The psalms express the whole range of human emotion and feeling. This has been part of their appeal for the many thousands of years they have been sung, recited, and prayed. In beautiful poetry, the psalms express the message of Scripture as a whole. Martin Luther famously said of the psalms:
You may rightly call the Psalter a Bible in miniature, in which all things which are set forth more at length in the rest of the Scriptures are collected into a beautiful manual of wonderful and attractive brevity.[1]
It is a sad indication of the decline of evangelical Christianity that the psalms are not taken seriously in contemporary worship. While there is much to commend in modern worship, there is also something missing. That something is God’s own hymnbook – the Psalter. This brief introduction to the psalms will consider the text, title, authorship, arrangement, historiography, and theology of the psalms.
Text
The Hebrew text behind the modern translations of the psalter is the Masoretic Text (MT). This is a generally reliable text, but even this presents problems for the translator, making variant readings common. There is also a Greek translation in the Septuagint (LXX). Scholars often compare LXX with the MT to clarify the original meaning of the psalmist, occasionally this helps shed light on an obscure text. A third text is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, this is known as the Palestinian text type. MT is the most reliable of the three textual sources, but LXX and the Dead Sea Scrolls are useful points of comparison.
Title
The title in Hebrew for the Psalter simply means ‘Songs of Praise’ (Tehillim). This reflects the fact that most of the Psalter is composed of praises to God, even the laments often contain a note of praise. The title most familiar to us is derived from the Greek translation ψαλμοί (psalmoi) meaning "instrumental music". Since many of the psalms would have been set to music and used in the context of worship, this is also an appropriate title for the collection. Combining both titles, we have ‘praises set to instrumental music’.
Authorship
Modern scholarship generally rejects the reliability of the many superscriptions to the psalms. Though many of these refer to David, they could equally read ‘A psalm attributed to David’ or ‘a Psalm concerning David’, or ‘a Psalm about David’. Some of the psalms are attributed to other authors such as Asaph and Solomon, others are noted as being ‘for the chief musician’ or ‘for the sons of Koreh’. These superscriptions were probably not part of the original psalms and represent subsequent traditions regarding authorship. David who famously played the harp to soothe King Saul is an obvious choice in terms of ascribing authorship. We cannot rule out the possibility that David may have actually composed some of the psalms, but modern scholarship generally rejects Davidic authorship – leaving most of the psalms anonymous. It has been suggested that many of the psalms could have been written by devout women. Anonymity would have been sought in a patriarchal society.
Arrangement
The Psalter was arranged into five books by the post-exilic community. There does not appear to be any distinctive reason for this arrangement, but some have suggested theological and historical reasons for this particular arrangement. The editors may have chosen the five books of David (so to speak) to reflect the five books of Moses. This would be quite plausible. There has been renewed interest in the particular arrangement of the psalms in recent studies during the 20th century. Allen P. Ross, for example, sees a definite historical-theological arrangement behind the books of psalms:
Those who study the arrangement of the Psalter conclude that it was deliberately planned with theological and historical contexts in mind. In general, Books I and II lay out the foundation of God’s programme in the Davidic monarchy, Book III reflects the failure of the monarchy and was shaped with the exile in mind, and Books IV and V present the restoration and the hope for the future with the LORD as king.[2]
This arrangement sees distinctively historical and theological reasons for the post-exilic arrangement of the psalms, particularly reflecting God’s dealings with His covenant people.
Historiography
The Church originally interpreted the psalms theologically and saw in them clear references to Christ and his kingdom. This was generally the approach of the early Church Fathers and the medieval doctors. The psalms were interpreted as showing types of the antitype: Christ Jesus, the ultimate son of David. The historical context was generally lost in these considerations and little attention was given to critical analysis of the psalms or what the psalms would have originally meant to their composers.
The Reformers incorporated the psalms into their worship as hymns, especially in the Calvinist tradition where only psalms were sung. The paraphrases by Isaac Watts (1674–1748) became enormously popular in Reformed circles and are still sung with relish today. However, with the Reformation came a more critical approach to the psalms and an emphasis on going back to the original Hebrew text. This approach was in line with the Reformers emphasis on Sola Scriptura, but it was also a part of the Renaissance emphasis on going back to the sources (ad fontes) in Hebrew and Greek. This method of careful source analysis was particularly true following the Enlightenment in the 18th century. Davidic authorship was questioned and scholars took seriously the task of determining date, authorship, composition and unity of the psalms. The place of Christ in the psalms seemed to be eschewed by these thinkers in favour of historical and literary analysis.
The form-critical approach of the 20th century has radically changed the way we read psalms. Hermann Gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types or forms: hymns (songs of praise for God’s work in creation or history), communal laments (or laments for the whole nation), royal psalms (or psalms relating to kingship and coronation), individual laments (usually expressing sorrow for sin), and thanksgiving psalms (thanking God for deliverance from some particular distress). Subsequent work on the psalms has tried to identify their function in relation to the cult. Sigmund Mowinckel suggested a single cultic setting and festival patterned after the Babylonian festival, the enthronement of the deity. Arthur Weiser modified this approach by suggesting that the festival was not to do with the enthronement of Yahweh, but reflected the desire for covenant renewal.
