How many psalms did David write?
The book of Psalms is a collection of 150 songs written by several different people, and David's share of it is by far the largest. The exact number depends on how you count — whether you go only by the headings above each psalm, or also take in the psalms the New Testament assigns to him.
The Count in the Headings
The most direct answer comes from the names attached to the psalms themselves. One writer lays out the whole distribution:
Arend RemmersDavid wrote 73 Psalms. They are mainly to be found in the first, second and fifth book. Twelve Psalms bear the name of Asaph, the conductor of David's choir of the temple (1 Chron. 16:7; 2 Chron. 29:30). Asaph's Psalms are Psalm 50 and 73-83. Ten Psalms are written by the sons of Korah (Ps. 42; 44-49; 84; 85; 87), two by Solomon (Ps. 72 and 127), one each by Moses (Ps. 90), Ethan (Ps. 89) and Heman (Ps. 88). The remaining 50 Psalms bear no author's name.
Two More From the New Testament
Two psalms carry no name in the Old Testament but are credited to David by New Testament writers. Adding those changes the arithmetic in a striking way:
Arend RemmersThe following Psalms are also ascribed to David in the New Testament (NT): Psalm 2 (Acts 4:25) and Psalm 95 (Heb. 4:7). Together with the Psalms that bear David's name they add up to 75, which means David has written exactly half of all the Psalms.
Where the Totals Differ
Commentators differ over the smaller tallies, mainly around how many belong to the sons of Korah and therefore how many are left anonymous. Another writer, who also counts seventy-three for David, ends with a different figure for the unnamed psalms:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThat makes 99 Psalms whose authors are known; the remaining 51 have no inscription.
The difference is in the bookkeeping, not in David's share.
Why David Wrote So Many
The volume was no accident. His natural gifts, his anointing and his life all pointed the same way:
Arend RemmersDavid was very suitable for this. He was an able poet, player (of an instrument) and singer (1 Sam. 16:18; 2 Sam. 23:1). He was filled with the Spirit of God (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 23:2) and had gone through many experiences with God in his life of faith.
The Singer and the Composer
Counting psalms raises the deeper question of who really authored them. David himself answered it at the end of his life, and one writer draws out what his words mean:
J. G. BellettSo he was used — he was the singer, but the Holy Spirit was the composer of the music. David's songs were "the songs of the Lord," and by them he prophesied according to the mind of the Spirit.
The same point is made about the headings that carry his name: the psalms that bear it "were written by him, but only as an instrument; for it was by the Holy Spirit that they were indited: and thus are eminently prophetic" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
Words Larger Than His Own Life
This is why the count matters more than a statistic. Some of what David wrote reaches past anything that ever happened to him:
Morrish Bible DictionaryDavid's experience could not have caused him to write Psalm 22. But being a prophet, it was clearly the Spirit of Christ that was in him that furnished words which would be uttered by Christ on the cross. We have in it a plain instance of a prophetic psalm, and doubtless the spirit of prophecy runs through all.
Why the Whole Book Bears His Name
People often speak of the Psalms simply as "David's," even though the book has many writers. One commentator defends the habit and explains it:
J. G. BellettThe Psalms are commonly spoken of as David's: and properly so; because, though Moses, Ezra, and others may have been the penmen of some of them, David was principally used in them… He knew all the sorrows of righteousness and of sin, or the trial of a martyr and a penitent. He knew, too, the varieties of humiliation and of honour. His changeful life gave the Spirit the largest occasion to exercise his soul.
Summary
- Seventy-three. That is the number of psalms carrying David's name in their headings — the plain answer to the question.
- Seventy-five. Add Psalm 2 and Psalm 95, which the New Testament credits to him, and David wrote exactly half of the 150.
- Fitted. He was poet, player and singer, filled with the Spirit of God, and carried through a life of tested faith — the right instrument for the task.
- Dictated. He was the singer, but the Holy Spirit was the composer; the psalms are prophecy, not just poetry.
- Beyond him. Psalm 22 proves the point — no experience of David's could produce it, because the words belong to Christ on the cross.