SENIOR
AGE
GROUP: 14 - 15 YEARS
STANDARD
(GRADE): IX & X
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LESSON – 17
THE BOOK OF PSALMS & A STUDY OF PSALM-63
What are psalms?
The Book of Psalms also known as
the Psalter is one of the books of the Old Testament. It is the first book
of the third section of the Hebrew
Bible called Ketuvim ("Writings"). It is a collection
of hebrew religious hymns or sacred songs. There are 150 psalms
including hymns or songs of praise, communal and individual laments, royal
psalms and individual thanksgivings. The Book of Psalms is not a name given in
the original Hebrew text. In Hebrew, the Book of Psalms
is called “Tehillim” and the individual psalms are referred to as “mizmorim”,
which means a poem set to music and sung to the accompaniment of a stringed
instrument. The Greek translation of this term, psalmos, is the basis
for the title of the book “Psalmoi”, from which the English
name Psalms is derived. Another Septuagint translation from the
5th-century gives the term Psaltērion, from where the English
name Psalter is derived which is often used as
an alternative name for the Book of Psalms.
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The Great Psalms Scroll, one of the oldest and wellpreserved copy of Psalms among the Dead sea scrolls, Photo credit: Israel Antiquities Authority, 1993
Who wrote the “Book of Psalms”?
The Psalms were not written by a single author but
by different men over the course of many centuries. One hundred Psalms identify
their author with an introduction. Fifty of the Psalms do not mention their
author, but many scholars of the Bible believe that King David may have written
some of these psalms as well. Some of the Jewish scholars assigned the Psalm to
the last-named writer when the author's name was not mentioned in the psalms.
The authors of psalms mentioned in the Bible are given in the chart below
When was the Book of Psalms written?
The Book of psalms was composed over many
centuries. Moses composed one of the Psalms, and two were written by King
Solomon about 450 years later. Psalms 90 written by
Moses, the man of God during Israel’s wanderings in the desert around 1440 BC
is considered to be the oldest psalm.
The five books of Psalms
The Book of Psalms is actually a collection of
five books of psalms. The 150 Psalms are divided into five books, with each
book ending with a brief doxology which means a “word of glory” or an
expression of praise. Books 1-3 tend to have more songs of lament while Books
4-5 contain more songs of praise.
Book 1 (Psalms 1-41)
Book 1 is the earliest collection. God is mostly identified as Yahweh. Most of
the psalms in Book 1 are written by David.
Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)
Book 2 is called the “Elohistic Psalter” because of the rarity of the use of
the divine name Yahweh (YHWH). God is mostly identified as Elohim. It begins
with psalms by the sons of Korah (42-49); the remainder of the book are largely
psalms “of David”.
Book 3 (Psalms 73-89)
Most of the psalms in Book 3 were written by Asaph (except four psalms by the
sons of Korah, two by David, and Psalm 89 written by Ethan). In this book also
God is mostly identified as Elohim.
Book 4 (Psalms 90-106) & Book 5 (Psalms
107-150) Books 4 & 5 are usually grouped together. It
contains a great number of “orphan” psalms, (i.e. psalms with no titles). Many
of these psalms were intended for regular Temple worship or in the seasonal
festivals (Songs of Ascents [120-134] and the Hallels [113-118, 135-136]).
Psalms in these last two books often begin or end with the shout of praise,
“Hallelujah!” (Praise YHWH).
Classification of Psalms
Hermann Gunkel, a German biblical scholar,
applied what is called as “form criticism” to study the Book of
psalms. Form criticism is the English name for the study of the
literature of the Bible and classifying them into types or categories
according to form and content. (1) Gunkel's categories are the following:
1) Hymns - These
are psalms of praise consisting of an invitation to praise God, the reasons for
praise (e.g., God’s work of creation, his steadfast love etc.), and a
conclusion which most often repeats the invitation. These hymns are mostly sung
during common worship.
