Introduction to the Book of Psalms

The book of Psalms has been and still is the irreplaceable devotional guide, prayer book, and hymnal of the people of God. The Hebrew title is “the book of praises” (tehillim). The Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) used psalmos for tehillim; the word means “a song sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument.” The Vulgate followed the Septuagint and used psalmorum, from the Latin psalterium, “a stringed instrument.” The King James adopted the word, and thus we have the book of Psalms.

Writers. The writers of about two-thirds of the psalms are identified in the superscriptions. David leads the way with seventy-three psalms. He was Israel’s beloved “singer of songs” (2 Sam. 23:1 NIV) and the man who organized the temple ministry, including the singers (1 Chron. 15:16; 16:7; 25:1). The sons of Korah, who served as musicians in the temple (1 Chron. 6:31ff.; 15:17ff.; 2 Chron. 20:19), wrote eleven psalms (42—49; 84—85; 87), Asaph twelve psalms, King Solomon two (Ps. 72 and 127), Ethan wrote one (Ps. 89), and Moses one (Ps. 90). However, not all scholars give equal value to the titles of the psalms.

Organization. The book of Psalms is divided into five books, perhaps in imitation of the five books of Moses (Gen.—Deut.): 1—41; 42—72; 73—89; 90—106; 107—150. Each of the first three books ends with a double “amen,” the fourth ends with an “amen” and a “hallelujah,” and the last book closes the entire collection with a “hallelujah.” The book of Psalms grew over the years as the Holy Spirit directed different writers and editors to compose and compile these songs and poems. David wrote thirty-seven of the forty-one psalms in book I, so this was the beginning of the collection. Books II and III may have been collected by “the men of Hezekiah” (Prov. 25:1), a literary guild in King Hezekiah’s day that copied and preserved precious Old Testament manuscripts. Hezekiah himself was a writer of sacred poetry (Isa. 38). Books IV and V were probably collected and added during the time of the scholar Ezra (Ezra 7:1–10). As with our modern hymnals, there are “collections within the collection,” such as “the Songs of Degrees” (Ps. 120—134), the writings of Asaph (Ps. 50; 73—83), the psalms of the sons of Korah (Ps. 42—49), and the “hallelujah psalms” (Ps. 113—118; 146—150).

Poetry. Hebrew poetry is based on “thought lines” and not rhymes. If the second line repeats the first line in different words, as in Psalm 24:1–3, you have synonymous parallelism. If the second line contrasts with the first, as in Psalms 1:6 and 37:9, it is antithetic parallelism. When the second line explains and expands the first, the writer has used synthetic parallelism (Ps. 19:7–9), but when the second line completes the first, it is climactic parallelism (Ps. 29:1). With iterative parallelism, the second line repeats the thought of the first (Ps. 93), and in alternate parallelism, the alternate lines carry the same thought, as in Psalm 103:8–13. You don’t bring these technical terms into the pulpit, but knowing what they mean can give you great help when you study. To interpret Psalm 103:3 as God’s promise to heal every sickness is to ignore the synonymous parallelism of the verse: The forgiveness of sins is like the healing of disease (see Ps. 41:4).

Some of the psalms are laments to the Lord, written by people in dire circumstances. There are also messianic psalms that point forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are also psalms of praise and thanksgiving, royal psalms, wisdom psalms, psalms of affirmation and trust, penitential psalms, and even imprecatory psalms calling down God’s wrath on the enemy. We will consider each of these categories as we meet them in our studies.

Value. There are over four hundred quotations or allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Jesus quoted from the book of Psalms (Matt. 5:5/Ps. 37:11; 6:26/Ps. 147:9; 7:23/Ps. 6:8; 27:46/Ps. 22:1; John 15:25/Ps. 69:4). The Lord gave guidance from the book of Psalms when the church in Jerusalem chose a new apostle (Acts 1:15ff./Ps. 69:25; 109:8). The early church also used the Psalms to buttress their preaching (Acts 2:31/Ps. 16:10) and to find encouragement in times of persecution (Acts 4:23–31/Ps. 2). Singing selected psalms was a part of their worship (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 14:26) and should be a part of the church’s worship today. It’s helpful and interesting to study Bible history from the viewpoint of the psalmists: creation (8), the flood (29), the patriarchs (47:9; 105:9; 47:4), Joseph (105:17ff.), the exodus (114), the wilderness wanderings (68:7; 106:1ff.), the captivity (85, 137).

But primarily, the Psalms are about God and His relationship to His creation, the nations of the world, Israel, and His believing people. He is seen as a powerful God as well as a tenderhearted Father, a God who keeps His promises and lovingly cares for His people. The Psalms also reveal the hearts of those who follow Him, their faith and doubts, their victories and failures, and their hopes for the glorious future God has promised. In this book, we meet all kinds of people in a variety of circumstances, crying out to God, praising Him, confessing their sins, and seeking to worship Him in a deeper way. In the book of Psalms, you meet the God of creation and learn spiritual truths from birds and beasts, mountains and deserts, sunshine and storms, wheat and chaff, trees and flowers. You learn from creatures of all sorts—horses, mules, dogs, snails, locusts, bees, lions, snakes, sheep, and even worms. The psalms teach us to seek God with a whole heart, to tell Him the truth and tell Him everything, and to worship Him because of who He is, not just because of what He gives. They show us how to accept trials and turn them into triumphs, and when we’ve failed, they show us how to repent and receive God’s gracious forgiveness. The God described in the book of Psalms is both transcendent and immanent, far above us and yet personally with us in our pilgrim journey. He is “God Most High” and “Immanuel—God with us.”

Note: In these expositions, references to verses in the Psalms will not always be marked “Ps.” (book of Psalms). References to verses in other Bible books will be identified in the usual manner.