While most book overviews are written with a view toward observation (summarizing or outlining what is said), I would like to present a series of overviews with a view toward interpretation (summarizing or outlining why it is said). I will walk through not simply the contents but the argument of each book. I will not cover every book, but only those I have spent enough time in to believe I have something to say.
This post brings us to the book of Psalms.
Literary Divisions
The Book of Psalms has a straightforward and obvious structure, which, until only the last few years, I had trained myself to completely ignore. But I have come to see how fundamental this structure is to the message of the book.
Many editions of the Bible identify the structure with the headings “Book One,” “Book Two,” and so forth, up to “Book Five.” These divisions are of ancient origin and ought to be taken seriously as we study the book.
- Book 1 = Psalms 1-41
- Book 2 = Psalms 42-72
- Book 3 = Psalms 73-89
- Book 4 = Psalms 90-106
- Book 5 = Psalms 107-150
Confirmation of the Five-Book Structure Within the Text
Some Jewish rabbis believed this five-book division was meant to be parallel to the five books of Moses. In this way, they held up the Psalms as being nearly as important as the law of Moses. They saw this collection of poems painting a picture of the lives and community of the people in covenant with Yahweh.
This five-book structure is reinforced within the book itself by means of doxologies at the end of each book. These statements of praise burst out and punctuate the end of the book. Sometimes, they don’t even fit directly with the poems they follow. Just look at the last verses of the last psalms in each book.
Book 1 (Ps 41:13):
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
Book 2 (Ps 72:18-19):
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!
Book 3 (Ps 89:52):
Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
Book 4 (Ps 106:48):
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Book 5 draws out its ending beyond a brief doxology. Did you notice how the doxologies quoted above all focus on blessing Yahweh, the God of Israel? Psalm 145 appears to conclude the body of Book 5 by picking up on that idea of blessing the name of Yahweh as the theme of the entire poem. Notice how it begins (Ps 145:1-3) and ends (Ps 145:21) with this idea.
That poem therefore transitions into the five-poem conclusion (Psalms 146-150), where each of the psalms begin and end with a command to praise Yahweh: “Hallelujah!”—translated as “Praise the LORD!” (Ps 146:1, 10; 147:1, 20, etc.).
How the New Testament Uses the Psalms
The Book of Psalms is the Old Testament book most quoted in the New Testament. Psalms are directly quoted (with a formula such as “it is written”) 68 times.
Of those 68 citations, only 14 occurrences refer to the life experiences of God’s people, putting the words of the songs and prayers of the Psalms on the lips of the people themselves. And of those 14 citations, 6 are found in Romans 3:10-18, where Paul stitches together a selection of quotations involving sinful body parts into a composite picture of sinful humanity under the judgment of God’s law. So at most, we could say that there are only 8 times when the New Testament quotes the Psalms the way we usually quote the Psalms: as songs or prayers of the people of God.
So, besides those 8 times when people are singing or praying the psalms directly, and the 6 times when they describe the sinful estate of humanity, we’re left with 54 times when the Psalms are quoted and directly applied to the person or work of Jesus Christ, acting as a representative of his Father in heaven.
Sometimes, the words of the Psalms are put right on the lips of Jesus Christ. An obvious example is found when Jesus hung on the cross and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps 22:1). But there are numerous less-memorable examples as well (Heb 2:11-12 quoting Ps 22:22, Rom 15:8-9 quoting Ps 18:49).
Jesus himself puts a psalm in his own mouth when he describes what he will say on the day of judgment to those who think they had done mighty works in his name: “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt 7:23 alluding to Ps 6:8).
So as we read the Psalms, we must first of all see the Lord Jesus in every poem. Some of the poems are about him. Others pave the way for him. And many of these poems anticipate his own experiences. When we read “I” and “me” in the Psalms, we ought not to think first of ourselves as the “I.” More often than not, we ought to think of the Lord Jesus as the “I.” Yes, we can sing and pray these poems. But above all, the New Testament tells us that Jesus sings and prays these poems as he goes about the work his Father has appointed for him to do.
In writing this, I’m not setting up a dichotomy, as though we can’t or shouldn’t sing or pray the Psalms ourselves. Of course we should! I’m only saying that the reason we sing and pray the Psalms is not because they resonate with our experience. We sing and pray the Psalms because they resonate with Jesus’ experience. And we have been so closely united to Christ through faith, and by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, that we can’t help but share his experience. We suffer with him so we may be glorified with him (Rom 8:17). God has called us to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom 8:29).
So we sing and pray the Psalms because our Lord Jesus sings and prays the Psalms. We who believe are in him.
How All This Impacts Our Interpretation of the Psalms
Psalms 1 and 2 serve as an introduction to the book, pronouncing a blessing on all who delight in God’s word (Ps 1:1-2) and take refuge in God’s king (Ps 2:12). These twin themes—God’s word and God’s king—are the guiding principles of the rest of the poems in this book.
Book 1 takes place during the reign of David (almost every poem here is attributed to him). This collection shows the king facing tremendous opposition. This collection has proportionally more laments and requests for help than later books. And at the book’s center, we find twin reflections on—you guessed it—God’s word (Ps 19) and God’s king (Ps 20).
Book 2 begins to move past David, as the first set of poems are written by other poets (Psalms 42-50). These poems get us looking beyond David for a king who will unite all nations in worship of Yahweh. The collection concludes with a poem attributed to Solomon (Psalm 72), describing the earth-wide reign of a king to come who is greater than David.
Books 3 and 4 take place during the exile in Babylon. Many of these poems lament the desolation of the promised land and the sanctuary. In this collection, the people wrestle with the fact that their king is absent and appears to have been defeated. Book 3 ends with a direct appeal to God: Have you forgotten your promises to David (Psalm 89)?
Book 4 shows a renewed servant-king who leads the people to remember God’s perfect law, even while they’re still scattered abroad. This collection ends with lessons from Israel’s history (Psalm 106) and a desire to see God one day restore his people in their land (Ps 106:4-5).
Book 5 ends on a triumphant note. The once-rejected king has now risen up in victory to celebrate Yahweh’s enduring covenant love back in the land of promise (Ps 118, 136). This book was likely compiled after the people had returned from Babylon and had rejuvenated their festivals and sacrifices. As I mentioned earlier, this collection concludes the entire Book with commands to praise the Lord (“Hallelujah!”). The book’s last word is: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Ps 150:6).
Conclusion
So the Book of Psalms is really the memoirs (written in advance) of God’s Messiah, the Chosen King of the Jews. His memoirs tell the story of the entire people of Israel. He lives out their story in his own life. And from where we stand, looking back, we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. We live our lives united to his. This is why the apostles looked so often to the Psalms when they wanted to explain the work of Jesus Christ. And this is why the Psalms are rightfully beloved by each generation of believers in Christ down to the present time.
For expansion on the ideas in this post, I recommend Psalms 1-41: Rejoice the Lord is King by James Johnston, the overview article on Psalms by James Hely Hutchinson in the NIV Proclamation Bible, and the Bible Project video on the Psalms. I am indebted to all three works in the shaping of my thinking for this post.
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