Book of Psalms Quiz: Messianic Psalms, Wisdom, and Key Texts

1. What does Psalm 16 declare that Peter quotes in his Pentecost sermon as evidence of Jesus's resurrection?

1. 'Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD' — Peter applies this beatitude to everyone who believes in Jesus
2. 'I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken' — Peter argues this describes Jesus's eternal obedience
3. 'The LORD is my shepherd' — Peter argues that Jesus as the Good Shepherd fulfils this promise
4. 'You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay' — Peter argues David died and was buried, so this must point to the resurrection of Christ

2. What does Psalm 45 describe, and how is it applied in the New Testament?

1. Psalm 45 is a creation psalm where the 'king' is God ruling over creation — the NT applies it to the new creation
2. Psalm 45 is a lament over Zion's destruction — the 'king' is Jerusalem mourning its fall
3. Psalm 45 is a psalm of lament where the king petitions God for military victory — Paul applies it to the spiritual warfare of the Christian life
4. Psalm 45 is a royal wedding psalm addressed to the king ('Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever'), celebrating the beauty of the king and his bride. Hebrews 1:8-9 quotes it as evidence that the Son is God — 'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever'

3. What is the theme of Psalms 93-99 (the enthronement psalms), and what do they celebrate?

1. Psalms 93-99 are a collection of penitential psalms — they describe Israel confessing sin during the Babylonian exile
2. Psalms 93-99 are psalms of ascent used in the second temple — they describe the king leading the people up to Jerusalem in a procession
3. Psalms 93-99 are royal coronation psalms specifically composed for the coronation of Solomon
4. Psalms 93-99 celebrate the kingship of the LORD — 'The LORD reigns!' They proclaim God's sovereignty over creation, the nations, and history, calling all creation to praise the divine king

4. What famous declaration opens Psalm 100, and what three reasons does the psalm give for praise?

1. 'Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good' — the reasons are: God chose Israel, God gave the law, and God promised the land to Abraham
2. 'O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth' — the three reasons are: God's power over nature, God's care for the poor, and God's promise to David
3. 'Praise the LORD, O my soul' — the reasons are: God forgives sins, heals diseases, and redeems from the pit
4. 'Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth' — the reasons are: God made us and we are his, he is good, and his love endures forever and his faithfulness continues through all generations

5. What does Psalm 104 celebrate, and how does it parallel Genesis 1?

1. Psalm 104 celebrates the entry into Canaan — the 'good land' of abundance is described in terms of creation imagery
2. Psalm 104 celebrates the exodus — each stanza corresponds to one of the ten plagues, seeing creation as an act of deliverance parallel to the rescue from Egypt
3. Psalm 104 is a creation hymn that celebrates the wonder of God's work in making the natural world — its structure roughly parallels the six days of creation in Genesis 1, moving through heavens, sea, land, creatures, and climaxing in praise
4. Psalm 104 is a wisdom psalm that uses creation imagery to argue for God's moral order — the seasons and creatures illustrate divine justice

6. What is the 'Torah Psalm' (Psalm 119) and what does it say about God's word being a 'lamp'?

1. Psalm 119:105 — 'Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path' — the image teaches that God's word illuminates the next step in daily life, not the entire journey at once
2. Psalm 119:11 — 'I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you' — the lamp is the internalized word that gives moral guidance from within
3. Psalm 119:130 — 'The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple' — the 'lamp' image describes God's word as gradually revealed prophecy
4. Psalm 119:89 — 'Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens' — the 'lamp' image refers to God's word as a permanent fixture in creation

7. What does Psalm 121 declare about divine protection?

1. 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear'
2. 'I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber'
3. 'The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge'
4. 'The LORD is my shepherd; I lack nothing' — the protection comes through provision of all needs

8. What does Psalm 130 declare, and why has it been called one of the great psalms of grace?

1. 'Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD' — the psalmist speaks of deep sin, asks 'If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?' and declares 'But with you there is forgiveness' and 'I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits'
2. Psalm 130 is a royal psalm where the king cries for military deliverance — 'out of the depths' refers to the despair of military defeat
3. Psalm 130 is a thanksgiving psalm where the depths represent the previous suffering from which God has already delivered
4. Psalm 130 uses the image of the watchman waiting for dawn to describe Israel's hope for the return from exile in Babylon

9. What does Psalm 133 celebrate as 'good and pleasant'?

1. Brothers living together in unity — compared to the oil poured on Aaron's beard and the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. There the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore
2. The arrival of rain after a long drought — the oil and dew images describe physical abundance as God's blessing
3. The return from exile — Israel's reunification after Babylonian captivity is the 'pleasant' event the psalm anticipates
4. The Sabbath rest — the 'unity' of Psalm 133 refers to all creation resting together on the seventh day in worship of God

10. What does Psalm 136 repeat in every verse, and what is its effect?

1. 'And God saw that it was good' — the phrase is borrowed from Genesis 1 to show that God's salvific acts are as foundational as creation
2. 'Blessed is the name of the LORD' — the refrain interrupts each recitation of God's acts to ensure the acts are understood as coming from God alone
3. 'His love endures forever' — the refrain is repeated 26 times as each historical act (creation, exodus, conquest) is celebrated, creating a litany of praise that connects God's eternal love to specific historical events
4. 'Praise the LORD, all his works' — every created thing is invited to join the refrain, expanding the circle of praise in each verse

