The Book of Psalms is a collection of prayers, poems, and hymns—some of which the people of ancient Israel used in their worship services. Although written centuries ago (likely between 1440 B.C. and 586 B.C.), people today can easily relate to the range of human emotion expressed in these poems. From loneliness, anger and fear to gratitude, joy, and awe—people throughout the ages have found a voice in the Book of Psalms that helps them in their own search for expression to God.
The word “psalms” comes from a Greek word that means “twanging of strings.” David, at one time a “string-twanger” himself, is believed to have written nearly half (73) of the 150 psalms. These often correlate to a specific life event. For example, Psalm 51 is introduced as “A Psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” A few were written by Solomon and Moses, and many others were written by priests or Levites who provided music for worship during David’s reign. The authorship of as many as 50 of the psalms is unknown.
The Book of Psalms, now the longest book in the Bible, was originally five separate songbooks: Book I (Psalms 1—41), Book II (Psalms 42—72), Book III (Psalms 73—89), Book IV (Psalms 90—106), and Book V (Psalms 107—150). Some biblical scholars believe that the separate books were different collections that circulated at different times in Israel’s history and eventually were compiled into one book. Other scholars believe that the books were arranged in their five-book form to parallel the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch).
Genesis is essentially the story of mankind’s creation, sin, and hope of redemption; many of the psalms in Book I relate how humans have been blessed, have sinned, and have been redeemed by God. Exodus describes the nation of Israel, and many of the psalms in Book II describe the nation as destroyed and then recovered. The book of Leviticus focuses on God’s holiness and the Tabernacle; many of the psalms in Book III focus on the Temple and God’s enthronement. The book of Numbers is about Israel and her relationship to surrounding nations; the psalms in Book IV often mention God’s superseding relationship to other nations. Finally, Deuteronomy is primarily concerned with God and his Word, and the psalms in Book V are often praises for God and his Word.
However they came to be, most of the psalms fall into one of three categories: lamentations (or complaints), thanksgiving, and praise.
A good example of a lamentation is Psalm 22. Here the author begins in verse 1 by calling out to God in a time of suffering, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” His plea for help is described in vivid metaphors: “Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me” (12-13). Yet, as with most psalms of complaint, the author begins to confidently assert God’s deliverance: “But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me” (19). He promises God that after the rescue takes place he will publicly praise God: “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you” (22).
A psalm of thanksgiving often makes good on the promise to openly thank God for his deliverance. The author of Psalm 9 begins with a declaration of praise, “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart” (1), and then recounts the adversity from which God rescued him: “For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever” (4-5).
Psalms of praise are typically dedicated to admiring God’s character. Psalm 33 begins with an invitation to praise God: “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him” (1). The author continues by providing many reasons to do so: “For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (4-6).
Although the psalms do not seem poetic in the sense of rhyme or metered rhythm, they do use a style of repetitive thought called parallelism, which was very common in Hebrew poetry. In parallelism, the author states an idea in the first line and them strengthens that thought it in the next line or lines. The most common type of parallelism is synonymous parallelism, in which the succeeding line or lines essentially repeat the idea of the first:
“Oh Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!” (Psalm 3:1)
Another form of parallelism is antithetic, in which the succeeding line or lines contain an idea opposite to that in the first:
“For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 1:6)
Another literary device used in the psalms was an alphabetical acrostic. The best example of this is Psalm 119 (which happens to be the longest of the Psalms). In an alphabetical acrostic, each section is started by a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Writing a poem with this kind of advanced literary structure required a great degree of skill.
Whether reading to learn historical context, study literary style, learn of God’s wrath, mercy, and love, or to find a voice to help express to God a deeply felt emotion, the Book of Psalms continues to contribute greatly to the Christian experience.
