Psalm 126
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Authorship
David - 73
sons of Korah - 11
Sons of Asaph - 12
Solomon - 2
Ethan the Ezrahite - Psalm 89
Moses - Psalm 90
The Psalms not only describe our emotions, teach us how to pray emotionally before God, how to weep before God, they also shape our emotions through the power of music. The psalms are a songbook
Hebrew Title - Book of Praises
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
Types of Psalms
Lament - largest by far ~1/3 of the psalms
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Hymns of Praise
Last 5 - tell the story
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Hymns of Thanksgiving
Hymns celebrating God’s Law
Wisdom Psalms
Songs of Confidence
deepen trust in God during rough times
Royal Psalms
Historical Psalms
Prophetic Hymns
calling people to covenant faithfulness or else
live in God’s redemptive plan for the world
Calvin 1
“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 in the Psalms represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, [and] perplexities. - John Calvin
"Eine Anatomie aller Teile der Seele"; denn es gibt kein Gefühl, dessen sich jemand bewusst sein kann, das nicht in den Psalmen wie in einem Spiegel dargestellt wird. Oder besser gesagt, der Heilige Geist hat hier all den Kummer, die Sorgen, die Ängste, die Zweifel, die Hoffnungen, die Kümmernisse und die Verwirrungen zum Leben gebracht. - John Calvin
Often we want to run from our emotions, we want to to detach ourselves from the pain in our lives and go about like robots. But the Holy Spirit uses the psalms to bring our emotions to life, they are a mirror which reflects how we feel, and brings them before God.
Calvin 2
This book makes known to us this privilege, which is desired above all others — that not only is familiar access to God opened to us, but we also have permission and freedom granted us to lay open before God our infirmities which we would be ashamed to confess before men.
Besides the Psalms also prescribe to us an infallible rule for directing us in the right manner of offering to God the sacrifice of praise, which he declares to be most precious in his sight, and of the sweetest aroma. - John Calvin
Dieses Buch macht uns dieses Vorrecht bekannt, das wir vor allem anderen wünschen - dass uns nicht nur der familiäre Zugang zu Gott eröffnet wird, sondern dass uns auch die Erlaubnis und Freiheit geschenkt wird, vor Gott unsere Schwächen aufzudecken, für die wir uns schämen würden, sie vor Menschen zu bekennen.
Außerdem geben uns die Psalmen eine unfehlbare Anleitung, wie wir Gott das Lobopfer darbringen sollen, das in seinen Augen am kostbarsten ist und den süßesten Duft verströmt. - John Calvin
Luther
Where does one find finer words of joy than in the psalms of praise and thanksgiving? …There you see what fine and pleasant flowers of the heart spring up from all sorts of fair and happy thoughts toward God, because of his blessings.
On the other hand, where do you find deeper, more sorrowful, more pitiful words of sadness than in the psalms of lamentation? …How gloomy and dark it is there, with all kinds of troubled forebodings about the wrath of God!
So, too, when they speak of fear and hope, they use such words that no painter could so depict, and no other orator so portray them. And that they speak these words to God and with God, this, I repeat, is the best thing of all.
…Hence it is that the Psalter is the book of all saints; and everyone, in whatever situation he may be, finds in that situation psalms and words that fit his ease, that suit him as if they were put there just for his sake, so that he could not put it better himself, or find or wish for anything better.
This also serves well another purpose. When these words please a man and fit his case, he becomes sure that he is in the communion of saints, and that it has gone with all the saints as it goes with him, since they all sing with him one little song. It is especially so if he can speak these words to God, as they have done; this can only be done in faith.
There is in the Psalter security and a well-tried guide, so that in it one can follow all the saints without peril… For it teaches you in joy, fear, hope, and sorrow to think and speak as all the saints have thought and spoken.
In a word, if you would see the holy Christian Church painted in living color and shape, comprehended in one little picture, then take up the Psalter.
Allender
The Psalms disclose God’s fiery love for His people. He draws us to the extreme edge of life, where we cannot live by careful, well-planned control. This is where the desert begins.
It is where darkness draws us to a realm of desperation and dependence. It is the place where trust can grow. God’s passion is to rig the world so that we are compelled to deal with whatever blocks us from being like His glorious Son.
In the darkness of our emotional wrestling with God, we grow in our understanding of Him. When He does not respond to us as we expect, we learn about His surprising character.
We attack Him with anger, but we do not receive His judgment in return. We plead desperately for Him to save us from terror, but He does not necessarily rescue us with immediate resolution of our circumstances. However, what He does reveal is His heart for us.
Further, our darkest emotions reveal something—though in a skewed, bent, and tarnished way—about God’s emotional life. How can we begin to understand the nature of God’s anger unless we enter into our own? How are we to gain any picture of what it means for a holy, righteous God to be jealous for His people if we ignore our human envy and jealousy?
In the most peculiar fashion, He chooses to reveal His perfect heart by analogy with human emotion that is stained by depravity. If we are to comprehend more richly the heart of God, it is imperative that we seek to understand our internal world.
The Psalms propel us into the deepest questions about ourselves, about others, and about God. As we let them expose the depths of our emotion, they will lead us to the God who reveals Himself in the midst of our struggle.