The Psalms are words, poetry, and truth concepts put to music. Each is intended to inspire, comfort, give voice to our lament, and teach us about who we are in light of Who God is. If consulted from the heart, Psalms can keep us grounded and moving forward through the challenges of life.
Of the 150 Hebrew Psalms recorded for us over half are written by King David. Psalms 1-41, 60-71, 100-110, 138-145 are ascribed to him. Psalm 42-49 and 84-89 come from the sons of Korah (worship leaders during the time of Moses/hard to swallow, I know). Asaph gives us 73-83 and one is ascribed to Solomon (72), a couple to Moses (90-100?), as well as Ethan (89). The other psalm authors are unknown to us.
The Psalms of ascents were sung by pilgrims coming into Jerusalem for the yearly feasts (6 major ones each year). As you read Psalms 122-137, imagine processions of dedicated and excited people singing the streets of Jerusalem as they ascended the Temple Mount.
David lived a gritty, harsh, and incredibly blessed life. He was hugely victorious yet experienced cataclysmic failures. However, his heart always ended up close to His Lord. He and the other composers of the Psalms chose to “lift their praises to the river of praise which flows before the throne of God.” This is what the word Selah means!
“Keep me safe, O God, I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to GOD, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense.” – Psalm 16:1-2/Message
Posts 031-038 group all 150 Psalms and we consider each one, making observations, choosing key verses, and digging to the heart-root of each song. Our goal is to complete this part of our study and then select 10-15 psalms which best reflect the movement of each of our hearts toward God and life.
Selah!
Dave & Burnadette
Psalms Big Picture
Psalms About Messiah Yeshua
Deeper in the Psalms