1
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him Talk of all
His wondrous works! -- Psalm
1052
Studies in the Book of Psalms

• Lesson 1 Introduction to the Psalms

2
The Psalms

• Why Study the Psalms?
• The Psalms are inspired Scripture, written for
  our learning (Romans 154 1 Corinthians
  1011 2 Timothy 314-17)
• They help us understand the New Testament
• There are about 100 quotations from the Psalms in
  the N.T. (Luke 2444 Acts 225-35)
• We are commanded to utilize the Psalms (Ephesians
  519 Colossians 316 James 513)

3
The Psalms

• The Aims of this Study
• To become familiar with Old Testament Poetry
• To develop an appreciation and knowledge of the
  Psalms
• To gain a clearer picture of Gods character
• To learn more about Christ in prophecy
• To consider examples of fulfilled prophecies

4
The Psalms

• Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry
• Synonymous parallelism (Psalm 242 151)
• Antithetical parallelism (Psalm 16)
• Synthetic parallelism (Psalm 11911 13)
• Progressive parallelism (Psalm 11 291)
• Introverted parallelism (Psalm 9114)

5
The Psalms

• Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry
• Rhymes of thoughts rather than of words.
• Lack of poetic rhythm
• The use of figurative expressions. (Psalm
  1831 421-3)
• Must not be treated literally.

6
The Psalms

• The Origin and Meaning of the word PSALM
• Originally meant to pluck the strings of an
  instrument, such as a harp or lyre.
• Later, it came to refer to the lyric poem sung to
  the accompaniment of harp or lyre.
• In the New Testament, we are told to sing psalms
  to the accompaniment of the heart. (Ephesians
  519).

7
The Psalms

• Authors of the Psalms
• David (73)
• Asaph (12)
• The Sons of Korah (12)
• Solomon (2) cf. 1 Kings 429-32
• Moses (1)
• Heman (1)
• Ethan (1)
• Anonymous (48)

8
The Psalms

• Types and Styles of Psalms
• Alphabetic/Acrostic
• Ethical (Psalm 15)
• Hallelujah (Psalm 103)
• Historical (Psalm 106)
• Imprecatory (Psalm 69)
• Messianic (Psalms 2 110)
• Penitential (Psalm 51)

• Songs of Ascent (Psalm 120-134)
• Suffering (Psalm 102)
• Thanksgiving (Psalm 100)
• Didactic (Psalm 1)
• Liturgical (Psalm 136)
• Meditation (Psalm 119)
• Praise (Psalm 148)
• Prayer (Psalm 51)