The book of Psalms is the perfect book to reflect on the love and beauty of God. It's a poetic love letter between the psalmists and God. It reflects on the loneliness of being distant with God and the comfort of being near to God. 

This Summer study the Psalms with us on Sunday at 10 am and during the week we will discus the sermon in small groups on Tuesday at 10:30 am, Thursday's at 7 pm & Friday evenings 7 pm on ZOOM.

Sign Up Now for the Summer Small Groups https://www.chrch.es/d1kl8 

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Where Psalms fits in the Bible: Psalms is a book found in the Old Testament. It is classified as one of the Writings. Here is where to find it in the road map of the Bible: 

• The Bible is broken into 2 groups: Old and New Testament 

o Old Testament is written primarily in Hebrew and is about God’s choice of the people of Israel 

o New Testament is written in Greek and is about Jesus and the Church 

o Psalms is in the Old Testament 

• Old Testament is broken down into 4 groups: 

o Law, History, Writings, Prophets. 

• One of the biggest obstacles to reading and navigating the Old Testament -–¬is not understanding this 4-fold division. Take out your Bible, open to the Table of Contents and label the Old Testament books in these groups. 

o Law – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. (Also Called the Torah, Pentateuch, and the 5 Books of Moses) 

o History – Joshua through Esther. These books tell the story of the formation, division, collapse, exile, and restoration of the nation of Israel. (See below Old Testament history for more on this.) 

o Writing – Job through Song of Songs. Proverbs - These books are a collection of wisdom literature; Psalms - Worship Songs; Job and Ecclesiastes – Philosophy; and Song of Songs - Love Poetry. 

o Prophets – The rest of the OT contains the writings of the prophets. They are divided into two groups: Major and Minor Prophets. This had nothing to do with the importance of each work. It has mainly to do with length. The Major Prophets wrote longer works. 

• Major Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel (We include Lamentations, which was written by Jeremiah, in the list of the Major Prophets; however, in the Hebrew Bible, it is listed in the writings with Proverbs, Psalms, and etc.) 

• Minor Prophets – Hosea through Malachi 

• Old Testament History in a Nutshell – In order to understand any book of the Old Testament, you need to have a basic understanding of where it fits in the scope of Old Testament history. By placing it in context, you will be able to have a greater appreciation for what is going on. 

o Patriarchs – the story of God calling Abraham and working in the lives of his children. Contained in the Book of Genesis. 

o Slavery/Exodus – The story of how God brought Israel out of Egypt, led them through the wilderness and to the Promised Land. Contained in Exodus-Deuteronomy. 

o Conquest – The story of how the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, conquered the other people living there, and established an early system of rule. Contained in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel.

o United Kingdom – In 1 Samuel, Israel demands a king so God gives them Saul. The 12 tribes of Israel are only united as one nation for the reigns of 3 kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. Contained in 1 Samuel. 

o Divided Kingdom – After the excesses of Solomon, the 10 northern tribes of Israel rebelled, broke away, and started their own nation. From this point on, the term Israel refers to the 10 northern tribes. Judah refers to the nation composed of the 2 remaining tribes: Judah and Benjamin. Contained in 2 Samuel, I & II Kings, and I & II Chronicles. 

o Exile/Return – Both nations became wicked and were judged by God. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC and were absorbed into their empire. They reappear as the Samaritans in the New Testament. The nation of Judah lasted until around 600 BC when it was also conquered this time by the Babylonians, who transported many of them to Babylon (modern day Iraq). There they remained in exile for about 70 years before being allowed to return and rebuilt the city and the temple. Contained in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. 

• Where Psalms Fits in Old Testament History – Psalms is Israel’s hymnal. It is a collection of poems and worship songs from throughout Israel’s history. There are songs that refer to the time of Moses, to the judges, to the kings, and to the exile. 

• The Organization of Psalms – The book of Psalms is divided into 5 books. We do not know when they were divided into books or why. The division is not based on chronology, theme, or any other discernable organizational principle. 

o Book 1: 1-41 

o Book 2: 42-72 

o Book 3:73-89 

o Book 4: 90-106 

o Book 5:107-150 

• The Purpose of the Book of Psalms – The purpose of the Psalms is to remind us that worship is at the center of everything. Many people like to talk about God in the 3rd person. The Psalms remind us to talk to God directly. It is full of all the praise, worship, adoration, repentance, frustration, confusion, longing, and whatever else people felt comfortable pouring out of their heart to God. 

• Who Wrote It – There is no single author for the Psalms. David is listed as the author of 73 psalms. A man named Asaph wrote 12 psalms. The sons of Korah composed 11 psalms. Other psalms were written by Solomon, Heman the Ezrahite, Ethan the Ezrahite, and even Moses (Psalm 90). But many are anonymous. Many people think that Ezra or some other Jewish leader compiled the Psalms into their existing order during the period after the exile. 

“You greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials… and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:6,8

Flourishing in a Spiritual Drought

1.  The condition.

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1-2

2.  The causes.

Disruption of fellowship:

“I used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God, with a voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.” Psalm 42:4b

Deprivation of my body:

“My tears have been my food day and night.” Psalm 42:3

Disillusionment with my life:

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?” Psalm 42:5a

3.  The cures.

Continue to pray, even when I don’t feel like it: “I pour out my soul within me.” Psalm 42:4a

Challenge myself about my hopes:

“Why are you in despair, my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.” Psalm 42:5

Comfort myself with God’s unconditional love:

“O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I remember You… The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42:6,8

“The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.’” Exodus 34:6-7

“I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy.” Psalm 43:4

* All scriptures are from the NAS Bible unless otherwise noted