Pictorial representation of Levite choir in the ancient Israelite worship (I Chronicles 25)
2) Laments of the People (Communal Lament)
– These psalms were mostly sung during a national calamity when a period of
prayer and fasting would be declared and penitence (feeling of remorse for sin)
observed. In these psalms God’s name is invoked, the crisis is described,
God’s help is sought, and confidence that the prayer has been heard is
expressed.
3) Individual Laments
– These psalms make up the major part of the Book of Psalms. In individual
Lament an individual worshipper cries out to God in time of need. These psalms
include: an invocation of God, the complaint, the request for help,
an expression of certainty that God will hear and answer the prayer, and in
many cases a vow to offer a thanksgiving sacrifice.
4) Songs of Thanksgiving
– These psalms are songs of thanksgiving sung by an individual after being
delivered from a problem, while offering thanksgiving sacrifice. These psalms
begin and conclude with an exclamation of praise to God. These psalms mainly
contain two elements: the story of the one who has been saved and the
recognition that God was the rescuer.
5) Royal Psalms / Spiritual poems
- The royal psalms deal with the spiritual role of kings in the worship of God
as the anointed or chosen ones. Many are prayers for the wisdom of the king,
his long life or success in battle. The setting of these psalms are
usually some event in the life of the Israelite kings e.g., ascension to the
throne, marriage, departure for battle etc.
Gunkel also distinguished several minor types of
psalms, including Wisdom Poems, Liturgies, Songs of Pilgrimage, and
Communal Songs of Thanksgiving.
The impact of Psalms in Christian worship
The psalms had a heavy influence on the
development of Christian liturgical praise and worship. The early Church
chanted or sang psalms as part of the worship. There are several passages
in the Holy Bible which indicate that psalms were part of the worship in the
early house churches (1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:18b-19a; Colossians
3:16; James 5:13). Early Church fathers mention singing songs from the
scripture as part of the Lord's Supper celebration. Psalms
set to traditional melodies have been used in congregational singing for many
centuries. Throughout history the Psalms have played an important role in both Church
worship and personal devotion.
How to study Psalms?
The Book of Psalms is written in poetic form and
has a lot of symbols and figurative language. Figurative language is the
use of descriptive words, phrases and sentences to convey a message that means
something without directly saying it.
There are many types of figurative languages like Personification,
onomatopoeia, Hyperbole, Alliteration, Simile, Idiom, Metaphor. The following
are some of the examples of figurative language in Psalms
Metaphor – The
Lord is my shepherd (Psalms 23:1)
Simile – He is
like a tree planted by streams of water (Psalms 1:3)
The deep and rich meaning of Psalms cannot be
understood with one single quick reading. Hence the best way to read and
understand Psalms is to meditate on the Psalms as instructed in Psalms 1:2.
Before trying to explain Psalms in terms of “what it means to me” we have to
understand what it meant to the original authors and readers. Some people have
difficulty in interpreting psalms because of the vindictiveness and prayers for
judgment contained in psalms. But we have to understand the time period in which
these psalms were written. Most of these psalms come from a time period when
battles and wars were constant and intense. These psalms were authored by
people under the law of Moses who were looking for righteous judgement.
When we read Psalms, it is important to read it as
a whole unit. If we pluck few of our favorite and inspirational verses from
these psalms and try to interpret them based on our own understanding and
interests, we will end up with faulty understanding of their meaning. We should
always let the Scriptures interpret themselves. Every Bible verse has its
complementary verse, so we have to search the word of God (Isaiah 34:16).
Informations & Applications while
studying Psalms
- Author
of the psalms
- Time Period
- The individual psalms come from different periods of Israel’s history: from
the time of Moses (15th or 13th century BC.), to that of David and Solomon
(10th century), down to the Israel’s days of exile in Babylon (e.g., Psalm
137). Knowing the time period helps us to understand the context of the Psalms
better.
