And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.—Luke 24:44

The Book of Psalms is one of the best-loved books of the Bible. This was as true in Jesus’ day as it is today. There are more quotations in the New Testament from the Book of Psalms than any other book. Our Lord and the apostles quoted or referred to specific psalms at least 70 times. (Isaiah with 55 references is in second place.)

The psalms are Hebrew poetry. In English we generally expect poems to rhyme and to have a kind of beat or rhythm. Generally poems are difficult to translate from one language to another while preserving either of these characteristics because equivalent words in two languages usually do not rhyme. But the vivid parallel repetition of thoughts and ideas which formed the basis of the Hebrew poetic form does translate well. Note the poetic nature of these words: "He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses" (Psalm 33:7).

As difficult as it is to write poetry in any language, at times the psalmist gave himself artificial constraints. Psalms 25 and 34 each contain 22 lines beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 119 consists of eight lines beginning with the Hebrew letter aleph (a), followed by eight lines beginning with the Hebrew letter beth (b), and so on through all 22 letters of the alphabet. Centuries ago people appreciated the psalms so much that many memorized all of them. This would be particularly important in our Lord’s day when memory had to substitute for easy access to books.

The psalms were contained in different books prior to being combined into a single book as we have them today. Some Bibles preserve this separation by identifying these "books" as Psalms 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, and 107-150. We have no way of knowing exactly how they were numbered in our Lord’s day since quotations typically take the form of "one in a certain place testified, saying" (Hebrews 2:6). The only exception is Acts 13:33 where the quotation is attributed to the "second psalm" which is indeed Psalm 2 in our Bibles.

The psalms were as important to the Lord and the disciples as the law and the prophets. Since many of the psalms were sung, one might erroneously say they used their hymns to prove their beliefs. Although we would never do such a thing today, these were not ordinary "hymns." They were inspired by God through his holy spirit. Jesus’ own words in Luke 24:44 make it clear that the psalms were prophetic and that his mission was to fulfil what was written of him there.

The author of the book of Hebrews uses several psalms to prove the superiority of God’s son. The book begins: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." Then without specifically stating where he gets his next thoughts, proofs lifted from the psalms begin to be articulated:

Verse 5: "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" (See Psalm 2:7.)

Verse 7: "Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." (See Psalm 104:4.)

Verses 8, 9: "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (See Psalm 45:6,7)

Verses 10-12: "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (See Psalm 102:25-27.)

Verse 13: "But to which of the angels said he at any times, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" (See Psalm 110:1.)

Later in the book, the superiority of the priesthood established by our Lord compared to the priesthood of Aaron is undoubtedly inspired by the words of Psalm 110:4, "The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Praise

The Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew is called "Praises." Indeed praise is a good one-word description of the psalms. The English word in its various forms appears more times in the Book of Psalms than in all other books of the Bible combined. Praise for God and his works shines through which is why they must have been such a pleasure to sing. Did our Lord sing? Yes, he did. On the night of the last supper we read, "When they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives" (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). Undoubtedly the "hymn" they sang was a psalm.

An excellent example of praise can be found in the last five psalms, called the "Hallelujah Psalms" because all begin and end with this word (which is translated "Praise ye the Lord" in the King James Version). Here are the first five verses of Psalm 148:

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created."

Praise is so appropriate for the people of God. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Hebrews 13:15).

A Look at This Issue

This issue of THE HERALD is devoted to the Book of Psalms. We begin with an examination of the structure of the book. As Moses gave the nation the five books of the law, we have in the psalms another five-fold division. The article "God’s Poem" compares and contrasts each of these five divisions with the first five books of the Bible. Space considerations preclude an exhaustive exposition for all five, though the "Exodus" section is explored in some detail.

Next we look at Psalm 23, perhaps the best known psalm of all. How amazing that the Hebrew of this psalm even in translation has become so beloved by people who may never have even seen a sheep. It is almost transcendent in its description of the protective qualities of our Master. Books have been devoted to this single psalm.

"Early Stages of the Kingdom Rule" looks at the psalms for their importance as prophecy, specifically as it concerns the kingdom of our Lord and the times in which we are now living. Through the testimony of the psalms we have a glorious preview of the kingdom when God will be exalted in all the earth.

Where did Jesus learn about his mission? Without question one source was the Book of Psalms. "Communing with God" shows how the psalms are a vehicle for God to commune with his people. Specific psalms are shown to have been a guide and an inspiration to Jesus as he learned about his role as Messiah.

The verse-by-verse article looks not at a specific psalm but at 1 Chronicles 25. Here we find David making the decisions to establish music as a part of the worship of God, and the role the Levites would have in that service.

A reprint from the Bible Study Monthly examines the twelve psalms of Asaph, David’s chief musician. We learn that in his musical preoccupation, Asaph found time to study the word of the Lord and become a medium through which the holy spirit could speak. Asaph is called the "seer" in 2 Chronicles 29:30.

We end with an "echo from the past," an article describing the importance of the psalms in our sacred songs. Truly we have a rich legacy from the men and women who have used their talents to produce the hymnody that is so treasured within the Christian church.

May our appreciation for God be enhanced and our praise for him even greater as we reflect on his goodness described in the psalms.