PSALMS
Authors:
Many of the Psalms have a brief introduction giving the name of the author, or who the psalm was for or about, or what the theme is. According to these introductions (which were not a part of the original psalms), David wrote 73 psalms, Asaph wrote 12, Solomon wrote 2, Moses and Ethan each wrote one, and 11 were written by or for the sons of Korah (see the note on the introduction to Psalm 42). This leaves 50 psalms which are not attributed to anyone. Some of these too were very probably written by David. The translators of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) thought so; they put David’s name in the introductions to 15 more psalms. Also they put the names of Haggai and Zechariah to a few of them.
Dates:
David reigned 1010 - 970 BC. He wrote some psalms before he became king, some after that. Moses spent 1446 - 1406 in the desert with the people of Israel and must have written his psalm (or psalms) then. Some psalms were probably written after Israel went into captivity in Babylon about 600 BC (for example, see Ps 137). So, though the majority of the psalms were written during the time of David, the writing of all covered a span of at least 800 years.
Themes:
There are many themes in the psalms, for they were written out of a wide variety of human experiences and circumstances. Because of this some psalm or other is suitable for any circumstance or condition believers may experience. For the most part the psalms are prayers or praises to the one true God. Some are meditations on His greatness, or on His dealings with His people or toward His enemies. Some are songs about the LORD (Jehovah – God’s special name that He revealed to His people) or His city or His reign over the earth, and some are exhortations to others to praise Him. Of course, some psalms have more than one theme, so it is not possible to make an exact classification of all the psalms. The following classification may be helpful to the reader:
Psalms of praise or thanksgiving to God:
9,18,21,65,68,75,76,84,89,92,103-108,116,135,145
Psalms which urge others to praise God:
29,33,47,66,68,81,95-100,113,117,118,134-136,146-150
Psalms which speak of God’s greatness or goodness:
2,8,18,19,23,24,29,33,34,37,45-48,50,65,66,68,76,77,85,86,89-91, 93,95-100,102-104,107,111,113,115,116,118,121,135,138,139,145-147
Psalms which describe God as King or Judge:
2,7,9-11,24,29,44,45,47,48,50,68,74,75,80,84,93,94-99,102,113,132,145,146
Psalms which contain prayers for help in time of need:
3-7,9,10,12,13,16,17,22,25-28,31,35,38-41,43,44,51,54-57,59,61,64,69-71,74,79,80,83,85,86,88,90,94,102,109,120,123,130,140-144
Psalms which express strong faith and confidence in God:
1,3-5,11,13,16-18,20,21,23,27,28,31,34,37,40,41,46,54-56,62,84,86,91,103,115,116,118,121,124,125,130,135,139,140,145
Psalms which speak of the writer’s sin or of forgiveness:
25,32,38,39-41,51,65,73,78,79,86,89,90,99,103,106,107,119,130
Psalms for the depressed:
13,23,25,32,37,42,43,62,73,77,91,103,107,121
Psalms which express longings for God’s fellowship:
27,42,61,63,84 119,143
Psalms containing prayers that God would punish wicked enemies:
7,17,35,55,59,69,109,137,139
Psalms which look back into history:
68,78 81,105,106,114,135,136
Psalms written for the purpose of teaching:
(of course, all psalms teach whether written for that purpose or not)
1,2,14,15,19,24,32,33,34,37,46,49,53,73,78,91,103-108,110-113,115,119,121,122,125-128,133,135,136
Psalms for pilgrims:
84,120-134
Psalms which praise God’s Word:
12,19,119,138
Psalms which give prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ:
(as the New Testament makes clear)
2,8,16,22,40,41,45,68,69,89,102,110,118.
Contents:
The book of Psalms has five divisions. These divisions are given below. We have indicated some (not all) well known or much loved psalms and given the first words of each. We have also given a list of precious promises and prayers we may wish to use when we pray. The psalms record many reasons for praising God. We have given some of these also.
BOOK 1 (Psalms 1 - 41):
Ps 1 - “Blessed is the man”
Ps 2 - “Why do the nations rage”
Ps 8 - “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name”
Ps 14 - “The fool has said in his heart”
Ps 16 - “Preserve me, O God”
Ps 18 - “I will love you, O LORD, my strength”
Ps 19 - “The heavens declare the glory of God”
Ps 22 - “My God, my God why have You forsaken me?”
