Bible Text: Psalm 71:14 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise Thee yet more and more. Psalm 71:14, NASB

Of all the books in the Old Testament, none is more widely loved and quoted than the book of Psalms. Yet it is amazing how very little we know of this literary masterpiece which was, in reality, the hymnbook of ancient Israel.

First, these 150 selections were a collection or an anthology of poems and short discourses set to music. Some were written for special occasions such as going to the temple at Jerusalem. Others were laments written on sad occasions such as going into captivity in Babylon, or prayers asking God to settle the score with enemies.

Actually, these 150 chapters of the Bible comprise five shorter books, each beginning with an introduction and closing with a refrain of praise known as a doxology. Some, such as Psalms 24 and 35, are acrostic or alphabetical. This means that each verse begins with a descending letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Verse one begins with an Aleph, (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet), verse two with Beth (the second letter) and so forth. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, actually follows the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, labeling sections as we would in English with A, B, C, D, etc.

To really appreciate the Psalms, which contains both the shortest and the longest chapters in the Bible, you need to understand that much of their beauty and symmetry is lost in translating Hebrew into another language. The rhyme and meter, the parallel expressions which were so meaningful, just don’t translate with the same symmetry and meter.

David, traditionally and historically, has been considered the primary author of this great book. There were also other authors of the Psalms such as Moses, who lived long before David, and some who wrote long after him. Included in the book are songs which Moses sang and taught the people as they wandered in the wilderness and rejoiced over their deliverance from Egypt (Psalm 90).

Deborah and Barak, prophets who followed Moses, sang those same songs, which were eventually incorporated into this book. Following David, kings such as Hezekiah led their people in singing the psalms of worship and praise.

In the New Testament, the book of Psalms is quoted more than any other Old Testament book. Of the 283 New Testament quotes from the Old Testament, 116 are from the book of Psalms.

Almost every conceivable kind of literature is found among these 150 selections. Some are prophetic, referring to a coming Messiah (Psalm 2, 110). Some are historical (Psalm 78). Some ask for the wrath of God on their enemies (Psalm 35). Others are beautiful expressions of praise and worship (Psalm 113). Some are extremely joyful, the overflow of thanksgiving which comes from the heart. David cried, “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30, KJV). Others are mournful and sad.

In the concentration camps of World War 2, devout Jews went to their deaths quoting the Psalms. On the cross, as life ebbed from His body, Jesus quoted from the Psalms (cf. Psalm 22:1; 31:5 and Matthew 27:46 and Luke 23:46).

Today, Christians have rediscovered the Psalms in contemporary worship, replacing the music which has been lost with the passing of time, yet the truth and the teaching of these magnificent compositions will never be lost.

William Gladstone, the British prime minister, put it so well when he said, “All the wonders of Greek civilization heaped together are less wonderful than is this simple book of the Psalms.”

Resource reading: Psalm 1