COURSE NAME:  Survey of Psalms  This entry-level course combines Bible study with practical theology.  It is ideal for those expecting to gain a fundamental understanding of the most beloved book of the Old Testament and the practical spiritual lessons taught in this amazing collection of Hebrew wisdom literature.

WELCOME TO A TUITION-FREE INDEPENDENT LEARNING COURSE.  It is not necessary to enroll at a student or pay tuition. You may begin this study immediately.  However, after you have completed the course, you may elect the option of receiving a Certificate of Recognition to officially document your learning experience.

Before you begin, please note:

• FIRST: This is a comprehensive tuition-free study. You may complete the entire course without cost. After completing the course of study, you will be given the option of receiving recognition.

• SECOND: This study is totally self-contained. You will only need your personal Bible.

• THIRD: This is an independent learning experience, and is therefore self-directed and self-paced.  Move through it the way you find most helpful.

• FOURTH: Even though it is free a free course, this is a serious study of the Bible.

Ten Instructions to Help Guide You

1. Begin each study with prayer. You need to understand what the Bible teaches. God has promised to help you. God keeps his promises. Pray with faith. Put John 16:13 to the test.

2. Utilize any method of study (time of day, place of study, etc.) that will produce good results.

3. First, read all the Underlined Statements but not the Scripture. This is the Subject you are studying.

4. Read carefully! Be sure you know the meaning of each word. Reading aloud may help.

5. Now, read all the Bible verses after the Underlined Statements. As you read, write down any thoughts that you want to add. Write a summary of what the Holy Spirit enables you to learn. Since there are no tests to complete, the more carefully you read, and the more completely you write your summary, the more you will learn.

6. Mark your Bible. Make notations in the margin if that is possible, or in the notes section of an electronic Bible.

7. Meditate! Continue to think about what the Bible teaches. Memorize some verses.

8. Live what the Bible teaches. Obey the Word of God. As you obey what you learn, God will teach you more.

9. Share what you learn. As you teach and tell others what you have learned, God will help you to understand more clearly. You will help others and strengthen yourself.

10. Never give up. With God's help you can be a more faithful and effective Christian witness and worker.

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

SURVEY OF PSALMS

Course Objectives: 
1. To trace the important sequence of spiritual experiences in the Psalm record,
2. To identify the major spiritual messages in the events in the Psalm record.
3. To gain knowledge about each of the major themes and divisions in the Psalm record.
4. To gain a spiritual lesson from each of the major divisions in the Psalm record.
5. To make comparisons with other Bible references, with our worship services, with our personal worship
of God.
6. To examine the major themes, writers, divisions, worship experiences in the Psalm record.
7. To test your ability to communicate the results of your study.

Lesson Procedures:
1. Get the "Big Picture" of Psalms.
a. Read the entire book. 
b. As you read make notes in the margin of the Bible or in a notebook.
c. After completing the book, review your notes.

2. As you read each Psalm, try to identify the main theme :
a. What do the following Psalms teach about Christ? 2,16,22,45,69.
b. What religious experience is expressed in the following:  Repentance, 25,38,51,130 132.........Would it be pardon?.   3,16,20,23,27....... Trust?   55,70, 77.........Prayer?
c. As you read try to mark each Psalm with a theme word.

3. As you read, make a list of all the attributes of God and identify them with a specific Psalm. Here is an example:
Mercy: 32, 85,136
Other
Other
Other
Other

4. As you read, make a list of the Psalms that refer to the experiences of Israel. Here is an example:
Backsliding: 81.
Other
Other
Other

5. As you read, make a list of the various authors of the Psalms. Scholars have made the following decisions about authors: David wrote 73, Sons of Korah 11, Asaph 12, Ethan 1, Solomon 2, Moses 1, Haggai 1, Zechariah 1, Hezekiah Doubtful, Ezra 1, others anonymous. Who was the final author? Can you justify your answer( Check 2 Timothy 3:16,17)?

6. As you read, what key words would you add to this list?
Praise,
Prayer
Worship
Can you add 5 others?

7. Do you find any special messages to 
Seniors,
Youth
Kings
Others?

8. One scholar divides the Psalms as follows. Would you agree?
Group 1 1-42
Group 2 42-72
Group 3 73-90
Group 4. 90-107
Group 5 107-150

9. Another writer divides the Psalms into the following types:
Teaching/instruction: 1,5,7,15,17,50,73,94,101
History of Israel: 78,105-106,136
Hallelujah: 106,111-113,115-117,135,146-150
Confession: 6,32,38,51,102,130,143
Intercession: 86
Thanksgiving: 16,18
Messianic:2,20-24,41,68,118
Nature: 8,19,29,33,65,104
Would you add or detract from any of these types?

10. What ten Psalms do you think would make the basis for the best sermons? Try to make an outline for five of these sermons.

11. Make a list of the verses or Psalms that you plan to memorize. Explain why you have chosen each.

12. On the basis of your study how do you rate the following (list a specific psalm to support your decision)?
Religious dancing?
Music?
Musical instruments?
Shouting?
Clapping?
Lifting hands?
Testimony?
Preaching?
Singing?
Bible reading?
Praise and Amens?

