Reference: Psalms
Easton
The psalms are the production of various authors. "Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another contribution to the sacred collection, and thus in the wisdom of Providence it more completely reflects every phase of human emotion and circumstances than it otherwise could." But it is specially to David and his contemporaries that we owe this precious book. In the "titles" of the psalms, the genuineness of which there is no sufficient reason to doubt, 73 are ascribed to David. Peter and John (Ac 4:25) ascribe to him also the second psalm, which is one of the 48 that are anonymous. About two-thirds of the whole collection have been ascribed to David.
Psalms 39, 62, and 77 are addressed to Jeduthun, to be sung after his manner or in his choir. Psalms 50 and 73-83 are addressed to Asaph, as the master of his choir, to be sung in the worship of God. The "sons of Korah," who formed a leading part of the Kohathite singers (2Ch 20:19), were intrusted with the arranging and singing of PS 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, and 88.
In Lu 24:44 the word "psalms" means the Hagiographa, i.e., the holy writings, one of the sections into which the Jews divided the Old Testament. (See Bible.)
None of the psalms can be proved to have been of a later date than the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, hence the whole collection extends over a period of about 1,000 years. There are in the New Testament 116 direct quotations from the Psalter.
The Psalter is divided, after the analogy of the Pentateuch, into five books, each closing with a doxology or benediction:
(1.) The first book comprises the first 41 psalms, all of which are ascribed to David except 1, 2, 10, and 33, which, though anonymous, may also be ascribed to him.
(2.) Book second consists of the next 31 psalms (42-72), 18 of which are ascribed to David and 1 to Solomon (the 72nd). The rest are anonymous.
(3.) The third book contains 17 psalms (73-89), of which the 86th is ascribed to David, the 88th to Heman the Ezrahite, and the 89th to Ethan the Ezrahite.
(4.) The fourth book also contains 17 psalms (90-106), of which the 90th is ascribed to Moses, and the 101st and 103rd to David.
(5.) The fifth book contains the remaining psalms, 44 in number. Of these, 15 are ascribed to David, and the 127th to Solomon.
PS 136 is generally called "the great hallel." But the Talmud includes also PS 120-135. PS 113-118, inclusive, constitute the "hallel" recited at the three great feasts, at the new moon, and on the eight days of the feast of dedication.
It is presumed that these several collections were made at times of high religious life: the first, probably, near the close of David's life; the second in the days of Solomon; the third by the singers of Jehoshaphat (2Ch 20:19); the fourth by the men of Hezekiah (29, 30, 31); and the fifth in the days of Ezra.
The Mosaic ritual makes no provision for the service of song in the worship of God. David first taught the Church to sing the praises of the Lord. He first introduced into the ritual of the tabernacle music and song.
Divers names are given to the psalms. (1.) Some bear the Hebrew designation shir (Gr. ode, a song). Thirteen have this title. It means the flow of speech, as it were, in a straight line or in a regular strain. This title includes secular as well as sacred song.
(2.) Fifty-eight psalms bear the designation (Heb) mitsmor (Gr. psalmos, a psalm), a lyric ode, or a song set to music; a sacred song accompanied with a musical instrument.
(3.) PS 145, and many others, have the designation (Heb) tehillah (Gr. hymnos, a hymn), meaning a song of praise; a song the prominent thought of which is the praise of God.
(4.) Six psalms (16, 56-60) have the title (Heb) michtam (q.v.).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
And He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me.
who by the mouth of Your servant David has said, "Why did the nations rage and the people imagine vain things?
Fausets
(See DAVID; POETRY.) The Hebrew designation tehillim, "praises" or hymns," occurring only in the title of Psalm 145 and about 30 times in the body of the Psalms, applies only to some not to all the psalms. The glorification of God is the design of them all, even the penitentiary and precatory psalms; but tehilliym applies strictly to praise songs alone, tephillowt to the prayer songs; Psalm 17; Psalm 72 end, closing the second book of Psalms, Psalm 86; 90; 102 title. No one Hebrew title comprehends all.
