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OPENING PRAYER: PSALM 121

PSALMS DEFINED BY LITERARY FORM

• Laments
• Praise
• Thanksgiving

PSALMS DEFINED BY CONTENT

• Psalms of Trust
• Wisdom (sapiential) Psalms
• Entrance Rites
• Songs of Ascent
• Psalms of Zion
• Royal Psalms

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WISDOM PSALMS

• Not addressed to God in prayer
• Addressed to the people for instruction
• Probably developed in school or family setting

TWO WAYS: RIGHTEOUS & WICKED

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

FLOURISHING OR WITHERING

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PSALM 112: WHO ARE THE RIGHTEOUS?

• Those close to God and obedient to the commandments.
• Blessings for the righteous: children, wealth to share with the poor, virtue to encourage others.
• The wicked with hope unfulfilled.

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THE TRIAL OF THE JUST

PSALM 73:1-12

Psalm 73:16-17
Though I tried to understand all this; it was too difficult for me.
Til I entered the sanctuary of God and came to understand their end.

PSALM 73:26

PSALM 49: CONFIDENCE IN GOD RATHER THAN RICHES

Psalm 49:2-5
Hear this, all you peoples!
Give ear, all who inhabit the world.
You of lowly birth or high estate, rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak of wisdom, my heart shall offer insights.
I will turn my ear to a riddle, expound my question on a lyre.

Psalm 49:7, 11-13, 17-18

The rich, wise, fool and the senseless all die.
You can’t take it with you!

Psalm 49:15-16
Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol, and Death will shepherd them.
Straight to the grave they descend…But God will redeem my life, will take me from the land of Sheol.

RITES OF ENTRANCE

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MOUNT ZION

• 1st Temple built on a hill in Jerusalem (Mount Zion)
• God’s Holy Hill
• Mountain of the Lord

PSALM 15

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THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT TAUGHT BY JESUS

Psalm 24:3-4
Who may go up the mountain of the Lord? Who can stand in his holy place?
The clean of hand and pure of heart, who has not given his soul to useless things, what is vain.

ENTRANCE INTO TEMPLE WITH PURE HEART. WHY?

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PILGRIM FEASTS

• Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover)
• Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)
• Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)
• Originally agriculture feasts that evolved into different meanings.

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Shalom
Absence of conflict. Situation where everyone has what is necessary for a full life.

CELEBRATE JERUSALEM AS GOD’S CITY WHERE HE DWELLS

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Psalm 48
Praises God to whom the city belongs.
Points away from the earthly temple to God himself, the ultimate citadel of strength and protection.

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GOD AS KING

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PSALM 2: ROYAL CORONATION

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PSALM FOR A KING’S WEDDING

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GOD AS GROOM

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PRAYING THE PSALMS (BERGSMA)

• Based on mood and circumstances
• Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office)
• Responsorial Psalm of the Mass
• Read all psalms in a month: sequential or every thirteenth

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What is the Divine Office?
A four week cycle of psalms and canticles prayed seven times a day that works it’s way through almost all the psalms.

DIVINE OFFICE

MORNING (LAUDS) OR EVENING (VESPERS) PRAYER

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Psalm 93:4
More powerful than the roar of many waters, more powerful than the breakers of the sea, powerful in the heavens is the Lord.

READ ALL PSALMS IN A MONTH

• 5 psalms a day
• Sequential
• Every 13th psalm

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

• Read a Psalm and select a verse that speaks to your heart.
• Creative Expression in writing/journal, art, song
• Prayer Intentions Book

READ AND MEDITATE ON THE PSALMS

2 Samuel 6:14-15
David came dancing before the Lord…all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and sound of horn.

PSALM 47 THE RULER OF ALL NATIONS