The Psalter is simply a fancy-sounding term for the Book of Psalms, located in the Old Testament, or what we call books containing the psalms, designed to be used in worship.
In most English Bibles, you will find the Psalter around the middle of the entire book. The word Psalter stems from the Latin term, psalterium, which is the title of the Book of Psalms in the Latin Vulgate. Interestingly, for linguists, the word psalm comes from the Greek word psalmoi meaning songs for instruments. The Hebrew title for the Psalter is Tehillim (praises).
Why all the “dead languages” connected to the Living Word? God sent His Only Son into the world at the crossroads of several civilizations. The land of Israel had been inhabited by the Babylonians, followed by the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and then the Roman Empire in succession. The Psalter reflects this in translating the Hebrew word Praises in both its Latin title (Psalterium) and the common name of each song or psalm (Psalmoi), deriving from the Greek.
The Old Testament was written initially in Hebrew, and the New Testament was initially written in Greek and Aramaic. The earliest translations were the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate. These ancient languages—Hebrew, Greek, and Latin—reflect powerful truths with words that are timeless and as relevant today as they were when they were written.
Hundreds of Christians from every culture around the globe find comfort, encouragement, strength, direction, and language for their prayers from the Psalter.
The Psalter in the Bible: Structure and Themes
The Psalter is found with the other books of Wisdom Literature (otherwise known as the books of Poetry) in the Old Testament. It is kept company by Job, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and sometimes Lamentations.
Readers of the Psalter will immediately note that the psalms are structured in poetic form. The Psalter was, in effect, the songbook of the ancient Israelites when they worshipped. The music of the ancient Israelites was largely monophonic, meaning it wasn’t harmonized and sounds more like a chant to our modern ears. We don’t really know what the ancient tunes sounded like, but Peter Pringle is a Canadian musician who built a lyre similar to what David may have used and has recorded his own version of Psalm 23 sung in this ancient style.
There are 150 Psalms written by various authors, including King David, King Solomon, Asaph, the Sons of Korah, Moses, and others, and divided into five books. Hebrew poetry isn’t written in rhyme as much English poetry is, but it is like English poetry in that a defining characteristic is the use of imagery.
Psalm 23 exemplifies this using the imagery of shepherding sheep to describe God’s relationship with His people. Psalm 1 uses the imagery of a tree growing by water to contrast the spiritual lives of those who follow God versus those who defy Him. Psalms 91 and 144 use battle imagery to describe the Lord’s power to protect us.
Bible scholars often divide the Psalms into various categories or types of psalms based on their themes, such as:
- lament
- thanksgiving
- wisdom, praise (or hymns)
- imprecatory (meaning to ask for judgment of enemies)
- Messianic or Royal psalms
- prophetic
- confessional/penitential
- pilgrimage.
Many of the psalms were initially written as prayers. Knowing this, it makes more sense that the majority of them are laments.
Major themes of the psalms included in the Psalter are:
- praise for God’s character and His acts of goodness and faithfulness
- protection and provision
- laments that include cries for deliverance, for justice, and for God to move on behalf of His people
- confession of sin, including sincere repentance
- the coming Messiah
- God’s sovereignty over all the earth
- God’s mercy in watching over humans who are “but a breath”
Why Were the Psalms Collected into the Psalter?
Each psalm in the Psalter is worthy of study as an individual work of Hebrew poetry centered on a spiritual theme. However, just as individual works of art are precious, but a collection displayed in a gallery highlights the themes and techniques on a grander scale, so the Psalter studied as a collected work reveals the cry of humanity and the response of a loving, Sovereign God with broader scope and vision.
Our women’s Bible study read together through the Psalms over four months. Our goal was to each create a collection of Scripture verses to use when ministering to others. It was a grand undertaking and there were times we thought we’d never reach the end of the Psalms, but after the first few weeks, the rhythm of the Psalter became instructive and even a comfort. Reading so many Psalms back-to-back helped us learn to identify David’s psalms from those of other writers and to more easily determine a psalm’s category. The imagery of the psalms expanded our language for talking about all the ways God is great and for praying to Him with sincerity and integrity.