The Greek Septuagint has given the title "Psalms" (from psalloo "to play an instrument") applied to the whole collection. The Hebrew mizmor designates 65 psalms; in the Syriac version it comprises the whole (from zaamar "to decorate"), psalms of artificial, adorned structure (Hengstenberg). "A rhythmical composition" (Lowth). "Psalms," the designation most applicable to the whole book, means songs accompanied by an instrument, especially the harp (1Ch 16:4-9; 2Ch 5:12-13). Shir, "a joyful thanksgiving song," is prefixed only to some. The various kinds are specified in Eph 5:19; "psalms (accompanied by an instrument), hymns (indirect praise of God), ... spiritual songs (joyous lyric pieces; contrast Am 8:10)."
TITLES. Their genuineness is confirmed by their antiquity (which is proved by their being unintelligible to the Septuagint translators of the Hebrew into Greek), and by their presence in the greatest number of manuscripts, and in fragments of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. Their obscurity and occasional want of connection with the psalm's contents (as title Psalm 34) are incompatible with their origination from forgers. The orientals, moreover, usually prefix titles to poems (Hab 3:1; Isa 38:9); so David (2Sa 23:1). The enigmatical titles, found only in the psalms of David and of David's singers, accord with Eastern taste. They are too "poetical, spirited, and profound for any later collector" (Hengstenberg). So David's "bow song" (2Sa 1:18), his enigmatical designation for "the song on him expert with the bow" (2Sa 1:22).
The historical hints in some titles give a clue to the dates. If the titles were added by later hands, how is it that they are wanting in those psalms where conjecture could most easily have had place, namely, the non-Davidic psalms of the fourth and fifth books, whereas they appear in the most regular and complete form in David's psalms, next in those of his singers? Now these are just the ones where conjecture is given no room for exercise; for the titles do not apparently illustrate these psalms, but are a memorial of the events which most deeply impressed David's own mind. In the last two books the historical occasions do not occur in the titles, because cycles of psalms mainly compose these books, and among such cycles psalms of an individual reference hardly have place.
DIVISIONS. Davidic basis of the whole. The Psalms form one "book"; so the Lord refers to them (Lu 20:42), so His apostles (Ac 1:20). The fathers, Ambrose (on Psalm 40) and Jerome to Cyprian (2:695), describe the Psalms as five books in one volume. Based on and corresponding to the historical Pentateuch, they form a poetical "Pentateuch" (Epiphanius, de Mens., c. 5), extending from Moses to the times of Malachi "the Hebrew history set to music an oratorio in five parts, with Messiah for its subject" (Wordsworth). The Psalms, like the Pentateuch, being used in divine worship, are the people's answer to God's address to them in the law, i.e. the expression of their pious feelings called forth by the word of God. The close of each of the five books is marked by a doxology. The "blessed be the Lord God of Israel" is taken up by Zacharias, as fulfilled in Christ (Le 1:17; Ps 106:48). Book I includes Psalm 1-41; Book II, Psalm 42-72; Book III, Psalm 73-89; Book IV, Psalm 90-106; Book V, Psalm 107-150.
Book I is according to the titles Davidic; accordingly there is no trace of any author hut David. The objection from the "temple" (Ps 5:7) being mentioned is groundless, for in 1Sa 1:9; 3:3, it is similarly used for the tabernacle long before Solomon's temple was built. The argument for a post-Babylonian date from the phrase "bring back the captivity" (Ps 14:7) is invalid; it is a Hebraism for reversing one's misfortunes (Job 42:10). Nor does the acrosticism in Psalm 25 prove a late date, for acrosticism appears in psalms acknowledged to be David's (Psalm 9). In Books II and III David's singers have borrowed from David (excepting "a song of the beloved" Psalm 45, and Psalm 46, "upon Alamoth") everything peculiar in his superscriptions; see Psalm 42; 43; 44; 84; 86. "Selah" is restricted to David and his singers; but "hallelujah" is never found in his or their psalms.
So also "to the chief musician," (committing the psalm to the music conductor to prepare for musical performance in the public service: 1Ch 15:21 Hebrew and margin, compare 1Ch 15:22,) is limited to David's and their psalms. The writer of 2 Samuel 22 evidently turned into prose David's poetical superscription (Psalm 18); so the writer of 1Sa 19:11; 21:13-14; 23:19, had before him the titles of Psalm 34; 54; 59. Hezekiah's "writing" (miktab) alludes probably to David's miktam (a "secret," or "song of deep import"), Psalm 56; 57 titles, for it was he who restored David's psalms to their liturgical use in the temple (2Ch 29:30). This imitation of David's title, and still more the correspondence of his prayer to David's psalms (Ps 102:24; 27:13; 49:1; 6:5; 30:9), is a presumption for the authenticity of David's and his singers' psalms and their titles.
