Book of Psalms

Select The Chapter you want

“Title”: The English title comes from the Septuagint, which entitled the book Psalms, meaning “Sacred Songs Sung to Musical accompaniment”. The Hebrew title for the book is tehilim, meaning “praises”. If one word could be chosen to describe the book, certainly “praises” would qualify, for there is no psalm that does not contain an element of praise.

The entire collection of Psalms was entitled “Praises” in the Hebrew text, and later, rabbis often designated it “The Book of Praises”. The Septuagint (LXX; the Greek translation of the Old Testament), labeled it “Psalms”. Compare “the Book of Psalms” in the New Testament (Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20). The Greek verb from which the noun “psalms” comes basically denotes the “plucking or twanging of strings”, so that an association with musical accompaniment is implied. The English title derives from the Greek term and its background. The Psalms constituted Israel’s ancient, God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), “hymn book”, which defined the proper spirit and content of worship.

There are 116 psalms that have superscriptions or “titles”. The Hebrew text includes these titles, with the verses themselves. When the titles are surveyed individually and studied as a general phenomenon, there are significant indications that they were appended to their respective psalms shortly after composition and that they contain reliable information (compare Luke 20:42).

These titles convey various kinds of information such as authorship, dedication, historical occasion, liturgical assignment to a worship director, liturgical instruction (e.g., what kind of song it is, whether it is to have a musical accompaniment, and what tune to use), plus other technical instructions of uncertain meaning due to their great antiquity. One very tiny, attached Hebrew preposition shows up in the majority of the Psalm titles. It may convey different relationships, e.g. “of”, “from”, “by”, “to”, “for”, “in reference to”, “about”. Sometimes it occurs more than once, even in short headings, usually supplying “of”, or “by”, person X … “to”, or “for”, person Y information. However, this little preposition most frequently indicates the authorship of a psalm, whether “of” David, the accomplished psalmist of Israel, or “by” Moses, Solomon, Asaph or the sons of Korah.

“Authorship – Date”: From the divine perspective, the Psalter points to God as its author. Approaching authorship from the human side one can identify a collection of more than 7 composers. King David wrote at least 73 of the 150 Psalms;

The superscriptions (part of the Hebrew text before the first version English), name six authors.

Moses, 1 Psalm (Psalm 90);

David, 73 Psalms;

Asaph, 3 Psalms (Psalms 50, 73-83);

Solomon, 2 Psalms (Psalms 72, 127);

Heman, 1 Psalm (Psalm 88);

Ethan, 1 Psalm (Psalm 89).

In addition to these authors, 10 psalms are assigned to “The Sons of Korah”, (Psalms 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87), though they were most likely performers rather that authors. (See the superscription in Psalm 88). Sixty-one psalms are anonymous.

In such a collection of hymns, a widely divergent range of dates is inevitable: from the oldest, the Psalm of Moses (90), to a number of postexilic psalms, or a period of about one thousand years (1400 – 400 B.C.), to the late sixth or early fifth century B.C. post-Exilic period (Psalm 126).

“Background”: The backdrop for the Psalms is twofold:

(1) The acts of God in creation and history; and

(2) The history of Israel.

Historically, the psalms range in time from the origin of life to the post-Exilic joys of the Jews liberated from Babylon. Thematically, the psalms cover a wide spectrum of topics, ranging from heavenly worship to earthly war. The collected psalms comprise the largest book in the Bible and the most frequently quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament. Psalm 117 represents the middle (out of 1189), in the Bible. Psalm 119 is the largest in the entire Bible. Through the ages, the psalms have retained their original primary purpose, i.e., to engender the proper praise and worship of God.

The Bible tells us that before Jesus and His eleven sorrowful, bewildered disciples left the Upper Room to walk the dark pathways to the Mount of Olives, they sang a hymn, a psalm.

So it has been through the millennia. When God’s people gather, whether in times of grief or celebration, they sing. The song style and instrumentation change with time, but singing remains a deeply rooted, fundamental part of the Judeo-Christian heritage.

From the spontaneous choir of former slaves on the far side of the Red Sea to the elaborate professional choirs and orchestras king David assembled among the Levites, singing became integral in Israel as worship became more and more organized. For instance, when David moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem for the first time, he appointed “some of the Levites … to praise the Lord God of Israel”. They used “stringed instruments and … cymbals … [and] trumpets” (1 Chron. 16:4-6). He also gave Asaph and his kinsmen the directive that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord.

