Psalms: Introduction Series

Psalms: Introduction

The book of Psalms is widely used as devotional literature. It has been for centuries and millennia. It was the liturgical songbook of Israel. It was the first hymnal of the first church. The psalter is such a part of Western culture that Psalm 23 finds itself in the rap songs, films about the old West, and everything in between. The Psalter is a book that is turned to often in times of deep grief as one looks for comfort. But there is more to the Psalms than just an encyclopedia of songs for occasions.

The first-century church that we read about in the book of Acts did not have the New Testament. The first NT book was not written until at least 15 years after the birthday of the church. It would probably be at least 50 years from that time until all of the books of the NT were in circulation and then later still for them to be bound together in one book. The Bible of the apostles and the first-century church was the Old Testament. It was from the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus taught the apostles about the meaning of His life, death, burial, and resurrection (Luke 24:45). He mentions all three parts of the Hebrew Bible: Law, Prophets, and Psalms (or writings).

In the book of Acts, we find the apostles referring back to the OT to defend their experiences and teachings. Peter says that the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:15-21; Joel 2:28-32). It was to the Psalms that Peter turned to when he defended Jesus's resurrection and when he preached the Gospel after the lame man was healed at the Gate Beautiful. In fact, the writers of the NT turned to the Psalms more than any other book in their preaching. The NT quotes, or alludes to, or paraphrases the OT in at least 800 verses, and 206 of these times is from Psalms. Psalm 110:1 is the most frequently alluded to, quoted, or paraphrased OT verse in the NT (20 times). Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 and confounded the Pharisees (Matt. 22:43-44).

One of the things that revolutionized my understanding and reading of the Psalter a few years ago was reading and studying the book The Messiah in the Psalms: Discovering Christ in Unexpected Places by Daniel Segrave. In the book, he argues that the Psalter is primarily a messianic book, As a whole, the book of Psalms is not merely a book to turn to in search of wisdom or encouragement; it is a book that we turn to in order to know Jesus better. And this does not eliminate the Psalter's value for turning to it devotionally; it enhances it. When we read the Psalter as the prayers of the Messiah we see that it is not just David, or Moses, or Asaph, or any of the other anonymous writers of the Psalms that we are identifying with in our moments of victory or suffering. The One whose Spirit spoke through the human authors was the Lord Jesus Christ. We can learn about the emotional life of our Lord not only through the Gospels but through the Psalms.

1 Peter 1:11 KJV

"Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."

2 Samuel 23:2 KJV

The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

Jesus prayed the Psalms. His dying words were from Psalm 22:1, "Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani? (My God, My God why have you forsaken me?)" (Matt. 27:46). The Psalms show the "costly solidarity" of God with us. Jesus was fully Human, and we have a High Priest who can be touched by the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). There are some aspects of the Psalter that will surprise us as a part of Christian worship, and I believe will help us heal if we learn to use them well.

The title The Book of Psalms is taken from the LXX title Psalmoi, which means "hymns sung to musical accompaniment." The Hebrew word mizmor, meaning "a song sung with musical accompaniment," appears fifty-seven times in the Psalter, but the actual Hebrew title is Tehillim. Tehillim means "praises." The psalter is a book of praises. It is also a book of prayers. The first section of the book is called "the prayers (tefillot) of David" (Psalms 3-72; Psalm 72:20).

Writers of Psalms:

Ninety-nine of the psalms have identified authors in their superscriptions.

Moses is the author of Psalm 90.

David wrote seventy-three psalms.

Two are attributed to Solomon.