Many things that are beautiful on their own create beauty of a different degree when placed together. A single bird flitting around the garden is intriguing to watch—but thousands of them flocking in the sky is mesmerising. A tree towering upwards is majestic—but tens of thousands of them stretching in all directions as far as the eye can see is breath-taking. A solitary snowflake is delicate, intricate, and unique—but billions of them together completely alter a landscape. Likewise with the book of Psalms. An individual psalm is a piece of art worthy of study in its own right—beautiful all on its own. But viewing all 150 together as a purposefully ordered collection reveals another degree of beauty.

The aim in this article is to glimpse this other degree of beauty in the Psalter by viewing it as a book—as a purposefully ordered collection. It necessitates three steps: First, a presentation of the evidence for reading 150 individual poems as a purposefully ordered, unified collection. Second, an outline of this collection’s narrative impulse. Third, and threaded throughout the narrative impulse as it is outlined, brief reflections on some of the theological values that emerge from such a reading of the Psalter.1 When read as a book, the Psalter possesses a collective beauty and weight that cannot be gained by examining a single psalm in isolation.

Such a reading of the Psalter is by no means new: “This is now the dominant subject of research in Psalms studies.”2 The publication of Gerald Wilson’s The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter in 1985 often demarcates the watershed moment in this line of enquiry in Psalms studies.3 Since then, a consensus has been growing that the Psalter does possess evidence of editorial activity, as the volume of publications corroborates.4 The meaning of the Psalter’s narrative, however, lacks a similar consensus. As Howard and Snearly observe: “Where agreement begins to breakdown … concerns the nature of that storyline.”5 The following aims to reinvigorate the search for consensus concerning the message of the Psalter, and, along the way, to evidence the theological benefit of reading the Psalter as a book.

1. Evidence for Reading the Psalter as a Book

The first task is distilling the evidence that 150 discrete psalms can be read as a unified book. Space permits the presentation of four primary pieces of evidence.6 Even so, this snapshot of the evidence confirms that reading the Psalter as a book is legitimate.

First, the Psalter possesses an introduction. Psalms 1–2 form a two-part introduction to the Psalter. Given every other psalm in Book One possesses a Davidic superscription, these two psalms are evidently set apart by the absence of superscriptions.7 As Cole observes regarding the lack of superscriptions in Psalms 1–2, “Their absence would appear to indicate recognition of their mutual prefatory function.”8 Psalms 1–2 are tied together with both lexical and thematic features. Lexically, they are bracketed by an inclusio (אַשְׁרֵי, “blessed” in 1:1; 2:12), both open with the image of meditation/plotting (the same Hebrew root underlies both images: הָגָה), and both end with a consideration of the “way” (דֶּרֶךְ in 1:6; 2:12).9 Thematically, both psalms appear to present the same person. In Psalm 1 it is a nameless righteous person, while in Psalm 2 the individual is identified as the king—YHWH’s anointed. Reflecting on the wording of Joshua 1:8 and the Kingship Law in Deuteronomy 17:14–20, it is not difficult to appreciate the royal overtones in Psalm 1. Cole explains that “Psalm 1 speaks of a future conquering king using Joshua as a pattern and, as such, is as ‘royal’ a psalm as the following Psalm 2. Its affixing to, and close integration with, Psalm 2 simply confirms further that a king is in view.”10 Furthermore, ancient commentators paid careful attention to the relationship between the two psalms.11 In agreement with Grant, “The best conclusion seems to be that these psalms were deliberately placed alongside one another because of their lexical, thematic and theological similarity as the dual introduction to the Psalter.”12

Second, the Psalter possesses a corresponding conclusion. Psalms 146–150 form a unique collection of psalms that all begin and end with הַלְלוּ־יָה (transliterated as hallelujah and translated as “Praise the Lord!”). Book Five appears to have a doxology in Psalm 145:21 (for more on doxologies and divisions see below), thus further setting the five concluding psalms apart. Thematic links develop through the five-part conclusion, such as kingship and Zion.13 Arguably, the five concluding psalms may correspond to the five books of the Psalter.14 Furthermore, many of the themes present in the two-part introduction are picked up in the five-part conclusion: the wicked perish (1:5–6; 146:8–9), the peoples, kings, and judges of the earth are addressed (2:1, 2, 10; 148:7, 11), and the ones breaking bonds in Psalm 2 (v. 3) are bound in Psalm 149 (vv. 7–8).15 It is reasonable to conclude that these five psalms function as a conclusion to the Psalter.

