The poetical form of the Psalms, as of Hebrew poetry in general, is parallelism. The sentences are formed in such a manner that the psalm can be arranged in lines divisible into two parts, which are either two elements of a single idea, or a double expression of the same idea, or a combination of two ideas or things opposed to each other, illustrating an idea by its antithesis. In some of the Psalms the parallelism is perfect throughout, in others it is partly abandoned, probably in order not to slavishly subordinate the idea to the form of its expression. The same is to be noticed as regards other forms of the Psalms. Some are arranged alphabetically, that is, the successive verses begin with successive letters of the alphabet; but deviations from the plan are met with almost in all such psalms. There are psalms which are divided into a certain number of parts or strophes, each part beginning or ending with the same phrase or verse; but almost invariably these phrases or verses undergo some modification.
The style is naturally poetical, and figurative language is employed throughout. God is a Rock (צור), an habitation (מעון), a Shepherd (רועה), who feeds His flock with great care and love; He is an eagle, under whose wings (אברתו, כנפיו) the weak find protection; He rides in the heavens of the heavens of old (רכב בשמי שמי קדם). Man is compared to “grass that withers,” to a “flower that blossoms in the morning, and in the [[90]]evening it is withered and dried up;” the life of man is but a breath (הבל); a lie (כזב); light in the balance (במאזנים לעלות); he changes like a garment, like a raiment. The days of a long life are like the days of the heavens, the sun or the moon (כימי שמים, לפני שמש, עם שמש or לפני ירח). The mighty are mountains with many peaks (הרים גבנונים), they have horns like those of the unicorns, whilst the weak are “a wall bent” (קיר נטוי), “a fence thrust down” (גדר הדחויה); “they have sunk in deep mire;” “they have come into fire and into water;” “the waters have come unto the soul.” The meek are “broken in heart,” “crushed in spirit.” The wicked and unjust are like lions and dogs; they have poison “like the poison of a serpent, like a deaf adder that stoppeth its ears, that does not listen to the voice of charmers, to the clever sorcerer.” Their words are smooth like cream and oil, whilst in the heart there are war, daggers, sharp swords. The threatened one runs like a hind, escapes like a bird. Those who have no higher aim than material enjoyments are like “sheep driven to death;” “man in his dignity, without understanding, is like cattle that perish.” Mishaps come upon man like the waves of the sea. The Divine judgment visits the wicked like a thunderstorm; it shakes the earth like an earthquake or volcano. Sinners receive “the cup of confusion” (כוס התרעלה) at the hand of God; for “a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine therein is red; it is full with drink, and He pours out from it, but its dregs all the wicked of the earth will suck and drink.”
The sinner is punished by his own deed; “he digs a pit and falls into it;” he feels like a sick person [[91]]whose “bones are troubled, and wither;” his purification is toe healing of the soul; he is purified with hyssop; he becomes whiter than snow (li. 9). When man sins he feels as if he had become a changed creature, as if he had now been born and conceived in sin (ver. 7); when he repents and improves, God creates in him a new heart, and renews a firm spirit within him (ver. 12). The wife of the God-fearing man is compared to the fruitful vine, his children to young olive-trees (cxxviii.). The righteous will flourish like a palm-tree, will grow high like a cedar upon Lebanon (xcii. 13). Whilst the righteous is like a tree planted by the brook of water, the wicked are like chaff which the wind drives away (i. 3, 4). Israel is likened to a vine brought from Egypt and planted in Palestine (lxxx. 9). Peacefulness and brotherly love, between high and low, the mighty and the weak, the rich and the poor, the wise and the simple, are illustrated by the fine oil that flows down from the head to the beard, the beard that descends over the garments, and the dew of the high Hermon that comes down to the lower mountains of Zion (cxxx.).
There are some instances of play upon words (lvi. 9), and of rhymes (cxlv. 11; xxxiv. 6); the latter are apparently not intentional.