These are just some of the ways modern scholarship has interpreted the psalms. It seems that Christ has been lost within the higher critical schools. While taking seriously the concerns of modern scholarship, there should be scope for considering how the psalms relate to Christ and his kingdom – particularly in how the New Testament uses the psalms to speak of Christ. This would see a partial return to how the Church Fathers viewed the psalms, albeit with due consideration to the insights of modern scholarship.
Theology
The psalms speak about God. They arguably tell us more about God than any other part of the Old Testament. They speak in terms of doxology which is based on a rich evangelical theology. The psalms affirm both God transcendence and immanence. The God of the psalmist is both “wholly other” as the great Creator and “wholly revealed” as the good shepherd of the sheep. In terms of immanence, God is intimately involved in the life of Israel. He is a help and shield, a deliverer, a rock, a high tower, and a gentle shepherd. He is also a king, the transcendent creator of all reality. As the hymnwriter puts it,
O tell of his might!
O sing of his grace!
Whose robe is the light,
whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath
the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is his path
on the wings of the storm.
Rather than an either/or in terms of transcendence and immanence, the psalmist thinks in terms of both/and. As John Goldingay says, ‘While in one sense Yhwh lives outside the cosmos and in another sense makes a home in the heavens, Yhwh also deigned to make a home on Zion, in the temple. It is Yhwh’s house, his place to settle permanently’.[3]
In terms of humanity, the psalmists express a deep honesty about life and death. The psalmist often faces enemies, battles with sins, struggles with the forces of darkness, but in all this he knows God is with him. As Psalm 23 reminds us, ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me’ (Psalm 23:4). However, the psalmist does not a have a fully developed eschatology of heaven and hell. Death is taken up by Sheol, the pit, a place of darkness to which the dead go. In the New Testament, Sheol becomes a place of punishment and the abode of the wicked, whereas paradise is the abode of the righteous who have faith in Jesus. They dead in Christ anticipate the resurrection of the body and the glorious life of the world to come. While the wicked anticipate judgement.
Conclusion
Ultimately the Psalms celebrate God’s sovereign rule as king over his covenant people and all creation. He is portrayed as infinite, eternal and unchanging in his being, the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Psalmist considers God as wise, loving, holy, righteous, good, faithful, and true. The psalms also teach us how to pray to this very God, how to worship Him, how to grieve over sins, how to confess our sin, how to give thanks for his mercies and steadfast love, and how to make requests of God. There is a psalm for every occasion in our liturgy and confession as Christians. They deserve a place in our worship because they are holy and infallible hymns about our majestic Lord and Saviour.
Our doxology should be shaped by the theology of the psalms. They should form an integral part of our worship. We could try to sing or read at least one psalm every Sunday during worship. We could also incorporate the psalms into our daily prayer life, making the words of the psalmist our own words to God. I would suggest using a daily devotional on the psalms such as Timothy Keller’s short book, My Rock, My Refuge: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms (2015). This contains an extract from the psalms, some devotional thoughts, and a suggested prayer. You will find your prayer life deeply enriched by a careful study of the psalms. The Psalmist offers words of comfort, hope, joy, deliverance, and lament and often expresses the deepest feelings of our hearts.
Recommended Reading
I have chosen mostly non-technical commentaries to aid the pastor, preacher, and layperson in their understanding of the Psalms.
Alter, Robert, The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary (W. W. Norton and Company, 2007).
deClaisse-Walford, Nancy L., Rolf A. Jacobson, Beth LaNeel Tanner, The Book of Psalms (NICOT) (Eerdmans, 2014).
Estes, Daniel J., Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms (Baker Academic, 2005).
Eveson, Phillip, The Book of Psalms: From Suffering to Glory, vol. 1 (Evangelical Press, 2014).
Eveson, Phillip, The Book of Psalms: From Suffering to Glory, vol. 2 (Evangelical Press, 2015).
Goldingay, John, Psalms, vol. 1 (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms) (Baker Academic, 2006).
Goldingay, John, Psalms, vol. 2 (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms) (Baker Academic, 2008).
Goldingay, John, Psalms, vol. 3 (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms) (Baker Academic, 2008).
Grant, Jamie A., & Dennis Tucker Jr, Psalms: The NIV Application Commentary, vol. 2 (Zondervan Academic, 2018).
Keller, Timothy, My Rock, My Refuge: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms (Hodder, 2015).
Lane, Eric, Psalms 1– 89: The Lord Saves (Christian Focus, 2006).
Lane, Eric, Psalms 90 – 150: The Lord Reigns (Christian Focus, 2006).
Longman, Tremper, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (TOTC) (IVP, 2014).
Ross, Allen P., A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 1 (Kregel, 2011).
Ross, Allen P., A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 2 (Kregel, 2013).
Ross, Allen P., A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 3 (Kregel, 2016).
Spurgeon, Charles, Psalms, vol. 1 (The Crossway Classic Commentaries) (Crossway, 1993).
Spurgeon, Charles, Psalms, vol. 2 (The Crossway Classic Commentaries) (Crossway, 1993).
Wilson, Gerald H., Psalms: The NIV Application Commentary, vol. 1 (Zondervan Academic, 2014).
[1] Luther, Works, ed. 1553, vol. iii, p. 356.
[2] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI, 2011), pp. 53–54.
[3] John Goldingay, Psalms, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI, 2006), p. 71.
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