Walk Through the Bible: Psalms
Text for Sermon: Psalm 1:1-2; 16:11; 19:1-2; 27:1; 29:1; 95:1-3
We turn this evening to the second of the five Wisdom books, the writings, right in the center of the OT. The wisdom books are the heart of the OT. They don’t contain history or law or prophecy, they are not just about Israel but about the individual before His God.
Job gives us wisdom for suffering, how to fear the Lord despite what happens to us.
Psalms gives us wisdom for worshipping, how to pray and praise God.
Proverbs gives us wisdom for living, how to act and behave wisely, how to fear the Lord.
Ecclesiastes gives us wisdom for thinking, how to enjoy life even in its meaninglessness.
Song of Solomon gives us wisdom for loving in the context of covenant marriage.
The Book of Psalms has several distinctions. It is the longest book in the Bible with 150 chapters. If you read five a day, you can finish it in a month. Someone has said a Psalm a day helps you work, rest, and pray.
It has the shortest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 117 (2 verses) and the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119 (176 verses). Luther called the Psalms the Bible in miniature.
The New Testament writers quoted the Book of Psalms over 400 times, far more frequently than any other Old Testament book. Isaiah is a distant second with 47 NT quotes.
It is often regarded as the most popular book, the favorite, and yet is still often overlooked or neglected. It is in most respects the easiest book to understand, it appeals to our emotions and senses.
Historically the psalms cover a period of about 1000 years, from the time of Moses (ca. 1400 B.C.) to the Israelites’ return from exile (ca. 450 B.C.). Of course, Psalm 90 by Moses is the oldest psalm. The latest psalm is probably (137), a song of lament clearly written during the days when the Hebrews were being held captive by the Babylonians, from about 586 to 538 B.C.
Psalms is one of only two books in the Bible that self-identifies as written by multiple authors, Proverbs is the other one.