Book I
Psalm 1 871 Psalm 2 873 Psalm 3 874 Psalm 4 876 Psalm 5 877 Psalm 6 879 Psalm 7 880 Psalm 8 881 Psalm 9 883 Psalm 10 884 Psalm 11 885 Psalm 12 886 Psalm 13 887 Psalm 14 888 Psalm 15 889 Psalm 16 891 Psalm 17 892 Psalm 18 893 Psalm 19 895 Psalm 20 897 Psalm 21 899 Psalm 22 899 Psalm 23 901 Psalm 24 903 Psalm 25 904 Psalm 26 905 Psalm 27 906 Psalm 28 907 Psalm 29 908 Psalm 30 909 Psalm 31 910 Psalm 32 912 Psalm 33 913 Psalm 34 915 Psalm 35 916
Psalm 36 917 Psalm 37 918 Psalm 38 920 Psalm 39 922 Psalm 40 923 Psalm 41 924
Psalm 69 949 Psalm 70 950 Psalm 71 951 Psalm 72 952
Psalm 100 983 Psalm 101 984 Psalm 102 985 Psalm 103 986 Psalm 104 987 Psalm 105 989 Psalm 106 990
BOOK III
Psalm 73 953 Psalm 74 954 Psalm 75 955 Psalm 76 956 Psalm 77 958 Psalm 78 959 Psalm 79 961 Psalm 80 962 Psalm 81 963 Psalm 82 964 Psalm 83 965 Psalm 84 965 Psalm 85 966 Psalm 86 967 Psalm 87 968 Psalm 88 970 Psalm 89 971
BOOK II
BOOK V
Psalms 42
and 43 925 Psalm 44 927 Psalm 45 928 Psalm 46 929 Psalm 47 931 Psalm 48 932 Psalm 49 932 Psalm 50 933 Psalm 51 935 Psalm 52 936 Psalm 53 936 Psalm 54 937 Psalm 55 937 Psalm 56 938 Psalm 57 939 Psalm 58 940 Psalm 59 941 Psalm 60 942 Psalm 61 943 Psalm 62 943 Psalm 63 944 Psalm 64 945 Psalm 65 946 Psalm 66 947 Psalm 67 948 Psalm 68 948
Psalm 107 992 Psalm 108 993 Psalm 109 994 Psalm 110 995 Psalm 111 996 Psalm 112 997 Psalm 113 998 Psalm 114 999 Psalm 115 1000 Psalm 116 1001 Psalm 117 1003 Psalm 118 1003 Psalm 119 1005 Psalm 120 1020 Psalm 121 1021 Psalm 122 1022 Psalm 123 1024 Psalm 124 1024 Psalm 125 1025 Psalm 126 1026 Psalm 127 1027 Psalm 128 1028 Psalm 129 1029 Psalm 130 1030 Psalm 131 1031 Psalm 132 1032
BOOK IV
Psalm 90 972 Psalm 91 974 Psalm 92 975 Psalm 93 976 Psalm 94 977 Psalm 95 978 Psalm 96 979 Psalm 97 980 Psalm 98 981 Psalm 99 982
Psalm
Psalm 133 1033 Psalm 134 1034 Psalm 135 1035 Psalm 136 1036 Psalm 137 1037
Psalm 138 1039 Psalm 139 1039 Psalm 140 1040 Psalm 141 1041 Psalm 142 1042
Psalm 143 1043 Psalm 144 1044 Psalm 145 1045 Psalm 146 1046 Psalm 147 1047
Psalm 148 1048 Psalm 149 1049 Psalm 150 1050
onymous parallelism. If the second line contrasts with the first, as in Psalms 1:6 and 37:9, it is antithetic parallelism. When the second line explains and expands the first, the writer has used synthetic parallelism (Ps. 19:7–9), but when the second line completes the first, it is climactic parallelism (Ps. 29:1). With iterative parallelism, the second line repeats the thought of the first (Ps. 93), and in alternate parallelism, the alternate lines carry the same thought, as in Psalm 103:8–13. You don't bring these technical terms into the pulpit, but knowing what they mean can give you great help when you study. To interpret Psalm 103:3 as God's promise to heal every sickness is to ignore the synonymous parallelism of the verse: the forgiveness of sins is like the healing of disease (see Ps. 41:4).
he book of Psalms has been and still is the irreplaceable devotional guide, prayer book, and hymnal of the people of God. The Hebrew title is "the book of praises" (tehillim). The Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) used psalmos for tehillim; the word means "a song sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument." The Vulgate followed the Septuagint and used psalmorum, from the Latin psalterium, "a stringed instrument." The King James adopted the word, and thus we have the book of Psalms.