13. To what extent do you find each of these expressions of worship carried over in  the New Testament church? Why were some discontinued in your estimation? To what extent does the one TEMPLE at one location and the many churches cause differences? What other distinctions do you see from your 
study?


14. To what extent does the holiness of God affect the worship in the Psalms? In the church of contemporary Christian worship?

15. Does Psalm 37 indicate David's age? Does Psalm 51 relate to some experience in David's life? What about Romans 4:6-8?

16. How did Jesus use the Psalms to prove their inspiration? Study Matthew 22:45.

17. How did Simon Peter use the Psalms in his sermon? Read Acts 2: and Psalm 16:10 and 110:1

18. State in writing two spiritual lessons you learned by these comparisons of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
1.
2. 

19. Do you agree or disagree with the following:

The Psalms are often quoted in the New Testament.
David was a person who had no depressions.
The Psalms were used by the early church for songs.
Life situations are reflected in the Psalms.
The promises of the psalms cannot be used today.
Psalm 73 pictures a common problem about faith.
The Psalms teach that an atheist is a fool.
Very few people think the Psalms give help to real life.

20. Using all your notes, speak a 5 minute summary of Psalms to a mirror.  (If you have never done this, it may seem rather silly at first.  However, this process had been a standard practice of public speaking, debate and preaching training for generations.)

21. Write as briefly as possible what you think is the one prevailing theme of Psalms.

22 As you read make a special list of every section that relates to God's Plan of Salvation? 

23. Discuss what you have learned with two people and make notes of their reaction.

24. Study the following for types: 
a. Rock 
b. Tower
c. Tabernacle
d. Buckler


ADDITIONAL HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE PSALMS
Authors: Principally David but others contributed. 

Audience: This was the "song book" of the Hebrew nation. It continues to give comfort and blessing to the people of God everywhere and at all times.

Purposes: There are many purposes of the Psalms. They use prophecy, the experiences of the Hebrew nation, the experiences of individuals, the special revelations of God to give challenge, comfort, understanding.

Some specific purposes:
1. Psalm 1 contrasts the wicked and the godly.
2. Psalm 2 declares the sovereignty of the Messiah.
3. Psalm 22 points to the suffering of Christ.
4. Psalm 23 comforts with God's shepherd care.
5. Psalm 16 points to the resurrection of Christ.
6. Psalm 37 and 71 give testimony and help to the aged.
7. Psalm 73 deals with the problem of the prosperity of the wicked and their ultimate destiny of loss.
8. Psalm 103 gives an example of praise to God.
9. Psalm 119 relates the benefits of the Word of God.

This partial listing demonstrates that all of the Psalms have specific purpose and many different methods of accomplishing the comfort and challenge that God wishes to give to His children.

Important Note: When Jesus was conferring with the disciples as recorded in Luke 24:44, He spoke of the fact that the Psalms pointed to Him and to events in His life that must be fulfilled to show that He is the Messiah.

Special passages:
Definition of the Blessed Man: Psalm 1:1-3.
Position of man: Psalm 8:4-8.
Deliverance by God: Psalm 18.
The testimony of nature: Psalm 19.
God's shepherd care: Psalm 23.
Blessing of salvation: Psalm 32.
God's protection to the godly: Psalm 34.
A recipe for trust: Psalm 37.
An example of the blessing of confession: Psalm 51.
The folly of the atheist: Psalm 53.

While Psalms has no actual "outline" it does divide into sections and the individual psalms have specific meanings.  The partial list given above shows how this may be accomplished. The Psalms challenge the Christian to praise and afford a source of God's comfort.

...end of course

CONGRATULATIONS!

If you have completed the course as instructed, you have achieved an extremely important milestone in your walk with the Lord.  We rejoice with you, and trust that God will use you in an even greater way to minister to a world that is in desperate need of the life-changing Gospel of our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  May the Holy Spirit go before you and make every crooked place straight!  (Isaiah 45:2)

YOU CAN NOW APPLY FOR THE OPTIONAL CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION.

Now that you have completed this course,  you have the option of receiving official recognition.   You can receive a Ten Unit Certificate of Recognition (CR), by affirming that you completed the course as instructed, and by paying a $20.00 processing fee.  Continuing education is always recommended by ministry organizations as a means of assuring that team members are keeping up with self-improvement.  Even more common is the Biblical teaching that every Christian ought to be a life-long student of the Word of God.

Complete the Form Below to Request Your Certificate of Recognition
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PLEASE NOTE:  Upon receipt of the $20.00 CR processing payment, your official Certificate of Recognition
will be sent to your email address within five business days.  If you have questions: 
Contact Master's International University of Divinity.

YOU COULD QUALIFY FOR AN ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT BENEFIT.

You may also be able to turn CR credits into advanced standing credits.  By completing five (5) of our Independent Learning courses, you may apply to receive one (1) advanced standing credit that could count toward earning an Associate or Bachelor degree at Master's.  Request further details by completing the form at Contact Master's International University of Divinity if this is of interest to you.