General information and history of the Psalter

It is no exaggeration to say that for a Christian the Psalter is the most precious book of the Old Testament. The Psalter is a book of prayers for all occasions: in sorrow, in a sense of hopelessness, in fear, in distress, in tears of repentance and in joy after receiving consolation, in the need for thanksgiving and for offering pure praise to the Creator. St. Ambrose of Milan writes: "In all Scripture the grace of God breathes, but in the sweet song of the Psalms it breathes predominantly."

The Psalter received its name from the Greek word "psalo," which means to rattle on the strings, to play. King David was the first to accompany the singing of the divinely inspired prayers composed by him by playing a musical instrument called the psalter, similar to a harp. The Hebrews call the book of Psalms Tehillim, which means "praise."

The Psalter, composed over the course of 8 centuries – from Moses (1500 years B.C.). to Ezra-Nehemiah (400 B.C.), contains 150 psalms. King David laid the foundation for this book, compiling the largest number of psalms (more than 80). In addition to David's, the Psalter includes the following psalms: Moses – one (Psalm 89), Solomon – three (Psalms 71, 126 and 131), Asaph the Seer and his descendants, the Asaphites – twelve; Heman, one (87th), Epham, one (88th), and the sons of Korah, eleven. The rest of the psalms belong to unknown writers. The Psalms are composed according to the rules of Hebrew poetry and often attain amazing beauty and power.

Often at the beginning of the Psalms there are inscriptions that indicate their content: for example, "prayer" (a psalm of petition), "praise" (a psalm of praise), "teaching" (an edifying psalm), or a method of writing: "pillar," i.e. epigrammatic. Other inscriptions indicate the method of performance, for example: "psalm" - i.e. with accompaniment on a musical instrument - psalter; "song" — i.e. vocal performance by voice; "on string instruments;" "on the octopstring;" "about the winepress" or in the Russian Bible "on the Gath tool" — i.e. on the zither; "about changeable" — i.e. with a change of instruments. Above some of the psalms are inscribed the words of the song on the model of which this psalm is to be sung, something like "similar" in the evening and morning services.

The Psalter was for the most part already the final book in ancient Russian education, necessary not only for clergymen, but also for lay people. The works of Theodosius of the Caves, Metropolitan Hilarion, Cyril of Turov, Serapion of Vladimir, and Vladimir Monomakh are full of references to the Psalms and sayings from them. Its influence is very palpable in folk proverbs. The Psalms were transcribed by almost all our poets of the 18th century; from the poets of the 19th century - Khomyakov, Yazykov and others.

In almost every verse of the Psalms, the Church finds a reflection of the New Testament, of this or that event or thought.

King David is the main author of the Psalter

The content of the Psalms is closely related to the life of the righteous King David. David, born a thousand years before the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, was the youngest son of a poor shepherd named Jesse, who had many children. Even in his early youth, being a shepherd, David began to compose inspired prayers to the Creator. When the prophet Samuel, sent by God, entered the house of Jesse to anoint the king for Israel, the prophet thought to anoint one of his eldest sons. But the Lord revealed to the prophet that the youngest son, still a very young David, had been chosen by Him for this lofty service. Then, in obedience to God, Samuel pours holy oil on the head of his younger son, thus performing the anointing of the king. From that time on, David became the anointed of God – the messiah (the Hebrew word "messiah," in Greek "Christ," means anointed). But David did not immediately begin his actual reign. He still has a long way to go through trials and unjust persecution on the part of the then ruling king Saul, who hated David. The reason for this hatred was envy, since the lad David slew the hitherto invincible Philistine giant Goliath with a small stone and thereby gave victory to the Jewish army. After this incident the people said, "Saul has conquered thousands, and David has overcome tens of thousands." Only a strong faith in an intercessor God enabled David to endure all the many persecutions and dangers to which he had been exposed at the hands of Saul and his servants for almost fifteen years. Wandering for months in the wild and impenetrable wilderness, King David poured out his sorrow to God in inspired psalms (see Psalms 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21, 39, 51, 53, 56, 58). The victory over Goliath is depicted by David in Psalm 43.

When King David became king in Jerusalem after Saul's death, he became the most prominent king who had ever ruled Israel. He combined many valuable qualities of a good tsar: love for the people, justice, wisdom, courage and, most importantly, a strong faith in God. Before deciding any state issue, King David called out to God with all his heart, asking for wisdom. The Lord helped David in everything and blessed his 40-year reign with many successes. In governing the kingdom, David saw to it that the divine services in the tabernacle were conducted magnificently, and for him he composed psalms, which were often sung by choir accompanied by musical instruments. Often David himself presided over religious festivals, offering sacrifices to God for the Jewish people and singing psalms (See his Psalms on the Transfer of the Ark: 14 and 23).

But David did not escape severe trials. One day he was seduced by the beauty of a married woman, Bathsheba. King David wept over his sin in the well-known 50th Psalm of Penance. David's greatest sorrow was the military revolt led against him by his own son Absalom, who dreamed of becoming king prematurely. On this occasion David experienced all the bitterness of the black ingratitude and treachery of many of his subjects. But, as before under Saul, faith and hope in God helped David. Absalom died ingloriously, although David tried in every way to save him. He pardoned the other rebels. David recorded his emotional experiences in connection with the rebellion of Absalom in Psalms: Psalms 4, 5, 6, 10, 24, 40-42, 54, 57, 60-63, 83, 140, 142.

With their poetic beauty and depth of religious feeling, David's psalms inspired imitation by many subsequent psalm compilers. Therefore, although not all the Psalms were written by David, the name that is often given to the book of Psalms is still true: "The Psalter of King David."