The book of Psalms consists of a hundred and fifty songs written by a few men under the inspiration of God. The first seventy-two were written by David and many of these, remarkably, express beforehand the suffering and the glory of Christ. Jesus himself said the Psalms spoke of him Luke 24:44Luke 24:44XWaiting for response and many of those written by David express the very thoughts of Jesus a thousand years before he thought them! David himself suffered greatly at the hands of false accusers and others who sought to slay him, even though he was righteous and did them only good, but afterwards his enemies were destroyed and he was exalted to the throne of the LORD over Israel. Jesus likewise suffered at the hands of men, but was afterwards exalted by God to great glory, and at the set time he will sit on the same throne of the LORD for ever. Thus the Spirit used the experiences of David and moved him to express thoughts which later would actually be in the mind of Jesus, his promised seed.
Im the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Psalms is called the Book of Praises. The word praise appears 160 times in the Psalms out of 248 times in the whole Bible, so it’s appropriately named in the Hebrew Bible.
The book of Psalms can be split into 5 sections. It is split in this way in the Dead Sea scrolls. The rabbis of the Roman period spoke of this structure too. There is a theme in each section, for example the first section is all about man/humans and the last is praise to God. Each division ends in the same way, they contain a blessing to God, a comment on the eternity of God and his purpose, and the word Amen. These are the only places the word Amen appears in the Psalms. The section divisions are Psalm 41, 72, 89, 106.
They were split in this way after they were written as the order of the Psalms is not chronological. For example, Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, who lived before David, who wrote most of the Psalms, including Psalm 1. The ordering of the Psalms seems to have been set for many years as the second Psalm is referred to in the New Testament Acts 13:3.Acts 13:3XWaiting for response
There seems to be a progression through the Psalms that begins with more prayers and finishes with more praise. It’s as though the lesson is being taught - as you pray more to God, you praise him more for his goodness.
For example, the first verse is a consideration Psalm 1:1,Psalm 1:1XWaiting for response and the last verse is full praise to God Psalm 150:6.Psalm 150:6XWaiting for response Looking at it further, Psalm 1-2 is very much to do with choice, and the last 5 Psalms are praise to God.
The title of Psalms are included in the Hebrew Bible in the first verse of the Psalm, as is recorded in the KJV in Habakkuk 3:1.Habakkuk 3:1XWaiting for response In the Psalms however in the KJV, these titles usually appear above the Psalm, not as a verse. Some of the words used in these titles are ancient words that the translation is not know, proving that they were written long ago, possibly by the writer of the Psalm - and not an addition by someone later.
Out of the many Psalms that David wrote, 14 of them have a historical context. In way of analysis, it seems that:
- 9 of these Psalms are when David was fleeing Saul/ being a fugitive because of Saul/ delivery from Saul
- 2 of these Psalms are about fleeing from Absalom/ hiding from Absalom
- 1 of these Psalms is about the sin with Bathsheba
- 1 of these Psalms is about the dedication of the temple
- 1 of these Psalms is about a battle with the Philistines
This shows that some of the difficult or evocative experiences that we have can drive beauty, just as a diamond is made through pressure.
The Psalms are the most quoted book in the New Testament showing its importance. It is a book of songs, but contains prayer, prophecy, history, and more. Most notably it gives us a window into the mind of Christ, which is very important for the followers of him, as this is the kind we are to have Philippians 2:5.Philippians 2:5XWaiting for response
Some of the Psalms are written by the sons of Korah, such as Psalms 42,44-49. Korah was one of the three that went against Moses and God, and was swallowed up by the earth, recorded in Numbers 16. This shows how we are able to turn away from even our natural family, be accepted by God, and flourish.
Many Psalms foretell the thoughts of Jesus. It may be that every Psalm does.