The Psalter Analysis

The Psalter is a book of Holy Scripture that has been both captivating and profitable in my personal journey of faith. Unfortunately they never became much more than a guide for Godly living, comforting words for those in torment or grief as well as songs and poetry that were slightly more anointed than modern hymns and contemporary worship songs. This study of the Psalms has been beneficial as it re-enforced and greatly deepened my understanding of discipleship in the Psalms. It also gave me new appreciation for the beautiful literary style, the Christocentric nature in which they were written as well as the role they played in cultic and liturgical functions and in personal piety.
The most beneficial shift in my interpreting and reading …show more content…
Where once the hopes of Israel were placed in a monarchial system, from the fourth book onwards the psalms are continually pointing the reader away from human rule and to the perfect, and eternal rule of Yahweh as king. The very structure of the book is dominated by lament psalms in the first half, and moves increasingly to praise in the second half. Regardless of the situation, how dire and painful it may be, the psalmist continually focus their attention away from themselves, and their current situation and point their focus back on Yahweh and His covenantal faithfulness. This should be at the heart of all Christians that our lives be headed in a direction that is less focused on oneself, and current situations to being more focused on Christ, and praising Him. This is the heart and message of the Psalter.
Praise and thanks are in a sense the final word, the direction one is headed, in the relationship with God. There the expression of faith has moved from a focus on the human situation to reach that end toward which human life has been set, that is, the glorification and praise of …show more content…
Miller paid special attention to the poetic and literary forms of the Psalms while providing critical thought and understanding to the practices of Ancient Israel. My only regret in Miller is that I didn’t see him transition the words of the Psalms from being the words of man to God to the very word of God to man. This was a theme that captivated me in both Bonhoeffer and in Several chapters of Firth and Johnston, whose book I would argue was the most well rounded of the three, giving attention to historical context, literary styles, Christian application and Holy Scripture containing the very word of God. Though these books had different approaches and foci, they all agreed that the Psalms not only played a role in Ancient Israel, but they have a role to play for us today, as well as the over arching theme of the Psalter, which is the Lordship and reign of Yahweh, and that the Psalms should be read with Christ at the