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1) God
A) 2 Tim. 3:16-17 – All Scripture is breathed out by God.
1) The psalms are men pouring out their hearts to God, BUT God was somehow guiding the process so that they are His words.
B) The New Testament writers thought that the psalms were the inspired word of God.
1) Matt. 22:41-44 – v. 43 – “How is it then that David, IN THE SPIRIT, calls him Lord…”
(a) David is credited with more psalms than any other author, and there are a couple places where this “in the spirit” language is found.
(b) 1 Chron. 28:11, 19
(c) 2 Sam. 23:1-3
2) Acts 1:16-20 (quotes Ps. 69:25 & 109:8)
(a) V. 16 – “the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David.”
3) Acts 4:24-26 (quotes Ps. 2:1-2)
(a) vv. 24-25 – “Sovereign Lord…who through the mouth of our father David…said by the Holy Spirit.”
4) Heb. 3:7 (quotes Ps. 95:7-11)
C) Here is the most impressive example in my opinion.
1) e.g. Heb. 1:5, 7, 8, 10 – “God says…”
2) v. 10 quotes Ps. 102:25-27
3) Ps. 102:1-2 – This psalm is a prayer for help TO God.
4) This is both a prayer TO God, but also FROM God!
D) One of my emphases through the Psalms is going to be trying to learn how to pray better, and this point we’re talking about right now is one of my big motivations.
1) “The Psalms speak from God by showing us how to speak to God.”[1]
2) Since psalms is his inspired word, then these are examples of God showing us HOW to talk to God
3) “But the Psalter teaches not by telling us how to pray but by showing us how to pray.”[2]
2) Moses – Ps. 90 (This is the oldest psalm.)
3) David
A) David’s name appears in 73 Psalm titles.
1) There is an issue with the preposition “of”. It can mean “belonging to,” “authored by,” “about,” “to.”
B) 14 psalms have headings that link the psalm to something in David’s life.
1) Pss. 3; 7; 18; 30, 34; 51; 52; 54; 56; 57; 59; 60; 63; 142
2) ESVSB Psalms Intro / Authorship, Occasion, and Date has a chart with the psalm, the heading and the text in the OT where you can find that story.
C) Ps. 72:20 – Postscript
D) NT authors that link the psalms to David.
1) Ps. 2 – Acts 4:24-28
2) Ps. 16 – Acts 2:25-32
3) Ps. 32 – Rom. 4:6-8
4) Ps. 69 – Acts 1:15-20; Rom. 11:9-10
5) Ps. 95 – Heb. 4:7
6) Ps. 109 – Acts 1:15-20
7) Ps. 110 – Mk. 12:35-37; Lk. 20:42; Acts 2:33-35
E) Notes about David relating to his psalms:
1) 1 Sam. 16:16-23 – Skillful in playing the lyre
2) 2 Sam. 1:17-27; 22:1-23:7 – Songwriter
3) 2 Sam. 23:1 – Reputation as the sweet psalmist of Israel
4) Chronicles presents David in taking an active role in establishing Temple worship practices
(a) 1 Chron. 16:4-7, 37-42; 23:2-6; 25:1-7
4) People associated with David
A) Passages
1) 1 Chron. 6:31 – There are only 3 men listed in this long paragraph.
(a) v. 33 – Heman (Samuel’s grandson)
(i) v. 37 – Descended from Korah (Levite who rebelled against Moses in Num. 16)
(b) v. 39 – Asaph
(c) v. 44 – Ethan
2) 1 Chron. 15:1ff. – David brings the ark to Jerusalem
(a) vv. 16-17
B) Sons of Korah – Pss. 42; 44-49; 84-85; 87-88
C) Asaph – Pss. 50; 73-83
D) Heman – Ps. 88
E) Ethan – Ps. 89
5) Solomon – Pss. 72; 127
6) 48 anonymous psalms (about 1/3 of the psalms)
A) Sometimes called Orphan psalms
7) Date span
A) Moses (Ps. 90) – 1400-1440 BC
B) Babylonian exile (Ps. 137) (586-539 BC)
C) Total span of 900 years
1) 900 years ago from now was 1124 (Just finished the First Crusade)
Conclusions
1) “The Psalms’ power and authority derive not from their being written by someone important whose name we know but from their having been prayers and praises that God accepted.”[3]
2) Maybe the historical information and authorship will help us contextualize the message, but the goal is to make it applicable for ourselves to worship and pray to be better.
[1] Goldingay, 24.
[2] Goldingay, 24.
[3] Goldingay, 32.
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