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Introduction to the Psalms
Keith Sharp
Definition
A “psalm” is any poem capable of being set to music. There are psalms outside the Book of Psalms (e.g., Exodus 15:1-18, 21; Deuteronomy 32:1-43; chapter 33; 2 Samuel 22:1 - 23:7). The psalms are the inspired poetry of the Hebrew people.
Purpose
In the Scriptures every spiritual need of man is supplied (2 Timothy 3:16-17). One of those needs is emotional expression. The psalms touch upon every spiritual emotion felt by man. They have been aptly described as “mirrors of the soul.” When correctly understood, the psalms can touch and express our proper emotions, more so than any other literature.
Authors
Usually David is thought of as the author of the book of Psalms. It is true that David is correctly remembered as “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1), but just less than half the psalms (73 of 150) are definitely ascribed to David. Other authors are Asaph (12 psalms), the sons of Korah (12), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Hemen (1), and Ethan (1). Forty-eight psalms are anonymous.
Dates
The psalms were written over a span of approximately one thousand years, from Moses to the time of the Restoration from Babylonian Captivity. But the age of the psalms was definitely the reign of David, when the majority of the recorded, inspired psalms were written and when the Levites were divided into the choruses to perform the psalms in the Temple. Perhaps no poetry of greater beauty and comfort has ever been written than Psalm 23, the sublime “Shepherd Psalm,” a psalm of David.
Characteristics
Since the psalms are Hebrew poetry, one must understand the characteristics of such poetry to comprehend the psalms. There are three primary characteristics of ancient, Jewish poetry.
The first is parallelism. “Parallelism” is saying the same thing twice in different words (cf. Psalm 33:6). If the psalms seem repetitious, it is because they are! The psalmist repeats the thought in varying words. Thus, rather than having word rhyme, as in poetry in the English language, the Hebrew poets used thought rhyme.
Jewish poetry also used rhythm or accentuation. There was a beat to the poem. This was secondary to parallelism.
Equal to parallelism in importance was the use of figurative language. To understand the meaning of the psalms, we must accept their figures as figures and not try to literalize them. Also, figures must be interpreted in the light of their meaning in the time the psalm was written (cf. Psalm 23).
The longest and shortest chapters of the Bible are in the psalms. Psalm 117 is the shortest. Psalm 119 is the longest (176 verses) but is better remembered as the great Psalm in praise of the Word of God.
Divisions
The Book of Psalms is actually a compilation of five books of psalms. Thus, there are five volumes to the Book of Psalms:
Book 1: Psalms 1 - 41,
Book 2: Psalms 42 - 72,
Book 3: Psalms 73 - 89,
Book 4: Psalms 90 - 106, and
Book 5: Psalms 107 - 150.
Theme
The theme of the Book of Psalms is Praise. Twenty-eight of the psalms especially emphasize the praise of the Lord. Whereas this praise reaches its crescendo in the magnificent Psalm 100, the call to praise reaches its height in the “Hallelujah” (“Praise the Lord”) psalms, especially Psalms 148 and 150.
Several of the psalms are messianic (pointing to Christ). Chief among these are Psalms 2, 16, 22, 89, and 110.
How to Study
The psalms are excellent for marking and committing to memory. As you read the psalms, underline or high-light the verses which have deep meaning to you. Several old Bibles of mine are all marked up in the Book of Psalms from classes I have taught on them. Why not memorize Psalms 1, 23, and 100?
The psalms were written to be sung in worship. As you study them, I suggest you sing them from a “psalmody” a book that arranges the words of the psalms so we can sing them to tunes found in our song books. I use Psalms To Sing by Clarence R. Johnson.
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