The Book of Psalms is one of the most diverse books of the Bible. It deals with many subjects, creation, war, worship, wisdom, sin and evil, judgment, justice, and the coming of the Messiah. These Subjects are included in 150 individual psalms. One of the unusual facts about the Psalms would be that they are attributed to multiple authors. David wrote 73 of them, two of them are attributed to Solomon, David’s son and successor. Moses is credited with Psalm 90 and another group of 12 psalms (50) and (73—83) is ascribed to the family of Asaph Levites that King David assigned as worship leaders in the tabernacle choir. There were others, the sons of Korah wrote 11 psalms and all these additional authors were priests or Levites. Still more, fifty of the psalms designate no specific person as author, although two of those are designated elsewhere in the Bible as psalms of David. The Psalms have been referred to as the “songbook” of the early church.

Psalm 100 KJV … 

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: Come before his presence with singing.

Parts of the book of Psalms were used as a a hymnal in the worship services of ancient Israel. They were sung with the accompaniment of the musical instruments of the day. God is in all of the Psalms. Our God is above all things but is close enough to call out to and to walk alongside of us in good times or in times of distress. It is wonderful that we can bring all our feelings to God…He will hear and understand…even when we cry out in pain, fear and confusion finding ourselves overwhelmed by the problems of life. He will draw near and comfort us. The Psalms are divided into five groups. These brief notes below are taken from ESV.org. 

Psalms 1–41  Psalms 1–2 provide an introduction to the Psalms as a whole.    

Psalms 42–72  Book 2 introduces the first group of psalms by the “sons of Korah” (42; 44–49; 50). There are also more psalms of David (51–65; 68–69), including most of the “historical” psalms (51–52; 54; 56–57; 59–60; 63). Once again, lament and distress dominate these prayers, which now also include a communal voice.

Psalms 73–89  The brief third book contains most of the psalms of Asaph (73–83), as well as another set of Korah psalms (84–85; 87–88).

Psalms 90–106  Psalm 90 opens the fourth book of the psalms. It may be seen as the first response to the problems raised by Book 3. Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, reminds the worshiper that God was active on Israel’s behalf long before David. There is a group of psalms (93–100) characterized by the refrain “The LORD reigns.” This truth refutes the doubts of Psalm 89.

Psalms 107–150  The structure of Book 5 reflects the closing petition of Book 4 in 106:47. It declares that God does answer prayer (107) and concludes with five Hallelujah psalms (146–150). 

Today we have a brief overview of The Book of Psalms. In further visits to The Pew we will look at different ones from the five categories and explore this important book of the Bible a little closer…get beyond the words so to speak. This week we start at the very first Psalm 1.

Psalm 1 is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse, that we may take the right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. It is stated here in few words the difference in character of those who serve God and those that don’t. If we are honest with ourselves we know where we stand in our faith and with our God. We might say as children of God we understand the struggle of good and bad, sin and grace and that this battle continues as long as we live…it is an everlasting state that will last as long as heaven and hell and shall not be determined until the judgement. This psalm shows us in verses 1-6 a godly man is happy, a wicked man will endure misery from his sinful actions. We have the free will to chose the ground on which we will stand. This is a good start for this book of psalms because it shows us that we are to be of righteous behavior before our God, for he takes delight in the prayers of the righteous. There are those who are not fit to offer the prayers of the righteous because they do not walk in the good way. So what does the walk of the good way include? Well a different approach might be to read verse four. To keep it simple it is fact that the ungodly are led by the wicked in mind, into the habits of sinners. They do not delight in the law, totally scornful and contemptuous of the law of God. They do not ever think about it, they produce no fruit. Like that which has fallen from the branch, they lie on the hard ground where they rot. The righteous are like valuable fruit trees, useful and productive, while the sinners are like chaff that the wind blows away not being of use to anyone. There will be judgment coming for such people. They will be convicted as traitors, hanging their heads in shame and lost in a world of confusion held hostage in a world of sin. I find no comfort in dwelling on the fate of those who refuse the good way. It is true that some will hide among the congregations of God’s people but the day will come when judgement will separate the sheep from the goats. It is my hope that those among us that have not seen the light …so to speak… will by our example and love come before God on bended knee and repent of their sins.

It is really very simple, this first psalm makes clear that there is a difference between good and bad. They both represent a different path, one leads to God and all His glory, good life. The other leads directly to destruction. As we read these verses pray that we may become aware of that portion God has for those who sin. WE should prepare for the good, seek to live a holy life that we might find ourselves approved in God’s sight in every thing we do in this life.  

Life is Good

jk