Habakkuk similarly leans upon David's superscriptions, as also upon his psalms. Hab 3:1, "Shiggaion," compare title Ps 7:1, "Son of David"; Hab 3:19, "to the chief musician on my stringed instruments" is derived from the titles Psalm 4; 6. So the "Selah" (Ps 6:9-10) which occurs only in the psalms of David and his singers. The absence of the authors' names from most of the psalms in the fourth and fifth books implies that none of them have an individual and personal character, as the Davidic psalms have. In all such the psalmist represents the community. The later groups of psalms rest on the Davidic, and echo the poetry of David. Even in the psalms of David's singers, the authors, except Asaph (Psalm 1; 74) who was immediately associated with David, do not give their individual names.
PRINCIPLE OF SELECTION. Not all Israel's lyric poetry but only.
(1) such as is directly religious is included in the psalter, therefore not David's dirge over Saul and Jonathan (2Sa 1:17-27). Also
(2) only the psalms applicable to the whole church and therefore suited to the public services of the sanctuary. The individual psalmist represents the religious community whose mouthpiece he is. 2Sa 23:1; David sings in his typical and representative character; no other psalmist in the book has personal references. Hence Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 38) and Jonah's thanksgiving are excluded as too personal.
(3) Only such as were composed trader the Holy Spirit's inspiration. The very musicians who founded the sacred music were inspired (1Ch 25:1, "prophesy with harps"), much more the psalmists themselves. Asaph, the writer of some psalms, was a "seer" (2Ch 29:30).
David spoke "in the Spirit." Christ testifies (Mt 22:41-46), He classes" the Psalms," the chief book of the chetubim or hagiographa, with "the law and the prophets" (Lu 24:44). The Messianic prophetic element in David leans on Nathan's prophecy (2 Samuel 7). Subsequent prophets develop David's Messianic predictions. The Psalms draw out of the typical ceremonial of the law its tuner spirit, adapting it to the various requirements of the individual and the congregation. By their help the Israelite could enter into the living spirit of the law, and realizing his need of the promised Saviour look for Him of whom the Psalms testify. They are a treasury from which we can draw the inner experiences of Old Testament saints and express our corresponding feelings, under like circumstances, in their divinely sanctioned language of praise and prayer.
CLASSIFICATION.
(1) Psalms of joy and gratitude, shir, lethodah "for confession" or as
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he shall cut it in two with the wings of it, not dividing it. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to Jehovah.
And Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. And Eli the priest sat on the seat by the side post of the temple of Jehovah.
And the lamp of God had not gone out. And Samuel was lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was.
Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And David's wife Michal told him saying, If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you shall be killed.
And he changed his behavior before them, and pretended himself to be mad in their hands, and marked on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down on his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, Lo, you see the man is mad. Why have you brought him to me?
And the men of Ziph came up to Saul, to Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the forest, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the wilderness?
And it greatly distressed David, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, each one for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself in Jehovah his God.
And David chanted this death dirge over Saul and over his son Jonathan. And he said to teach the sons of Judah The Song of the Bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher:
And he said to teach the sons of Judah The Song of the Bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher: The beauty of Israel is slain upon your high places! How are the mighty fallen! read more. Tell it not in Gath, do not let it be known in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Mountains of Gilboa, let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings. For there the shield of the mighty has been evilly cast away, the shield of Saul not being anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty.
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions. read more. Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and with delights; who put ornaments of gold on your clothes. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant you have been to me. Your love to me was wonderful, more than the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking the Syrians in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand men.
And these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said:
And these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said:
And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, were to lead with lyres on the octave. And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song. He instructed about the song, because he was skillful.
And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of Jehovah, and to record, and to thank and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom. And Jeiel praised with instruments of harps and with lyres; and Asaph made a sound with cymbals. read more. Also Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests praised with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. Then on that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brothers in order to thank Jehovah: Give thanks to Jehovah, call on His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him, talk of all His wondrous works.