Third, within the Psalter there are five movements designated as books but which we might consider chapters. Psalms 41, 72, 89, 106, and 145 all contain a doxology at or near their end (41:14; 72:18–19; 89:53; 106:48; 145:21). The doxologies, although differing slightly, each share four elements in common: a blessing, the name of YHWH, an eternal time frame, and the term “amen” (145:21 lacks this concluding term but carries each of the other elements).16 The Psalter therefore appears to be intentionally separated into five movements, each designated a book. As Hamilton observes, each of the “benedictions stand as punctuation marks at the end of the books within the Psalter.”17 These five books therefore evidence an internal, intentional structure to the Psalter. They are key features of the Psalter’s shape.

Fourth, it is significant that the psalms within the Psalter are not arranged by genre or theme. This is a point made emphatically by Wilson in his groundbreaking study, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. There, as part of his assessment of various indicators of editorial activity, he exhaustively examines the various methods of ordering ancient collections of hymns, psalms, and poetry before exploring the Psalter for indications of a similar ordering methodology. Other ancient collections appear to factor in genre in their ordering, but not so the Psalms. Wilson concludes, “while the analysis of the distribution of genre terms in the pss-headings reveals the existence of clusters of terms spread throughout the Psalter, there is no evidence of any consistent attempt to group all the pss by genre categories as in the Mesopotamian catalogues.”18 Another ordering purpose must therefore exist and the second step necessary in this article will outline a convincing possibility.

The above four pieces of evidence permit the claim that the Psalter is in fact a book of psalms. Like any other book it possesses an introduction, conclusion, internal structure, and agenda that orders the whole. It is wholly justifiable to consider the 150 individual psalms as a collective literary unit. As Wilson asserts:

Let us begin with the fact that the Psalter does have a shape. The one hundred fifty canonical psalms have come down to us in a particular arrangement that is traditional, if nothing else. This arrangement can be found in the versions (e.g. Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Aramaic) and, with the exception of some of the Qumran psalms manuscripts, dominates the Hebrew tradition as well. So, the question that confronts the student of the Psalter is not whether it has a shape but what the indicators of shape are. Further, one must ask what the significance of this shape is.19

2. Outlining the Psalter’s Narrative Impulse

Step two must seek to set forth an ordering purpose in the Psalter—the significance of its shape. The indicators that the Psalter has a shape, presented in step one, aid the reader in discerning the message of the Psalter. This second step therefore outlines the Psalter’s narrative impulse, arguing that the Psalter traces the history presented in the Old Testament.20 The fivefold division of the Psalter is key to unlocking the narrative impulse. Step three weaves theological reflections throughout the narrative impulse as prompted by the Psalter’s shape.

2.1. Book One: The Rise of the King

As noted above, the Psalter opens with a focus on the destinies of the righteous and the wicked as determined by their relation to YHWH’s word and YHWH’s king. Psalm 1 unambiguously sets up the division, affirming that the righteous one meditates on YHWH’s torah and thus his way is known to YHWH—an idiom that confirms protection and care. On the other hand, the wicked perish. Psalm 2 relates this division to YHWH’s anointed king who is seated in Zion. As Deuteronomy 17:14–20 stipulates, YHWH’s chosen king is to be a student of torah. It is therefore justifiable to view the anointed king of Psalm 2 as the righteous one of Psalm 1. In doing so, it becomes apparent that the wicked do not simply spurn YHWH’s torah, but rebel against his king. Thus, the Psalter’s introduction—as any good narrative should do—establishes a tension that needs to be resolved. Who will prevail in the battle between the righteous and the wicked, the torah-abiding king and the rebellious kings of the nations?

Book One, which commences with this two-part introduction, proceeds to connect the nameless royal, torah-abiding individual of the introduction with King David. It does so initially by way of authorship ascription in the psalm superscriptions.21 Virtually all the psalms of Book One are ascribed to David; only Psalms 1, 2, 10, and 33 lack Davidic superscriptions. While Psalms 1–2 form the introduction, Psalms 10 and 33 are intimately connected to the preceding psalms and are thus colored with a Davidic hue. Book One is therefore thoroughly Davidic. Consequently, the reader is invited to read the psalms of Book One in relation to the Davidic king.