- Historical Background and the Old
Testament context – Background information
concerning the Psalms is obtained from three sources: contextual data within
the particular psalm, the superscriptions (the information given at the
beginning of the Psalm), and the references of these Psalms in the New
Testament. The Book of Psalms has relevance in understanding the religious life
of ancient Israel. The prophets and the leaders provided some insight about the
day-to-day life of the Israelites, but the psalms clearly describe the emotions
and feelings of the Israelites. The psalms were used in connection with worship
services conducted in the Temple at Jerusalem. Some of the hymns would be
sung when the pilgrims first came in sight of the city of Jerusalem and others
as they stood before the entrance to the Temple. Hymns and Psalms were
used on occasions such as the beginning of the new year, particular feast days
and celebrations of important events in Hebrew history.
- Type
of Psalms (Hymn / Lament / Thanksgiving)
- Whole Bible connections
- The Psalms should be read in light of the entire Bible story and God’s
eternal salvation plan. Every important theological truth is present in the
psalms, even if it is only in seed form.
- Glimpses of the Gospel -
Though this is an Old Testament book that was written long before Christ was
born, it nonetheless foreshadows Him throughout (Luke 24:27, 44). The great truths
which burst into full bloom in the New Testament are found in seed and germ
form in the Old Testament. The nature of God, creation, sin, redemption,
justification, sanctification, adoption, nations, and many more are mentioned
in Psalms. Christ is the subject of the Psalms and the object of praise in
every one of them. Some of them are very specifically named as Messianic
psalms. These record the birth, life, death, resurrection, glory, priesthood,
kingship, and return of Christ. There are sixteen messianic psalms that speak
specifically about Christ,
- Personal Implications
– Psalms reveal the hopes, the joys, the sorrows, the doubts, rejections and
dejections, and the aspirations of the human heart. They were also expressions
of faith in the midst of difficulty or in response to sin. The Psalms record
equally conflicting feelings like deep devotion, overflowing emotion, intense
regrets and deep dejection. When we meditate on the truth of God revealed in
psalms, it helps us to consider how we respond to a particular situation in our
life. This book teaches us how to express our love for God, how to pray, and
how to worship.
A STUDY
OF PSALM - 63
Psalm –
63 (NKJV)
A Psalm of David when he was in the
wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty
land Where there is no water.
2 So
I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your
lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You
while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied
as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall
praise You with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You
on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because
You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My
soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
9 But
those who seek my life, to destroy it, Shall go into the lower
parts of the earth.
10 They
shall fall by the sword; They shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But
the king shall rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
Author of the Psalm –
King David
Time Period & Historical Background
Many of the psalms contain superscripts, which
reveal the context and the historical setting of the psalm (in the Hebrew
Bible, the superscripts are considered part of the inspired text). Some of
the superscripts may not give the exact context and we may have to compare
information from the historical books in the Bible and correlate them with the
particular psalm to get it. In psalm 63 there are two possible incidents in the
life of David that could provide the context for this psalm.
The superscript of Psalm 63 mentions “A Psalm of
David when he was in the wilderness of Judah”. The first possible setting
is when David fled King Saul (I Samuel 23). He spent much time in the
Judean wilderness (I Samuel 23:15). But the difficulty with this narrative
is that David refers to himself as “king” in this psalm (Psalm 63 - verse 11)
but Saul was still the king of Israel during this incident. At the same
time, David had already been anointed by Samuel to be King of Israel (1 Samuel
16), and though he had not yet assumed the role of King, the office was already
assigned to him.
The second possible context is found in 2 Samuel
15-16, when David fled from Absalom, his son. At this point, David is the
king of Israel and spent time in the wilderness of Benjamin and Judah as he
fled for his life. King David being faint and thirsty are mentioned
in 2 Samuel 16:2 and 17:29. This setting is often considered a better option to
fit the context of the psalm, though both the settings are seen as
possibilities by Biblical scholars. Whichever option is chosen, this psalm should
be studied as a song of hope and trust sung by David, when he was threatened by
his enemies and had to leave the city and flee into the wilderness.
