WHAT?
Psalms – the best known and least understood bit of the Bible. Easy to find, though. Just open most Bibles in the middle, and there you have them.
So, what are the Psalms? Originally a hymn book, created in and for the Temple in Jerusalem. But they are not all psalms. That is a Greek word meaning music for strings. Some of the psalms are called songs, or maskils, or miktams etc. But we don’t know what the last two mean, so we’ll stick to ‘psalms’.
Some had recognised tunes, like “The doe of the morning”, or “The death of the son”, or popular ones like “Lilies”, Do not destroy”, or “The dove on distant oaks”. They would be accompanied by strings and flutes. Psalm 150 lists the different instruments: trumpets, lutes, harps, tambourines, pipes, cymbals. Psalm 68 describes the opening of a worship event:
Your solemn processions are seen, O God, the processions of my God, my King into the sanctuary – the singers in front, the musicians last, between them girls playing tambourines… (68.24, 25)
And there were a lot of singers. 1 Chronicles 25.7 records 288 skilled singers.
Above all, the psalms are poetry. Hebrew poetry is not like English poetry, based on rhymes, or like Japanese haikus, based on a set number of syllables. It uses parallelism. Statement A is repeated with different words in statement B:
Their delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law they meditate day and night.
Sometimes contrasts are used:
The LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
And sometimes there are three lines instead of two:
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread or sit in the seat of scoffers. (Psalm 1.2,1, 5)
The consequence of this is that the poetry of the psalms can be appreciated in every language on earth.
WHEN?
It will become clear that the Psalms were written at different stages of Israel’s and Judah’s history. So here is a quick crib on the key events.
Exodus for Egypt and conquest of Canaan c.1300 BCE David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem c. 1000 BCE Solomon builds the Temple c. 950 BCE Rehoboam causes the kingdom to split in two 922 BCE Jeroboam of Israel builds a temple at Bethel “ “ NOTE: The northern kingdom of Israel was much richer and more powerful than the southern kingdom of Judah, although the latter had the Temple in Jerusalem. Israel destroyed by Assyria 722 BCE “The Book of the Law” discovered in the Temple 622 BCE Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed by Babylon 587 BC Return of some of the exiles to Jerusalem c. 537 BCE Rebuilding of the Temple 522 BCE Ezra preaches obedience to the Law, the Torah c. 440 BCE Septuagint translation of the Hebrew into Greek c. 270 BCE
(If you want to go into it in more detail, my book “Bible in Brief” is designed to do just that. See bibleinbrief.org).
The key clue to the “When” of the Psalms is in the editorial comments at the beginning of most of the psalms. They are composed of five books, each with its own particular history. So here, in order, are the five books.
BOOK 1 Psalms 1-40
This has 41 psalms – actually 40 as psalms 9 and 10 are one acrostic psalm, i.e. where the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used in order at the start of each double line.
37 psalms are described as “of David”. So did David write the psalms? In my opinion, no. He was a considerable musician, that is clear, but what he did do was to establish a permanent body of singer and instrumentalists, as well as making the king a central figure in the worship of Israel, just as much as the high priest. The Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, became a royal chapel as much as a tribal meeting place. As Amaziah, priest in Israel, said to the prophet Amos in 740, “Never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary and it is a temple of the kingdom.” (Amos 7.13). So I think that “of David” means it is part of the royal collection of psalms, just as “Hamlet” though an Elizabethan play, was written by Shakespeare, not by Elizabeth I.
What about the stories which refer to incidents in the life of David? They are part of the editorial comment at the head of some of the psalms – four in Book 1, eight in Book 2 and only one in the rest. E.g Psalm 3: A psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. I think they are later devotional notes, not by David himself. They don’t have the same personal flavour as his lament over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1.19-27). But there is no proof, it is a matter of personal judgement.
There are four psalms in Book 1 which are explicitly royal psalms, 2, 18, 20, 21, They celebrate the king’s power and victory over the national enemies.
I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” (2.8)
You girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me.” (18.39)
Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. (20.6)
Later, when there was no longer a king in Israel or Judah, these came to be seen as prophecies of a new Lord’s Anointed, or Messiah. But originally their meaning was straightforward. Our government will win!
18 psalms, almost half of Book 1, have the phrase “To the leader”. The NIV translates it as “for the director of music”. I am sure this is right. David created a large musical establishment of 288 singers, led by the Levites Heman, Asaph and Ethan. Musicians played flutes and strings. Seven psalms have the instruction “Selah” in the middle. No one knows what this means. It could mean a pause, it could mean crescendo. Two German scholars have thought that it means a flourish of trumpets. I like that!
An example: Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up you ancient doors! …. (24.6-7)
BOOK 2 Psalms 42-72
Book 2 has 31 psalms – actually 30 because 42 and 43 were originally one psalm – they have the same refrain.
This book originated in the northern kingdom of Israel. We know this because here the word for God is normally Elohim (Gods), whereas in Book 1 and in Judah in general they called God Jehovah or Yahweh. This was changed by later rabbis to Adonai or Lord because the name of Yahweh was too sacred to pronounce. You can tell where this is the underlying Hebrew because LORD is written in capitals, to show that it is a mistranslation!