The first book also develops the programmatic division established in the two-part introduction between the righteous and the wicked. The generic righteous/wicked division of Psalm 1 is specified as YHWH’s chosen king (righteous) and the rebellious kings and nations (wicked) in Psalm 2. The ensuing psalms strongly allude to this conflict.22 It is primarily the terminology present in Book One that develops this division, with Miller claiming that almost half of the references to the wicked in the Psalter, and slightly less than that to the righteous, occur in Book One.23 The occurrence of the root אָיַב (“enemy”) alone is prolific.24 Other roots possess some overlap in meaning: צָרַר/צַר (“adversary” or “foe”),25 אָוֶן (“evildoers”),26 רַע/רָעַע (“evildoers”),27 עָנָו (“afflicted”),28 עָנִי (“afflicted”),29 and רָדַךּ (“pursuers” or “persecutors”).30 Furthermore, there is the frequent appearance of רָשָׁע (“wicked”).31 Thus, Book One depicts that the rulers have set themselves against YHWH’s anointed (cf. 2:2). YHWH, however, knows the way of the righteous and so brings deliverance from the wicked. The roots חָלַץ (“deliver” or “rescue”),32 נָצַל (“deliver” or “rescue”),33 and פָלַט (“deliver” or “rescue”),34 both seeking or testifying deliverance, occur regularly. Salvation terminology is likewise repeated.35 This testimony of deliverance, prominent in Book One, establishes two expectations: first, YHWH will watch over the righteous as promised in Psalm 1; and second, YHWH will enthrone his chosen king in Zion as promised in Psalm 2. It will necessitate the rest of the Psalter’s narrative impulse to address these expectations.

Book One emphasizes that the anointed Davidic king can face his wicked enemies with the assurance of YHWH’s deliverance. By the end of the book, this is David’s testimony—he is set in YHWH’s presence (41:13). One theological reflection that emerges in Book One and continues throughout the Psalter is that YHWH is sovereign—he alone directs human history. The psalms are unique in that while they are God’s word to his people, they originated as man’s words to God. This fact, however, teaches the reader about the theology of those who composed the psalms and the reality of the world: YHWH directs human history. If the authors of the psalms did not believe this to be so they would not have called out to him.

Considering the Psalter as a book aids the reader to better grasp this reality. As observed in the preceding paragraphs, in Book One it is YHWH who consistently aids David in his battle against the wicked (e.g., 18:1–4). In Book Two YHWH rescues the nation from its enemies (e.g., 44:5–9). In Book Three, even in the wake of exile, the psalmist cries to YHWH (e.g., 77:1–3). In Book Four praise is once again ignited with the memory and/or experience of YHWH’s salvation (105:1–2). Indeed, in Book Five YHWH is praised for his consistently great deeds for his people (117). In every part of the narrative impulse, the psalmists turn to YHWH, and this template is apparent from the outset in Book One. As a result of its intimate connection with King David, it is possible to read Book One as a poetic companion to the establishing of Davidic kingship by YHWH. It testifies to the rise of the king under the sovereign care of YHWH. But further evidence for this claim must be found in Book Two.

2.2. Book Two: The Rise of the Kingdom

The trajectory initiated in Book One evolves in Book Two. A change in authorship ascriptions is the first indication of evolution. In Book Two the Psalter moves from exclusively Davidic authorship ascriptions to largely Levitical attributions. The Sons of Korah (42–49) and Asaph (50) are ascribed the opening psalms, while David is ascribed only 18 of the 31 psalms (51–65, 68–70) in Book Two. Book One ends with the king in YHWH’s presence, Book Two commences with the nation—represented by the Levitical leaders—in YHWH’s presence (42:5; 43:3–4). Indeed, Psalm 44 is the first communal psalm in the Psalter.

Book Two also progresses towards two concluding zeniths. The first is a Levitical zenith in Psalm 68. This psalm traces the journey of the Ark of the Covenant from Sinai to Jerusalem, a triumphant hymn recounting a succession of victories in Israel’s history. YHWH’s presence, as represented in the Ark, is therefore manifest in the nation’s capital. The second is a royal zenith in Psalm 72. This psalm introduces another new authorship ascription: Solomon. Too much is happening in this psalm for it all to be treated here adequately. It is sufficient to note that it appears to be “the job description of the king in hymnic form”36 which also serves as a prayer for successive kings, and in doing so marks the point of transition from Davidic kingship to Davidic dynasty.

This second book of the Psalter concludes at the apex of Israel’s monarchy, the end of David’s reign and the beginning of Solomon’s. Book Two has therefore advanced the narrative impulse from the establishing of Davidic kingship to the celebration of Davidic dynasty. The portrait painted is idealized, indeed too highly idealized as the biblical narratives testify (cf. 1–2 Kings). This idealized picture asserts that throughout the centuries, from embryonic kingdom to dismembered state, YHWH directs human history by caring for, protecting, and sustaining his people. YHWH remains active, no matter the circumstances and their claims. Reading the Psalter as a book reaffirms the theological conviction that YHWH directs human history.37 Just as St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh, Ireland, is visible from anywhere in the small town, so YHWH’s governing of human history is visible from anywhere in the storyline. The Psalter’s narrative impulse, mirroring Israel’s history in the Old Testament, evidences as much. This confidence wanes, however, in Book Three. Nevertheless, Book Two ends with a confidence that the expectations established in Book One are to some degree being experienced.

