WHO WROTE:  There are 34 Psalms without Inscriptions.  There are 52 Psalms with simple Titles such as, “A Psalm of David,” “A Psalm of Asaph,” etcetera.  There are 14 Psalms explaining their historical connection, such as, “A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom, his Son,” etcetera.  There are 39 Psalms that include a special word inscription, presumably a musical annotation or instruction.  There are 4 Psalms designated for a special purpose, such as the Sabbath day, etcetera.  Also, there are 15 Psalms specifically designated “Songs of Degrees.”  There are 11Psalms that are reported to be “A Psalm for the sons of Korah.”  And there are 55 Psalms that are specifically addressed to “the chief musician,” meaning they were meant to be sung (easier for memorization).

 

However, according to the Rabbis, when a Psalm is not ascribed to anyone, such as Psalms 10 and 33, the previous Psalm that is ascribed is your author.  In other words, Psalm 9 is ascribed to king David and according to the Rabbis, Psalm 10 is just a continuation of Psalm 9.  The same is true for Psalm 33, with Psalm 32 being the author of both; 33 being a continuation of 32.  Thus, in reality there are only 148 instead of 150 Psalms.

 

According to the “Babylonian Talmud,” “Tractate Berakoth,” pages 9b-10a, better known as, “The Bavli:”  “You must assume therefore that ‘Blessed is the man’ and ‘Why are the nations in an uproar’ form one chapter, for Rabbi Samuel B. Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Johanan:  ‘Every chapter that was particularly dear to David he commenced with ‘Blessed’ and terminated with ‘Blessed.’  He began with ‘Blessed,’ as it is written, ‘Blessed is the man,’ and he terminated with ‘Blessed,’ as it is written, ‘blessed are all they that take refuge in Him.’ ”

 

There are, of course, 150 Psalms.  Of them, 73 are specifically ascribed to David, while 48 of them are anonymous, some authors are given their names; while most are not given.  Despite all of the conjectures, we must come to the conclusion that all of the Psalms were designed to be sung.

 

From 1SP:386-387; 4aSG:93, we learn:  “[386] While David was thus passing [387] through severe trials and hardships, he manifested an unwavering trust in God, and was especially imbued with His Spirit as he composed his songs which recount his dangers and deliverances, ascribing praise and glory to God, his merciful Preserver.  In these psalms is seen a spirit of fervor, devotion, and holiness.  He sung these songs, which express his thoughts and meditations of Divine things, accompanied with skillful music upon the harp and other instruments.  The psalm contained in 2 Samuel 22, was composed while Saul was hunting him to take his life.  Nearly all the sacred songs of David were arranged in the earlier period of his life, while he was serving the Lord with integrity and purity of heart.”

 

 

WHAT TIME PERIOD IS COVERED:  B.C. 1099 - B.C. 1039.

 

 

WHEN WRITTEN:  B.C. 1079 - B.C. 1039.

 

 

INTRODUCTION:  The Book of Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament Book; even though Christ Himself quotes from the Book of Deuteronomy the most.  Christ’s birth, betrayal, agony, death, resurrection, ascension, Second Coming in glory, and His worldwide reign, all are pictured in inspired vividness in the Psalms.  According to Second Samuel 23:2, King David declares that God “spoke” through him.  Jesus affirms that statement in Luke 24:44, in regard to the prophecies in the Book of Psalms concerning the Messiah.  In fact, if you do not find the Messiah in a Psalm, read it again.

 

From the “Greek Translation of the Bible,” which is called the “Septuagint,” comes to us a word describing a musical instrument, the “psatar,” called “psalteries” in the “KJV,” from which we derive the title of the Book of “Psalms.”  The Hebrew word for “Psalm” is, “mizmor,” meaning, “to pluck the strings.”

 

All throughout the Psalms David is calling for the Lord to take “vengeance” upon his enemies.  He NEVER asks God for the power for himself to administer that vengeance.  See Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30.

