Psalms Psalter. 1st Book- Psalms 1-41, this book shows a preference for Yahweh, 275 occurrences compared with, Elohim 68 times and Adonahy 14 times.

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1 Psalms Psalter The term Psalms comes from the LXX, (Septuagint-the Old Testament in Greek). Later the Codex Alexandrius gives it the name Psalter. Both of these terms mean sing. The Hebrew text calls the Psalms by the name "Tehillim" which means praises. Titles and Authorship: All but thirty-four (34) of the psalms bear some type of superscription. These thirty-four (34) are referred to as the Jewish "orphans." Among the titled psalms seventy-three (73) are ascribed to David, twelve (12) to the sons of Korah, two (2) to Solomon, one (1) to Ethan and one (1) to Moses. Structure: Psalms is divided into five books. Each book ends with a doxology. 1st Book- Psalms 1-41, this book shows a preference for Yahweh, 275 occurrences compared with, Elohim 68 times and Adonahy 14 times. 2nd Book- Psalms 42-72, this book shows a preference for Elohim, 234 occurrences compared with, Yahweh 32 times, Adonahy 19 times and Jah 1 time. 3rd Book- Psalms 73-89, this book shows a preference for Elohim, 80 occurrences compared with, Yahweh 44 times and Adonahy 15 times. 4th Book- Psalms , this book shows a preference for Yahweh, 103 occurrences compared with, Elohim 72, Adonahy 2 times and Jah 7 times. 5th Book- Psalms , This book shows a preference for Yahweh, 236 occurrences compared with, Elohim 40 times, Adonahy 12 times and Jah 32 times. It appears that the Psalms were broken into five books to correspond to the five books of Law. The Law was read through every three years, the prophets and the Psalms were broken down and assigned to be read with the Law, therefore the whole of the Old Testament (Torah and Haftorah), would be read in Worship every three years. N.A. Snaith in his book "Hymns of the Temple" on page

2 eighteen, shows that on the first Sabbath of the three year cycle Psalms 1 was used with Genesis 1, on the 42nd Sabbath the book of Exodus was started, on the 73rd Sabbath the book of Leviticus was begun, on the 90th Sabbath the book of Numbers was begun and on the 107th Sabbath the book of Deuteronomy was begun. Each of these coincide with the divisions of the books of the Psalms. Think how appropriate would be the reading of Psalms 1 with the creation (Genesis 1:1ff) and Psalms 23 with Genesis 28:10-22, (Jacob at Bethel). Analysis Of The Five Books Of Psalms I. Book One: 1. Chapters 1-8, Authority Established 2. Chapters 9-15, Authority Defended 3. Chapters 16-41, Authority Administered II. Book Two: 1. Chapters 42-51, Mighty Deliverance 2. Chapters 52-60, Mighty Defense 3. Chapters 61-72, Mighty Dominion III. Book Three: 1. Chapters 73-77, Mighty Help-The Fact 2. Chapters 78-83, Mighty Help-The Experience 3. Chapters 84-89, Mighty Help-The Hope IV. Book Four: 1. Chapters 90-92, The Principles 2. Chapters , The Practice 3. Chapters , The Praise V. Book Five: 1. Chapters , Songs Of The Hope 2. Chapters , Songs Of The Process 3. Chapter 119, Songs Of The Revealed Will 4. Chapters , Songs Of The Pilgrimage 5. Chapters , Songs Of The Experience 6. Chapters , Songs Of The Perfected Praise