2.3. Book Three: The Exile

Book Three abruptly halts any further development of the expectations established and experienced in Books One and Two. At least three features of Book Three mark the changed atmosphere: 1) authorship ascriptions; 2) idiosyncratic vocabulary; and 3) exilic allusions. The exile is the next chapter in the Psalter’s narrative.

The noticeable shift in authorship ascriptions is the first indicator that something is different in Book Three. David, who has dominated the Psalter thus far, is almost completely absent (ascribed a single psalm, 86). Moreover, he is not replaced by another royal author—the king is absent. His voice is replaced by that of Asaph (73–83) and other Levitical authors (sons of Korah, 84–85, 87–88; Heman, 88; Ethan, 89). The king was deposed as a consequence of the exile; so also is his voice deposed in Book Three.

The appearance of idiosyncratic vocabulary indicates the second change in tone. Cole closes his study of Book Three with a brief appendix of dis legomena, defined as “twice-only occurrences of specific forms in a specified corpus of texts.”38 While he argues that these support Book Three’s integrity as a unit within the Psalter—thus challenging the concept of an Elohistic Psalter—I suggest that the employment of such vocabulary may also point to a watershed moment. As Greenspahn observes: “Those words which do occur only seem to do so because they are less mundane, reflecting a more specialized subject matter within their context.”39 Although Greenspahn is referring to hapax legomena, a similar principle can be applied to dis legomena. Moreover, the terms identified by Cole are apt for describing the exile: (לְ)מַשֻּׁ(וּ)אוֹת (“ruins”; 73:18; 74:3), הוֹלְלִים/רְשָׁעִים (“arrogant/wicked ones”; 73:3; 75:5),40 קוּמָה אֱלֹהִים (the plea, “arise God”; 74:22; 82:8), תֶּאֱנַף (“be angry”; 79:5; 85:6),41 פְּרַצְתָּ גְדֵרֶיהָ/פָּרַצְתָּ כָל־גְּדֵרֹתָיו (“break through wall”; 80:13; 89:41) and אֵיתָן (“permanence”; 74:15; 89:1).42

Third, and as suggested with the idiosyncratic vocabulary, there are strong allusions to the exile throughout Book Three. The opening psalm explores the issue of theodicy: perhaps nothing challenges Israel’s trust in YHWH more than exile from the Promised Land. Book Three contains communal laments that refer to the destruction of Jerusalem (74; 79). Furthermore, the persistent mention of YHWH’s judgement against Israel underlines that the tragedy alluded to here is not a mere accident of history (73:17–17, 27; 74; 78:31, 59–64; 79:5; 80:5–7, 13–14; 81:9–17; 85:5–6; 89:39–52). Indeed, Psalm 89’s vehement charge against YHWH makes it clear that YHWH is active in this disaster, resulting in the de-throning of the Davidic king. These indicators of exile are reinforced by the high concentration of communal laments in Book Three.43 Thus, writing of only Asaph’s psalms, but in a manner which applies to Book Three in its entirety, Goulder remarks: “Virtually the whole collection is marked by a sense of dire crisis: the community is on the verge of the unthinkable.”44

The Psalter is famous for its embodiment of emotion. It is not simply that as poetry the psalms capture human emotion accurately, they also possess the entire range of emotions. To fully appreciate this, however, all of them need to be read. One would struggle to read Psalm 148 the day one’s spouse dies: “Praise the Lord!” (v. 1). It does not fit. Equally, one would struggle to read Psalm 88 the day a long-prayed-for friend experiences conversion: “Your wrath has swept over me” (v. 17). It does not fit. Focusing on a single psalm does not capture the full range of human experience but reading the Psalter as a book—following the narrative impulse—does.

The Psalter mirrors the full range of human experience when read in its entirety. This theological reflection helps calibrate the reader, bringing ballast and balance to life. When despairing, the Psalter not only provides words to express such experiences but offers hope that better days will come. When rejoicing, the Psalter not only provides songs of praise to sing but cautions that life in this world will not always be so. Life on earth is to be viewed in the long-term because no single day with its emotions dictate one’s experience for all time. Reading the Psalter as a book enables the reader to do so as it asserts that nothing one faces is unique and nothing one faces will last forever. Book Three’s oscillation between lament and hope exemplifies such a balance.45 Life, like the Psalter’s narrative impulse, ebbs and flows. To see this, however, it must be viewed in its entirety.

A seismic shift occurs in Book Three. The expectations established and expanded in Books One and Two are unceremoniously halted. The king is gone, Zion lies in ruins, and Israel’s enemies are apparently triumphant. Is there a resolution for such tragedy?

