Psalms Introduction

The psalms are written in a more concentrated form of discourse than other literary forms, with more consciously artistic elements—images, symbols, figures of speech, emotive vocabulary, and multiple meanings. Often the reader has to become familiar with the way their poetic discourse works in order to gain the full and intended meaning of the texts. Figurative language is used to express more than straightforward propositional statements can express, for it conveys both emotional and intellectual connotations and draws on the culture and history with allusions and references. To understand the psalms and their impact, one must try to live in that culture and sense Israel’s experience among pagan neighbors who usually sought to destroy them. Then one will better understand the hope of the psalms for the Lord to reign over all the nations and more greatly appreciate their praise for what the Lord has done.

Being a hymnbook, Psalms is filled with references to music and musical instruments. Some of these are in the superscriptions to the psalms; others are in the text, where the psalms themselves call for praise with all manner of instruments (some of which we know and some of which we do not). The reader must recognize that these are not simply contemplative poems to be studied but hymns and prayers to be sung and prayed. Accordingly, meter and musical accompaniment served to fix the words in the minds of the people more than any other form could do.

Over the years, the book of Psalms has been approached in different ways. For a long while the psalms were studied for dogma without much consideration given to what they revealed about Israelite worship, even though they were sung in liturgical services. After the Reformation, with the development of higher criticism, studies began to appear that applied the same critical approach that was used for other books of the Bible, focusing on philology, poetic structure, and theological ideas; this led to dating the psalms much later. On the more traditional side, scholars tried to identify the historical settings out of which the psalms had come, even if there was little to go on.

In the early 1900s, form critical studies provided a somewhat more positive approach to critical studies, making the reader aware of ancient literary forms and their functions, especially in conjunction with the ritual acts of Israel’s worship. Form critical scholars also sought to determine the setting out of which each psalm grew, depending more on the form and function than on the occasional historical reference. Such an identification is not often possible. But the approach did distinguish types of psalms—laments, declarative praises, descriptive praises, royal psalms, pilgrim psalms, enthronement psalms, and wisdom psalms, as well as a number of others based on these. Many form critical scholars, however, have tried to trace the development of each psalm to its final form, a task that is probably impossible (there is no evidence) and certainly unnecessary (the final form of the text is the canonical text we study and expound). Attempts to decide what was written earlier and what came later in a psalm have not been convincing.

Modern studies have focused on the biblical theology of the psalms. The main theme running through the collection is the reign of the Lord and how that reign is established over all creation. The praises of Israel celebrate every step in the establishment of that reign; they pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Within the psalms the hope of the great coming King begins to take shape, not often, but rather dramatically in places. Thus, the psalms not only express the faith of ancient Israel as it sought to live in this world but also point to the One who would perfectly fulfill the divine Word and establish the kingdom of God.

For the Christian who reads the psalms, many of the passages about the kingdom speak clearly of the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. Moreover, many psalms point to him as indirect prophecies of his suffering, death, and resurrection or as appropriate descriptions of his obedient life in the midst of enemies. Many of these so-called messianic passages were recognized as such by Jewish interpreters before Jesus was born and thus cannot be explained away as Christian readings of the texts. The Spirit of God was so directing the hearts and minds of the psalmists, especially David, that the words they used to express their own experiences were designed by God not only to fit the historical occasion but also to be fulfilled perfectly in the person and work of the Son of God, not only in his first coming but also in his coming in glory to reign.

There is also substantial agreement about the original text of the psalms. The Hebrew original is largely preserved in the Masoretic Text, clearly the superior text type due to its marks of authenticity. The Greek translation is a serviceable work, capturing for the most part the meaning of the verses in the contexts. But rather than preserving the rugged original, it often smoothes out the difficulties, using familiar words, or general words for specific ones, and clarifying difficult constructions. The Dead Sea Scrolls have confirmed that the text preserved in the Masoretic tradition is much earlier than the Masoretic manuscripts we have. In short, we can be fairly certain we have the original text of Psalms preserved for us in the manuscripts. When there are variant readings, the proper use of textual criticism almost always determines the correct text.

Whenever the New Testament quotes the Psalter, it is usually from the Greek translation (or translations) because it was easier for communicating to the widening Greek-speaking world. Frequently the Greek text is not precise in its translation, but its wording captures the sense of the context and provided the New Testament writers with a biblical text to use in their expositions and instructions. On a few occasions the Greek wording appears to be significantly different. Therefore, each case of a Greek citation from the intertestamental period has to be studied on its own merits to see its meaning and how it is being applied in the New Testament.