What are the main characteristics ascribed to God in the Psalms? Do any of the characteristics contradict each other?
What can we tell about the psalmist(s) from their descriptions of God?
Why is hatred portrayed as a virtue in the psalms?
Application Questions:
How do you understand the parts of the psalms that attribute to God characteristics we tend to think of as negative (e.g. vengefulness, vindictiveness)?
Can we, as the psalms do, ask God to destroy our enemies? How does this relate to Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39)?
Should we read the psalms as expressions of human feelings or as moral instruction? Are these two readings mutually exclusive?