Functionally, the psalms were collected into the Psalter because it was the songbook for worship for the ancient Israelites. Individuals might sing one psalm in private prayer. Families or groups of families gathered for Shabbat or Passover might sing specific psalms during the meal. Temple choirs would perform other psalms during worship, times of corporate lament, or for important religious celebrations.
The Psalter in Worship and Prayer
Many denominational traditions throughout the ages have created their own psalters for singing various psalms in corporate worship. These hymnals, known as psalters, are comprised of selections from the psalms formatted for singing and may also contain devotional material or elaborate religious artwork. They reached their artistic height in the late Middle Ages but continued for many centuries.
R. Scott Clark, in his article on The Heidelblog titled "Psalters!" writes, “The Reformed and Presbyterian churches were Psalm-singing churches from the beginning. We translated the Psalms into the language of the people and set them to tunes for use in public worship. For at least 150 years, Psalms were virtually the only thing sung in public worship in the Reformed and Presbyterian churches.” Of course, we don’t have the original music of the Psalms, but musicians have set many psalms to music for the church to use in worship services.
Well-Known Psalters:
- The Utrecht Psalter may be the most treasured manuscript in the Netherlands. It is a ninth-century illuminated work representative of art developed during the reign of Charlemagne, known as Carolingian. Each psalm is illustrated with a pen and ink drawing.
- The Genevan Psalter out of the reformed, Calvinist tradition probably shaped Protestant congregational singing more than any other psalter. It contains the entire book of Psalms designed for metrical congregational worship singing.
- The Scottish Metrical Psalter is likely the most enduring of the psalters and emerges from the Presbyterian tradition designed to sing in the common meter. It encourages a simple, unaccompanied style of worship singing.
- The Bay Psalm Book is the first book published in America. It was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640 on Puritan minister Joseph Glover’s printing press and contained the entire book of Psalms. In 2013, Casey Cep in The New Yorker article America’s First Book, cites the unusual spelling characteristic of early Americana in this psalter and she quotes Psalm 23:1-2 to illustrate:
“The Lord to mee a shepheard is,
want therefore shall not I,
Hee in the folds of tender-grasse,
doth cause mee downe to lie:
To waters calme me gently leads”
- The Masoretic Hebrew Psalter is the base text for all serious scholarship of the Psalter.
Other psalters include Luther’s German Psalter and Chorales, The Book of Common Prayer Psalter, The Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter, The Anglican Chant Psalter, and The Orthodox Kathisma Psalter, to name a few.
The Importance of the Psalter in Christian Life Today
Why is the Psalter an essential book for Christians in our time?
First, it is God’s living and holy Word. The psalms are a gift from our God who loves to communicate with His people. No matter how many times we read any one psalm, the Holy Spirit uses the words and images to speak to our hearts and minds in new and varied ways.
Second, the Psalter provides language for prayer, praise, lament, and for trusting in the Sovereignty of God over the universe. In our darkest times, we can turn to the psalms for words to use in prayer, and in our happiest moments, we will also find words there to celebrate our glorious God.
Third, the Psalter is a place of connection with other worshippers throughout time, from David to Solomon to Jesus to the apostles and the great men and women of the faith. It is unifying to know every believer can come together in worship through the Psalter. Even more encouraging, the psalms engage not only the mind of the believer but also the emotions. They unite the whole person and the whole of God’s people when used in worship.
Finally, the Psalter demonstrates the high place music and poetry have played in the worship life of believers throughout time. While the teaching of God’s Word is central to the life of any congregation, worshiping God through shared music, poetic lyrics, and profound imagery is also essential. Our God created beauty, and when we gather to worship around the psalms, we participate in that beauty and are, ourselves, a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ.
Photo credit: ©Getty/CaseyHillPhoto
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
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