Psalms - Introduction
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The central, unifying theme of the book of Psalms is God Himself. He is portrayed as the Creator, the Judge, the King. He is also portrayed as the Good Shepherd. God’s attributes, as revealed in the psalms, include His goodness, His greatness, and above all, His GRACE. He is a righteous Judge, and at the same time He is a forgiving Father. The writers of the psalms open up their hearts to this awesome God and cry out to Him in prayer and praise.
Since many if not most of the psalms were written during the monarchy, the commonest picture of God presented in the psalms is that of Supreme King. God was the true King of ISRAEL. He had chosen Israel to be His people; He had appointed Israel’s kings to be His representatives. The nation of Israel was to show forth the RIGHTEOUSNESS and goodness of God to an ungodly world.
Israel failed to do this, as we know. With the fall of Jerusalem, the nation and its monarchy ceased to exist. But the ideal remained. When the JEWS returned from exile they had no king, but they had a vision of an ideal King who one day would come and restore Israel to its former glory. That King was Christ; and indeed, some of the psalms point to Christ and are quoted in the New Testament.2
The psalms are as relevant to us today as they were to the ancient ISRAELITES. We, too, live under the same God, the same Supreme King. We too are dependent on Him and responsible to Him. The entire history of mankind—indeed of the entire universe—begins and ends in God, the God of Israel.
Like the ancient Israelites, we too live surrounded by the wicked; we too face suffering and uncertainty. We too ask God: “Where are you? Why am I suffering? How long must I wait?” The psalms represent the heart cries of countless generations of believers. The psalms gives us wisdom, patience, understanding, strength. These blessings come to us from God, the ultimate Author of the book of Psalms. As we study this marvelous book, let us open our hearts and minds to the wondrous things God is going to say to us through these psalms.3