2.4. Book Four: Seeds of Hope

Book Four seeks to answer the question left lingering at the end of Book Three: YHWH himself is the solution to the tragedy. The appearance of Moses in the superscription of Psalm 90 may at first appear curious, but this voice from the past carries significant import. Psalms 90–92 possess a variety of wilderness imagery; it implies that YHWH remains his people’s refuge whether in the Promised Land or in the wilderness wanderings (90:1).46

The core of Book Four consists of the YHWH Malak psalms (93–100).47 The repetition of יהוה מלך (“YHWH reigns”; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1) reasserts YHWH’s kingship. The designation, “YHWH reigns,” is substantiated by the themes of creation power (93:1, 3–4; 94:9; 95:4–6; 96:5; 97:1–4), sovereignty (93:2; 95:3; 96:7–9; 99:1–3), justice (94:1–2; 96:10, 13; 97:8; 98:9; 99:1–5), and defense of the lowly righteous (94:3–7, 14–23; 95:7; 97:10–11). Intriguingly, both Psalms 96 and 98 open with the call to sing a new song to YHWH which echoes Moses’s and Miriam’s songs from Exodus 15. Thus, wilderness allusions persist and are now connected to redemption. There is confidence that YHWH directs human history: “God has a saving master plan that underwrites the entire biblical story.”48

David reappears in Book Four (101, 103).49 Psalm 101, in particular, echoes the two-part introduction as it too portrays an idealized, torah-abiding Davidic king—especially when considering the Zion emphasis in Psalm 102:14–22. David’s re-emergence is quickly followed by a series of Psalms that reiterate YHWH’s faithfulness, even in the face of Israel’s persistent disobedience (104–106). YHWH’s faithfulness not only confronts the reader of these psalms throughout Israel’s history, but also throughout creation’s history. Book Four therefore fosters hope that the exile is not the end. YHWH remains enthroned above all and faithful to his promises. Indeed, there is even a fresh glimpse of Davidic kingship. Even so, it ends with the plea: save us, YHWH (106:47).

2.5. Book Five: A New Davidic King

Book Five opens with praise for an answer to the plea that closed Book Four (107:1–3). Praise and rejoicing are the dominant theme in this final book. It anticipates a glorious, imminent future. Three topics of concern make this so: David, Zion, and victory.

Throughout Book Five David is prominent once again. He is ascribed authorship of psalms near the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of Book Five (108–110; 122; 124; 131; 133; 138–145). Davidic influence permeates the final book. That David should appear in such a way, post-exile in the Psalter’s narrative impulse, is remarkable and must foster hope for a new David. Indeed, individual psalms such as Psalms 110 and 132 appear to explicitly point in that direction. YHWH’s reign will be manifested in a Davidide. At the very least interest in the Davidic dynasty continues, suggesting that YHWH has not abandoned David’s descendants nor his promises to David concerning those descendants. This hope for a new Davidic king is the primary driving force in shaping the Psalter.

Sensitively reading the Psalter as a book therefore causes its reader to anticipate a new Davidic king. In the journey through the Psalter’s story, the invested reader glories in David’s triumph in the early books, winces at the horror of exile, and longs for the arrival of the David described in Psalms 110 and 132. Canonical theological reflection presses the reader towards the New Testament, making it clear that the long-awaited Davidic king the Psalter expects is Jesus.50 For example, Jesus himself (Matt 22:41–46; 26:64) and the book of Hebrews (1:13; 5:6; 7:17) both apply Psalm 110 directly to Jesus.

From the present vantage point in redemptive history, the Davidic king has come. To this the New Testament testifies. Nonetheless, the king has not yet completed his work, for he is to come again. The Psalter joyfully anticipates the certain coming of the long-awaited Davidic king and attunes the reader to the fitting manner in which to await the Davidic king’s second coming. Living in the last days is tumultuous, not unlike the history of YHWH’s people in the Old Testament. Even so, there is certain hope, and to this the Psalter gives voice.

After the devastation of Book Three, Book Five paints a markedly positive picture of Zion.51 This is concentrated in the Songs of Ascents (120–135), which depicts Zion as a place of peace and prosperity. Zion, and temple, appear to be rebuilt in this collection. As Zenger helpfully summarizes, from these psalms emerge “a coherent theological view which acclaims Zion as the place of blessing and salvation to which Israel should go in ‘ascents’ or ‘pilgrimage’ (executed as a second Exodus from exile or foreign lands).”52 Thus interest remains not only in Davidic kingship but also in Zion. The Psalter, when read as a book, teaches its reader to anticipate the arrival of a new Zion. When the long-awaited Davidic king returns, he will establish the new heavens and the new earth. He promises a global renovation (2 Pet 3:7–13), and at its centre will be the heavenly Jerusalem descended to earth—Zion.53

Throughout the Psalter there is a general movement from proportionately more lament in the earlier books to proportionately more praise in the latter books. This movement prepares the reader for the world yet to come in which there will be no pain, sickness, sorrow, or sin—a world in which YHWH’s anointed is enthroned and will be seen to be enthroned. Bullock suggests that “the Psalms are our maestro as we listen to, repeat, and repeat again God’s praises as recorded in the Psalter.… [The Psalms] tutor us in the language of praise.”54 Book Five, in particular, serves as a travel guide for that world yet to come in which there is nothing to cause lament and everything to provoke praise.

