Who wrote the book of Psalms? Who was the author of Psalms?

From the foregoing paragraphs we learn that the known authors of the Psalms are: David, Asaph, the Children of Korah, Moses, Heman, and Ethan. If we take into consideration that other Psalms were written during the exile we see that the authors are centuries apart. The people Israel possessed these Psalms in an uncollected form; they laid about loose, so to speak. Someone at some time collected them in a book, in the form we have them now.

Who did this valuable collecting and arranging of these Psalms we do not know for it is not revealed. But this we can say of certainty that the Hebrew saint who did it was called to do it by the Spirit of God and the very arrangement of these Psalms in the book as we have it now is the perfect work of the Holy Spirit.

David 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.

The 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.

The Book of Psalms. This inspired collection of sacred songs, and of compositions of various character, has evidently the impress of God upon their arrangement. He selected them, gave them their present shape and form, gave one hundred and sixteen of them those untranslated headings or titles which are rarely read and still less understood. He gave to the whole collection its title, "The Book of Psalms" (Luke 20:42), and caused them to be numbered, too, for more easy reference, as "the Second Psalm" (Acts 13:33). The Psalms are inspired, and their arrangement is Divine. "Selah," that word of so frequent occurrence — about seventy times — signifies to pause or consider. Uniform tradition — Jewish and Christian — ascribes the compilation of the Psalms to Ezra on his return to Palestine after the Babylon-captivity. Human arrangement would have set the Psalms in chronological or historical order; but God has classified them in a manner befitting His glory. Whoever were the authors — and they are numerous (David, of course, principally) — the composition of the whole extended through a period of about a thousand years, commencing with Moses (Psalm 90) and ending with the return from Babylon (Psalm 137).

Psalms, like Job, is poetic, a collection from the pens of various writers inspired of God ‑ David, Asaph, Moses, Heman, Ethan, and possibly others unknown. Yet they are

The 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. And beside, David was more rich and varied in his experiences (through the Holy Ghost, the real "master of the Hebrew lyre,") than any of the saints of old. 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. And from all this such a book as that of the Psalms would have come forth. And further, the Lord seems to recognize David as the writer of them in Matt. 22:43.

Psalm 90 is probably the oldest psalm: "A prayer of Moses the man of God". Moses lived in the 15th century BC. Most of the Psalms however have been written at the time of David who introduced the singing in the temple (1 Chron. 25). At the time of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29:25-30) reference is made to that (".according to the commandment of David") and to the Psalms of David and Asaph. These psalms therefore had already been joined to a sort of collection. The last Psalms were written in the days of Ezra (5th century BC). Psalm 137 clearly refers to the Babylonian captivity. According to many researchers it was Ezra, the priest and scribe, himself who completed the final collection of the Psalms (Ezra 3:10).

This book evidently stood, and still stands in the Hebrew Bible at the head of the third great division of the Old Testament Scriptures, and so gave its name to it, as appears from the Lord's words summing up that revelation under the three heads of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44). As a book it is unique in character, being made up of compositions by different writers, and ranging over a period of nearly a thousand years ere its contents were all produced, the earliest writer mentioned being Moses (Ps. 90), and the latest certainly not anterior to the Babylonish captivity (Ps. 137). Faith in times of affliction, conflict, and declension, and the outpouring of the heart to God whether in prayer or praise under such circumstances, characterise the compositions. Fitly then may they begin chronologically with Moses, who, as Heb. 11:24-25 would teach us, had to choose whether he would take his part with God's people in affliction, or would enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

By whom, guided by the Spirit, the whole collection was arranged, each composition brought into its present place, and whether the work of one servant of God or of several, is hidden from us. Enough for us it is to know, and own, that the different authors wrote in words taught of the Spirit, as one of them has expressed it (Ps. 45:1), his tongue being the pen of a ready writer. And we may add our belief, that the arrangement of the different Psalms in the order in which they have come down to us is not of human origin, but is the carrying out of a Divine purpose. Hence there is a moral order in the arrangement of this book, as there is in other books of the inspired volume.

The Hebrews call this book "Tehillim," which means to make a joyful sound, or praises. It is in the Hebrew Bible in the third division, the "Kethubim" section. It is the great poetical book of the Old Testament. We refer the reader to our remarks on Hebrew poetry in the introduction to the book of job. The poetry of the Psalms is of a lyric character. The real great beginning of lyric poetry is with King David. He was remarkably gifted and yet it was not natural gift which produced these wonderful utterances but it was the Spirit of God who tuned his harp. Our space is too valuable to pay much attention to the critical school with their denials of the Davidic authorship of different Psalms, and that which is worse, the denial of the Messianic predictions of the Psalms. If these critics were but seekers after the fine gold, the precious gems of truth and divine knowledge, so richly stored in this mine, they would cease criticising and become worshippers.

The Authorship of the Different Psalms

Nearly one-half of the Psalms, seventy-three in all, were given by the Holy Spirit through the Shepherd King of Israel, David, who is rightly called the sweet singer of Israel.

Among the authors of the Psalms, David, of course, figures largely; but Moses, Asaph, Heman, and Ethan also appear, and it may be Solomon as the writer of Ps. 72 and 127. Then, as to the circumstances which gave rise to many of the compositions, all so described are attributed to the history of David, — Ps. 102 alone excepted. But whether the different headings can be depended upon, that of Ps. 18 excepted, is a matter on which there is not agreement, though they must have been inserted very early, being found in the Greek Septuagint version. In that version, however, there are headings to other Psalms which have no authority from the Hebrew text. Then of instruments of music we have mention, both wind and stringed instruments being pressed into the service of God. Ps. 4 tells of the latter, and Ps. 5 speaks of the former. And tunes, it would seem, well known in those days, we read of, to which certain Psalms were to be set, such as Al-taschith "destroy not," Ps. 57, 58, 59, 75. The character also of the different compositions are noticed, as Psalms; songs also, as Ps. 30, 45, 46, etc.; prayers, as Ps. 17, 86, 90, 102, 142; and praise, as Ps. 145. Some, too, are distinguished by the Hebrew term Michtam, Ps. 16, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, an addition, as we see at times, to the designation of "a song"; others are described as Maschil (see Ps. 32; 42, 44, 45, etc.). Into all this, however, it would be foreign to our purpose here to enter. So closing these prefatory remarks, which remind us of the varied character of the compositions, we invite our readers to examine with us the order of the Psalms in detail.

If scripture itself gave the slightest intimation to that effect, there would be no difficulty in supposing ever so many writers contributing to the Pentateuch. The Psalms also consist of five books for an incomparably better reason than, as the Rabbis say, in order to correspond with the five books of the law. I have no doubt that their order is as divine as are the contents and character of each; and that they can be shown to have internal grounds for it of very great interest, instead of being a mere collocation of David's first, and of others afterwards, which in no way accounts for some of David's in the last book, and for one of Moses himself the introduction of the fourth book. But we have the sons of Korah, Ethan, Asaph, perhaps Solomon, and others unnamed in addition to the writers already named. But then we know the authors as far as they are mentioned from the inspired account in each case; and the grouping will be found to carry along with it the self-evidencing light of God; for none but He, I am persuaded, could have distributed to each as He has done, or have so tempered them as a body together, securing a moral and prophetic progress in the greater divisions as well as in the unity of the entire collection.