PSALM 25 Lesson

Psalm 25 The Psalms is a collection of songs that the ancient Hebrews (including Jesus and the disciples) sang to God. They contain songs of prayer, praise, cries for help, national anthems, and cover almost every style of song. Many theologians have said in various ways that the Psalms express every human emotion, from anger and revenge to sadness and deep depression, to great happiness. "Psalm" is the Latin word for "hymn", which is just and old word for song of praise. In Hebrew, the book is called Tehillim, תְהִלִּים, or "praises". So "Psalms" = "Praise Songs". There are 150 Psalms in the book of Pslams, but the Hebrews wrote many more than that. These are just the best ones, inspired by God to direct the people in worship. Since David wrote most of the Psalms, sometimes it is called "The Book of David". However, many other writers wrote Psalms, and God inspired editors to put the book together as a Jewish hymnal. Jesus would have sang the Psalms when He went to synagogue every Saturday. Jesus quoted extensively from the Psalms, even quoting Pslam 22 while dying on the cross. The Psalms are not the only way to worship. Paul in his letters quotes other hymns, and we see Moses, Miriam, Hannah, Mary, Zechariah, David, and others write songs to God that are not in the Psalms. Read again how beautiful Mary's song is in Luke 1:46-45. We can see she found inspiration in Hannah's song (I Sam. 2:1-10) and many Psalms, but the words were her own. OUTLINE OF THE PSALMS 1. The Book of Psalms is subdivided into five smaller books: a. Book I: 1-41 b. Book II: 42-72 c. Book III: 73-89 d. Book IV: 90-106 e. Book V: 107-150 2. The Psalms may well be editorially grouped in accordance with the history of the nation Israel around the Davidic Covenant: a. INTRODUCTION: The righteous one 1--2 b. BOOK I: David’s conflict with Saul 3--41 c. BOOK II: David’s kingship 42-72 d. BOOK III: The Assyrian crisis 73--89 e. BOOK IV: Introspection about the destruction of the temple and the Exile 90--106 f. BOOK V: Praise and Reflection on the Return and the new era 107--145 g. CONCLUSION: climatic praise to God 146--150 (From: https://bible.org/article/book-psalms) The Psalms cover almost every theme in the human experience. I am often surprised to find so many Psalms about war. Since God is powerful in every aspect of our lives, we shouldn't really be surprised to find God's people singing and praying to him about every aspect. And that is the theme of the Psalms: The Lord, who sovereignly rules the universe, will establish His just rule on the earth in and through his people whereupon the righteous will prosper and the wicked will suffer. (https://bible.org/article/book-psalms) In other words, God is good, and He will do justice in the end. Book I of the Psalms was sung by the Jews in order, one after another. Through David's life we have an emotional journey that teaches us about ourselves, about God, and about a person's relationship with God. Look at this chart for Psalms 19-25: Historically, these Psalms happened in different periods in David's live. They are not in chronological order. However, the editor of the Psalms put these together to take the singer on an emotional journey. In Psalms 19 and 20, David is king and he's happy with God. Things are going well and David's relationship with God is unchallenged. But then trouble comes. In Psalm 21, David recognizes his enemies but they haven't attached yet. In Psalm 22, David suffers a full-on assault. David is depressed, and he feels abandon by God. In the first half of the Psalm, he tries to cheer himself up, reminding himself of the good things God has done in the past. But it doesn't work. Only when David actually worships God, does the relationship change again. Through this worship, David is restored emotionally. The editor then puts what song next? Psalm 23. This joy and peace is continued through the wonderful praise of Psalm 24. Then trouble strikes again. In Psalm 25, David deals with that trouble.