 

Fifty-Six (56) times David states that no matter the situation, he will put his “trust” in God:  Psalm 2:12; 5:11; 7:1; 9:10; 11:1; 16:1; 17:7; 18:2 & 30; 20:7; 21:7; 25:2 & 20; 31:1 & 6 & 19; 32:10; 34:22; 36:7; 37:3 & 5 & 40; 40:3 & 4; 44:6-7; 49:6; 52:6; 55:23; 56:3 & 4 & 11; 57:1; 61:4; 62:8 & 10-11; 64:10; 71:1 & 5; 73:28; 84:12; 86:2; 91:2 & 4; 115:9 & 10 & 11; 118:8 & 9; 119:42; 125:1; 141:8; 143:8; 144:2; 146:3-5.

 

But the triumph of them all is how often David (and others) use the term “praise” in reference to the Lord.  It is expressed in 132 verses, 160 times.

 

The beauty and complexity of language reaches its peak, its zenith if you will, in the concept of poetry and song.  Poetry and song have always gone together because the lyrics of a song are frequently written in verse.

 

Jesus said that the Psalms spoke about Him (in Luke 24:44) and they constitute irrefutable testimony to the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures.  The most prominent Messianic Psalms include Psalm 2; 8; 16; 22; 23; 24; 40; 41; 45; 68; 69; 87; 89; 102; 110; 118; while others have tidbits of the Messiah.

 

Next to Psalm 22, Psalm 69 & 110, are the most quoted Psalms in the New Testament; 110 being the most.  Psalm 22deals with the death of Christ, while Psalm 69 deals with the life of Christ; and Psalm 110 deals with the authority of Christ.

 

Psalm 69 is quoted in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and also in Acts and Romans.  The reason I mention this is because this Psalm tells us about the silent years of Christ’s childhood and young manhood, of which the Gospels would tell us practically nothing without them quoting from this Psalm.

 

Psalm 119 is written in an “acoustical” format, using 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, eight verses for each letter, which gives us 176 verses as follows:

 

Aleph is verses 1-8;

Beth is verses 9-16;

Gimel is verses 17-24;

Daleth is verses 25-32;

He is verses 33-40;

Waw is verses 41-48;

Zayin is verses 49-56;

Heth is verses 57-64;

Teth is verses 65-72;

Yod is verses 73-80;

Kaph is verses 81-88;

Lamed is verses 89-96;

Mem is verses 97-104;

Nun is verses 105-112;

Samek is verses 113-120;

Ayin is verses 121-128;

Pe is verses 129-136;

Tsadde is verses 137-144;

Qoph is verses 145-152;

Resh is verses 153-160;

Shin is verses 161-168;

Tau is verses 169-176.

 

The Psalms known as the “Hallel [Hymn of Praise] Psalms” are:  113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118.

 

The Psalms known as the “Hallelujah Psalms” are:  104; 105; 106; 111; 112; 113; 146; 147; 148; 149; 150.

 

The Psalms known as the “Historical Psalms” are:  78; 105; 106; 107; 114; 135; 136.

 

Psalms considered to be “Imprecatory [Against Enemies] Psalms” are:  6; 12; 35; 37; 58; 59; 69 [only verses 22-28; otherwise, it is a Messianic Psalm]; 79; 83; 109; 139 [verses 16-24 only]; 140.  We cannot remain neutral in this battle (Great Controversy).  These can both be the enemies of king David and God’s enemies; either or, or both.

 

The Psalms known as the “Kingdom Psalms” are:  46; 47; 48.

 

The Psalms dedicated to “the sons of Korah” are:  42; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48; 49; 84; 85; 87; 88. Korah died by Divine judgment (Num. 16:31-35), but his sons were spared in grace (Num. 26:11).  Thus, the men of Numbers 16:32 did not include the sons of Korah.

 

Psalms considered to be “Maschil [“A skillful song,” or “A song of Instruction”] Psalms” are:  32; 42; 44; 45; 52; 53; 54; 55; 75; 78; 88; 89; 142.