The note of victory throughout Book Five is evident in the repeated—and almost exclusive to Book Five—refrain: הַלְלוּ־יָהּ ( “Praise the Lord” 111:1; 112:1; 113:1, 9; 115:18; 116:19; 117:2; 135:1; 21; 146:1, 10; 147:1, 20; 148:1, 14; 149:1, 9; 150:1, 6). Psalms 111–118 reflect YHWH’s salvation, Psalm 135 reaffirms that that salvation is over foreign nations (vv. 8–12), and Psalms 146–150 function as “memorable vignettes that point to a better reality.”55 The Psalter’s narrative impulse continues to advance as the reader is encouraged to look beyond the exile towards a more hope-filled future.

2.6. Summary

The reading of the Psalter presented here acknowledges a narrative impulse pulsating through the five books. Book One generates expectations that YHWH will establish his chosen king in Zion for the good of the righteous. Book Two extends these expectations, depicting the nation functioning as it should, and culminating in Levitical and royal zeniths. Book Three brings the narrative to an abrupt halt by reflecting on the theodicy of the exile. Hope re-emerges in Book Four with YHWH’s sovereign rule reasserted and the new shoots of Davidic hope. Finally, Book Five erupts with praise as confidence in a new and glorious future causes a triumphant and jubilant conclusion to the Psalter. A rich theology emerges from such a reading of the Psalter, as intimated by the above brief theological reflections. The Psalter poetically retells the story of Israel in a way that assures its reader that YHWH directs human history, the entirety of human experience is accounted for, a new Davidic king will return, and a new Zion will accompany him. Each of these perspectives is present throughout Scripture, but they are all enhanced when the Psalter is read as a book. Thus, steps two and three are complete.

3. Conclusion

Like a snowflake, each psalm is a masterpiece of its own, worthy of concentrated study. Piecing each psalm together with the other 149, just like adding a single snowflake to a billion others, reveals a new landscape—a world with a beauty of a different order. For that reason, we must learn how to read the Psalter as a book, and embrace doing so, for “this is the story that no one but the redeemed can sing, so let us engage in tuning our voices to the language of the Psalms and other biblical praises, preparing ourselves for what may be only the beginners’ choir in heaven.”56 This article is by no means the final word on the Psalter’s shape and message, rather it intends to provoke a fresh impetus in “the continued refinement in assessing how the structure of the Psalter shapes its theology… especially in efforts to derive theological implications from the book- and psalm-group levels.”57

[1] As Kyle C. Dunham, “Viewing the Psalms through the Lens of Theology: Research Trends in the Twenty-First Century,” JETS 66 (2023): 455, notes: “From its inception the Psalter has proved a rich repository for theological reflection,” sentiments echoed by Bullock. See C. Hassell Bullock, Theology from the Psalms: The Story of God’s Steadfast Love (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023), 1, 47, where he describes the Psalter as “Israel’s theology compacted in one book” and “a repository of Israel’s theology through the centuries.”

[2] David M. Howard Jr. and Michael K. Snearly, “Reading the Psalter as a Unified Book: Recent Trends,” in Reading the Psalms Theologically, ed. David M. Howard Jr. and Andrew J. Schmutzer, SSBT (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2023), 4.

[3] There is, however, evidence that recognising the Psalter as a book has a much longer heritage. See Steffen Jenkins, “The Antiquity of Psalter Shape Efforts,” TynBul 71 (2020): 161–80.

[4] See the extensive survey of material in Howard and Snearly, “Reading the Psalter as a Unified Book.”

[5] Howard and Snearly, “Reading the Psalter as a Unified Book,” 4.

[6] For a more fulsome presentation of the evidence, see S. D. Ellison, “Hope for a Davidic King in the Psalter’s Utopian Vision” (PhD diss., Queen’s University, 2021), 47–103.

[7] In Book One, Psalms 1–41, only Psalms 1, 2, 10, and 33 lack superscriptions. Psalms 10 and 33 are, however, intimately connected with the preceding Davidic psalms, giving them a Davidic hue.

[8] Robert L. Cole, Psalms 1–2: Gateway to the Psalter, HBM 37 (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2013), 2.

