The psalms

Today we begin a month long journey through the book of Psalms. Before we know it, it will be July 1st and we will be reading Proverbs, so enjoy this great book each day as much as you can. I thought on the first day of reading the Psalms it might be good to give a few thoughts, tips, and tools to help us understand and enjoy each Psalm a little more than we have before. So here are some things to keep in mind and useful tools to help this coming month.

1. Hebrew Poetry by is very nature was addressed to the mind, through the heart. This means the Psalms are designed to engage our mind and lead to a change or transformation in the way we think, through our emotions in our heart.
   
   
2. The Psalms themselves are musical poems. This means that they were all written and meant to be sung in worship by the people when they were worshipping God in the Temple.
   
   
3. The vocabulary of poetry is purposefully metaphorical. This means that each Psalm was written in a certain way with certain words and style based on the intent of the Author.
   
   
4. There are various patterns in each Psalm, so each Psalm must stand on its own and be looked at and understood on its own.
   
   
5. Each psalm was designed and kept because it had a certain function in the life of Israel and was designed for a certain set of circumstances to be sung and read.
   
   
6. Each Psalm is characterized by its formal structure. This means we cannot take the structure of Psalms 1 (which is abccba) and force that on the other Psalms. Each one has its own unique structure to be understood in.
   
   
7. Each Psalm is also its own integrity as a literary unit. Do not take truth and theology from one Psalm and place it in another. Each Psalm deals with its own thought and must be only understood in its own thought.
   
   
8. There are many different styles or types of Psalms and knowing what type of Psalm it is will help us understand it a little better.
   
   
   1. Lament Psalm-could be a corporate (12, 44, 80, 94, 137…) or individual (3, 22, 31, 39, 71, 88, 139, 142…) lament.
      
      
   2. Thanksgiving Psalm-could be community (65, 67, 75, 107, 124, 136) or individual (18, 30, 66, 116, 138….) joy in the Lord
      
      
   3. Hymn of Praise- Praising God for many different attributes about Him; Creator (8, 19, 104), benefactor (66, 100, 111, 114, 149), Lord of History (33, 103, 113, 117, 145-147)
      
      
   4. Salvation- Praise God for His salvation of His people (78, 105, 106, 135, 136)
      
      
   5. Celebration or affirmation- could be a covenant renewal (50, 81), worship renewal (89, 132), royal king (2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 101, 110, 144), enthronement (24, 29, 47, 93, 95-99), or a Song of Zion (46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122)
      
      
   6. Wisdom song (36, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 126, 128, 133)
      
      
   7. Trust Song ( 11, 16, 23, 27, 62, 63, 91, 121, 125, 131)