1. Overview of
Psalms
Presented by Christopher R. Smith
To Capital City Vineyard, Lansing, Michigan
May 5, 2013

2. Dr. Peter Enns on trying to
read through the Bible in a year:
“Things coast along well enough for a while. Genesis is pretty interesting. . . .
But if you make it through Exodus, you have to wade through Leviticus, where
you hit a brick wall: Chapter after chapter of what to sacrifice and when, plus
some very strange topics (like how to get rid of mildew).
Succumbing to temptation, you skip over to the Psalms. . . . But you don’t make
it out of the teens before the Psalms all start looking the same.
By this time, it’s probably close to spring, so it makes perfect sense to just skip
over to the Gospels and forget the rest of the Old Testament. It’s almost Easter
anyway.”
Telling God’s Story, pp. 10-11

3. So as we go through the Bible together in a year
(in a “context of grace”),
our next task is to keep the psalms
from all looking the same.
The psalms in the Bible are of three main types,
corresponding to three key moments
in the life of faith.

4. 1. PSALM OF PRAISE
“God’s on the throne
and all’s right with the world”
(or all will become right as God’s reign is extended)
BASIC FORM:
• Call to Worship
• Reason to Worship
• Call to Worship

5. Psalm 117 as an example of
a Psalm of Praise
Call to Worship Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
Reason to Worship For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Call to Worship Praise the LORD.

6. Psalm 100 as an example of a Psalm of Praise
(elements repeated)
Call to Worship Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Reason to Worship Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are
his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Call to Worship Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise; give thanks
to him and praise his name.
Reason to Worship For the Lord is good and his love endures
forever; his faithfulness continues through all
generations.

7. Psalm 150 as an example of a Psalm of Praise
(one element expands; the other nearly disappears)
Call to Worship Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in
his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him
with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the
harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him
with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding
cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.

8. PSALM OF
PRAISE
God’s on the throne
All’s right with the world
PSALM OF
SUPPLICATION
God’s power and goodness
called into question

9. 2. PSALM OF SUPPLICATION
Elements like these will be present
in various combinations and orders
• Cry for Help
• Complaint
• Statement of Trust
• Petition
• Vow of Praise
The first 10-15 psalms “all start looking the same”
because most of them are psalms of supplication.

10. Psalm 54 as an example of
a Psalm of Supplication
Cry for Help Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
Complaint Arrogant foes are attacking me;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
people without regard for God.
Statement Surely God is my help;
of Trust the Lord is the one who sustains me.
Petition Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.
Vow of Praise I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, LORD, for it is good.
You have delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

11. Psalm 131 as an example of a Psalm of Supplication
(one element expands and displaces the others)
Statement My heart is not proud, Lord, of trust my
eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself
with great matters or things too wonderful for
me. But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.
In other cases another element, such as the complaint, may expand
and displace all the others, as in Psalm 88.

12. PSALM OF
PRAISE
God’s on the throne
All’s right with the world
PSALM OF
SUPPLICATION
God’s power and goodness
called into question
PSALM OF
THANKSGIVING
God’s power and goodness
vindicated

13. 3. PSALM OF THANKSGIVING
Elements like these will be present
in various combinations and orders
• Opening Summary
• Call to Worship
• Description of Troubles
(recollection of cry for help)
• Song of Victory
• Praise and Thanks

14. Psalm 30 as an example of
a Psalm of Thanksgiving
Summary I will exalt you, LORD,
Statement for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
Call to Sing the praises of the LORD,
Worship you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

15. Psalm 30 as an example of
a Psalm of Thanksgiving (continued)
Description When I felt secure, I said,
of Troubles “I will never be shaken.”
LORD, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
(recollection of To you, LORD, I called;
cry for help) to the Lord I cried for mercy:
“What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me;
LORD, be my help.”

16. Psalm 30 as an example of
a Psalm of Thanksgiving (continued)
Song of Victory You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Praise and Thanks LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

17. A more elaborate statement of praise & thanks
from near the end of Psalm 66
Praise and Thanks I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you—
vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me . . .
Believers today have the same opportunity
to vindicate God’s power and goodness
by sharing publicly what God has done for them
in answer to their cries for help.

18. PSALM OF
PRAISE
Orientation
PSALM OF
SUPPLICATION
Disorientation
PSALM OF
THANKSGIVING
Reorientation
While the biblical psalms also include some specialized types, in general we will
meet the psalmist at some point within this movement.