Deep Dive into Holman Concise Bible Commentary by David S. Dockery - Psalms Introduction

The Book of Psalms, or Psalter, serves as the hymnal of Israelite worship, organized into five distinct sections or "books" that each conclude with a doxology. Though its final compilation occurred in the postexilic period, the collection contains compositions that span centuries, broadly classified into preexilic, exilic, and early postexilic periods.

Evidence confirms the ancient origin of many psalms, contradicting views that dated them late. Ugaritic songs show significant parallels in grammar and poetic form, arguing for composition before the twelfth century B.C. Furthermore, a second-century B.C. copy of the biblical collection found among the Dead Sea Scrolls proves the psalms were recognized as Scripture long before that date.

The psalm superscripts, the primary source for authorship, attribute compositions to figures such as David, Moses, Asaph, the sons of Korah, and Solomon. The reliability of these superscripts is supported by their inclusion of technical musical terms whose meanings were lost by the time the Septuagint was translated, and by references to obscure historical incidents not recorded in Samuel or Chronicles. While the phrase ledawid is linguistically ambiguous (potentially meaning "by David" or "for David"), it is generally accepted as asserting authorship.

The psalms cover the full spectrum of spiritual life. Complaint psalms are distinguished by their scope: individual complaints address personal affliction or sin, while community complaints lament national disasters like defeat or drought. Royal psalms focus on the king and the royal house, including wedding and coronation songs, and often function as a divinely ordained foreshadowing of Christ, the Messiah. Even the harsh vengeance psalms are interpreted in light of the king’s unique position as God’s anointed representative, whose requests for divine judgment were fundamentally prayers for the vindication of God’s justice and the protection of the covenant.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

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