Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament
Psalms
c. 1440–430 BC
- Section
- Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament
- Events span
- c. 1440–430 BC
- Written
- Davidic psalms c. 1010–970 BC; the Psalter gathered by c. 400 BC
- Author
- David (73 psalms), with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, and others
The Psalms are the Bible's songbook and prayer book: 150 poems of praise, lament, thanksgiving, and trust, gathered into five 'books.' Written by David and others over roughly a thousand years, they give voice to every human emotion before God, from the depths of despair to the heights of praise.
Historical setting: Spans nearly Israel's whole history, from Moses in the wilderness to the return from exile.
Chronological placement: Impossible to fix at one date: the psalms range from Moses (Psalm 90, c. 1440 BC) to the return from exile. Placed here with David, who wrote the largest share (c. 1000 BC).
Key themes
- Praise and worship
- Lament and trust
- God's kingship
- The coming Messiah
- God's steadfast love
Notable psalms
Book I — Psalms 1–41 (mostly David)
- The two ways: the blessed man who delights in God's law versus the wicked
- The LORD's Anointed King, raged against by the nations in vain (messianic)
- "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" — the majesty of God and dignity of humanity
- The cry of the forsaken sufferer, later quoted by Jesus on the cross
- "The LORD is my shepherd" — trust in God through the valley of the shadow of death
Book II — Psalms 42–72
- "As the hart panteth after the water brooks" — longing for God in downcast times
- "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble"
- David's prayer of repentance after his sin with Bathsheba: “create in me a clean heart”
- A royal psalm praying for the king’s righteous and worldwide reign (of Solomon)
Book III — Psalms 73–89 (Asaph & the sons of Korah)
- Asaph wrestles with the prosperity of the wicked until he enters the sanctuary of God
- The darkest lament in the Psalter, crying out from the depths without resolution
- God's covenant with David remembered and pleaded amid apparent defeat
Book IV — Psalms 90–106
- "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place" — a prayer of Moses on human frailty
- "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High" — refuge under God’s wings
- A cluster of enthronement psalms proclaiming "the LORD reigneth"
- "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands" — a call to thankful worship
Book V — Psalms 107–150
- "The LORD said unto my Lord" — the Messiah as both king and priest (messianic)
- The longest psalm, an alphabetical meditation in praise of God's law
- The Songs of Ascents, sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem
- "By the rivers of Babylon" the exiles weep as they remember Zion
- "Thou hast searched me, and known me" — God’s intimate, inescapable knowledge
- The closing Hallelujah psalms, a rising crescendo of pure praise
Key lessons
- God welcomes the full range of human emotion: the psalms pray joy and praise but also raw grief, doubt, and anger, making honesty before God itself an act of faith. Ps 13
- Lament is not the opposite of trust but a road to it; again and again the psalmists carry their complaint to God and are met by his steadfast love. Ps 42:5
- God reigns over all, and praise is the fitting response of every creature; the Psalter climbs from the two ways of Psalm 1 to unbroken praise. Ps 150
- The psalms point beyond David to the Messiah, the anointed King and suffering Savior whose words Jesus later takes on his own lips. Ps 22; 110
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Critical scholarship view
Where mainstream critical scholarship dates or attributes this book differently from the traditional view above.
- Written
- Compiled c. 5th–3rd century BC from psalms of many eras
- Author
- Many anonymous authors across the monarchy and post-exilic periods