If we only had the Psalsm we would still see that there is a need for a Messiah, and we would see God’s provision of the Messiah, the cornerstone that has been rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Do you know the most often quoted book in the Bible? The Psalms are the most quoted book. The book that Jesus most referenced during His earthly ministry. 

Let’s take a look at Psalm 1, starting with verse one. The Book of Psalms starts with

 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is planted like a tree, planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. It is not so with the wicked. They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous, for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

Gods Word

The Psalms are God’s word. The Psalms are not a separate companion volume to God’s word. The Psalms are not an additional helpful guidebook, a helpful workbook or a helpful instruction manual about God’s word. The Psalms themselves are God’s word.

We can study the books of the gospels by reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We can study the Epistles by Galatians, Corinthians, and Thessalonians. We can read the Old Testament books of Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. These are all God’s Word, and so are the Psalms. There’s something for us to learn from, to be instructed by, to be inspired by, to be empowered by through Psalms. The Psalms are God’s word meant to challenge us and encourage us. They express in God’s word, language that we might use that is found nowhere else in the scriptures. The Psalms are unique in that way. The Psalms are God’s word, but they also stand out and stand apart. They are different in many ways from the rest of God’s word. They are God’s word, but you don’t read them the same way you would the rest of God’s Word. Chances are, if you took a Bible and you just set it down and you let it open up, you’ll drop into the Psalms. There is a lot inside the Psalms for us to taste and see that the Lord is good. 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;  blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

How the Psalms are Different

There’s a lot for us to taste and to try out as we dive into the Psalms. How are the Psalms different from the rest of scripture? You might have noticed that Psalm 1 It’s shaped differently than other Old Testament books. The words are different. The structure is different. The organization is different. The Psalms were originally written and composed to music. Even though these were originally sent to music and meant to be sung, it is the words that remain for us so we can be instructed. That doesn’t mean we don’t sing the Psalms. There are times when many of our hymns take lines from the psalms for us to sing. Many also sing from the Psalter, which is the book of Psalms set to music. While originally being composed, many of them as musical pieces, we don’t have to sing them as musical pieces for us to gain from them what God intends for us to gain.

In Structure

Psalms is different from Genesis. They’re different from the Gospels. They’re different from New Testament epistles. And yet, inside the Psalms, we see pictures and previews of the coming Messiah. We receive instructions and commands about how we are to live. So while Psalms is different from all these other books in the Bible, there is so much that is in common with the rest of the scriptures. 

 We don’t read the Psalms in the same way we read Genesis or Exodus.

Read More