalm 140
Psalm 115 Psalm 141
Psalm 116 Psalm 142
Psalm 117 Psalm 143
Psalm 118 Psalm 146
Psalm 119 Psalm 147
Psalm 120 Psalm 148
Psalm 121 Psalm 149
Psalm 129 Psalm 150
Recommended References
· Godfrey, W.R. Learning to love the Psalms. Reformation Trust Publishing, 2017
· Lewis, C.S. Reflections on the Psalms. Mariner Books, 2012.
· Wright, N.T. The Case for the Psalms: why they are essential.
HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.
· See Reference Page of further reading resources.
All right, now that you have a good picture of where this study will be headed, we would love to hear from you! What has been your go-to Psalm and why? Comment below to get the conversation started.