The first 20 chapters of the Psalms have many different types of imagery and metaphors. However a recurring theme is that God is supreme, His law is perfect, and His people can trust in Him. God will bring judgment on the earth, but in the end, the righteous will inherit it. Although most of the Psalms were composed by King David, Psalm 90 is said to have been written years before by Moses, while others could have been written after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 BC. In Hebrew, the word for Psalms is “Tehellim” meaning “Praises.” They are also called “Mizmor” which translates to “Songs”, and in Greek they are also called “The Songs.” In fact, these prayers can be sung or read like a poem.

The Psalms were probably written in the form of music because that makes words easier to remember. Since in an illiterate culture songs are crucial for memory, they were often sung in groups and accompanied by David’s harp. The first Psalm is one of the most common verses still used today: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” and “For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” In Psalm two, it says that the heathens will rage at God and the kings and rulers of the earth will take counsel against God, but He that sitteth in the heavens will have them in derision. The kings of the earth will have to fear God and tremble before him to gain mercy with him.

The rest of Psalms one through five is David crying to the Lord to have mercy on him for his sins. Psalm six continues, begging the Lord that He not rebuke him since he is weak, although he deserves to be persecuted and to have his soul taken. David exclaimed he would praise the Lord all his days, His name is excellent and above all, and all of God’s enemies will perish because they have turned their backs on him. 

In the fourth verse of Psalm 11, it once again emphasizes that the enemies of God will be punished, this time with fire and brimstone. In Psalm 12, David asks God how long he will forget him. Most Christians today believe that God is merciful and loving, but in the Psalms, many times it states that sinners will be destroyed. These verses are talking about people who have fallen away from the Church, like heretics, and people who are trying to destroy Her. This means the “enemies of God”, not just sinful people.