Noon Day Bible Study
Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
Bible Study
Facilitator: Dr. Jacques Boyd, Pastor
April 21, 2021
“The Praises of God’s King”
The Psalms
Lesson Focus: The Book of Psalms is the prayer and praise book of God’s Son and God’s people.
Main question: How do the Psalms speak to us?
“I have been accustomed to call this book…‘An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul’; for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated. The other parts of Scripture contain the commandments which God enjoined his servants to announce to us. But here, the prophets themselves, see they are exhibited to us as speaking to God…draw each of us to the examination of himself in particular, in order that none of the many infirmities to which we subject, and of the many vices with which we abound, may remain concealed.” – John Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms, p. xxxvii
What are the Psalms?
Who Wrote the Psalms and When?
How are the Psalms Structured?
- Book I – 1-41
- Book II – 42-72
- Book III – 73-89
- Book IV – 90-106
- Book V – 107-150
What Are the Different Kinds of Psalms?
Psalms of Lament:
Individual: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27: 7-14, 28, 31, 35, 36
Mixed: 38, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42, 43, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 69, 70, 71, 77, 86, 88, 102, 108, 109, 120, 130, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143
Community: 12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 90, 94, 123, 126, 129, 137
Psalms of Thanksgiving: 18, 30, 32, 34, 40:1-11, 65, 66:13-20, 67, 75, 92, 107, 116, 118, 124, 138
Psalms of Praise (Hymn): 8, 19:1-6, 29, 33, 36 (mixed), 66:1-12, 78, 103, 104, 105, 106, 111, 113, 114, 117, 135, 136, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Enthronement Psalms: 47, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100
Royal Psalms: 2, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, 144
Psalms of Zion: 46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122
Psalms of Wisdom: 36 (mixed), 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128, 133
Psalms of Trust: 11, 16, 23, 27: 1-6, 62, 63, 91, 121, 125, 131
Liturgies: 15, 24, 50, 68, 81, 82, 115, 134
Torah Psalms: 1, 19:7-14, 119
How Do the Psalms Point Us to Jesus?
Psalms about the Messiah
Psalms by the Messiah
How Do We Read the Psalms as Christians?
- With attention to the kind of psalm Applying to the Messiah
- Applying to the Messiah
- Applying to us through the Messiah
A Study Outline for the Psalms
- Psalms 1-41*
- Psalms 42-72
- Psalms 73-89
- Psalms 90-106
- Psalms 107-150**
*Each book ends with a doxology.
**Book V ends with 5 doxologies; Psalm 150 concluding the whole book.