11. What does Psalm 139 declare about God's omniscience and omnipresence?

1. Psalm 139 argues for human free will — God knows what the psalmist will choose but does not determine it
2. Psalm 139 is a complaint psalm — the psalmist objects to God's constant surveillance as oppressive and invades his privacy
3. Psalm 139 is a creation psalm about the vastness of the physical universe — the 'searching' imagery refers to God's exploration of the cosmos
4. Psalm 139 marvels that God knows everything about the psalmist (sitting, rising, thoughts, words before spoken) and is present everywhere (heavens, depths, dawn, darkness). The psalmist asks God to search him — welcoming rather than fearing divine knowledge

12. What do Psalms 146-150 (the final five psalms) have in common, and what is their function?

1. All five are attributed to David — they form the final Davidic collection, showing that all worship flows from the covenant king
2. All five are messianic psalms — they describe the coming of the LORD's Anointed and the final defeat of all enemies
3. All five are penitential psalms — the Psalter ends by returning to confession, acknowledging that even after all the praise, Israel still needs forgiveness
4. All five begin and end with 'Praise the LORD' (Hallelujah) — they form a crescendo of pure praise that serves as the doxological climax of the entire Psalter

13. What is the theology of divine hesed (steadfast love/lovingkindness) in the Psalms?

1. Hesed (often translated 'steadfast love,' 'lovingkindness,' or 'unfailing love') refers to God's covenant loyalty that persists even when Israel sins. It is the ground of all prayer — the psalmists appeal not to their own merit but to God's hesed
2. Hesed in the Psalms refers to God's conditional love — he loves those who obey and withdraws love from those who sin. The Psalms teach moral causation strictly
3. Hesed in the Psalms refers to God's power — his love is expressed through miraculous acts of military deliverance
4. Hesed refers to Israel's love for God — the Psalms measure Israel's faithfulness by the quality of their worship and use hesed as the term for true devotion

14. What does Psalm 72 (the final psalm of Book 2) pray for the king, and how is it applied messianically?

1. Psalm 72 prays for the king's long life — that he would reign for many years and establish a stable dynasty with many sons to succeed him
2. Psalm 72 prays for the king's military victories — that all enemies would be destroyed and Israel's borders extended to their maximum
3. Psalm 72 prays for the king's wisdom — that he would judge legal disputes correctly and build a prosperous economy for Israel
4. Psalm 72 prays that the king would rule with justice for the poor and needy, that his dominion would extend to the ends of the earth, and that all nations would be blessed through him. Its ending 'may the whole earth be filled with his glory' is applied to Jesus as the fulfillment of this royal hope

15. What is the significance of Psalm 78 and the historical psalms (105, 106)?

1. The historical psalms (78, 105, 106, 136) review Israel's history to draw theological lessons: God's faithfulness despite Israel's rebellion (78, 106), God's mighty acts as reason for praise (105, 136) — they teach each new generation by retelling the story
2. The historical psalms are legal documents — they preserve alternative traditions to the Pentateuch and are evidence of competing canonical claims in ancient Israel
3. The historical psalms are missionary texts — designed to persuade surrounding nations of Israel's God by recounting his mighty acts
4. The historical psalms are purely liturgical — they were recited at specific festivals and have no connection to actual historical events

16. What does Psalm 84 express about longing for the presence of God?

1. 'How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the LORD... Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere'
2. 'I will praise you, LORD my God, with all my heart... you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead'
3. 'Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him'
4. 'The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?'

17. What does Psalm 103 celebrate, and what does it declare about God's forgiveness?

1. 'Praise the LORD, my soul... who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit... The LORD is compassionate and gracious... as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us'
2. Psalm 103 celebrates creation — every verse corresponds to an aspect of God's work in the six days of Genesis 1
3. Psalm 103 celebrates military victory — it thanks God for defeating the enemies of Israel in the great battles of the judges period
4. Psalm 103 is a royal psalm of David — it celebrates his kingdom and the covenant God made with him about an eternal dynasty

18. What is Psalm 42-43's repeated refrain, and what is its significance for understanding lament?

1. 'Be still, and know that I am God' — the psalmist moves from lament to meditative silence as the answer to distress
2. 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble' — the psalmist answers his own questions with doctrinal affirmation
3. 'The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing' — the psalmist counters his anxiety with confidence in divine provision
4. 'Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God' — the psalmist preaches to himself, addressing his soul rather than waiting for the feeling to pass

19. What does Psalm 19 declare about the two sources of divine revelation?

1. Psalm 19 declares that God reveals himself through creation ('The heavens declare the glory of God') and through his written law ('The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul') — both general and special revelation
2. Psalm 19 declares that God reveals himself through history (his acts in the past) and prophecy (his plans for the future) — the two sources are retrospective and prospective
3. Psalm 19 declares that God reveals himself through the Spirit (inner revelation) and the church (outer revelation) — the two sources are personal experience and communal teaching
4. Psalm 19 is not about revelation at all — it is a hymn to the sun, composed for the temple's morning worship liturgy

20. What is the theological significance of the Psalter being the prayer book of Jesus?

1. Jesus only cited the Psalms in debate with opponents — he used them defensively, not as personal expressions of his relationship with the Father
2. Jesus prayed the Psalms at key moments of his life: Psalm 22:1 from the cross, Psalm 31:5 as his dying words, Psalm 110 to challenge the Pharisees, and Psalm 118:22-23 about the rejected cornerstone. The Psalms shaped his self-understanding as the one who fulfils Israel's vocation as God's son and suffering servant
3. Jesus rejected the Psalms as insufficiently spiritual — he taught his disciples a new prayer (the Lord's Prayer) as a superior replacement for the Psalter
4. Jesus used the Psalms only as hymns at festivals — the Gospels do not record him praying the Psalms in any personal or theological sense