3 The Alphabetic (Acrostic) Psalms The alphabetic Psalms are the Psalms where the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used to begin each successive stanza. It is believed that this synthetic method was used to help the younger people to memorize these Psalms. The alphabetic Psalms are 9, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145 and to a slight degree Psalms 10. The most highly developed of these is Psalms 119. All twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used. Each stanza of this Psalm begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet and each stanza contains eight lines. The Penitential Psalms The penitential Psalms (or Psalms of penitence) are basically seven in number. They are Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143. Forgiveness is begged for in other Psalms but the mark of these Psalms is that their only intent is the asking of forgiveness. (Notice that David penned five of these Psalms.) The Hallelujah Psalms This name has been given to the Psalms that begin with, "Praise ye the Lord." There are ten of these Psalms, they are; 106, 111, 112, 113, 135, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150. (Some lists include 117 even though it begins with an elongated form of this praise.) All of these Psalms, except for 111 and 112, also end with the same phrase. The Imprecatory Psalms ( Psalms Asking For Vengeance) These Psalms perplex many. They ask, "How can these Psalms truly be inspired and at the same time portray such a vengeful and unforgiving attitude?","how could a man of God ask for revenge?" In this section we will explore some of these Psalms and attempt to give a suitable answer to these questions. Verses that we might look at to get an idea of what we are referring to: Psalms 5:10, 10:15, 18:40-42, 28:4, 31:17 and 35:3-8.

4 We cannot deny that the inspired writers of the Psalms wrote these verses. In fact they went to a great deal of trouble to state them. They couched them in poetic language and recorded them in a permanent record. The following are explanations for these Psalms: 1. The Psalms were written as poetry. Poetic licence allows words to be used in an other than usual sense, that is in a poetic sense. 2. Sometimes the writer is simply recording someone else's feelings, words or actions, i.e. the words of those that hate God and God's people and their wish for them to be destroyed. 3. In the Psalms where the writer is stating his own feelings, we notice that he does not ask to revenge himself but he asks that God would punish his enemies. Sometimes the writer asks that he be allowed to be the instrument of God's punishment. Which brings us to the fourth point. 4. Many of these Psalms are simply asking for justice. The writers ask, "Let the evil doer be punished, let those that are worthy of death be put to death, let punishment worthy of the crime be meted out." We find this same type of justice called for in the New Testament by the Saints, (Revelation 6:9-11). When the persecuted and slain Saints ask God to punish the evil doers, God does not rebuke them, instead He comforts them. Why? Because they are simply asking for justice. And such are many of these Psalms. The Songs Of Degrees (Psalms Of Degrees) The Songs or Psalms of degrees extend from Psalms 120 to 134. These Psalms are believed to have been composed for the purpose of being sung by the pilgrim Jews on their yearly "ascents" to Jerusalem to keep the feasts at Jerusalem. Giving a title to each of the Psalms may help us to know where to read for comfort or to give praise to God. (Taken from, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, pgs )

5 Book One: 1. The Two Ways Of Life 2. The Victory Of God's Messiah 3. A Morning Prayer Of Confidence 4. An Evening Prayer Of Relief 5. A Morning Prayer, Preparatory To Worship 6. A Cry For Relief 7. A Prayer For Justice 8. Man's Dignity And God's Glory 9. Praise For Destruction Of The Enemy 10. A Plea For Action 11. The Assurance Of Faith 12. A Prayer For The Faithful 13. From Doubt To Trust 14. Judgement For Denying God 15. The Guest Of God 16. The Joy Of Loyalty 17. The Vindication Of The Righteous 18. The Victor's Gratitude 19. God's Glory Above And Within 20. Supplication For Victory 21. Thanksgiving For Victory 22. Triumph In Suffering 23. My Shepherd 24. An Inaugural Anthem 25. An Acrostic Prayer For Help 26. A Worshiper's Prayer 27. A Song Of Trust 28. An Answered Prayer 29. God's Glory In The Storm 30. Praise For God's Healing 31. A Prayer Of Surrender 32. The Joy Of Forgiveness 33. A Call To Congregational Worship 34. The Goodness Of The Lord 35. A Plea For Vengeance 36. A Lesson In contrast 37. A Vindication Of Providence

