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Introduction
to Psalms
Introduction
INTRODUCTION TO PSALMS
The
title of this book may be rendered "the Book of Praises"
or
"Hymns"; the psalm which our Lord sung at the passover is called an
"hymn"
Matthew 26:30; and the one hundred forty
fifth Psalm is entitled תהלה
"an Hymn of
David"; and the psalms in general are called "hymns" by Philo
the JewF1De Mutat. Nom. p. 1062.
and songs and hymns by JosephusF2Antiquitat.
l. 7. c. 12. s. 3. ; and to these several names of this book the apostle
manifestly refers in Ephesians 5:19
Colossians 3:16. The Jews divided the
writings of the Old Testament into three parts: the first division is the Law
or five books of Moses; the second is the Prophets
former and latter; and the
third
the "Hagiographa"
or holy writings; to which division Christ
has a regard in Luke 24:44; and because the book of Psalms
stand first in the last division
the whole goes by its name. This book by the
Apostle Peter is entitled as here
Acts 1:20; the title in the Syriac version
is
"the
Book of the Psalms of David
King and Prophet
'
with
which agrees the Arabic version. As to the divine authority of it
that it was
written by inspiration of God
we have not only the testimony of David
who
says
"the Spirit of God spake by me"
2 Samuel 23:2; but the testimonies of
Christ and his apostles
Matthew 22:43; and
as Aben EzraF3Praefat.
in Psalm. observes the whole of it was spoken ברוח הקודש
"by the Holy Ghost". Concerning the penman
or amanuensis
employed by the Spirit of God in writing it
there are different
opinions. The Jews make mention of ten
which are differently reckoned by them.
According to JarchiF4Praefat. in Psalm.
they were Adam
Melchizedek
Abraham
Moses
David
Solomon
Asaph
and the three sons of
Korah. According to KimchiF5Praefat. in ibid.
they were Adam
the
first
Melchizedek
Abraham
Asaph
Heman
Jeduthun
Moses
and the three sons
of Korah; Asir
Elkanah
and Abiasaph. Some ascribe all the Psalms to DavidF6R.
Hona in Midrash Tillim
fol. 2. 1.
and think that those which are said to be
a psalm of Asaph
or of Heman
&c. should be rendered "a psalm to
Asaph"
&c. and only signify that they were psalms delivered to them
to be sung in a public manner. But the truest opinion seems to be
that the
greater part of them were written by David
and for the most part those that
have no title; and the rest by those whose names they bear. Some were written
at and after the Babylonish captivity
as Psalm 126:1 and Psalm 137:1. The manner or form in which
they were written was metreF7Vid. Lowth de Sacr. Poes. Heb.
Praelect. 3. s. 32
&c.
though some deny it that the Jews had metre: as
appears by the different accentuation of them from other writings
and from
their being sung vocally and on musical instruments. JosephusF8Ut
supra. (Antiquitat. l. 7. c. 12. s. 3.)
the Jewish historian
says
that
"David
being free from war
and enjoying a profound peace
composed songs and hymns to
God
of various metre; some trimeter
and some pentameter;'
that
is
some of three feet
and others of five feet: for the Psalms of David are
thought to be of the "lyric" kind; and Gomarus
in his Lyra
has
given many instances out of them
which are of the "iambic"
"trochaic" kind
&c. though the Jews for many years have lost the
knowledge of the sacred poetry. R. BenjaminF9Itinerar. p. 70
71.
indeed says
that in his time there were at Bagdad R. Eleazar and his brethren
who knew how to sing the songs
as the singers did when the temple was standing.
The subject matter of this book is exceeding great and excellent; many of the
psalms respect the person
offices
and grace of Christ; his sufferings and
death
resurrection
ascension
and session at the right hand of God; and so
are exceeding suitable to the Gospel dispensation. The whole book is a rich
mine of grace and evangelical truths
and a large fund of spiritual experience;
and is abundantly suited to every case
state
and condition
that the church
of Christ
or particular believers
are in at any time.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called
unto Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible
NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church leaders
and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
" and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.