Years later, when the elderly David turned the kingship over to Solomon, he designated 4000 Levites to praise the Lord with musical instruments that were made for them (1 Chron. 23:5). In addition, David set more than 300 others to sing (“prophesy), worship songs in the temple (1 Chron. 25:1-31).

All the music written for the instruments and all the songs written for the choirs came together hundreds of years later in what we now call the Book of Psalms, 150 prayers and songs that became the hymnbook of the people of God. In fact, many of the words from those psalms found their way into historic hymns of the church and are now in contemporary praise and worship hymns.

While it is difficult to get the full effect without knowing the melodies, to read the words in Psalms is to read lyrics that once echoed off the walls of the temple in Jerusalem. It is to join hearts and hands across time for the purpose of enthroning the God whose mercy endures forever.

What Does This mean to Us?

At least three major themes are woven through these 150 psalms:

God and His Rule: Both Psalms and Proverbs were written as Hebrew poetry. Psalms was used in worship, while Proverbs was used in instruction in homes and royal courts. Psalms is all about God, whereas Proverbs focuses more on horizontal relationships between people. Whatever human affairs are included in Psalms are always in the context of people and their relationship to God. Psalms is about the rule of God, His kingdom, law, glory, worthiness, primacy and standards. As the songs of Psalms were sung in worship, the attention of worshipers was constantly directed upward, to Him.

 Honesty: The songs of Israel are characterized by passion, transparency, vulnerability, and pathos. Whether the psalmist warns against concealing sin (32), begging for forgiveness (51), admitting there is no place to hide from God (139), acknowledging that evil so often seems to prevail (73), or asking God to administer justice to His enemies 55), readers are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy and grace in time of need (Heb. 4:16).

Worship: The Book of Psalms was Israel’s hymn book. It contained the individual and corporate reasons to praise God within the nation and to declare His glory to the nations. It is no surprise that the entire book concludes with a final psalm that encourages worshipers to praise God in “church” and in all creation, with all manner of musical instruments, for His acts and His greatness (150:6).

“Historical – Theological Themes”: The basic theme of Psalms is living real life in the real world, where two dimensions operate simultaneously:

(1) A horizontal or temporal reality; and

(2) A vertical or transcendent reality.

Without denying the pain of the earthly dimension, the people of God are to live joyfully and dependently on the Person and promises standing behind the heavenly/eternal dimension. All cycles of human troubles and triumphs provide occasions for expressing human complaints, confidence, prayers, or praise to Israel’s sovereign Lord.

In view of this, Psalms presents a broad array of theology, practically couched in day-to-day reality. The sinfulness of man is documented concretely, not only through the behavioral patterns of the wicked, but also by the periodic stumbling’s of believers. The sovereignty of God is everywhere recognized, but not at the expense of genuine human responsibility. Life often seems to be out of control, and yet all events and situations are understood in the light of divine providence as being right on course according to God’s timetable. Assuring glimpses of a future “God’s day” bolsters the call for perseverance to the end. This book of praise manifests a very practical theology.

A commonly misunderstood phenomenon in Psalms is the association that often develops between the “one” (the psalmist), and the “many” (the theocratic people). Virtually all of the cases of this occur in the psalms of King David. There was an inseparable relationship between the mediatorial ruler and his people; as life went for the king, so it went for the people. Furthermore, at times this union accounted for the psalmist’s apparent connection with Christ in the messianic psalms (or messianic portions of certain psalms). The so-called imprecatory (curse pronouncing) psalms may be better understood with this perspective. As God’s mediatorial representative on earth, David prayed for judgment on his enemies, since these enemies were not only hurting him, but were primarily hurting God’s people. Ultimately, they challenged the King of Kings, the God of Israel.