 

Psalms considered to be “Penitential [meaning “Repentant” or “Sorrowful,” in other words, “Suffering under God’s discipline”] Psalms” are:  6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143.  When in this position, pray that the lesson learned be not wasted.  Galileo, imprisoned by the Inquisition at Rome for asserting the Copernican System, was enjoined, as a penance to repeat the Seven Penitential Psalms every week for three years.

 

The Psalms known as the “Royal Psalms” are:  2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 93; 94; 95; 96; 97; 98; 99; 101; 110; 132; 144.

 

According to Martin Luther, the “Pauline Psalms” are:  32; 51; 130; 143.  His explanation for calling them so was that we are saved by “grace” not by “works.”  However, one must also take into account that Luther hated the Book of James.

 

What is amazing about all that we know, and all of the research that has been put into the Jewish Scriptures, we seem to be ignorant about, and know so very little of the composition of Jewish music.  That is, its configuration and proper structure.

 

In regards to poetry, our English, as it is with most languages, is designed around the concept of rhyme.  This also falls into the structure of our music today.  However, this is not so with the Hebrew language.  Theirs is one of conceptual design.  Their language deals not with the parallelism of design and rhythm, but of ideas, concepts, and precepts.

 

Some of the Psalms are comparative in order to illuminate a central thought.  Some of them are contrastive, showing the difference between black and white.  In other words, opposites are true.  Some of them are synthetic, or completive; where one thought completes another thought.

 

When a Psalm does deal in “Parallelism,” it takes upon itself the form of when the second line restates the first line.  As an example, here is Psalm 15, verse one:  “Lord, who shall abide in Thy Tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?”  Here we can see that these two thoughts are essentially rephrasing the same idea.  This is what we call synonymous parallelism.

 

Another form of “Parallelism,” is “Apathetic Parallelism,” which is just the opposite of “Synonymous Parallelism.”  What happens here is that the lines are in contrast to one another.  Psalm 34, verses 16 and 17 are an example:  “(16) The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.  (17) The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”  Herein is seen the opposite outcomes of the two parties.  In the very first Psalm (1), this is portrayed; albeit, it takes a few verses to develop.

 

Then there is “Synthetic Parallelism,” in which each successive line either expands or confirms the previous line.  An example would be Psalm 19, verses 8 and 9:  “[8] The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:  the Commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. [9] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:  the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”  Here we can see how each phrase amplifies and refines the previous one.

 

This brings me to what many Bible commentators have come to a conclusion about; and that is what is called the “Plentitude” of the Psalms (meaning a lot of Psalms comprised into one section).

 

In this analysis, the first 41 Psalms are ascribed as being applied to the Book of Genesis.  Therefore, they are called, or placed in the order of “Genesis Psalms.”  The reason, these Psalms state, is because these Psalms are all about man.  The “Exodus Psalms” would be the second section, which focuses upon man’s deliverance.  The Psalms ascribed to this section would be Psalms 42 to 72.  The next section would be those Psalms which focus upon the Sanctuary; known as the “Levitical Psalms.”  These Psalms would be comprised in Psalms 73 to 89.  Then there are those Psalms that speak of the unrest, or the wondering in the wilderness, which would be designated as the “Numbers Psalms,” comprised in Psalms 90 to 106.  Lastly, are the “Deuteronomy Psalms,” which is the Word of the Lord Himself, comprised in Psalms 107 to 150.

  

What is interesting also to note here, is that if we took these as different Books, as it seems they should be, we would not have 66 Books in our Bibles, but 70, which is (7) the number of God.  I find this hard to stay with however, for if you really start analyzing and getting critical of each Psalm, you could place them into different categories, such as Psalm One should belong in the Deuteronomy section, etcetera.  However, you could rearrange the Psalms and have them in their particular sections.  My point being, they still line up into the Pentateuch, the five Books of Moses, or the Books of the Law.