And David and the army commanders separated to the service those of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who were prophets with lyres and with cymbals. And the number of the workmen according to their service was:
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Do not fear, nor be dismayed, for Jehovah God, my God, will be with you. He will not fail you nor leave you until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of Jehovah.
And David the king said to all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great. For the palace is not for man, but for Jehovah God.
And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
And on the fourth day they gathered themselves in the Valley of Blessing. For there they blessed Jehovah. And the name of the same place was called the Valley of Blessing until this day. And they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy. For Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies. read more. And they came into Jerusalem with harps and with lyres, and with trumpets to the house of Jehovah. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel.
And Hezekiah the king and the rulers commanded the Levites to sing praise to Jehovah with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
And Hezekiah the king and the rulers commanded the Levites to sing praise to Jehovah with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates. And Josiah went out against him. But he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I do not come against you today, but against the house with which I have war. For God commanded me to make haste. You must cease from opposing God, who is with me, so that He does not destroy you. read more. But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him. And he did not listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot at King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am grievously wounded. And his servants took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. And Jeremiah mourned for Josiah. And all the singing men and the singing women have spoken of Josiah in their lamentations until this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel. And behold, they are written in the Lamentations.
And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. read more. And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and laid a fine of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold on the land. And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.
this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a ready scribe in the Law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel had given. And the king granted him all he asked, according to the hand of Jehovah his God on him.
And Nehemiah, the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.
let thorns come forth instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Also Jehovah added to Job all that had been his, to double.
But his delight is only in the Law of Jehovah; and in His Law he meditates day and night.
Why do the nations rage, and the peoples meditate on a vain thing?
But I, in the abundance of Your grace, I will come into Your house; I will worship in Your fear toward Your holy temple.
For in death there is no memory of You; in the grave who shall give You thanks?
Jehovah has heard my cry; Jehovah will receive my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed and exceedingly troubled; let them turn back and be ashamed in a moment.
A song of David, which he sang to Jehovah, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite. O Jehovah my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me,
Who will bring the salvation of Israel out of Zion? When Jehovah brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
For who is God besides Jehovah? Or, who is a Rock except our God?
I would have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living.
What profit is in my blood, in going down to the pit? Shall the dust praise You? Shall it tell of Your truth?
He shall choose our inheritance for us, the majesty of Jacob whom He loved. Selah. God has gone up with a shout, Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet.
God has gone up with a shout, Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet.
God reigns over the nations, God sits on the throne of His holiness. The rulers of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham; for the shields of the earth are God's; He is lifted up on high.
The rulers of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham; for the shields of the earth are God's; He is lifted up on high.
You break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind;
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world;
Blessed is Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who alone does wonderful things.
They said in their hearts, Together let us rage against them; they have burned up all God's meeting-places in the land.
A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
Pour out Your wrath on the nations who have not known You, and on the kingdoms who have not called on Your name.
You also have turned back the edge of his sword and have not made him stand in the battle.
The days of his youth You have shortened; You have covered him with shame. Selah.
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; Your years are through the generation of generations.
Blessed is Jehovah, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; and let all the people say, Amen. Praise Jehovah!
To the Chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O Jehovah, from the evil man; keep me from the violent man,
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for Jehovah will go before you; and the God of Israel gathers you. Behold, My Servant shall rule well; He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
Behold, My Servant shall rule well; He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. Just as many were astonished at You (so much was the disfigurement from man, His appearance and His form from the sons of mankind);
Just as many were astonished at You (so much was the disfigurement from man, His appearance and His form from the sons of mankind); so He sprinkles from many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for they will see that which was not told to them; yea, what they had not heard, nor understood.
so He sprinkles from many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for they will see that which was not told to them; yea, what they had not heard, nor understood.
Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of Jehovah revealed? For He comes up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He has no form nor majesty that we should see Him, nor an appearance that we should desire Him. read more. He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as it were a hiding of faces from Him, He being despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, each one to his own way; and Jehovah has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted; yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken. And He put His grave with the wicked, and with a rich one in His death; although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased Jehovah to crush Him; to grieve Him; that He should put forth His soul as a guilt-offering. He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul. He shall be fully satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify for many; and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide to Him with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He has poured out His soul to death; and He was counted among the transgressors; and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors.