Although we generally speak of the Psalms of David, only a portion of them was composed by King David; the headings ascribe also one psalm to Moses, two to King Solomon, twelve to Asaph, one to Heman, and one to Ethan; and some have no author mentioned in the heading. Many have no superscription at all, and most of these seem to belong to a later period. [[92]]
The individual psalms have various names. The most general of them is מזמור a poem, set in music. Of some it is distinctly stated that they were intended to be sung; this is expressed in the heading by the word שיר “song,” which either precedes or follows the title מזמור or stands alone without מזמור. The term, שיר “song,” is further qualified by חנוכת הבית “of the dedication of the house,” ידידות “of love,” and המעלות or למעלות “of degrees leading upward,” i.e., towards God. Another name occurring in twelve psalms is משכיל “instructive song;” the maschil proclaims the lesson that God is King of the universe, and that those are happy who trust in His justice and mercy. A similar meaning attaches to ללמד the word superadded to משכִל in Ps. lx.; lit. “to teach,” i.e., that the song be learnt by all, in order that people may strengthen their confidence in God in times of trouble (comp. 2 Sam. i. 18). The meaning of להזכיר which occurs in two psalms (xxxviii. and lxx.), is “for prayer.” There is one psalm לתודה (c.), “for thanksgiving;” another “for the Sabbath-day,” ליום השבת (xcii.). Four psalms are called תפלה “prayer” (xvii., lxxxvi., xc, cii.); one (cxlv.), תהלה “praise;” one (vii.), שגיון “an error,”[6] referring to the miscalculation of the wicked in preparing weapons against the innocent, which weapons are turned against themselves; and six are superscribed מכתם “a jewel.” Such a jewel is the Psalmist’s “faith in God,” that inspires him with hope and pure joy in the midst of misfortune.
The headings include also instructions for the singers and references to the musical instruments which are to [[93]]be used. The most general term is למנצח “to the chief,” scil., of the singers or Levites; it refers to the chief of a particular division of the Levites if it is followed by a qualifying phrase, and to the chief of all the Levites if it is not followed by any qualification. The term למנצח describes the psalm as a Temple-song, although this may not have been its original object. Even poems which have been composed by David on certain personal events became—perhaps slightly modified—national songs, and formed part of the public service. The adaptation was easy, because these historical psalms rarely contain any allusion to the particular event mentioned in the superscription.
The term למנצח is qualified by על נגינת “on a stringed instrument,” נגינת being the particular instrument of the Levites, of whom this מנצח was the master. The term בנגינות which in several psalms follows the word למנצח is grammatically unconnected with the latter; it means “on stringed instruments,” and is the instruction for the מנצח. There were several kinds of such instruments; two kinds are named שמינית and גתית “the neginath with eight strings” or “chords,” and “the gittith” coming from Gath, a town in the land of the Philistines. Other kinds of musical instruments are נהילות (v.), מחלת (liii.), and עלמות (xlvi.); these are hollow flute-like instruments, also called נבלים (1 Chron. xv. 20). In some cases the division of Levites is named instead of the instrument: ידותון “Jeduthun” (xxxix., lxii. and lxxvii.; comp. 1 Chron. xxv. 3); לבני קרח “to the sons of Korah” (xlii. to xlix., and lxxxiv. to lxxxviii.); once the direction occurs לענות (lxxxviii.), “to sing alternately,” referring to [[94]]the two divisions of Levites headed by הימן האזרחי and איתן האזרחי “the Ezrahite Heman,” and “the Ezrahite Ethan” (lxxxviii. and lxxxix.).
A few terms are met with in the headings which describe the contents of the psalm in a poetical style. Such are (a.) שושן עדות, ששנים עדות and ששנים (lx., lxxx., xlv., and lxix.), “Testimony for the lily or lilies,” or “for lilies.” The poet calls by this name the flower of the nation, the meek and God-fearing, who are under the special protection of God, and are destined to be crowned in the end with glory and victory, (b.) אילת השחר (xxii.), “The strength of the dawn.” The phrase refers to the strength given to the sufferer in the darkness of his despair by the awakening of his faith in God, which is compared by the poet to the dawn as the forerunner of daylight, (c.) אל תשחת “Do not destroy” (lvii., lviii., lix., and lxxv.). By this heading the author indicates that the psalm is a protest against the self-confidence of the wicked in the success of their wickedness, either with reference to their evil designs against the author himself, or to their plans in general. (d.) יונת אלם רחקים “Dove in the force of those far,” scil., from God (lvi.). The psalm contains the expression of David’s faith in God when he was caught by the Philistines in Gath.
In some of the headings the event is mentioned which prompted the Psalmist to compose the psalm: David’s flight from Jerusalem when Absalom rebelled against him (iii.); the slander of the Benjamite Kush (vii.); the death of Labben (ix.); rescue from the hands of Saul and other enemies (xiii.); dedication of the house (xxx.); David’s escape from Abimelech, king [[95]]of the Philistines (xxxiv.); his capture by the Philistines in Gath (lvi.); his stay in the cave of Adullam (lvii., cxlii.); danger of being put to death by the servants of Saul (lix.); war with Aram and Edom (lx.); sojourn in the wilderness of Judah (lxiii.).