1. “Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!” -- Psalm 105:2 Lesson 1: Introduction to the Psalms

2. Why Study the Psalms? The Psalms are inspired Scripture, written for our learning (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:14-17) –They help us understand the New Testament –There are about 100 quotations from the Psalms in the N.T. (Luke 24:44; Acts 2:25-35) We are commanded to utilize the Psalms (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13)

3. 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 God’s character To learn more about Christ in prophecy To consider examples of fulfilled prophecies

4. Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry Synonymous parallelism (Psalm 24:2; 15:1) Antithetical parallelism (Psalm 1:6) Synthetic parallelism (Psalm 119:11; 1:3) Progressive parallelism (Psalm 1:1; 29:1) Introverted parallelism (Psalm 91:14)

5. Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry Rhymes of thoughts rather than of words. Lack of poetic rhythm The use of figurative expressions. (Psalm 18:31; 42:1-3) –Must not be treated literally.

6. 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 5:19).

7. Authors of the Psalms David (73) Asaph (12) The Sons of Korah (12) Solomon (2) cf. 1 Kings 4:29-32 Moses (1) Heman (1) Ethan (1) Anonymous (48)

8. 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)