Overview
Psalms is the divinely inspired hymnal and prayer book of Israel, containing 150 poems spanning the full range of human experience before God. The collection encompasses praise, lament, thanksgiving, wisdom, royal celebration, and prophetic vision, organized into five books that mirror the fivefold structure of the Pentateuch.
The psalms range from intensely personal cries of distress to grand liturgical compositions for Temple worship. Messianic psalms (2, 22, 110, and others) provide some of the most detailed Old Testament prophecies of Christ's suffering and reign. The imprecatory psalms express raw anguish and the longing for divine justice.
As the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament, Psalms occupies a unique position in the canon, providing the vocabulary of faith for both corporate worship and private devotion. From the blessed man of Psalm 1 to the universal praise of Psalm 150, the Psalter teaches God's people how to bring every emotion into His presence.
Historical Background
The Psalms are attributed to multiple authors spanning several centuries. David is credited with seventy-three psalms, with others attributed to Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, and Ethan. Many psalms bear no attribution.
The compositions span from the time of Moses (Psalm 90) to the post-exilic period (Psalm 137), representing nearly a thousand years of Israel's worship. The final compilation likely dates to the post-exilic period, around the fifth century BC.
In the Hebrew canon, Psalms heads the Writings (Ketuvim) and is the longest book in the Bible. Its fivefold division (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150) reflects a deliberate editorial arrangement paralleling the Torah.
Devotional
The Psalms give us permission to bring our whole selves before God—not the sanitized version we present to the world, but the full, unedited reality of joy and sorrow, faith and doubt, gratitude and rage. This is what makes the Psalter so enduringly precious: it sanctifies honesty before God.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In six words, Psalm 23 expresses the essence of faith: personal relationship with a providing God. The shepherd metaphor speaks not of passive comfort but of active guidance through dark valleys toward green pastures. The rod and staff are instruments of both protection and correction.
The messianic psalms reveal that Israel's worship was always pointing beyond itself. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? —words spoken a thousand years before Calvary, yet perfectly describing the cross. The Psalms teach us that Christ is hidden in the Old Testament, waiting to be discovered by eyes of faith.
Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. The Psalter ends not with a whisper but with a crescendo, summoning all creation to its highest purpose. To praise God is not one activity among many; it is the destiny for which we were made.
Chapters
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth...
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? rage: or, tumultuo...
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they increase...
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David. Hear me when I call, O God...
To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O L...
To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebu...
Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush th...
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excel...
To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben , A Psalm of David. I will praise thee, O...
Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye...
To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for the godl...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? f...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There...
A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in th...
Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. Michtam: or...
A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; a...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The LORD hear thee in the day of troubl...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The king shall joy in thy strength, O L...
To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, wh...
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, a...
A Psalm of David. Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have...
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the...
A Psalm of David. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: les...
A Psalm of David. Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty , give unto the LORD glory and...
A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O L...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let...
A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose...
Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him...
A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight a...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. The transgressi...
A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious...
A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: n...
To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said, I will take h...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor...
To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after...
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from...
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ear...
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of...
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our ref...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye...
A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be pra...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye people;...
A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the ear...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him,...
To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and...
To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath sa...
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims c...
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my pra...
To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philis...
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in t...
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteou...
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they wa...
To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he str...
To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend...
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon...
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: pre...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God...
To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lan...
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song. God be merciful unto us, and...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies...
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David. Save me, O God; for the...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. Make haste, O...
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
A Psalm for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness u...
A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean he...
Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine ange...
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. Unto thee, O God, d...
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God kno...
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried unto God with my v...
Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the wor...
A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy t...
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shephe...
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our st...
A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth amo...
A Song or Psalm of Asaph. Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and...
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable a...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. LORD, thou hast been favou...
A Prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy....
A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy mountains....
A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leann...
Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever:...
A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all...
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shad...
A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the...
The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength...
O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, she...
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our...
O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad the...
A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: hi...
The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let...
A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. praise: or,...
A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I s...
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint...
A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless hi...
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed...
O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the...
Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy e...
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise,...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I...
Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly...
Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth gr...
Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LO...
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange langu...
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, a...
I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever...
ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. un...
A Song of degrees. In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.
A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh m...
A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into th...
A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the he...
A Song of degrees of David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now...
A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which can...
A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were lik...
A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in v...
A Song of degrees. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in h...
A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel...
A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
A Song of degrees of David. LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty:...
A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:
A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren...
A Song of degrees. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which...
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of...
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zi...
A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and know...
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man:...
A Psalm of David. LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my vo...
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the LORD with m...
A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy f...
A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to wa...
David's Psalm of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy...
Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye: Heb. Hallelujah
Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleas...
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heigh...
Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congreg...
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of...