Ancient Church & Psalm 63
The ancient Church up to about 400 AD had the
practice of beginning the singing of the Psalms at each Sunday service with
Psalm 63, called "the morning hymn". During those days when the early
Church was hunted and persecuted, the believers often sang Psalm 63 as a
reminder of God’s love and protection amidst this world’s wilderness
experiences and trials.
Pictorial representation of an ancient House Church
Exposition of Psalm – 63
To extract the true essence of Psalm 63, we need
to take a journey back to the time when King David lived, walk along with
him in the desert and experience the life he lived during those days. The deep
spiritual connections David had with God to be called “the man after God’s own
heart” and be given the privilege to be one of the ancestors of the Messiah
could be gleaned from this psalm.
Verse 1
1 O God, You are my God; Early
will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and
thirsty land Where there is no water.
The magnitude and depth of this verse can be truly
understood by anyone who has lived or travelled in the middle eastern or any
other desert during the intense summer days and has experienced the heat waves
and sunbaked sands. The glorified deserts we see in the modern days are not the
ones experienced by David thousands of years ago. A desert, thousands of years
ago, was a forlorn and forgotten desolate place without any cover from natural
calamities, wild animals, venomous vipers, and poisonous insects. Gathering
food and water in the desert would have been an impossible task in those days,
especially for someone who had chosen it as a hiding place from his enemy. No
one would willfully choose to go and hide in the desert. A desert is chosen as
a hiding place only when the choice is between desert and death.
Parched Ground
Coming to the first verse in Psalm – 63, Forced
out of the city of Jerusalem, away from God’s holy sanctuary because of his
enemies, David found himself in the middle of a dry and parched land. David was
thirsty but there was no water anywhere in sight. David was neither the first
one to live in the desert nor the first one to experience thirst in the desert.
There were several instances in the history of Israel connected with the
desert. When the Israelites came out of Egypt and were travelling through the
desert, they too experienced thirst (Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:10-13). When the
Israelites experienced physical thirst and could not find any water, it
instigated anger and rebellion against Moses, their leader. They murmured,
complained and even thought of stoning Moses! In Deuteronomy 8:2, Moses told
the Israelites, “And you shall remember that the Lord your
God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble
you and test you, to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep His commandments or not.” When God tested Israelites in
the desert, it revealed the wicked condition of their heart!
David’s life had turned upside down. He went from
being a respected leader to an insulted individual, from comfort to discomfort,
from safety to danger. But when David passed through the same desert test as
that of his ancestors, even though he was thirsty in a dry and parched land,
his response was contrary to that of his ancestors. When David was tested in the desert, his heart revealed his hunger and thirst
for God. His spirit's thirst for God overpowered his physical thirst for water. Not
only was his soul longing for God, even his flesh, his physical faculties and
organs joined along with his soul in seeking God, His power and His glory! When
David passed through the “desert test” it did not bring out bitterness, anger,
range or disappointment from his heart but brought out the true intentions and
proclivities of his heart, his one desire and intense longing for God. The very
first statement “O God, You are my God” indicates the personal
relationship David had with God. It is no wonder that God found David as a man
after his own heart.
Ein Gedi Desert in Israel where David spent many of his hiding days
Verses 2 – 6
2 So I have looked for You in the
sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your
lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your
name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I
remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
David lived during the Old Testament days. The act
of worship during those days involved going to the Holy place, God’s sanctuary
setup at Jerusalem, performing various rituals and offering sacrifices. The religious
life of the ancient Israelites revolved around Jerusalem. David was not an
exception. His yearning and love for God’s sanctuary and Jerusalem can be seen
in Psalms 122. But at this point in his life, David was physically away from God’s
sanctuary, out of Jerusalem in a faraway desert. Contrary to Old Testament beliefs, David decided to look for
God in the desert, making it his sanctuary and Tabernacle to experience the power and glory of
God. We also have to remember that David did not willfully absent himself from
the sanctuary because he was careless or too lazy to travel to the
sanctuary. David enjoyed going to the house of God and worshipping
God there; it was his one desire (Psalm27:4). But David often found himself in
hills and deserts away from Jerusalem and God's Tabernacle because of his
enemies and their wicked plans.