[9] This article follows the versification of the MT.

[10] Cole, Psalms 1–2, 63.

[11] Justin Martyr (CE 100–165), Clement of Alexandria (CE 150–215), Tertullian (CE 160–220), Origen of Alexandria (CE 185–254), Eusebius of Caesarea (CE 263–339), Diodore of Tarsus (d. CE 390), Hilary of Poitiers (CE 310–368), and Jerome (CE 347–420). See Susan E. Gillingham, A Journey of Two Psalms: The Reception of Psalms 1 and 2 in Jewish and Christian Tradition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 38–61, 295; Bruce K. Waltke and James M. Houston, The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 145.

[12] Jamie A. Grant, The King as Exemplar: The Function of Deuteronomy’s Kingship Law in the Shaping of the Book of Psalms, AcBib 17 (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 64.

[13] For more on this, see John S. Kselman, “Psalm 146 in Its Context,” CBQ 50.4 (1988): 587–99; Donatella Scaiola, “The End of the Psalter,” in The Composition of the Book of Psalms, ed. Erich Zenger, BETL 238 (Leuven: Peeters, 2010), 701–10.

[14] See, for example, Geoffrey W. Grogan, Prayer, Praise and Prophecy: A Theology of the Psalms (Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2009), 240.

[15] Michael K. Snearly, The Return of the King: Messianic Expectation in Book V of the Psalter, LHBOTS 624 (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015), 179–80 outlines more correspondences in a helpful table.

[16] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms Volume 1: Psalms 1–72, EBTC (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 23.

[17] Hamilton, Psalms Volume 1, 23.

[18] Gerald H. Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, SBLDS 76 (Chico, CA: Scholars, 1985), 167.

[19] Gerald H. Wilson, “The Shape of the Book of Psalms,” Int 46 (1992): 129.

[20] Similar, but independent, presentations can be found in Grogan, Prayer, Praise & Prophecy, 181–241; Michael Barber, Singing in the Reign: The Psalms and the Liturgy of God’s Kingdom (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road, 2001), 81–133.

[21] On reading the superscriptions as suggestive of authorship, see, R. Dean Anderson Jr., “The Division and Order of the Psalms,” WTJ 56 (1994): 226–27; Gordon J. Wenham, The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 68–71. Also see Habakkuk 3:1.

[22] See Carissa Quinn, The Arrival of the King: The Shape and Story of Psalms 15–24, SSBT (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2023), 158–76, for comments on the tension inherent in such a conflict, with particular focus on Psalms 15–24.

[23] Patrick D. Miller, “The Beginning of the Psalter,” in Shape and Shaping of the Psalter, ed. J. Clinton McCann Jr., JSOTSup 159 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1993), 85.

[24] Just over 39% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 3:8; 6:11; 7:6; 8:3; 9:4, 7; 13:3, 5; 17:9; 18:1, 4, 18, 38, 41, 49; 21:9; 25:2, 19; 27:2, 6; 30:2; 31:9, 16; 35:19; 37:20; 38:20; 41:3, 6, 12 (Book One has 29 occurrences; Books Two–Five have 45 occurrences).

[25] Almost 26% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 3:2; 4:2; 6:8; 7:5, 7; 8:3; 10:5; 13:5, 14; 18:7; 23:5; 27:2, 12; 31:10, 12; 32:7 (Book One: 15 occurrences; Books Two–Five: 43 occurrences).

[26] Just over 32% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 5:6; 6:9; 7:15; 10:7; 14:4; 28:3; 36:4, 5, 13; 41:7 (Book One: 10 occurrences; Books Two–Five: 21 occurrences).

[27] 45% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 2:9; 5:5; 7:5, 10; 10:6, 15; 15:4 22:17; 23:4; 26:5; 27:2; 28:3, 4; 34:14, 15, 17; 36:5; 37:1, 8, 9, 19, 27; 41:6 (Book One: 23 occurrences; Books Two–Five: 28 occurrences).

[28] Just over 69% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 9:13, 19; 10:12, 17; 22:27; 25:9 (x2); 34:3; 37:11 (Book One: 9 occurrences; Book Two: 4 occurrences).

[29] Just over 46% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 9:13, 14, 19; 10:2, 9 (x2), 12; 12:6; 14:6; 18:28; 22:25; 25:16, 18; 31:8; 34:7; 35:10 (x2); 37:14; 40:18 (Book One: 19 occurrences; Books Two–Five: 22 occurrences).

[30] 45% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Book One: 7:2, 6; 18:38; 23:6; 31:16; 34:15; 35:3, 6; 38:21 (Book One: 9 occurrences; Books Two–Five: 11 occurrences).

