19th book of the BIBLE, Old Testament and 2nd of the 5 wisdom or poetic books
The Psalms were written over a wide span of time from Moses (1410 B.C.) to the post exilix xommunity under Ezra and Nehemiah (400 B.C.)
Psalms is the longest, and perhaps the most widely used, book in all the Bible.
The Book of Psalms contain such diverse subjects as:
Jubilation
Judgment
War
Messianic prophecy
Peace
Praise
Worship
Lament
The Book of Psalms is actually five books:
Book 1 – Psalms 1-41
Book 2 – Psalms 43-72
Book 3 – Psalms 73-89
Book 4 – Psalms 90-106
Book 5 – Psalms 107-150
There are ten types of Psalms
Individual Lament Psalms
Communal Lament Psalms
Individual Thanksgiving Psalms
Communal Thanksgiving Psalms.
General Praise Psalms
Descriptive Praise Psalms
Enthronement Psalms
Pilgrimage Psalms
Royal Psalms
Wisdom and Didactic Psalms
There are five different types of Messianic Psalms:
Typical Messianic
Typical Prophetic
Indirectly Messianic
Purely Prophetic
Enthronement
The psalms were composed over a period of approximately 1000 years.
Psalm 117, shortest psalm. Psalm 119, ongest psalm .Psalm 118:8 center of the Bible. There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118
There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118
Add the numbers 594 x2 you get 1188 …. the center verse in the Bible 118:8
Nearly half of all the direct quotes taken from the Old Testament and quoted in the New Testament come from the Psalms.
In fact, the book of Psalms is either quoted from or alluded to 103 times in the book of Revelation alone, and 149 times in the four Gospel accounts
Psalm 72: to describe the ultimate glories of the Messiah’s kingdom
Psalm 127: to stress the importance of proper foundations
Psalms 1-41 (corresponds to Genesis). The key word is man
Psalms 42-72 (corresponds to Exodus). The key word is deliverance.
Psalms 73-89 (corresponds to Leviticus). The key word is sanctuary.
Psalms 90-106 (corresponds to Numbers). The key words are unrest and wandering
Psalms 107-150 (corresponds to Deuteronomy). The key word is the Word of God.
The 119th Psalm, Scripture’s longest chapter. It is totally given over to the Word of God. It is mentioned in 171 of the 176 verses in the chapter.
The author gives the Bible nine titles in this psalm and ascribes some 12 ministries to it.
Attributes of God Psalms: The following are just a few of the Psalms’ descriptions of God:
Eternality (90; 102)
Glory (96; 113)
Goodness (27; 107)
Holiness (99)
Justice (75; 82; 94)
Majesty (18; 93; 97)
Mercy (86; 136)
Omnipotence (18; 33; 76; 146)
Omnipresence (139)
Omniscience (139, 147)
Providential care (65; 104)
Unfailing Love (36)
Uniqueness (115, 135)
Messianic Psalms: Passages from the Psalms reveal many things about the coming Messiah, including his:
Creative power (102:25-27; Jn. 1:3, 10; Heb. 1:10-12)
Obedience to the Father (40:6-8; Heb. 10:5-7)
Zeal for the Father (69:9; Jn. 2:17)
Faithfulness as a shepherd (23; Jn. 10)
Rejection by Israel (118:22-23; Mt. 21:42)
Praise by little children (8:2; Mt. 21:16)
Betrayal by a friend:
the treachery of Judas (41:9; 55:12-14; Mt. 26:47-50; Jn. 13:18)
the tragedy of Judas (69:25; 109:6-8; Acts 1:18-20)
Slander by false witnesses (27:12; 109:2-3; Mt. 26:59-61)
Suffering and death:
forsaken by God (22:6-8; Mt. 27:39-43)
ridiculed (22:6-8; Mt. 27:39-43)
beaten (129:3; Jn. 19:1)
prayed for his enemies (109:4; Lk. 23:34)
hands and feet pierced (22:16; Lk. 24:39-40)
given sour wine to drink (69:21; Mt. 27:34, 48)
garments gambled for (22:18; Mt. 27:35)
none of his bones broken (34:20; Jn. 19:36)
Resurrection (16:8-11; Mt. 28:1-6; Acts 2:25-32; 13:35)
Ascension (68:18; Lk. 24:50-51; Eph. 4:8)
Victorious entrance into heaven (24:7-10; Rev. 7:9-12)
High Priestly work (110:1, 4; Mt. 22:44; Heb. 5:6; 7:17)
Marriage to the church:
description of the bridegroom (45:2, 6-8; Lk. 4:22; Heb. 1:8-9)
