Psalms Introduction.
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A [Psalm is a hymn of praise to God. The Book of [Psalms was originally the hymn book for Israel. The [[Psalms are a classic example of Hebrew poetry which, unlike English poetry made of rhyme and rhythm, consists of parallel or contrasting ideas. Many of the [Psalms are known as acrostics because each verse begins with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet (for example, [Psalm 119).
David, who authored many of the [Psalms, was considered a prophet, because many of the [Psalms contain prophecies about the Messiah. These predictions were direct references to Jesus Christ.
Some [Psalms were also written by Asaph and Moses. The entire collection of 150 [Psalms is divided into five smaller books:1-] [Psalms :1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150.
The Psalms are actually divided into five books. It was really the hymnbook for the nation of Israel. They were sung in their original forms. In the Psalms there is really much prophecy, because we are told by Peter that David was a prophet and that he spake by the Holy Spirit. And much of what he spake was prophecy in regards to the coming Messiah, and did have its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. There are many psalms that are known as Messianic psalms. That is, psalms that refer directly to Jesus Christ.
We'll get one of those tonight as we get into the second psalm. Each of the five books of the psalms end with a doxology. The first of the books is from Psalm 1-41, the second is 42-72, the third is 73-89, the fourth is 90-106, and the fifth book of the psalms is from 107-150. The majority of them were written by David. Asaph was an author of some of them. Moses wrote some of them, but they were the songs of the children of Israel.
They speak of human nature. Man's cry after God; man seeking to relate to God. And they cover all of the gamut of man's feelings. They are poetry, but as we have pointed out, poetry to the Hebrew was not rhyming words or sentences, nor was it a rhythm, but it was a rhyming of ideas or a contrasting of ideas. Many of the psalms are known as acrostic psalms. We'll point them out to you as we get to them. That is, that each verse begins with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
We have several acrostic psalms. With the Psalm 119 probably is the best example of an acrostic psalm, however, you find that about eight verses begin, each verse within the eight begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet successively, so that the first seven or eight verses begin with aleph, the next begin with beyth, and then daleth, and giymel and so forth. So you go through the Hebrew alphabet with 119 Psalm and it, of course, is the longest chapter in the Bible.