Classification of the Psalms: There have been numerous attempts to classify the psalms. Though each psalm is an individual poem with its own theme, there are enough noticeable shared forms and ideas to warrant categorization. The following classification is based partly on form and partly on content:

  1. Lament Psalms contain a plea for deliverance or defense and are addressed directly to God. They may be individual (Chapters 5-7, 13, 17, 22, 25, 26, 28, 31, 35, 36, 38, 39, 42, 43, 51, 54-57, 59, 61, 63, 64, 69-71, 86, 88, 102, 109, 120, 130, 140-143). Or national (Chapters 12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 90, 94, 106, 108, 123, 126, 137).
  2. Psalms of confidence include a lament, but the ideas of security, peace, joy, and confidence predominate. They may be individual (Chapters 3, 4, 11, 16, 23, 27, 62, 121, 131 (or national (Chapters 115, 125, 129).
  3. Songs of Thanksgiving express public thanksgiving for what God has done or in anticipation of what He will do. They may be individual (Chapters 9, 10, 30, 32, 34, 40, 41, 92, 107, 116, 138), or national (Chapters 65-68, 118, 124).
  4. Psalms of Praise are constructed around three key elements: a call to praise or introduction, a cause for praise (usually for God’s attributes or deeds), and a conclusion (Chapters 8, 19, 29, 33, 100, 103, 104, 111, 113, 114, 117, 135, 136, 145 – 150).
  5. Enthronement Psalms of the Divine Kingdom contain the expression “the Lord reigns” (or, in the case of Psalm 98, “the Lord, the King”), and speak of the rule of God over all the earth. They are prophetic of Christ’s kingly rule (Chapters 47, 93, 96 – 99).
  6. Songs of Zion extol Zion, or Jerusalem, for its exalted role as the abode of God’s glory and as the religious and political capital of the nation (Chapters 15, 24, 46, 48, 50, 76, 81, 84, 87, 95, 122, 134). The Pilgrim Psalms (see below), are sometimes included here, but they do not really constitute a distinct literary type.
  7. Royal Psalms concern the reign of the king, either historical or messianic, or both (Chapters 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, 144).
  8. Wisdom Psalms emphasize the traditional teaching of the wise men of Israel: meditation of the law, the way of the righteous versus the way of the wicked, and the necessity of practical righteousness (Chapters 1, 14, 37, 49, 52, 53, 73, 75, 91, 112, 119, 127, 128, 133, 139).
  9. Historical Psalms trace the history of God’s saving activity on behalf of Israel (Chapters 78, 105).

Other categories, identified strictly for content, overlap with the above. These include the following:

  1. Messianic Psalms are prophetic in some way of the Messiah. They include psalms in which the righteous man’s character is a type of Christ (34:20; 69:4, 9), the righteous man’s experience foreshadows Christ’s experience (22), the existing king’s ideals and calling will be fulfilled in Christ, the ultimate King (Chapters 2, 45, 72), Christ’s work is prophesied with no contemporary reference (only 110), or the enthronement of Christ as universal King over the earth is predicted (Chapters 47, 93, 96 – 99).
  2. Imprecatory Psalms contain an imprecation or prayer for retributive justice to fall on one’s enemy (Chapters 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109, 137, 140). These may be justified by remembering that the Israelites were building a political kingdom and, as long as evil men triumphed over them, God’s rule was thwarted. The psalmists were concerned primarily with the glory of God, and at the very least, they did put the matter into God’s hands for His just dealing. These prayers are actually in the same spirit as the petition “Thy kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10), because the coming of God’s kingdom includes the destruction of the wicked (see the note on Psalm 109).
  3. Psalms of Ascents or Pilgrim Psalms (Chapters 120 – 134), were sung by pilgrims journeying up to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
  4. Acrostic Psalms are those in which each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Chapters 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145). Psalm 119 is in a class by itself with eight verses for each letter of the alphabet.

Superscriptions in the Psalms: The identification of many of the technical words in the superscriptions is dubious. The headings include names for types of psalms (“a psalm”), musical terms (“to the chief musician”), melody indicators (“upon Shoshannim”, 45), and liturgical indicators (“for the Sabbath day”, 92). Fourteen psalms contain historical superscriptions that give some brief mention of the occasion on which the psalm was written (Chapters 3, 7, 18, 30, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 142).

Purpose of the Psalms: The purpose of the psalms was well expressed by David when he instituted hymns in Israel. He appointed the Levites “to record [better: make petition] and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel” (1 Chron. 16:4). The Book of Psalms is a record of petitions (or laments), thanksgiving, and praise to God by His people. As such it has brought comfort, encouragement, and blessing to God’s people throughout the ages. Every human emotion is covered in these hymns of aspiration to God.

Structure” The Book of Psalms is arranged in five books:

Book 1 (Psalms 1-41);

Book 2 (Psalms 42-72);

Book 3 (Psalms 73-89);

Book 4 (Psalms 90-106);

Book 5 (Psalms 107-150).