[31] Almost 49% of occurrences in the Psalter are found in Books One: 1:1, 4, 5, 6; 3:8; 5:5; 7:10; 9:6, 17, 18; 10:2, 3, 4, 13, 15 (x2); 11:2, 5, 6; 12:9; 17:9, 13; 18:22; 26:5; 28:3; 31:18; 32:10; 34:22; 36:2, 12; 37:10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 40; 39:2 (Book One: 45 occurrences; Books Two–Five: 47 occurrences).

[32] 6:5; 18:20; 34:8.

[33] 7:2, 3; 18:1, 18, 49; 22:9, 21; 25:20; 31:3, 16; 33:16, 19; 34:5, 18, 20; 35:10; 39:9; 40:13.

[34] 17:13; 18:3, 44, 49; 22: 5, 9; 31:2; 32:7; 37:40 (x2); 40:18.

[35] 3:7, 8; 6:4; 7:1, 10; 9:14; 12:1; 13:5; 14:7; 17:7; 18:2, 3, 27, 35, 46, 50; 20: 5, 6, 9; 21:1, 5; 22:1, 21; 24:5; 25:5; 27:1, 9; 28:8, 9; 31:2, 16; 34:6, 18; 35:3, 9; 36:6; 37:40. The references in this footnote refer to both ישׁע (“saved”) and יְשׁוּעָה (“saved”). The term תְּשׁוּעָה (“salvation”) also appears five times in Book One (33:17; 37:39; 38:23; 40:11, 17).

[36] Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth L. Tanner, The Book of Psalms, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015), 573.

[37] See, for example, Bullock, Theology from the Psalms, 49, 65.

[38] See Robert L. Cole, The Shape and Message of Book III (Psalms 73–89), JSOTSup 307 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 236.

[39] Frederick E. Greenspahn, “The Number and Distribution of Hapax Legomena in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 30 (1980): 16.

[40] Cole notes that while רְשָׁעִים (“wicked ones”) is common in the Psalter, it is the combination that is unique. See Cole, Shape and Message of Book III, 236 n. 2.

[41] Cole concedes that this verb form occurs four times in the Psalter (2:12 and 60:3 being the other two occurrences). He argues, however, that only here does it appear in the second person masculine singular imperfect. See Cole, Shape and Message of Book III, 238. This is perhaps an occasion of special pleading.

[42] Evidently the intention here is to draw a contrast with the apparently transitory nature of Jerusalem.

[43] Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, “The Meta-Narrative of the Psalter,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, ed. William P. Brown (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 371; J. Clinton McCann Jr., “The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter: The Psalms in Their Literary Context,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, ed. William P. Brown (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 355.

[44] Michael D. Goulder, “Asaph’s History of Israel (Elohist Press, Bethel, 725 BCE),” JSOT 20 (1995): 74.

[45] Ellison, “Hope for a Davidic King,” 67–69.

[46] Particularly noteworthy are the attaching of Moses’s name to Psalm 90 which alludes to journeying, the perpetuating of the journey imagery alongside protection from evil in Psalm 91, and the jubilance at the cessation of wilderness wanderings in Psalm 92. See the fuller defence of such a reading in Ellison, “Hope for a Davidic King,” 73–76.

[47] Psalm 94 is conspicuous among the other psalms in this group, but “its plea for God to judge the world invokes a well-known function of the great king-God” (deClaissé-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner, Psalms, 687).

[48] Bullock, Theology from the Psalms, 151.

[49] For a fuller consideration of this, see David A. Gundersen, “The Future David of Psalm 101: Davidic Hope Sustained in Book IV of the Psalter,” JBTS 4 (2019): 82–112.

[50] See, for example, S. D. Ellison, “Old Testament Hope: Psalm 2, the Psalter, and the Anointed One,” Themelios 46.3 (2021): 534–45; S. D. Ellison, “Seeing Christ in the Shape of the Psalms,” TGC, 6 April 2021, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/seeing-christ-shape-psalms/.

[51] See the discussion in S. D. Ellison, “Children of Zion: Home and Place in the Psalter,” The Round Tower Review, December 2022, https://theroundtowerreview.wordpress.com/2022/12/27/david-ellison/.

[52] Erich Zenger, “The Composition and Theology of the Fifth Book of Psalms, Psalms 107–145,” JSOT 80 (1998): 92.

[53] Bullock, Theology from the Psalms, 32.

[54] Bullock, Theology from the Psalms, 172, 173.

[55] W. Dennis Tucker Jr., “‘How Good It Is to Sing Praises to Our God’ (Ps 147:1): The Final Hallel in Light of Utopian Literary Theory,” PRSt 44 (2017): 234.

[56] Bullock, Theology from the Psalms, 175.

[57] Dunham, “Psalms through the Lens of Theology,” 472.