Psalms

Author: David and others
Date of Writing: 10th Century BC and later
Type of Book: Poetic
Theme: Praise

The Book of Psalms was the hymnbook for the children of Israel and for the early church.  It is a book of poetry that was set to music.  Unlike the rhyming poetry we're used to, Hebrew poetry involves the building of thoughts using repetitions, contrast, restatement, and parallels.

Written over hundreds of years by a variety of authors, the psalms were likely collected into a book during the time of Ezra.  We usually associate the book of Psalms with David, since he wrote most of them - at least seventy-three.  But there were other writers, including Moses, Solomon, the sons of Korah, Asaph, Heman, Ethan, and Hezekiah.  Thirty-nine of the psalms are considered "orphanic" because we don't know who wrote them.

The book of Psalms is divided into five sub-books.  Book One contains Psalms 1-41, Book Two contains Psalms 42-72, Book Three contains Psalms 73-89, Book Four contains Psalms 90-106, and Book Five contains Psalms 107-150.  We don't know the purpose of these divisions, but it probably had to do with the order of worship in the temple.  Many have seen a correlation between the content of these five books of psalms with the five books of the Pentateuch; Book One corresponding to Genesis, Book Two to Exodus, Book Three to Leviticus, Book Four to Numbers, and Book Five to Deuteronomy.

The Psalms were written for the purpose of praising God, and the name of Yahweh, which is the personal name of God (spelled YHWH in the Hebrew, and designated Lord in the English) appears at least twice in every psalm.  The psalms are also all about Jesus.  At least sixteen are specifically considered to be messianic psalms, but most of the other psalms contain references to Jesus as well.  In many cases, they give us more details about Jesus than the Gospels do, as they tell us not only what He did but how He felt.  These psalms also do a beautiful job of expressing the deepest emotions and feelings of the human heart.

We find strength and take comfort in the psalms, because in them we learn that God understands what we are going through.  They are a perpetual source for music, praise, and worship.  What better songs could we sing than those inspired by the Holy Spirit?  Plumbing the richness and depth of these psalms would take an eternity; and no doubt, we will be singing these songs in heaven.  We may as well learn them now.