For the next three weeks, as we study the book of Psalms, I will study and summarize ten psalms per day. Where I see strong Book of Mormon connections, I will highlight them.
Psalm 1: The Tree and the Chaff
The psalmist compares a man who delights in the law of the Lord to a tree. Those who are ungodly, in contrast, are “like the chaff which the wind driveth away.”
Book of Mormon connections:
- Nephi opens his psalm saying that his soul delights in the scriptures and that he ponders them continually (2 Nephi 4:15-16).
- Alma extends the tree metaphor, teaching the Zoramites how to plant a seed and nourish it as it grows (Alma 32:26-43).
- Mormon borrows the image of chaff driven by the wind to describe the tragic fall of his people (Mormon 5:16-18).
Psalm 2: The Begotten Son
The psalmist marvels at the turmoil among the nations of the earth and foresees a day when the Son of God will rule over the nations. God tells Him, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
Book of Mormon connections:
- King Benjamin borrows this terminology when he tells his people they have become the sons and daughters of Christ, “for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you” (Mosiah 5:7).
Psalm 3: David’s Deliverance from Absalom
David acknowledges that he has many enemies, but he feels confidence and sleeps well because he knows that God is with him.
Psalm 4: Gladness in My Heart
David pleads for mercy in his distress, then testifies that God has put gladness in his heart.
Book of Mormon connection:
- Lehi pleads with his sons to repent, “that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you” (2 Nephi 1:21).
Psalm 5: Morning Prayer
David says, “In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
Psalm 6: Watering the Couch with Tears
David pleads for mercy, saying that he cries at night.
Book of Mormon connection:
- Nephi says of his people, “I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them” (2 Nephi 33:3).
Psalm 7: God Trieth the Hearts and Reins
David pleads for God to judge him and testifies that God sees our hearts and reins (kidneys). In other words, He judges us for who we really are, not who we appear to be.
Psalm 8: A Little Lower than the Angels
David wonders, in the context of God’s vast creations, why God loves us so much.
Psalm 9: Sunk in Their Own Pit
David expresses confidence that God is just. “The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made,” he says; “in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.”
Book of Mormon connection:
- An angel tells Nephi that those who dig a pit for the house of Israel will fall into that pit themselves (1 Nephi 14:3; see also 1 Nephi 22:14). Note that this metaphor also appears in Psalm 7:15 and 57:6.
Psalm 10: “Why Standest Thou Afar Off?”
The psalmist wonders why God doesn’t intervene when people do evil and brag about getting away with it. The wicked one says, “God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.” David pleads, “Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.”
Today I will immerse myself in the word of God, delighting in His law and pondering it continually (Psalm 1:2; 2 Nephi 4:15-16).
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