Each of the first four books concludes with a doxology, while Psalm 150 serves in its entirely as both a doxology for the fifth book and an appropriate conclusion of the entire Psalter The fivefold arrangement has long been recognized, but no explanation for its origin has proved satisfactory. The most common is the early Jewish tradition that judged the five books to be an imitation of the five books of Moses. None to date, however, has satisfactorily enumerated undisputed likenesses between the two sets of books, although some parallels have been found.

Each of the chapters are done individually. Some due to length, have been shortened into “continued” sections. Each section contains a questionnaire which follows the section which has been done to aid in the learning process.

Psalm 1 Psalm 33 Psalm 67 Psalm 97 Psalm 119 (verses 89-104)
Psalm 2 Psalm 34 Psalm 68 Psalm 98 Psalm 119 (verses 105-120)
Psalm 3 Psalm 35 Psalm 68 Continued Psalm 99 Psalm 119 (verses 121-136)
Psalm 4 Psalm 36 Psalm 69 Psalm 100 Psalm 119 (verses 137-152)
Psalm 5 Psalm 37 Psalm 69 Continued Psalm 101 Psalm 119 (verses 153-176)
Psalm 6 Psalm 37 Continued Psalm 70 Psalm 102 Psalm 120
Psalm 7 Psalm 38 Psalm 71 Psalm 102 Continued Psalm 121
Psalm 8 Psalm 39 Psalm 72 Psalm 103 Psalm 122
Psalm 9 Psalm 40 Psalm 73 Psalm 103 Continued Psalm 123
Psalm 10 Psalm 41 Psalm 74 Psalm 104 Psalm 124
Psalm 11 Psalm 42 Psalm 75 Psalm 104 Continued Psalm 125
Psalm 12 Psalm 43 Psalm 76 Psalm 105 Psalm 126
Psalm 13 Psalm 44 Psalm 77 Psalm 105 Continued Psalm 127
Psalm 14 Psalm 45 Psalm 78 Psalm 106 Psalm 128
Psalm 15 Psalm 46 Psalm 78 Continued Psalm 106 Continued Psalm 129
Psalm 16 Psalm 47 Psalm 78 Second Continued Psalm 107 Psalm 130
Psalm 17 Psalm 48 Psalm 79 Psalm 107 Continued Psalm 131
Psalm 18 Psalm 49 Psalm 80 Psalm 108 Psalm 132
Psalm 18 Continued Psalm 50 Psalm 81 Psalm 109 Psalm 133
Psalm 18 Second Continued Psalm 51 Psalm 82 Psalm 109 Continued Psalm 134
Psalm 19 Psalm 52 Psalm 83 Psalm 110 Psalm 135
Psalm 20 Psalm 53 Psalm 84 Psalm 111 Psalm 136
Psalm 21 Psalm 54 Psalm 85 Psalm 112 Psalm 137
Psalm 22 Psalm 55 Psalm 86 Psalm 113 Psalm 138
Psalm 22 Continued Psalm 56 Psalm 87 Psalm 114 Psalm 139
Psalm 23 Psalm 57 Psalm 88 Psalm 115 Psalm 140
Psalm 24 Psalm 58 Psalm 89 Psalm 116 Psalm 141
Psalm 25 Psalm 59 Psalm 89 Continued Psalm 117 Psalm 142
Psalm 26 Psalm 60 Psalm 90 Psalm 118 Psalm 143
Psalm 27 Psalm 61 Psalm 91 Psalm 118 Continued Psalm 144
Psalm 28 Psalm 62 Psalm 92 Psalm 119 (verses 1-16) Psalm 145
Psalm 29 Psalm 63 Psalm 93 Psalm 119 (verses 17-40) Psalm 146
Psalm 30 Psalm 64 Psalm 94 Psalm 119 (verses 41-56) Psalm 147
Psalm 31 Psalm 65 Psalm 95 Psalm 119 (verses 57-72) Psalm 148
Psalm 32 Psalm 66 Psalm 96 Psalm 119 (verses 73-88) Psalm 149
Psalm 150

This is the First Section | Go to Next Section

Return to Psalm Menu | Return to Top

     Other Books of the Bible (This takes you to our new 66 books of the bible menu)

Email Us : bible-studys@charter.net