Message Theme & Verses: Psalms
Memory Verse: Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
The Psalms is a collection of 150 praises to God written over 1,000 years of divine faithfulness. Though King David wrote many of the Psalms, several authors including Moses and Solomon composed these songs spanning human emotion from lamentation and suffering to joyful praise and glory.
The Psalms were written by individuals in response to specific events, but have been used in corporate worship by God’s people ever since they were gathered and arranged into five books. The Psalms are used to express the emotions of God’s people as they relate to Him and life in a sinful and fallen world. The Psalms also shape our emotions when sung in faith and direct us to trust God even in difficult hardships.
Psalms are songs and poetry and should be read differently than other genres of Scripture. They often use metaphorical or exaggerated language and rely heavily on emotion, from despair to great joy. Also, unlike other books of the Bible, we can look at each Psalm as a self-contained composition and we can apply the feelings of the author to our lives.
Within the five books of the Psalms, there are many types of Psalms including Lament, Praise, Thanksgiving, Wisdom, Royal Psalms, Psalms celebrating God’s Law, Psalms of Confidence in God during difficult circumstances, and even Prophetic Psalms.
Psalm 1 is an introduction to the Psalms and teaches us that there are two types of people, the wicked who reject God and the righteous who love His law. Psalm 2 reminds us of God’s promise to His people and gives us hope in the coming Davidic King, Jesus, the Messiah who will reign over all. Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. It is a Hebrew acrostic poem of 176 verses divided into 22 stanza in which each verse begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This Psalm celebrated God’s law and enables God’s people to admire His Word so strongly that they will work and pray hard to have it shape their character and conduct.
The Psalms were the songbook of Jesus and are our songbook today. Many of our favorite verses come from the songs and we can still sing them in praise and take great comfort from their promises even today.
Read Psalm 2
Jesus in Psalms
After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Psalm 23, maybe the most well known Psalm speaks directly of Jesus the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. Jesus sings these songs with us, but He is also the One we sing about. We sing about the suffering and glorification of Christ and look forward to His return. Jesus is David’s greatest Son, the Messiah we read about in the Psalms.
Questions:
What is your favorite song? What do you like about it?
Why do you think people like music and like to sing?
Psalms of Lament make up almost a third of the Psalter. What does it mean to Lament? (To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or actions. We lament in prayer when our hearts are broken and the Psalms express deep emotions during sorrowful times. In our lament, we should turn to God, the only One who can help and comfort us. The Bible tells us to lament over our sins and repent. If we do not lament over our sin, we do not understand how evil our sin is and the power sin has to destroy. If we do not know the depths of sin, we cannot appreciate God’s grace in sending Jesus as our Savior.)
Looking at Psalm 2:4-5, what does God think about those who rebel against Him? (God is not dismayed or afraid that people rebel against Him and we should not be surprised. God is all-powerful and His victory is already secured as Jesus defeated sin, Satan, and even death on the cross. God sits in heaven and laughs at the rebels, reminding us all that His plan to establish Jesus on His throne will prevail just as promised.)
Do you have a favorite Psalm you can share with us?
What does Psalm 2:12 teach us about Jesus? (Jesus is the promised Son that the kings of this world should kiss or humbly exalt and pay homage to. Jesus is the righteous judge of all the earth and He will return to punish the wicked rebels. The only hope sinful rebels have, whether they are the most poor, or the richest kings, is to bow down to Jesus and find protection from the wrath of God in His mercy and grace.)
If you were to write a Psalm to God about something that happened in your life, what kind of Psalm would it be? Why?
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