Pour out Your fury on the nations who do not know You, and on the families who do not call on Your name; for they have eaten up Jacob and have devoured him, and have destroyed him, and have made his dwelling desolate.
And he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house. And he burned with fire all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great ones.
Also the Chaldeans broke the pillars of bronze that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the bronze sea in the house of Jehovah, and carried all the bronze of them to Babylon.
And I will turn your feast into mourning, and all your songs into weeping; and I will bring up sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head. And I will make it like the mourning of an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:
Jehovah the Lord is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk on my high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Blessed are the poor in spirit! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
While the Pharisees were gathered, Jesus asked them, saying, What do you think of Christ? Whose son is he? They say to Him, David's. read more. He said to them, How then does David by the Spirit call him Lord, saying, "the LORD said to my Lord, Sit on My right until I make Your enemies Your footstool for Your feet?" If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day to question Him any more.
Even David himself says in the Book of Psalms, "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand
And He said to them, O fools and slow of heart to believe all things that the prophets spoke!
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
And He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me. And He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures. read more. And He said to them, So it is written, and so it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "Let his estate become forsaken, and he not be living in it." And, "Let another take his overseership."
For David speaks concerning Him, "I foresaw the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad; and also My flesh shall rest in hope, read more. because You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your holy One to see corruption.
And hearing this, they were stabbed in the heart, and said to Peter and to the other apostles, Men, brothers, what shall we do?
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
About which salvation the prophets sought out and searched out, prophesying concerning the grace for you; searching for what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ made clear within them, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow. read more. To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, they ministered the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you in the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Hastings
PSALMS
1. Title and place in Canon.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
You shall not make with Me gods of silver, neither shall you make to you gods of gold.
And the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as a memorial of it, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward he shall cause the woman to drink the water.
And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in Jehovah, my horn is exalted in Jehovah. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation. There is none holy as Jehovah, for there is none beside You. Neither is there any rock like our God. read more. Talk no more so very proudly. Remove arrogance out of your mouth, for Jehovah is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired themselves out for bread, and they that were hungry ceased; yea, while the barren has borne seven, and she who had many sons has languished. Jehovah kills and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol, and brings up. Jehovah takes away, and He gives riches; He brings low; yea, He lifts up high. He raises up the poor out of the dust; He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to set them among princes; yea, He causes them to inherit a throne of honor; for to Jehovah are the pillars of the earth; and He sets the habitable world on them. He keeps the feet of his saints, and the wicked are silenced in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The foes of Jehovah shall be broken to pieces. He thunders in the heavens upon them. Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth. And He shall give strength to His king, and exalts the horn of His anointed.
And the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound with cymbals of bronze; and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with harps set to Alamoth. read more. And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, were to lead with lyres on the octave.
And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
The sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three.
For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. O Lord, how my foes have increased! Many are the ones who rise up against me.
Jehovah is known. He has executed judgment; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. A meditation. Selah.
Jehovah is known. He has executed judgment; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. A meditation. Selah.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the expanse proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. read more. There is no speech nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, and he comes forth as a bridegroom from his canopy; he rejoices as a strong man to run a race, going forth from the end of the heavens, and its course is to their ends. And there is nothing hid from its heat. The Law of Jehovah is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making the simple wise. The Precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the Commandments of Jehovah are pure, giving light to the eyes. The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of Jehovah are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. And Your servant is warned by them; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Oh make me pure from secret faults; and keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins; do not let them rule over me; then I shall be upright, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer.
A Psalm of David. The earth is Jehovah's, and the fullness of it; the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. read more. Who shall go up into the hill of Jehovah? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from Jehovah, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates; even lift up, O everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of Hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.
