Psalms #19

Psalms is Israel’s hymnbook and prayer book — 150 songs spanning centuries, giving voice to praise, lament, thanksgiving, and raw honesty before God in every circumstance of life.

Read Psalms in the King James Version →

Author and Date

The collection has many contributors. Psalm titles credit David with about seventy-three psalms, Asaph (Psalms 50, 73-83), the sons of Korah, Solomon (72, 127), Moses (90), and Heman and Ethan (88, 89); many have no title. Whether titles record authorship, dedication, or collection is debated. The psalms range from early in the monarchy, or earlier if Moses’ psalm is accepted, to the exile and after (Psalm 137), and the five-book collection probably took final shape in the Persian period.

Background and Audience

The psalms served worship at the Temple and private devotion, and were later used in synagogue and church. They arise from concrete situations: royal occasions, pilgrimage (Psalms 120-134), national disaster, illness, and persecution. The Hebrew title is Tehillim, “praises,” though lament is among the most common types.

Outline

• Psalms 1-41 (Book I): Mostly Davidic; opens with the two ways of the righteous and wicked, ends with a doxology (41:13)
• Psalms 42-72 (Book II): Psalms of the sons of Korah and of David, closing with the royal Psalm 72
• Psalms 73-89 (Book III): Psalms of Asaph and national laments over the Temple’s ruin and the Davidic covenant (Psalms 74, 79, 89)
• Psalms 90-106 (Book IV): The psalm of Moses (90) and songs of the LORD’s kingship (93-100)
• Psalms 107-150 (Book V): Hallel psalms (113-118), Psalm 119 on the law, the Songs of Ascents (120-134), and closing praise (146-150)

Key Themes

• Praise and lament: the collection gives voice both to worship and to complaint, and lament often turns toward trust.
• God as king and refuge: the LORD reigns over creation and shelters those who trust him.
• The law: Psalms 1 and 119 celebrate meditation on God’s instruction.
• The anointed king: royal psalms shaped later messianic hope.

Key Verses

• Psalm 1:1-3 — the blessed person delights in the LORD’s law, like a tree planted by water
• Psalm 22:1 — a cry of abandonment, which Jesus quotes on the cross (Matthew 27:46)
• Psalm 23:1-4 — the LORD as shepherd, near even in the valley of death’s shadow
• Psalm 51:10-12 — a prayer for a clean heart, traditionally linked to David’s repentance
• Psalm 110:1 — a royal oracle quoted by Jesus (Matthew 22:44)
• Psalm 119:105 — God’s word as a lamp for the path, in the Bible’s longest chapter

How It Fits the Bible

Psalms is the worship center of the Old Testament, its five books often compared to the five books of the Torah. It follows Job and precedes Proverbs in the Christian order. The New Testament quotes it often, reading royal and suffering psalms as pointing to Jesus, as in Matthew.