6 38. The Lamentation Of A Sufferer 39. An Appeal For Strength 40. A New Song Of Praise 41. Thanksgiving For Healing And Vindication Book Two: 42. Longing For God 43. Longing For God 44. A Pleas For Justice 45. The Marriage Of A King (46 through 48 form a Trilogy of Praise to God.) 46. A Mighty Fortress 47. A Victorious King 48. A Holy City 49. The Folly Of Earthly Wealth 50. The Nature Of True Worship 51. A Cry For Forgiveness 52. The Fate Of An Arrogant Sinner 53. The Judgement For Denying God 54. A Prayer For Assistance 55. A Protest Against The Wicked 56. The Triumph Of Faith 57. A Prayer For Protection 58. A Protest Against Injustice 59. A Prayer For Rescue 60. A Plea For Ultimate Victory 61. Prayer For A King 62. An Unshakeable Faith 63. A Thirst For God 64. An Appeal For Assistance 65. A Hymn Of Thanksgiving 66. A Song Of Deliverance 67. Hymn For A Harvest Festival 68. God's Victorious March 69. A Prayer For Retribution 70. A Cry For Immediate Help

7 71. The Confidence Of An Aged Saint 72. Blessings On The King Book Three: 73. The Trial Of Faith 74. An Appeal For Vindication 75. The Gratitude Of The Nation 76. A Song Of Victory 77. Remembering God's Works 78. Wisdom From History 79. A Prayer For Vengeance 80. A Plea For Restoration 81. A Warning From Experience 82. The Final Authority 83. Judgement Upon The Nations 84. A Joyful Pilgrimage 85. A Cry For Pardon 86. A Prayer For God's Favor 87. The City Of God 88. The Darkness Of Despair 89. An Appeal To God's Promises Book Four: 90. Our Help In Ages Past 91. The Security Of Trust 92. A Hymn Of Gratitude 93. The Everlasting King 94. A Plea For Vengeance 95. A Call To Worship 96. The Glory Of God 97. The Sovereignty Of God 98. Praise By All Nature 99. The Holiness Of God 100. The Essentials Of Worship 101. A Royal Code Of Ethics 102. A Prayer For Help 103. A Hymn Of Thankful Praise

8 104. The Creative Power Of God 105. The Wonders Of The Past 106. The Long-Suffering Nature Of God Book Five: 107. The Song Of The Redeemed 108. A Prayer For God's Help 109. A Plea For Vengeance 110. The Promise Of Victory And Dominion 111. God's Wonderful Works 112. Portrait Of A Righteous Man 113. The Condescension Of God 114. The Wonder Of The Exodus 115. Glory To His Name 116. A Song Of Personal Thanksgiving 117. A Shout Of Praise 118. Thanksgiving For Deliverance 119. The Torah Of The Lord 120. The Sojourn Of The Pilgrims 121. The Helper Of The Pilgrims 122. The City Of The Pilgrims 123. The Plea Of The Pilgrims 124. The Deliverer Of The Pilgrims 125. The Security Of The Pilgrims 126. The Restoration Of The Pilgrims 127. The Dependance Of The Pilgrims 128. The Home Life Of The Pilgrims 129. The Plea Of Suffering Israel 130. The Redeemer Of The Pilgrims 131. The Composure Of The Pilgrims 132. The Assurance Of The Pilgrims 133. The Brotherhood Of The Pilgrims 134. The Benediction Upon The Pilgrims 135. A Mosaic Of God's Works 136. God's Enduring Mercy 137. The Song Of The Exiles 138. Wholehearted Thanksgiving 139. The Personal Concern Of God

9 140. A Plea For Restoration 141. A Cry For Protection 142. A Supplication For Deliverance 143. A Prayer For Guidance And Deliverance 144. Triumph In War And Peace 145. Praise For God's Greatness 146. Praise For God's Help 147. Praise For God's Providence 148. Praise By All Creation 149. Praise For God's Triumph 150. Praise In Its Universal Climax