Two otherwise identical psalms show this.. Psalm14 (Book 1) says: The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all humankind. (14.2)
Psalm 53 (Book 2) says, God looks down from heaven on humankind.” (15.2)
The historical psalms reflect on victory and defeat (44), a royal wedding (45), a prayer after defeat (60), a prayer for victory (68), and a royal psalm (72) ascribed to Solomon:
May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (72.8)
But the Book is clearly now part of the royal collection in the Jerusalem temple. 19 of the 30 are “of David” and 25 are directed “to the (music) leader)”. 14 have trumpet flourishes (if that is what “Selah” means). Perhaps these 30 psalms were adopted by the Jerusalem Temple after the northern kingdom had been destroyed by Assyria in 722.
BOOK 3 Psalms 73 – 89
This is a small collection, only 16 psalms, but 11 of them bear witness to the catastrophe which overtook Judah and Jerusalem in 587.
They set your sanctuary in fire; they desecrated the dwelling place of your name.. they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. (74.7,8)
There is a strong emphasis on Israel’s religion: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. (80.1)
Sing aloud to God our strength ;shout for joy to the God of Jacob. (81.1)
What is noteworthy is that only one of this collection is “of David”. 11 are “of Asaph” and four “of the Korahites” – the singers’ guilds which operated in the Temple. And eight are “to the (music) leader”, indicating that the musical establishment was still functioning although the king was no longer in charge.
BOOK 4 Psalms 90 – 106
Another short book of 16 psalms. No one is mentioned at their head, so clearly these were written or collected in exile. No temple, no king, no choir. One psalm, 92, is designated as “for the Sabbath day”, because in the absence of the Temple it was Sabbath worship that kept the community together. There follow a series of praise songs with a remarkable world-wide vision.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all the peoples. (96.4)
The last five, 102 to 107, are perhaps the high point of the Psalms as a whole. 102 (lament), 103 (trust), 104 (creation) 105 (salvation history – the good stuff) 107 (salvation history – the bad stuff). It is clear that among the faithful of the exiles in Babylon, the prophet we call Second Isaiah was not on his own.
BOOK 5 Psalms 107 – 150
A long book, 44 psalms. It is really a collection of collections. Psalms 120 – 134 are mostly short “songs of ascents”, pilgrimage songs to be sung by pilgrims as they approach Jerusalem. Psalms 138 – 145 are “of David”, perhaps old royal psalms that had been rediscovered. Psalms 146 – 150 are five psalms each of which starts and ends with “Hallelujah” (Praise the Lord).
The post-exilic situation is seen in 149: The LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory… Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands, To execute vengeance on the nations and punishment to the peoples…” (149.4,6,7)
So it is no longer the king who will fight for victory, it is ‘the humble’, just as in the Maccabean revolt in 167 BCE.
The long psalm 119 (176 verses) is an acrostic poem in which each eight double lines starts with the same Hebrew letter. All of it is in praise of the Torah or Law;
Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD…” (119.1)
I think this reflects the Jewish religion after the preaching of Ezra, as does the placing of the classic “wisdom”psalm 1 at the very start all 150.
SUMMARY
The Psalms take us on a journey of 700 years of Jewish history, the good the bad and the ugly. They are fascinating, even in those terms. But that is not why they have survived for two and a half thousand years in worship and personal prayer. They have lasted because we react emotionally to them
WHY?
Why read the Psalms? If you read books about the Psalms you will find them categorised as lament, thanksgiving, praise, messianic, wisdom, and cursing psalms. But that does not tell me why I should read them, they are objective descriptions. And in any case there is usually more than one category in a psalm. The greatness of the psalms is that we can relate to them personally; they were written by people like us with similar hopes, fears and passions. For me a useful way sorting out the Psalms is to make use of the work of the psychotherapist Thomas A Harris and his book on Transactional Analysis “I’m OK”. Harries, building on the work of Eric Berne (“Games People Play”) suggests that our earliest childhood creates in us some fundamental beliefs: I’m OK; I’m not OK; You’re OK; You’re not OK. These are feelings we all experience, together with They’re not OK and the question we sometimes ask ourselves, How can I be OK?
These all are expressed movingly in the psalms. Here are some examples:
I’M OK I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (40.8)
YOU’RE OK For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (100.5)
I’M NOT OK Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love… Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (51.1-2)
YOU’RE NOT OK How long, O Lord? Will you be angry for ever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire? (79.5)
THEY’RE NOT OK Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war. (120.6-7)
HOW TO BE OK How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. (119.9)
The psalms are somewhat like the (now-defunct) News of the World: All human life is there. My book “Discovering Psalms as Prayer tells the story of how I discovered that for myself in a Christian ashram in Kerala, India in 1983. There they use the Syrian Orthodox liturgy, the oldest in India, in which the same three psalms are said every morning of their lives: 51.1-7, 63.1-8 and 113. Together they make up a ladder of confession, trust and praise which I find that I too can pray daily, and always find some verse which speaks to my condition.
FINALLY – A SUGGESTION
Try reading the three psalms above. Or Psalm 103, Robert Louis Stevenson’s (of “Treasure Island fame) favourite. At night I use Psalm 91 or 139. Use just a few, ones that speak to you. We have a lifetime to explore their riches!