A Psalm of David. Jehovah is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, my enemies and my foes, came on me to eat my flesh, they stumbled and fell. read more. Though an army should camp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I am trusting. One thing I have desired from Jehovah, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Jehovah, and to pray in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His shelter, in the secrecy of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me up on a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies, my encirclers; and I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle. I will sing; yea, I will sing praises to Jehovah. Hear, O Jehovah, when I cry with my voice; and have mercy on me, and answer me. My heart says to You, Seek my face; Your face, O Jehovah, I will seek; Hide not Your face from me. Turn not Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then Jehovah will take me up. Teach me Your way, O Jehovah, and lead me in a plain path, because of my enemies. Deliver me not over to the will of my enemies; for false witnesses have risen up against me, and he that breathes out cruelty. I would have fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living. Hope in Jehovah; be of good courage, and He shall make your heart strong; yea, hope in Jehovah.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of Jehovah. The oracle utters transgression to the wicked within my heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes in order to find his iniquity, to hate it. read more. The words of his mouth are evil and deceit; he has stopped acting wisely and doing good. He plots evil on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not hate evil. Your mercy, O Jehovah, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Jehovah, You keep man and beast. How precious is Your loving-kindness, O God! And the sons of men take refuge under the shadow of Your wing. They shall be satisfied with the fatness of Your house; and You shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we shall see light. O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart. Do not let the foot of pride come against me, and do not let the hand of the wicked move me. There the evil-doers have fallen; they are cast down, and cannot rise.
Be pleased, O Jehovah, to deliver me; O Jehovah, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and humbled together, those who seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame, those who wish me evil. read more. Let them be desolate as a reward for their shame, those who say to me, Aha, aha! Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You, and the ones loving your salvation always say, Let Jehovah be magnified. But I am poor and needy; Jehovah will care for me; You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not wait.
Blessed is Jehovah, the God of Israel, from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen and Amen!
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and moan within me? Hope in God; for I shall praise Him for the salvation of His face.
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why do you moan within me? Hope in God; for I still praise Him, the salvation of my face, and my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why do you moan within me? Hope in God; for I still praise Him, the salvation of my face, and my God.
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise. Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.
Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn. I will praise You, O Jehovah, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations.
I will praise You, O Jehovah, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great to the heavens, and Your truth to the clouds.
For Your mercy is great to the heavens, and Your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.
Save with Your right hand and answer me, that Your beloved may be delivered.
Save with Your right hand and answer me, that Your beloved may be delivered. God has spoken in His holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.
God has spoken in His holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; and Ephraim is the strength of My head, Judah is My lawgiver;
Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; and Ephraim is the strength of My head, Judah is My lawgiver; Moab is My washpot; over Edom I will cast out My shoe; over Philistia I cry in triumph.
Moab is My washpot; over Edom I will cast out My shoe; over Philistia I cry in triumph. Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom?
Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? Have not You, O God, cast us off? And will You, O God, not go out with our armies?
Have not You, O God, cast us off? And will You, O God, not go out with our armies? Give us help against our foe; for vain is the help of man.
Give us help against our foe; for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do great things; for it is He who shall trample our enemies.
Through God we shall do great things; for it is He who shall trample our enemies.
Blessed is Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who alone does wonderful things. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and all the earth is filled with His glory! Amen and Amen.
You have made his glory to cease, and have thrown his throne down to the ground. The days of his youth You have shortened; You have covered him with shame. Selah. read more. How long, Jehovah? Will You hide Yourself forever? Shall Your wrath burn like fire? Remember, I pray, how short my time is; why have You made all men in vain? What man lives and never sees death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. O Lord, where are Your former loving-kindnesses which You swore to David in Your truth? Remember, Lord, the scorn of Your servants; how I bear in my bosom the insult of all the mighty people, with which Your enemies have cursed, O Jehovah; with which they have cursed the footsteps of Your anointed. Blessed is Jehovah forevermore. Amen and Amen.
Blessed is Jehovah forevermore. Amen and Amen.
on the ten strings, and on the harp, with sounding music on the lyre.
You shall arise, and have mercy on Zion; for the time to pity her, yea, the set time, has come.
When Jehovah shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.
Save us, O Jehovah our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name and to triumph in Your praise. Blessed is Jehovah, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; and let all the people say, Amen. Praise Jehovah!
and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
A Song of degrees. When Jehovah turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream.
There we sat down by the rivers of Babylon; also, we wept when we remembered Zion.
Jehovah builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave; I have numbered the rest of my years. read more. I said, I shall not see Jah, Jehovah, in the land of the living; I shall look on man no more with the people of the world. My generation is departed and removed from me like a shepherd's tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver; He will cut me off from the loom; from day even to night You will make an end of me. I place Him before me until morning, that, as a lion, so He breaks all my bones; from day even until night You make an end of me. Like a twittering swallow, so I chatter; I mourn as a dove; my eyes look weakly to the heights. O Jehovah, I am pressed down; be surety for me. What shall I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has acted; I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Jehovah, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit; so You will recover me, and make me to live. Behold, I had great bitterness for peace; but You loved my soul from the pit of destruction. You have cast all my sins behind Your back. For the grave cannot praise You, death can not rejoice in You; they who go down into the pit cannot hope for Your truth. The living, the living, he shall praise You, as I do this day; the father shall make Your truth known to the sons. For Jehovah is for my salvation; and we will sing my songs on the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.