Writers. The writers of about two-thirds of the psalms are identified in the superscriptions. David leads the way with seventy-three psalms. He was Israel's "beloved singer of songs" (2 Sam. 23:1 niv) and the man who organized the temple ministry, including the singers (1 Chron. 15:16; 16:7; 25:1). The sons of Korah, who served as musicians in the temple (1 Chron. 6:31ff.; 15:17ff.; 2 Chron. 20:19), wrote eleven psalms (42–49, 84, 85, 87), Asaph twelve psalms, King Solomon two (Ps. 72 and 127), Ethan wrote one (Ps. 89), and Moses one (Ps. 90). However, not all scholars give equal value to the titles of the psalms.
Some of the psalms are laments to the Lord, written by people in dire circumstances. There are also messianic psalms that point forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are also psalms of praise and thanksgiving, royal psalms, wisdom psalms, psalms of affirmation and trust, penitential psalms, and even imprecatory psalms calling down God's wrath on the enemy. We will consider each of these categories as we meet them in our studies.
Organization. The book of Psalms is divided into five books, perhaps in imitation of the five books of Moses (Gen.–Deut.): 1—41, 42—72, 73—89, 90— 106, 107—150. Each of the first three books ends with a double "amen," the fourth ends with an "amen" and a "hallelujah," and the last book closes the entire collection with a "hallelujah." The book of Psalms grew over the years as the Holy Spirit directed different writers and editors to compose and compile these songs and poems. David wrote thirty-seven of the forty-one psalms in Book I, so this was the beginning of the collection. Books II and III may have been collected by "the men of Hezekiah" (Prov. 25:1), a literary guild in King Hezekiah's day that copied and preserved precious Old Testament manuscripts. Hezekiah himself was a writer of sacred poetry (Isa. 38). Books IV and V were probably collected and added during the time of the scholar Ezra (Ezra 7:1–10). As with our modern hymnals, there are "collections within the collection," such as "The Songs of Degrees" (120—134), the writings of Asaph (Ps. 73—83), the psalms of the sons of Korah (42—49), and the "hallelujah psalms" (113—118, 146—150). Poetry. Hebrew poetry is based on "thought lines" and not rhymes. If the second line repeats the first line in different words, as in Psalm 24:1–3, you have syn-
Value. There are over four hundred quotations or allusions to the psalms in the New Testament. Jesus quoted from the book of Psalms (Matt. 5:5/Ps. 37:11; 5:36/Ps. 48:3; 6:26/Ps. 147:9; 7:23/Ps. 6:8; 27:46/Ps. 22:1; John 15:25/Ps. 69:4). The Lord gave guidance from the book of Psalms when the church in Jerusalem chose a new apostle (Acts 1:15ff.; Ps. 69:25; 109:8). The early church also used the Psalms to buttress their preaching (Acts 2:31; Ps. 16:10) and to find encouragement in times of persecution (Acts 4:23–31; Ps. 2). Singing selected psalms was a part of their worship (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 14:26) and should be a part of the church's worship today. It's helpful and interesting to study Bible history from the viewpoint of the psalmists: creation (8), the flood (29), the patriarchs (47:9, 105:9, 47:4), Joseph (105:17ff.), the exodus (114), the wilderness wanderings (68:7, 106:1ff.), the captivity (85, 137). But primarily, the psalms are about God and His relationship to His creation, the nations of the world, Israel, and His believing people. He is seen as a powerful God as well as a tenderhearted Father, a God who keeps His promises and lovingly cares for His people. The psalms also reveal the hearts of those who follow Him, their faith and doubts, their victories and