Professional Documents
Culture Documents
15 Psalms
15 Psalms
Purpose
The
book
of
Psalms
is
an
anthology
of
songs
and
poems
used
for
worship
in
ancient
Israel.
It
can
be
thought
of
as
their
hymnal
and
prayer
book.
There
is
a
psalm
for
just
about
any
situation
in
lifepublic
or
private,
formal
or
informal,
happy
or
sad.
Regardless
of
the
occasion,
each
Psalms
focus
is
to
place
the
situation
into
the
broader
scope
of
Gods
plan,
demonstrating
how
He
can
be
worshipped
in
any
circumstance.
The Psalms were written by many different individuals throughout history. David is perhaps the most well-known Psalmist (receiving credit for 73 psalms), but others include Solomon, Asaph, Heman, Ethan, and the Sons of Korah. Moses is the earliest recorded author (Ps. 80), and some Psalms were written during or after the captivity (e.g. Ps. 137). Psalms are poetry by definition, and many different subcategories are observed below.
Theological
Themes
Kingship:
God
is
King
of
the
Universe
and
deserves
all
worship.
Moreover,
He
has
appointed
His
representative
on
earth,
the
Son
of
David,
to
restore
Creation
under
His
perfect
rule.
Nature/Creation:
Gods
acts
in
nature
reveal
His
power
and
are
one
of
the
most
frequent
topics
of
the
praise
psalms.
Worship:
The
psalms
reveal
opportunities
for
worshipping
God
in
any
occasion
of
life.
Since
God
is
King,
He
deserves
to
be
acknowledged
in
everything
we
do.
Lament:
God
can
be
worshipped
in
the
good
and
the
bad.
Worship
does
not
always
equal
praisesometimes
the
best
way
to
worship
God
is
to
tell
Him
whats
wrong.