Psalms

About the Psalms

The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of ancient Israel, a collection of 150 songs and prayers gathered over several centuries. King David wrote about half of them. Others come from Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses, and some have no named author. They were sung in the temple, on pilgrim roads and in private prayer, and they were written for God’s people in every season of life.

Main themes

Psalms holds praise, thanks, grief, anger, confession and trust, often in the same song. It teaches that nothing is too honest to bring to God, because he rules over creation and stays faithful to his people. Many psalms begin in trouble and end in worship, and the turn usually comes when the writer remembers who God is.

The book also looks ahead. The shepherd king, the suffering righteous one and the reigning Lord of the Psalms are read by Christians as pictures of Jesus, and the New Testament quotes the Psalms often. That is why a song written three thousand years ago still sounds current in a church service.

Verses from Psalms on our apparel

Psalm 23:2. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” David, a former shepherd, pictures the Lord as the one who makes rest possible. See The Lord Is My Shepherd.

Psalm 33:12. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” This is a song of trust in God over armies and kings. It sits on our One Nation Under God design.

Psalm 46:5. “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.” Written about Jerusalem, it speaks of steadiness when God is present. She Shall Not Be Moved carries it.

Psalm 46:10. “Be still, and know that I am God.” The command means to stop striving in panic and let God be God. Be Still (Nap Edition) gives it a lighter tone.

Psalm 98:4. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth.” Isaac Watts built the carol “Joy to the World” on this psalm in 1719, and our Joy to the World design carries the verse.

Psalm 121:8. “The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” A pilgrim song about God guarding every trip and errand. See Church Parking Lot Survivor.

Psalm 139:14. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” In the KJV, “fearfully” means with awe. David praises God as the careful Creator of each life, and Wonderfully Made carries his words.

Psalm 148:3. “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.” The sun and stars are creatures, not gods, called to praise their Maker. See So Will I.

Psalm 150:6. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.” It is the last verse of the whole book. Every Breath Speaks His Name carries it.

Frequently asked

Who wrote the Psalms? David wrote about half. Others came from Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses and unnamed writers. Psalm 121, for example, is anonymous and is titled only “A Song of degrees.”

What is the last verse of the book of Psalms? Psalm 150:6 closes the book with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD.

Verses from Psalms