Ps 23 - “The LORD is my shepherd”
Ps 32 - “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven”
Ps 37 - “Do not fret because of evildoers”
Ps 40 - “I waited patiently for the LORD”
Promises and model prayers:
1:3; 5:8,12; 6:1; 9:9; 10:17-18; 11:7; 16:1,11; 17:7; 18:1-2,30; 19:12-14; 23:1-6; 25:4-5,8-12,14,18; 27:4-5,10,11; 29:11; 30:5; 31:3,19,20; 32:1-2;33:4; 34:7-10,15,17-19,22; 36:5-10; 37:4-6,23-25,28,29; 38:1; 39:4,8; 40:4-5; 41:1,4
Reasons these psalms give for praising God:
7:17; 8:1-9; 9:1; 13:6; 16:7; 18:46-50; 21:13; 22:22-26; 28:6-7; 30:4-5,11,12; 31:21; 33:1-5; 34:1-4; 40:1-3
BOOK 2 (Psalms 42 - 72):
Ps 42 - “As the hart pants for the water brooks”
Ps 45 - “My heart overflows with a noble theme”
Ps 46 - “God is our refuge and strength”
Ps 47 - “Oh, clap your hands, all you people”
Ps 50 - “The mighty God, the LORD, has spoken”
Ps 51 - “Have mercy on me, O God”
Ps 66 - “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth”
Ps 69 - “Save me, O God, for the waters”
Ps 72 - “Give the king your judgments, O God”
Promises and model prayers:
43:3; 46:1,7; 47:8; 48:14; 50:15; 51:1-2,7-12; 55:22; 57:1,5; 62:11-12; 65:2-3; 67:1-3; 68:3-6; 69:32-33; 72:18-19
Reasons these psalms give for praising God:
47:7-8; 51:14-15; 52:9; 56:12-13; 57:9-10; 59:16-17; 61:7-8; 63:3-4; 66:1-3,8-12,20; 67:3-4; 68:4-6,19,20,32-35; 69:34-36; 71:5-8,14-16,22,23; 72:18
BOOK 3 (Psalms 73 - 89):
Ps 73 - “Truly God is good to Israel”
Ps 78 - “Give ear, O my people, to my law”
Ps 84 - “How lovely is your tabernacle”
Ps 87 - “His foundation is in the holy mountains”
Ps 89 - “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever”
Promises and model prayers:
73:26; 74:22; 80:3,18; 81:10; 83:1; 84:5,11; 85:6-7; 86:4-5,11; 89:8
Reasons these psalms give for praising God:
75:1; 84:4,11; 86:12-13; 89:5-8
BOOK 4 (Psalms 90 - 106):
Ps 90 - “LORD, you have been our dwelling place”
Ps 91 - “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High”
Ps 95 - “Oh, come let us sing to the LORD”
Ps 96 - “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song”
Ps 102 - “Hear my prayer, O LORD”
Ps 103 - “Praise the LORD, O my soul”
Promises and model prayers:
90:13-17; 91:3-16; 92:12-15; 94:14; 97:10-11; 102:17; 103:11-14
Reasons these psalms give for praising God:
92:1-5; 95:1-3; 96:1-6; 98:1,9; 99:2-3,9; 100:4-5; 101:1; 103:1-22; 104:1; 105:1-2; 106:1
BOOK 5 (Psalms 107 - 150):
Ps 107 - “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”
Ps 109 - “Do not remain silent, O God of my praise”
Ps 110 - “The LORD said to my Lord”
Ps 115 - “Not to us, O LORD, not to us”
Ps 118 - “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good”
Ps 119 - “Blessed are the undefiled in the way”
Ps 121 - “I will lift up my eyes to the hills”
Ps 126 - “When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion”
Ps 133 - “See how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity”
Ps 136 - “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, His mercy continues on forever”
Ps 139 - “O LORD, you have searched me, and known me”
Ps 145 - “I will exalt you, my God, O King”
Ps 150 - “Praise the Lord”
Promises and model prayers:
108:5-6; 112:1; 115:1,13; 116:5,15; 119:9,12,17-19,29,33-38,65,66,73,76,77,124,130,133,135,153,156,160,169,170,176; 120:2;121:3-8; 125:1-2; 126:6; 130:4;138:6;139:17,23,24; 141:3-4,9;143:1-2; 145:8-9,13,14,17-20; 146:5-6; 147:3,11; 149:4.
Reasons these psalms give for praising God:
107:1; 108:3-4; 109:30-31; 111:1-10; 117:1-2; 118:1; 119:164,171; 124:6-7; 135:3-4; 136:1; 138:1-3; 139:14; 144:1-2; 145:1-23; 146:1-10; 147:1-20; 148:5-6,13,14; 149:1-9.