There are frequent quotations of the psalms to be found in the later books of the Bible. These, especially those made by Christ and the apostles, constitute a priceless commentary. Search for them with the help of a concordance or a reference Bible.
Aside from this, the psalms are especially fit for illustrative quotations, and the children may be inspired to gather them eagerly. Assign to each scholar a verse for illustration from some other part of the Bible, in some such way as this:
"The Lord is my shepherd."
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
"I shall not want."
"Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 7:32, 33).
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures."
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).
"He leadeth me beside the still waters."
"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water, springing up unto eternal life" (John 4:14).
"He restoreth my soul."
"I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."
"Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (John 11:26).
"For thou art with me."
"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20).
"Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."
"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16, 17).
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."
"I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall not hunger" (John 6:35).
"Thou anointest my head with oil."
"Grace and peace ... from Jesus the anointed, ... who has made us to be kings and priests unto his God and Father" (Rev. 1:4-6).
"My cup runneth over."
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16.)
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."
"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be fulfilled" (John 15:11).
"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
"In my Father's house are many abiding-places.... I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).
In preparing for this exercise the children will learn how to use the Bible index and the concordance.
Watch the paragraphs of the Revised Version. They make useful indications of the passage from one thought to the other.
The psalms lend themselves well to the useful exercises of analysis, condensation, and paraphrase. Get your scholars to write out for you, one, a brief tabular statement of the contents of the psalm; another, the thought of the psalm in words of his own; a third, the substance of the psalm, with all superfluous words and repetitions omitted.
It is a capital plan to underscore in your Bibles, and get your scholars in the course of the lesson to underscore in theirs, the key-sentences of the psalm. In the First Psalm, for instance, you have in bold relief the main thought of the six verses if you underscore "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked. Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The wicked are not so." There is your outline.
Do not rest satisfied until, for your scholars and for you, the psalm you are studying is a unit, and stands out in your minds with clear-cut individuality. It is especially necessary to get through with the entire text when your lesson is in the Psalms. It is not like a series of disconnected proverbs: it is a picture; and your understanding of it will lack some essential part until you have all the verses.
Indeed, I would go over each psalm with the class at least five times, rapidly: first, to remove stumbling-blocks of strange customs and expressions; second, to grasp the general thought; third, to get its application to David's life; fourth, to get its lesson for our lives; fifth, a verse-by-verse study for all possible side-lights and instruction.