Some Things About the Book of Psalms
By G. W. Amadon
For a whole quarter our Sabbath-schools have been studying four of the psalms with both pleasure and profit. This study has been confined to psalms 104, 105, 106, and 107; and the writer is quite certain that the study of the whole book would be no less interesting and useful. The book of Psalms is in itself a wonderful piece of composition. In the opinion of thoughtful men, it contains an epitome of the doctrines and teachings of the entire Bible. Here is what that eminent servant of God, Martin Luther, said of this part of the Scriptures: “Where9canst thou find nobler words of joy than in the psalms of praise and thanksgiving? There thou mayest look into the hearts of all good men, as into beautiful and pleasant gardens, yea, as into heaven itself. How do grateful and fine and charming blossoms spring up there, from every kind of pleasing and rejoicing thoughts toward God and his goodness! Again, where canst thou find more deep or mournful words of sorrow than in the psalms of lamentation and woe?” In the same paragraph Luther continues: “The Psalter is the book of all good men; and every one, whatever his circumstances may be, finds in it psalms and words suited to his circumstances, and which are to him just as if they had been put there on his very account, and in such a way that he himself could not have made or found or wished for better.” This is a very important statement, and is in perfect accord with Christian experience. The meaning of the word “psalm” is a sacred song. And it invariably refers to the Creator, his attributes and revelations, and the varied experiences of the people of God. The original Hebrew word for psalms—tehillim—is praises, and this is literally what the book of Psalms is; it is a book of praises, even the high praises of our God. The authorship of the psalms is universally ascribed to David, that sweet singer of Israel. But in the judgment of prudent men, King David wrote only about half of the entire number of the one hundred and fifty. The others are believed to be the production of Moses, Solomon, Hezekiah, Ezra, Zechariah, Asaph, Heman, Ethan, and a number of other writers. In the late revised version the psalms are divided into five sections, or books, and this is just as the Hebrew Bible divides the book. And it should be added that each of the five books ends with a very full doxology. The first book ends with psalm 41, the second with psalm 72, the third with psalm 89, the fourth with psalm 106, and the fifth book ends with psalm 150, which is in itself an extended doxology, a glorious outburst of rapturous praise. Should the reader be interested in this, by turning to the five psalms just mentioned, he can see how very emphatic these doxologies are. It may be added that the division of the psalms into five books is supposed to be in reference to the five books of the Pentateuch,—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The psalms are either directly quoted or referred to nearly eighty times in the New Testament, and in ten different books. And the Saviour gave his testimony in favor of the credibility of the psalms by directly mentioning the book several times. See Luke 24:44 and Matt. 22: 41-45. One peculiarity of the psalms is their unequal length, some being very short, and others exceedingly long. Were the psalms all of the same length, there would be one hundred and fifty poems of about ten verses each. The shortest psalm is the 117th, but though so exceedingly brief, consisting of but two verses, it contains a great depth of thought. The sentiment of this short psalm is the praise of God, his merciful kindness, and the eternity of truth. By far the longest psalm is the 119th. It contains 176 verses, and is divided into twenty-two sections, each containing exactly eight verses. The different sections are in reference to the Hebrew alphabet, the names of all the letters being given. This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic; so in the first section each of the eight verses begins with the Hebrew letter Aleph, answering to our A, the second section with Beth, the same as B, and so on through the twenty-two letters of the alphabet. But the more interesting feature of this psalm is the reference in every verse to the word or law of God, or his covenant of grace; thus in every verse there is either the word “law,” “testimonies,” “precepts,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “judgments,” “ordinances,” “word,” “faithfulness,” “name,” or “surety.” This is a remarkable testimony in favor of God’s law; and the Jewish reason for this long psalm being written as an acrostic is that it might the more easily be remembered. One of the psalms, the 136th, has this chorus to each of its twenty-six verses: “For his mercy endureth forever.” When we bear in mind that “mercy” is to treat another better than he deserves, and that “to endure” is to bear with patience, we at once see the attitude of God toward the race. At the end of the 72d psalm it is said, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” Now of course this does not mean that David did not pray any more, either in public or otherwise, but that this was the last of his royal compositions. If the query arises how this statement could be made when a dozen or more of the psalms further on are called psalms of David, it is sufficient to say that the arrangement and classification of the psalms is ascribed to other persons. Another interesting singularity of the Psalter is that psalms 14 and 53 are just alike with the exception of a few verbal changes. It is also noticeable that one of the three Hebrew names for God—JEHOVAH—which occurs four times in psalm 14, in psalm 53 is changed for another of the divine names. Also the first fifteen verses of psalm 105 are found almost word for word in the sixteenth chapter of First Chronicles. And the 18th psalm, with very slight changes, is the same as the twenty-second chapter of Second Samuel. Psalm 70, slightly revised, is the same as the last five verses of the fortieth psalm. And the 96th psalm, revised and somewhat altered, will be found in 1 Chron. 16:23-33. An excellent reason could be given for those revisions in the psalms, but this is not the place to do so. In the New Testament record of the last passover supper, as recorded by Matthew and Mark, it says, “And when they had sung an hymn [“psalm,” margin], they went out into the mount of Olives.” The Hebrew psalm-song sung on the occasion of the passover and some other Hebrew feasts was The Hallel, or psalm of praise. It was the six psalms, numbers 113-118 inclusive. Several of the psalms are prophecies referring to the Saviour in his work of redemption for the race, but three of them dwell so explicitly on his work that they are called “Messianic Psalms.” These are psalms 2, 45, and 110. Seven of the psalms are known as “The Penitential Psalms.” All will recognize psalm 51 as one of these. This class includes psalms 6, 25, 32, 35, 38, 51, and 130. The “Historical Psalms” are four in number. They are so called because they dwell with such minuteness on the ancient history of the Hebrew people. Psalms 78, 105, 106, and 114 belong to this class. A large number of the psalms have some title prefaced to them. There are one hundred and twenty-five of these. Those which do not have any title are known as “Orphan Psalms.” There are twenty-five such. There is one word peculiar to the book of Psalms, which occurs seventy-one times. It is the word “selah.” It is generally found at the end of a sentence. A number of explanations have been proposed for this word, but none seem more reasonable than that of Rabbi Aben Ezra, who, on Ps. 3:2, said that this was a word of emphasis used to give weight to what was said, and to indicate its importance. In this sense it would-be about like the well-known abbreviation N. B.—“take notice.” Certain of the psalms are often spoken of as being of an imprecatory character. There are several such, and perhaps as strong as any is Ps. 137:8, 9: “O daughter of Babylon, . . . happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” But does not this statement refer rather to the cruel spirit of the Medo-Persian soldiers than to that of the writer of this psalm? It would seem so. The 107th psalm contains two verses which are given four times. The first of these verses is a record of a precious phase of human experience: “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.” The psalmist here instances four classes of persons,—those whom God has redeemed from the oppression of Satan; such as were in rebellion against the Lord; those who through affliction were brought near the gates of death; and those who in storms on the great deep, through prayer were saved from a watery grave. And four times this intercalary verse is used: “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” Such precious verses will bear repetition. The arrangement and classification of the psalms is attributed to Ezra the scribe, about 450 B. C.