PSALMS: STUDY LESSON OUTLINE

Obviously it is impossible to go through all of the Psalms in a group or individual setting in any reasonable amount of time. However, one approach is to pick a psalm (or two) in each given lesson that illustrates each of the types of psalms present in the Psalter. Therefore the guide below has grouped together many of the psalms according to their genre or general subject matter.

An Intimate Psalm (139)

God's Kingship (43, 93, 95, 96-99, 100)

Wisdom Psalms (1, 37, 45, 50, 78, 112, 127-128, 133)

Songs of Zion (76, 84, 87, 122, 132)

The God of History (68, 78, 105-106)

Psalms of Penitence (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143)

Royal Psalms (2, 8, 16, 18, 20-22, 45, 50, 78, 112, 122, 127-128, 133)

National Laments (60, 74, 79-80, 83, 85, 90, 124, 126)

Unjustly Accused (3, 5-7, 22, 25-28, 39, 41-43, 51, 54-57, 61, 63-64, 69, 71, 86, 88, 130, 140-143)

Individual Songs of Thanksgiving (9-10, 18, 32, 34, 92, 116, 118, 138)

Imprecatory (Cursing) Psalms (35, 59, 109, 137)

Pilgrimage Psalms (84, 112)

Psalm of the Law (119)

Psalms of Confidence (4, 11, 23, 27, 62, 125, 131)

Liturgical Psalms (24, 135)

Note that there are some duplications within this list since certain psalms can better be categorized as “mixed types.”

Some additional help can be found on this blog by consulting the posts entitled “Psalms: Different Types,” “Liturgical Psalms,” “Psalms: Introduction to the Literary Structure,” “Psalms: Technical Terms,” “Psalms: Use in the New Testament,” “Psalms: Authorship,” and “Psalms of Penitence.” In addition, there are posts on the following individual psalms: 82, 84, 119, and 137.