27 The Book Of Psalms 1-41 (Bible Reading)

Описание: This is the twenty-seventh study in the series, and we are looking at the book of Psalms. As I have pointed out in the previous studies, the last thirty books of the Old Testament fit into one of three sections of history—the United Kingdom of Israel, the Divided Kingdom of Israel and the Exile/Return of Judah. The book of Psalms fits within the first of these time periods, and is the twelfth book to appear along the timeline.

The book of Psalms is the longest book of the Bible, made up of 150 separate compositions, taking approximately 4 hours and 10 minutes to read in a single sitting. The name of the book—“Psalms”—is taken from the Greek, which refers to a piece of literature designed to be sung with musical instruments. According to the Hebrew language, the book goes by the name of “Praise-Songs” or the “Book of Praises”. In other words, the book of Psalms is the inspired hymn book of the Bible.

And, on the point of inspiration, I must point out as I do with every book of the Bible, the book of Psalms is a divinely inspired book. That is, God breathed out His words through those who wrote each Psalm. The words of this book, therefore, are the words of God. They are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The words of this book are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that we might be matured in the faith, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim 3:15-17)

One hundred of the Psalms are prefaced with an inscription, identifying one of three things—the authorship, the occasion which prompted the writer to compose the Psalm and the purpose for which it was written. According to these inscriptions, there are seven authors to the book of Psalms. The majority are ascribed to David—a total of 73. Twelve are ascribed to Asaph; ten to the sons of Korah; one to Moses; two to Solomon; one to Ethan; and one to Heman. The remaining fifty Psalms are anonymous. Having said this, the inscriptions are not inspired, and therefore while they may be helpful providing some historical backdrop to the Psalms, they may not be entirely accurate. For this reason, if ever you want to learn more about the historical backdrop to a Psalm, I recommend you consult a commentary, such as those by John Gill and William Plumer. Although it is not essential we understand the historical backdrop for each Psalm in order to benefit from the Word of God, yet knowing this information will enable us to better understand and enjoy the compositions.

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