So says Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it; so I will do to My servants, that I may not destroy them all.
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:
Jehovah the Lord is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk on my high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. read more. For He looked on the humiliation of His slave woman. For, behold, from now on all generations shall count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has worked power with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart. He has put down rulers from their seats and exalted the lowly, He has filled the hungry with good things, and He has sent away the rich empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.
Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, read more. as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from eternity; that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, that He would grant to us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest, for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; by which the Dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Even David himself says in the Book of Psalms, "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand
And He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me.
And the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem, and it was winter.
For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "Let his estate become forsaken, and he not be living in it." And, "Let another take his overseership."
Morish
This word occurs in the O.T. only in connection with the Psalms of David and those in the Book of Psalms. David is called "the sweet psalmist of Israel." 2Sa 23:1. There can be no doubt that in connection with the 'singers,' and the praising God with instruments, the Psalms were used. We read "sing psalms unto him," "Make a joyful noise unto him with psalms," etc. In N.T. days, for a time at least, the Psalms of David may have been sung by believers, but there were also hymns and spiritual songs, and it is to be remarked that in the singing at the institution of the Lord's supper a hymn (?????) is spoken of, not a psalm (??????). See PASSOVER. The latter Greek word (besides the occurrences which refer to the Book of Psalms) is found in 1Co 14:26; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16.
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And these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said:
Then how is it, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be for building up.
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Watsons
PSALMS. The book of Psalms is a collection of hymns, or sacred songs, in praise of God, and consists of poems of various kinds. They are the productions of different persons, but are generally called the Psalms of David, because a great part of them was composed by him, and David himself is distinguished by the name of the Psalmist. We cannot now ascertain all the Psalms written by David, but their number probably exceeds seventy; and much less are we able to discover the authors of the other Psalms, or the occasions upon which they were composed. A few of them were written after the return from the Babylonian captivity. The titles prefixed to them are of very questionable authority; and in many cases they are not intended to denote the writer but refer only to the person who was appointed to set them to music. David first introduced the practice of singing sacred hymns in the public service of God; and it was restored by Ezra. The authority of the Psalms is established not only by their rank among the sacred writings, and by the unvaried testimony of ages, but likewise by many intrinsic proofs of inspiration. Not only do they breathe through every part a divine spirit of eloquence, but they contain numberless illustrious prophecies that were remarkably accomplished, and are frequently appealed to by the evangelical writers. The sacred character of the whole book is established by the testimony of our Saviour and his Apostles, who, in various parts of the New Testament, appropriate the predictions of the Psalms as obviously apposite to the circumstances of their lives, and as intentionally composed to describe them. The veneration for the Psalms has in all ages of the church been considerable. The fathers assure us, that in the earlier times the whole book of Psalms was generally learned by heart; and that the ministers of every gradation were expected to be able to repeat them from memory. These invaluable Scriptures are daily repeated without weariness, though their beauties are often overlooked in familiar and habitual perusal. As hymns immediately addressed to the Deity, they reduce righteousness to practice; and while we acquire the sentiments, we perform the offices of piety; while we supplicate for blessings, we celebrate the memorial of former mercies; and while in the exercise of devotion, faith is enlivened by the display of prophecy. Josephus asserts, and most of the ancient writers maintain, that the Psalms were composed in metre. They have undoubtedly a peculiar conformation of sentences, and a measured distribution of parts. Many of them are elegiac, and most of David's are of the lyric kind. There is no sufficient reason however to believe, as some writers have imagined, that they were written in rhyme, or in any of the Grecian measures. Some of them are acrostic; and though the regulations of the Hebrew measure are now lost, there can be no doubt, from their harmonious modulation, that they were written with some kind of metrical order; and they must have been composed in accommodation to the measure to which they were set. (See Poetry of the Hebrews.) The Hebrew copies and the Septuagint version of this book contain the same number of Psalms; only the Septuagint translators have, for some reason which does not appear, thrown the ninth and tenth into one, as also the one hundred and fourteenth and one hundred and fifteenth, and have divided the one hundred and sixteenth and one hundred and forty-seventh each into two.
