The Psalms teach us about salvation. There is no salvation to be found in chariots or spears or horsemen or political power. Salvation is from the Lord. When God saves sinners, he forgives their sins. He counts righteousness to them through faith. God is the refuge and the rock of his people. He pulls them from the mire, he delivers them from the water, he snatches them from Sheol, he rescues them from the darkness, and he pours out his abundant mercies upon their helpless estate.

In Martin Luther’s A Manual on the Book of Psalms, he says in the preface, “So that you may truly call the Book of Psalms, a little Bible; for in it all things that are contained in the whole Bible are given to us in the most wonderfully brief and sweet manner, and condensed into a most beautiful manual.”

Luther makes a strong claim, but when you read the Psalms, you see the truth in what he said. The Psalms are a little Bible, engaging the reader with a myriad of doctrinal truths that are taught outside the Psalms as well.

The Psalms teach us about God. We learn that God is trustworthy, holy, righteous, sovereign, powerful, just, everlasting, worthy of worship, faithful, loving, and supreme over all things. He is the Creator. He is the maker and sustainer of all things, and the echoes of his glory fill creation. There is none like the Lord. He shares his glory with no idols, and he reigns in unrivaled majesty.

The Psalms teach us about mankind. God made us a little lower than the heavenly beings, and he commissioned us to exercise dominion over creation. We rebelled and are thus corrupt and sinful. Instead of seeking the Lord, mankind pursues evil out of the overflow of their evil hearts. Society is filled with acts of injustice from one person toward another. We need salvation. We need forgiveness.

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