Pictorial representation of the Tabernacle of God
Verses 3 – 6 clearly reveals to us that David
experienced the divine presence, loving kindness and goodness of God in the
desert. This is the worship Jesus Christ taught the Samaritan woman near the
well. Jesus Christ told the Samaritan woman, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship
the Father…. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is
seeking such to worship Him.” (John 4:21-24). Even though David was faraway in
the desert, unable to fulfill the ritualistic expectations dictated in the Old
Testament worship, he offered to God something higher and better. David
worshipped God in spirit and in truth.
Pictorial representation of the ritualistic sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle as a part of worship according to the Old Testament Law
David
understood the heart of God. God does not delight in sacrifices or burnt
offerings more than doing his will or having a broken and contrite heart (Psalm
40:6,7; Psalm 51:16,17). His enemies might have thought because David was away
from God’s holy sanctuary and could not offer the mandatory sacrifices required
of him, he would be forsaken by God (Psalm 42:3 – 6).
But David’s heart and soul were in close communion
with God. David knew that the prayers he offered in the desert, far away from
the Sanctuary would rise up before God as an incense; when he lifted up his
hands in reverence, standing on the parched land, it would be like offering a
fattened calf as an evening sacrifice (Psalm 141:2). The loving kindness of God
that David experienced in the forlorn desert was much better than all the
temporal and carnal pleasures of his royal life in the luxurious palace.
David was overflowed with the fullness of joy
found in the presence of God and the unending pleasures found at the right hand
of God (Psalm 16:11). He could not stop meditating about God even through the
dark and dreadful nights in the desert. David proved to be more of a New
Testament worshipper than many who lived and live in the New Testament days.
When the mystery of true worship was revealed to David, he could not contain
his joy. David’s soul was satisfied as though fed with marrow and fatness.
Verses 7 –11
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows
close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But
those who seek my life, to destroy it, Shall go into the lower
parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword; They shall
be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory; But the mouth of those who speak lies
shall be stopped.
Mother hen hiding her chicks under her feathers
When David experienced the presence of God, he was
assured of help from God. David’s assertion “You have been my help” indicates
God had helped David from the hands of many evil people and brought him out of life-threatening
situations. When David remembered those instances, it built up his faith that God can do it again. David felt safe in the shadow of God’s presence. It is the most secure place of refuge where
no enemy can penetrate. The phrase, “the shadow of your wings” is the
portrayal of baby chicks being protected by a mother bird under her wings when
there is danger. David's soul was rejuvenated and his faith renewed. God’s right hand
was upholding him. David proclaimed that he would rejoice in God in the desert
because he was upheld by God’s right hand and his life was secure, but
his enemies who were prowling to destroy him would be judged by God. We read in
the Holy Bible that, David was in fact restored to power and his enemies were
destroyed.
Book Reference:
Hermann Gunkel, Einleitung in die
Psalmen or Introduction to the Psalms, translated by Thomas Horner
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967).
Bible Reference: The Book
of Psalms
Memory Verse: Ephesians
5:17 – 20
ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITIES
Fill in the blanks:
1. The Hebrew name for the Book of Psalms is
“………………….”
2. ………………………. written by Moses, the man of God
during Israel’s wanderings in the desert around 1440 BC is considered to be the
oldest psalm.
3. Psalms 72 & 127 were written by ………………………...
4. As per the Law of Moses, Saul could not be
………………… monarchy.
Give short answers:
1. What are “the Book of Psalms”?
2. Who wrote the Book of Psalms?
3. Write about the impact of Psalms in Christian
worship?
4. What was the time period of the “Book of
Psalms”?
Answer in brief:
1. What do we understand about David’s spiritual
condition when he sang “My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a
dry and thirsty land Where there is no water” in Psalm 63?
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