It is very justly observed by Dr. Allix, that, "although the sense of near fifty Psalms be fixed and settled by divine authors, yet Christ and his Apostles did not undertake to quote all the Psalms they could, but only to give a key to their hearers, by which they might apply to the same subjects the Psalms of the same composure and expression." With regard to the Jews, Bishop Chandler very pertinently remarks, that "they must have understood David, their prince, to have been a figure of Messiah. They would not otherwise have made his Psalms part of their daily worship; nor would David have delivered them to the church to be so employed, were it not to instruct and support them in the knowledge and belief of this fundamental article. Were the Messiah not concerned in the Psalms, it would have been absurd to celebrate twice a day, in their public devotions, the events of one man's life, who was deceased so long ago, as to have no relation now to the Jews and the circumstances of their affairs; or to transcribe whole passages from them into their prayers for the coming of the Messiah." Upon the same principle it is easily seen that the objections, which may seem to lie against the use of Jewish services in Christian congregations, may cease at once. Thus it may be said, Are we concerned with the affairs of David and of Israel? Have we any thing to do with the ark and the temple? They are no more. Are we to go up to Jerusalem, and to worship on Sion? They are desolated, and trodden under foot by the Turks. Are we to sacrifice young bullocks according to the law? The law is abolished, never to be observed again. Do we pray for victory over Moab, Edom, and Philistia; or for deliverance from Babylon? There are no such nations, no such places in the world. What then do we mean, when, taking such expressions into our mouths, we utter them in our own persons, as parts of our devotions, before God? Assuredly we must mean a spiritual Jerusalem and Sion; a spiritual ark and temple; a spiritual law; spiritual sacrifices; and spiritual victories over spiritual enemies; all described under the old names, which are still retained, though "old things are passed away, and all things are become new," 2Co 5:17. By substituting Messiah for David, the Gospel for the law, the church Christian for that of Israel, and the enemies of the one for those of the other, the Psalms are made our own. Nay, they are with more fulness and propriety applied now to the substance, than they were of old to the "shadow of good things then to come," Heb 10:1. For let it not pass unobserved, that when, upon the first publication of the Gospel, the Apostles had occasion to utter their transports of joy, on their being counted worthy to suffer for the name of their Lord and Master, which was then opposed by Jew and Gentile, they brake forth into an application of the second Psalm to the transactions then before their eyes, Ac 4:25. The Psalms, thus applied, have advantages which no fresh compositions, however finely executed, can possibly have; since, beside their incomparable fitness to express our sentiments, they are at the same time memorials of, and appeals to, former mercies and deliverances; they are acknowledgments of prophecies accomplished; they point out the connection between the old and new dispensations, thereby teaching us to admire and adore the wisdom of God displayed in both, and furnishing while we read or sing them, an inexhaustible variety of the noblest matter that can engage the contemplations of man.
Very few of the Psalms, comparatively, appear to be simply prophetical, and to belong only to Messiah, without the intervention of any other person. Most of them, it is apprehended, have a double sense, which stands upon this ground and foundation, that the ancient patriarchs, prophets, priests, and kings, were typical characters, in their several offices, and in the more remarkable passages of their lives, their extraordinary depressions and miraculous exaltations foreshowing him who was to arise as the head of the holy family, the great prophet, the true priest, the everlasting king. The Israelitish polity, and the law of Moses, were purposely framed after the example and shadow of things spiritual and heavenly; and the events which happened to the ancient people of God were designed to shadow out parallel occurrences, which should afterward take place in the accomplishment of man's redemption, and the rise and progress of the Christian church, (See Prophecy.) For this reason, the Psalms composed for the use of Israel, and by them accordingly used at the time, do admit of an application to us, who are now "the Israel of God," Ga 6:16, and to our Redeemer
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who by the mouth of Your servant David has said, "Why did the nations rage and the people imagine vain things?
So that if any one is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God.
For the Law which has a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, appearing year by year with the same sacrifices, which they offer continually, they are never able to perfect those drawing near.