description of the bride (45:9, 13-15; Rev. 19:7-9)
Destruction of the heathen (2:1-9; Acts 4:25-26; Rev. 6:12-17)
Millennial reign (45:6; 72:17; 98:4-9; Heb. 1:8; Rev. 11:15
Shepherd and His flock Psalms:
The Good Shepherd (22) describes the sacrifice of Christ—his past work (Jn. 10:11)
The Great Shepherd (23) describes the sufficiency of Christ—his present work (Heb. 13:20-21)
The Chief Shepherd (24) describes the sovereignty of Christ—his future work (1 Pet. 5:4)
Divine conversational Psalms: Five conversations between God the Father and God the Son are recorded in these five psalms relating to:
His role at Creation (102:25-27; Heb. 1:10-12)—words of the Father to the Son
His earthly obedience (40:6-8; Heb. 10:5-9)—words of the Son to the Father
His anointing (45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9)—words of the Father to the Son
His eternal priesthood (110:1, 4; Heb. 7:17, 21)—words of the Father to the Son
His victory at Armageddon (2:6-9; Rev. 2:27)—words of the Father and Son to each other
Events in Israel’s history Psalms: Departure from Egypt and arrival in Canaan (114; Exod. 12-14; Josh. 1-3)
Sin at Kadesh-barnea (90; Num. 13-14)
Marriage of King Solomon (45; 1 Kings 3:1)
Death angel deliverance of Jerusalem (48, 67, 121; 2 Kings 19; Isa. 37)
Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (74, 79, 80; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36)
Babylonian captivity (137; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36)
Return from Babylonian captivity:
Praise by the returning remnant (126; Ezra 1-2)
Prayer by the returning remnant (85; Ezra 3-5)
Dedication of the second Temple (92; Ezra 6)
Events in the life of David Psalms:
Living in Saul’s court (11; 1 Sam. 18)
Saved from Saul by Michal (59; 1 Sam. 19:11-18)
Fleeing from Saul (63, 143; 1 Sam. 19-31)
Escape from Achish (34, 56; 1 Sam. 21)
Slaughter of priests at Nob (52; 1 Sam. 22:17-23)
Living in cave of Adullam (57, 142; 1 Sam. 22)
Betrayal by Ziphites (54; 1 Sam 23)
End of Saul’s efforts to kill him (18; 1 Sam. 26-31; see 2 Sam. 22)
Return of Ark to Jerusalem (15, 24, 68, 132; 2 Sam.6)
Joab’s victory over Edomites (60; 2 Sam. 8)
Establishment of David’s kingdom (21; 2 Sam. 8)
Sin with Bathsheba (32, 51; 2 Sam. 11-12)
Flight from Absalom (3, 4, 35, 41; 2 Sam. 15-18)
Cursed by Shimei (“Cush”) (7; 2 Sam. 16:5-14)
Dedication of building materials for Temple (30; 1Chron. 29)
Coronation of Solomon (72; 1 Chron. 29:21-25)
Imprecatory Psalms:
Many psalms, such as 7, 35, 55, and 109, are “imprecatory,” calling on God to punish the wicked. While the violent language of these psalms may sometimes seem out of keeping with a God of grace and love, the following should be kept in mind:
The hated expressed reflected concern over violation of God’s laws, not personal grievances
The psalmists were right in expressing these things to God in prayer rather than seeking their own vengeance (see Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:19)
The psalmists were motivated as much by concern for the victims of sin as by hatred for the sinners themselves (see 10:8-10)
Though the psalmists prayed against their enemies, they prayed for them as well (see 9:20; 35:11-14)
Even New Testament writers, with their more complete knowledge of grace, pronounced curses on people under certain circumstances (see Gal. 1:8-9; 2 Pet. 2:12)
Future events Psalms:
Tribulation (46; Mt. 24; Rev. 6-19)
Millennium (47, 98; Rev. 20)
Most well-known Psalms:
The most beloved Old Testament chapter, 23
The two greatest praise chapters, 103-104
The greatest chapter on God’s omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience, 139
The three most extended summaries of Israel’s history, 78, 105, 106
The longest biblical chapter, 119
The shortest biblical chapter, 117
The most personal prayer of confession in the Bible, 51
