Tolle Lege: The Psalms

The Psalms are beloved by many in the Church. Many peoples’ favorite verses are from the Psalms. But for most of my life this confused me, the Psalms for me were a lot like Proverbs. They seemed disconnected, disjointed, and not nearly as fun to study as, say, the book of Genesis. This was not helped by the advice sometimes given to young preachers to use Psalms when filling a pulpit because the broader context is less necessary. But this changed for me by singing and hearing the Psalms in sequence. 

My goal is to introduce the Psalms for two sets of people. First, for those who already love the Psalms and then for those who might find the Psalms impenetrable. There are many ways to look at this ancient poetry. The Hebrew title for the book is Tehillîm, or “Praises.” One of the first challenges is how broad Israel’s definition of “praise” is in her songbook.  

Reading the Psalms. One challenge with the Psalms is that no matter your view of the composition of the Old Testament, pretty much everyone agrees that the Psalms span that entire period. The Psalms are internally diverse, they are from and for different occasions, seasons, and situations. 

Also diverse are the ways that people approach the Psalms. Many people primarily approach the Psalms devotionally. Scholars have approached the Psalms in many of their own ways as well. In my various academic backgrounds I have been taught at least 3 different approaches to what Hebrew poetry actually is. And this can also be the case for the person beginning to study the Psalms. Depending on the book they pick up, they may find discussions of poetic parallelism, or the genres of Psalms, or the setting of the Psalms reconstructed, or even the sources the psalmists used. 

All of this can seem overwhelming. Recently many writers have begun to advocate for a holistic reading of the Psalms. The Psalms are connected. Your very Bible will show you this. There are collections in the Psalms that go together if we pay attention. At a broad level, there are the five “books” of Psalms. Within those books there are collections and a shape, and then when we take a step back from those trees to see the forest, we’ll see the Psalms move from Lament in book 1 to Praise in book 5.

Structure and Cohesion in the Psalter. Let’s look first at the five books, then at the collections in those books. The books are Psalms 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, and 107-150. These five books of Psalms are marked by doxologies. Psalms 41, 72, 89, and 106 all conclude with a doxology. Psalm 72 stands out greatly for its recognition after the doxology, “the prayers of David the son of Jesse are finished” (v. 20). Then Psalm 73 commences book 3 with a Psalm of Asaph. Other Davidic psalms will be scattered throughout the remaining books but are far less prominent than in books one and two. Two questions we can ask when reading a Psalm is what book is this in, and what is in this book?

Within these five books there are collections as well. The aforementioned “prayers of David” begin after an introduction in Psalms 1-2 and continue to the end of book two. In this first book, large strings of Psalms are attributed to David: 3-9, 11-32, 34-41. None of the remaining Psalms in the collection are attributed to anyone. Many of these are associated with events in David’s life from the books of Samuel. Take for example the title of Psalm 3, “A Psalm of David when he fled from the presence of Absalom his Son,” referring to 2 Samuel 15:14ff. 

Book two begins with a Maskil of the sons of Korah (Ps. 42-43), the first Psalm attributed to someone other than David. This collection continues through Psalm 49. Then a Psalm of Asaph, 50. David reappears at 51, the famous Psalm of confession. David’s Psalms run to Psalm 66, pick back up with Psalm 68-70, with book two culminating in a Psalm of Solomon, 72. Thus the story of the first two books, which is largely comprised of laments, is parallel to the story of David culminating in a wise son to rule a united kingdom of Israel and Judah. 

Book 3 is quite different. It culminates in Psalm 89 which laments the destruction of the temple and the fall of the kingship some four hundred years after David. Psalms 73-83 are Psalms of Asaph, 84-85 are of the Sons of Korah; David reappears for a lone Psalm, 86. Then the Sons of Korah (87-88) and Heman and Ethan the Ezrahites close with 88-89. In book three the Psalms ultimately wrestle with the destruction of the temple and the loss of the kingship (Ps. 74, 79, 88, and 89 are especially fitting). 

Book 4 returns to the sources, beginning with a Prayer of Moses in Psalm 90. Psalms 91-100 are not ascribed to anyone in particular, but they do focus on God’s provision and kingship. Psalms 93, 96, 97, 99 all explicitly mention that “YHWH reigns.” These Psalms remind God’s people that, in face of the crisis of kingship, Judah still has her divine King. God’s rule, creation, and care play a large part in 91-100. Moses is mentioned again in Psalm 99, along with Aaron and Samuel. Psalm 101 and 103 are Psalms of David. Psalm 103 particularly focuses on praising YHWH for his mercy. Psalms 105-106 close by recounting Old Testament covenants and God’s faithfulness in song. 

Lastly, we come to book 5, which is dominated by liturgical collections. There is a small Davidic collection in 108-110. There are the Hallel Psalms (113-118), used for pilgrimage festivals to Jerusalem and associated most closely with Passover. There is Psalm 119, a series of poems in a single Psalm fitting for Pentecost (Shavuot), where the giving of the law was celebrated. There are also the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) where the journey of Pilgrimage begins in 120 & 121 and culminates in praise at the temple by night in 134. Psalm 136 is sometimes called the great Hallel. Psalms 138-145 are a final Davidic collection. This culminates in the praises of 146-150. 

Applying the Psalter. As a whole we see movement from the laments of David in the difficulties of his life to his promised Son, to the trust of Judah in YHWH and his covenants, to the liturgy of the festivals of Israel. All reminding us that God is with his people and hears their lament and brings them from their suffering into his glory following the path of the greater David, Jesus Christ. Lately, my family has been reading and singing through the Psalms as part of our family devotions. This has been edifying for us and will certainly be edifying for you too. What better way to worship God than with the Psalms that he gives us to sing, recite, pray, and memorize!

Resources:

Seedbed, Tunes and Settings for Singing the Psalms

W. Robert Godfrey, Learning to Love the Psalms

Tremper Longman III, How to Read the Psalms