Off the bat, the book of Psalms seems like a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" part of the Bible. But after a long period of growing in Bible-reading, one will find out just how much of the scriptures in the book we take for granted or sometimes even take out of context.
The book of Psalms is a beautiful collection of songs, poem, and literary works of declaration, expression, praise, and worship. The main character of the whole book, just like any other book, is God Himself, and while the scriptures are a form of aesthetic, they also hold so much truth that tell us of the characteristics and nature of God.
Reading the book of Psalms is not rocket science, but just like any book of the Bible, each scripture in the book must be read with the right perspective and right lens. How does the scripture magnify or reveal to us the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ and how can it affect our lives?
Here are three guide questions that will help you make sense of scriptures in Psalms.
1. Who wrote the Psalm?
Contrary to popular belief, David did not write the whole Psalms, although he did write 75 of the chapters in the book. Apart from David, there were other authors — Asaph, the sons of Korah, Heman, Solomon, Moses, Ethan and Ezrahite, and other unidentified writers.
Each author had a certain struggle, personality, strength or revelation that would shed better light on the true message of the song or hymn. We must always remember that these were books written by real people in a much different era, meaning the message must always be seen in the lens of the audience and writer.
2. What was happening when the author wrote the Psalm?
The Psalms were not all written in one day. They were written at different points of the different authors' journey with God. Some were written in good times and some in bad times and the circumstance called for different topics, reactions and events. Here is a quick summary of the events happening while the Psalms were being written.
- 1-2 — Expression of God's covenant with Davidl;
- 3-41 — David and Saul's feud and battles;
- 42-72 — Happened while David was king over Israel;
- 73-89 — Written during the Assyrian crisis;
- 90-106 — The destruction of the Jerusalem temple;
- 107-150 — A call for Jerusalem to return to God and worship Him.
3. Is the statement being said true?
This may come as a shock, but not everything in the Bible is true. Psalm 22:1, for instance says, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?"
But we know God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. That's the beauty of the Bible: It's so authentic that it does not hide even the lowest times and rawest emotions of the authors. But it also calls for us to be wary of the truth behind scriptures.
