There are 150 psalms in the Book of Psalms that were written over the span of 800 years. Most of the Psalms written were made to be sung. There are two main genres of Psalms, which are laments and hymns. David is know to have written 73 psalms, Asaph wrote 12, the sons of Korah wrote 11, Solomon wrote 2, Moses wrote 1 and 50 are anonymous . Although 50 were anonymous, David was certainly the author of the majority of the Psalms.
The title of the Psalm is not always a direct indicator of who the author was because the preposition “of,” “to,” and “for”. They are all the same in Hebrew. For example, if the title of the psalm was “Psalm of David” it could have been a psalm that he wrote himself. It also could have been one that was written for him, “Psalm for David” or it could have been a song dedicated to him, “Psalm to David.” The most natural thing to assume however is that the titles do indicate authorship because if the psalm was written by David then his name would be on it as the author(Halley, 247). If the psalm was written to David it would include David’s name, but it could also include the name of the author. David is said to be the principle author for psalms. The purpose of the Psalms that David wrote was to sing praises to God and give God the glory for all of his creations. David also wrote songs of lament, as did many of the other psalmists.
Psalm 15 is an entrance liturgy because it follows a simple question and answer form. Many of the Psalms are written in this format . Thomas Jefferson called this psalm the picture of a true gentleman . Psalm 15 is a Davidic psalm and a perfect picture of what a true citizen of Zion, the City of David, should be. When David was writing this poem he focused on who may dwell in the Lord’s Sanctuary in the city of Zion. “This Psalm explains who is worthy to be a ‘guest’ of the Lord. The psalmist delineated the flawless character of one who is fit to worship in the Lord’s Sanctuary.” David asked the spiritual question of who could worship in God’s dwelling place (Pfeiffer,573). He then went on to describe what kind of person is capable of going to the temple on the holy hill.
Psalms 15 starts out with two simple questions. The psalmist asks God who is worthy to abide in God’s tent and who is worthy to dwell on God’s holy hill. In the first question it is important to note that the psalmist is...
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...only way for a person in the Old Testament to commune with God was after they gave a sacrifice. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and after he died it was no longer necessary to give these blood offerings to commune with God. Jesus was know to be very fond of the Psalms and often taught out of them for a very good reason.
Bibliography
Coogan, Michael, Marc Brettler, Carol Newman, and Pheme Perkins, ed. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Halley, Henry. Halley’s Bible Handbook. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927.
Mays, James. Psalms. Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville : John Knox Press, 1994.
Pfeiffer, C.F. The Wycliffe Bible commentary: Old Testament (Ps 15:1-5). Chicago: Moody Press, 1962.
Reyburn, William, and Robert Brancher. A Translators Handbook on the Book of Psalms. New York: United Bible Societies, 1991.
The New Interpeter's Bible; A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Nashville: Abingon Press, 1996.
Walvoord, J.F. The Bible knowledge commentary: An exposition of the Scriptures (Ps 15:1-5). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, (1983-c1985).
Walvoord, John F., Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
St. Albans Psalter Psalm 68 is not long, but it does have lots of detailed material to study the author’s choice of language, and the power of the images that are being conveyed to the readers through an emotional and sentimental way. The simplicity of this psalm’s gives it power, since it expresses an emotional despair in a careful shaped prayer, which comes from a human being in what seems to be a life-threatening situation. In the image and the content, the psalmist’s travels an arc of desperation to salvation, in a vivid personal plea to Christ to save him from what seems to be a swirling vortex of hopelessness that threatens to pull him under forever.
The Book of Psalms is split into five books according to the material contained in them. There are 150 psalms in the entire book and together they form the “hymnal of Israel” . The word ‘psalm’ means ‘praise’, a common theme throughout the book. Most Conservative Jewish and Christian theologians believe that 73 psalms were written by David, 12 by Asaph (a musician in David's court), 10 by the "Sons of Korah;" 2 by Solomon; 1 each by Ethan, Heman and Moses. Most were written in the hundred years following 1030 BCE . In contrast, most religious liberals believe that the psalms form and use in worship services originated from Pagan nations surrounding Israel.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957.
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
The Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971). Lenski, R. C. H. Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing). House, 1961.
Collins, John J. A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
Psalm 109 begins with a superscription that we have seen several times before, “A Psalm of David” (Bible 873). David is believed to be the author of this Psalm. Psalms 109 though is not a usual Psalm by David; this particular Psalm is classified as an Imprecatory Psalm or a Cursing Psalm. The idea of Imprecatory Psalms is very unsettling for people and the church. This though goes with a misunderstanding of what is involved in actually making an imprecatory prayer.
Sakenfeld, Kathaine Doob, ed. The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: D-H: Volume 2. Vol. 2. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007.
Bromiley, Geoffrey William, Fredrich, Gerhard, Kittel, Gerhard. “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” Struttgart, Germany. W. Kohlhammer Verlag. 1995. Print.
Wenham, G.J., Moyter, J.A., Carson, D.A. and France, R.T., eds. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998.
The book of Hebrews is a unique portion of the Bible because it is written as though it were a letter, directed at people the writer may have known. However, the book targets a seemingly broad audience of those without faith and also those that could be described as believers that have experienced persecution. A salient message within Hebrews is that people must persevere when they feel persecuted because Jesus Christ is their salvation, regardless of anything else that is happening in the people’s lives. An emphasis on the greatness of Jesus and his role as a mediator between God and those on Earth is dominant throughout the chapters and verses.
Henry, Matthew, and Leslie F. Church. Commentary on the Whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1961. Print.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.