 

Here is an example of the above idea.  In the Genesis section of Psalms, man is in a state of blessedness, fall, and review.  Psalm One deals with the perfect man and the last Adam.  While Psalm Two deals with rebellious man.  Psalm Three is the perfect man rejected.  Psalm 4 deals with the conflict between the seed of the woman and the serpent.  Psalm 5 deals with the perfect man in the midst of his enemies.   Psalm 6 deals with the perfect man in the midst of chastisement, and the bruising of the heal.  Psalm 7 deals with the perfect man in the midst of false witnesses.  Psalm 8 deals with the repairing of man coming through a God/Man; bruising the head of the serpent.  Then the enemy and the anti-Christ conflict would equal Psalms 9 through 15.  Then we have Christ in the midst of His people, sanctifying them before God and Satan, in the rest of the Psalms.

 

There is something that should always come to mind when studying poetry however.  Poetry is not to be analyzed; it is supposed to be experienced.  You see, unless you have experienced the thing that the author is describing, or pointing out, you will never understand it.

 

Getting back to the structuring of Hebrew poetry, or of the Jewis structure of the Psalms, in the Book of Habakkuk we have a layout of the structuring of a Psalm that is worth studying.  It is found in Chapter 3.  In verse one we have the superscription.  My point is, that according to the layout of this Psalm, as found in the Book of Habakkuk, which begins in verse two, apparently the superscription was to be up front, while the musical instruction was to be at the end, i.e., “To the chief singer on my stringed instruments,” verse 19.

 

If you notice, in the Book of Psalms, this subscription is more often than not, at the beginning of the Psalm.  Therefore, some scholars believe the instruction is in the wrong place or a carryover from the previous Psalm.  Thus concluding that the divisions are not free from academic controversies.  Hezekiah has a Psalm in Isaiah, Chapter 38.  It starts in verse 10, going to verse 20, with the subscription, “therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments.”  Here it is again inferred that the superscription (verse 9 in this case) was to precede the subscription, or better, the musical instruction.

 

In regards to Hallelujah, i.e., “praise ye Jehovah,” it is frequently rendered, “Praise ye the LORD,” or “Praise the Lord,” and stands at the beginning of ten of the Psalms (106; 111-113; 135; 146-150); hence, they are called the “Hallelujah Psalms.”

 

Here is my First Samuel 27:1 Note:  “escape into the land of the Philistines” = David went into the land of his enemies.  This plan will never work.  It is to be noted that while David was there, he wrote no Psalms.  So it will be with you when you dwell in your enemies land.

 

The term “Selah” is used 71 times in the Book of Psalms and three (3) times in the Book of Habakkuk.  Since the Psalms are musical in structure, it is most likely considered to have been a place where one was ascribed to be taking a breath.  However, many believe it has the meaning of to take a break and ponder or meditate on what has been stated.  The word actually means, “to lift up” or “to be silent.”  We are still confused upon this point when attempting to break down Hebrew musical structure.

 

A popular phrase that needs attention is, “right hand.”  It is found 41 times in 38 verses.  However, the One in God’s “right hand” is Jesus Christ.

 

The “Macro-Structure” of the Book of Psalms is Messianic, with the breakdown looking like this:

 

Psalms 1-2, are just the introduction to the Book of Psalms; with Psalm 2 introducing the Messiah.

Book 1 = Psalms 3-41.

Book 2 = Psalms 42-72.

Book 3 = Psalms 73-89.

Book 4 = Psalms 90-106.

Book 5 = Psalms 107-145.

Psalms 145-150, are just the conclusion of the Book of Psalms; a doxology of praise if you will.

 

Each section, or “Book” if you will, ends with a doxology of blessing:

Psalm 41:13:  “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting.  Amen and Amen.”

Psalm 72:18-19:  “Blessed be the Lord God. . . Amen and Amen.”

Psalm 89:52:  “Blessed be the Lord forever!  Amen and Amen.”

Psalm 106:48:  “Blessed be the Lord. . . Amen.  Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 145:1-2 & 21:  “[1] And I will bless Your Name forever and ever. . . [2] praise Your Name forever and ever. . . [21] bless His Holy Name forever and ever.”