Why Read The Psalms?

What are the Psalms?
The Psalms is a book, right in the middle of our English Bible. In fact, if you open the Bible to the middle, you will open it in the middle of the book of Psalms. Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the whole English Bible, containing New and Old Testaments. It is actually a collection of songs that were used to express one’s relationship and emotions to God. Many of the Psalms were used in worship in ancient times, while others were often too personal for that. Today, however, the whole book is used for worship and for personal expression of one’s emotions, whether it be joy, despair, thanks to God or complaining.

Who Wrote the Psalms?
The popular idea is that David, the most important king of Israel wrote the Psalms. This idea comes from the introduction statement in almost half (73, to be exact) of the Psalms which says “of David”. We are further encouraged to think this way when, in the famous story about David of the books of Samuel, we learn that David was a musician, and we are quoted a couple of his songs, there. However, this statement, nor the stories, do not necessarily mean that all of the Psalms listed this way is from the mouth of David. Some of them, such as Psalm 3 and Psalm 51, where a part of David’s life story is mentioned, might be more likely to be written by David himself. However, the phrase could mean that it is of a type of Davidic psalm that was written after David had passed on.
Some were almost certainly written by David, but others were certainly not. Some are titled to be of “Asaph” or “The Sons of Korah”. Some are to be “For the chief musician”. These are all people who are known to be musicians in the text of Scripture—but it does not mean that it was written by them. For instance, Asaph was a chief singer in the courts of David (I Chron. 16:1-5), yet one of the Psalms attributed to him was written about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, centuries after David (Psalm 74). Thus, this Psalm was not written by Asaph himself, but probably by a school of singers and musicians named after him. This could also have been the case of the name Korah, and even David. While many of the songs “Of David” could easily have been written by the king himself—Psalm 3, for instance—others probably were not, being of a later style or a content that would indicate a later writing (Psalms 2 and 37, for example). These were possibly written in a style that would be considered Davidic, or perhaps there was a school of music that was in David’s name and every song from that school was named “of David”, which would mean “of David’s school of music.”
Certainly the book was collected after the Jewish return from Babylon. So the traditional editor of the Psalms, the scribe Ezra, is a possible pick.

When Were the Psalms Written?
Just as the authors of the Psalms are widely varied, so the timeframe of the writings are also. The earliest claimed author or school is that of Moses (Psalm 90), which could be as early as 1300 BC. But the majority of the psalms were written from 1000 BC (the time of David) to 400 BC (After the rebuilding of the second Temple). That is quite a range of time, and this is reflected in the range of writing styles and the range of content.

Why study the Psalms?

1. Because they speak specifically about the plight of the poor and outcast
All of the Bible was written from the perspective of the outcast, the persecuted and the poor. But the book of Psalms speaks about that plight and our various responses to it more than any other book in the Bible. It isn’t as melancholic as Ecclesiastes, nor focused on lost “glory days” as the histories, nor as literary as Job. It just talks about desperate circumstances and how we deal with it, with God at our side, or even God at a distance. It is probably as realistic about life as any book out there.

2. Because they get us into the minds of the ancient people of God more than any other book
Other books talk about the ideas of certain people, or the events that surround people. This book is the only one that really gives us a diary of ancient peoples of God—their sorrows, their cries of anguish, their triumphs, their moralities, their hopes, their understanding of God and their daily expressions.

3. Because it comes from many different perspectives
Like many books, the Psalms were written by many people, and edited together later. But unlike other books in the Bible, it was not heavily edited, so a lot of the original understanding of the songs come through. Also, it probably has the broadest range of times it was written in—possibly over a thousand years. There is a mythic understanding in some, a later orthodoxy in others, a philosophy of hope in despair in some, and a cynical understanding of life in others. The theologies come from different perspectives as well. So in the Psalms there is the broadest range of perspectives of the people of God.

4. Because the people of God have always gained understanding of their lives from them
Ancient Jews, modern Jews and Christians of all ages have understood themselves and others better for having read the Psalms. Modern Jews, in their daily prayer, quote the entire book of Psalms every month. Christian monks, in the Benedictine model recite the whole book of Psalms every week! Part of the strength of the Bible as a whole is seeing how other people, who have a strong relationship with God, deal with their lives. This is found in the psalms more than any other book—it is not an ideal, but a realistic perspective from people who sin like us, who love like us, have joys like us, and even hate like us—but all before God and with God. We can certainly learn how we can live in God by understanding how these lived in God.

5. Because they speak about Jesus more than any other book
Some call Isaiah the “fifth gospel” because of the prophecies it contains about Jesus—but the Psalms have many more specific prophecies and realizations of Jesus. His sonship is described in Psalm 2, his priesthood in Psalm 110, his being rejected in Psalm 118, his crucifixion (in great detail) in Psalm 22, and his resurrection in Psalm 16. Even as the Psalms are the expression of the heart of the people of God, so they are the expression of the heart of Jesus.

6. Because the NT quotes them more than any other book of the OT
Because of all of these reasons, and perhaps especially the one immediately previous, the New Testament quotes the Psalms extensively—more than any other book. When they wanted to express their troubles, they turned to the Psalms (Acts 4). When they wanted to hear Jesus’ words, they quoted the Psalms (Hebrews 2). When they wanted to know what God thought of Jesus, they turned to the Psalms (Hebrews 2, Acts 2). Why is this? Because Jesus quoted the Psalms to express God’s will as presented in the Scriptures (Luke 24).

The Book of Psalms really is the heart of the Bible.