Who is Psalms About?
The book of Psalms can seem like a random assortment of poetry. They do not always seem to be grouped together by topic or type, you can find laments, praises, thanksgivings, and imprecatory psalms sprinkled throughout. You will also find psalms written by many different authors spread throughout the book. This leads some people to think the book of Psalms doesn’t have a structure to it at all, but this is not true. A cursory scan of the book reveals it is actually divided up into five separate books which indicates that the compiler of Psalms saw a structure and grouped the psalms together and in their order with intention. Just because the intention is not immediately obvious, does not mean that it is unknowable.
A good place to begin determining the “point” of the book of Psalms would be to look at the beginning. The beginning of any work, whether poetry or prose, sets the tone, and sets up the rest of the book following. So how does the first psalm begin?
Psalm 1 should be a very familiar psalm to most of us. It is a simple and straightforward psalm comparing the righteous man to the wicked. The psalm begins “Blessed is the man…” (1:1) and then lists what a righteous person does, and then the psalm ends by contrasting him with the wicked. With just these first few observations, perhaps we could surmise that the psalms are provided for us to instruct us in the righteous path that “the Lord knows” (1:6) and warn us to avoid the “way of the wicked” (1:6). I actually think this is one of the intents of the book of Psalms, but it goes much deeper than that. For sake of the limited space, I hope to give you another deeper and more profound reason behind Psalms being structured as it is.
There is more going on with Psalm 1 than just a simple compare and contrast of the righteous and the wicked. Let’s first consider who it says will be “blessed”—the one who “walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” (1:1). Who among us can say that we have not done these things? Have we walked in the counsel of the wicked before? Or stood in the way of sinners? Or sat with the scoffers? As Paul laments in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We’re not even past the first verse of Psalms, and we’ve already missed out on the blessings it proclaims.
It is at this point that we can see that the subject of the first part of Psalm 1 is singular, and not plural. The Psalm does not say “Blessed is everyone who…” but “Blessed is the man…” And throughout the description of the man, singular pronouns are used “his delight in in the law,” “on his law he meditates,” “He is like a tree planted by streams of water,” “In all he does, he prospers” (1:2-3). Here, maybe we begin to consider that Psalm 1 is not merely righteous instruction, but is actually telling us about someone. The man who does not falter, who is so in tune with the law of the Lord that it is also his law as well, the man who is like a tree, who always prospers.
In fact, as we move onto Psalm 2, we find out more about this man. “The kings of earth…and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast their cords from us’” (2:2-3). We have the rulers of the world attempting to free themselves from the rule of God. God responds in laughter (2:4) at their vain attempts to thwart His will. He then decrees: “I have set my King on Zion” (2:6), and then we’re in the perspective of God’s anointed king: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.. I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” (2:7-8). Then a final warning to the earth: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish” (2:12).
When the apostles Peter and John were released from the Sanhedrin in Acts 4, the church rejoiced, seeing Psalm 2 as being fulfilled in their presence: “Sovereign Lord… who through the mouth of our father David, you servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “Why did… the kings of earth set themselves… against the Lord and his Anointed” (Acts 4:24-26). The church rightly saw the Psalm to be a psalm about Jesus, and God’s anointed king who will bring all the nations under God’s rule and authority. The early church saw in the psalms, Jesus.
This is perhaps the most important unifying theme and structure of the Psalms, given to us “through the mouth of… David… said by the Holy Spirit,” a record of who is God’s Anointed, what he would be, and what he would do…
…including what he would do for us, who fall short of the righteous calling found on Psalm 1. For Psalm 2 ends, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (2:12). We can be blessed by placing ourselves under his sovereign rule, and participating in and receiving his own blessedness.
