Week 1
Day 4

    Listen:

Psalms: Introduction

Headings in the Psalms

Psalm 3

A psalm of David, when he ran away from the face of Absalom his son.

O Jehovah, how are my adversaries multiplied!

Many are rising up against me.

Many are saying of my soul,

There is no salvation for him in God. Selah.

But Thou, O Jehovah, art a shield for me;

My glory, and He who exalts my head.

I call to Jehovah with my voice,

And He answers me from the mountain of His holiness. Selah.

I lie down and sleep;

I awake; for Jehovah supports me.

I will not fear myriads of people

Who have put themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Jehovah;

Save me, O my God:

For Thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the jaw;

The teeth of the wicked Thou hast broken.

Salvation belongs to Jehovah!

Thy blessing be upon Thy people. Selah.

Historical, musical, and topical headings in the psalms

Shiggaion⁴ of David, which he sang to Jehovah, on account of the words of Cush the Benjaminite (Ps. 7).

To the victor; of the servant of Jehovah, of David, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah rescued him from the palm of the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul (Ps. 18).

A psalm; a song at the dedication of the house; of David (Ps. 30).

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, and he drove him out, and he went (Ps. 34).

To the victor; a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came in to him, when he had gone in to Bathsheba (Ps. 51).

To the victor; a maskil⁵ of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, David has come to the house of Ahimelech (Ps. 52).

To the victor, upon neginoth⁶, a maskil of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Does not David hide himself with us? (Ps. 54)

To the victor, on jonath-elem-rechokim⁷ , a michtam⁸ of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath (Ps. 56)

To the victor, al-tashcheth⁹; a michtam of David, when he ran away from the face of Saul into the cave (Ps. 57).

To the victor, al-tashcheth; a michtam of David, when Saul sent and they kept watch on the house to put him to death (Ps. 59).

To the victor, on a shushan¹⁰ of testimony, a michtam of David, to teach; when he quarreled with Aram-naharaim¹¹, and with Aram-zobah¹², and Joab returned and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the ravine of salt (Ps. 60).

A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah (Ps. 63).

A maskil of David, when he was in the cave; a prayer (Ps. 142).

Musical notations in the psalms

AC 8337:5. As by correspondence all instruments signified the delights and pleasantnesses of spiritual and celestial affections, many of the Psalms of David have an inscription, and it is told how they are to be sung, as “upon neginoth,” “upon nechiloth,” “upon the octave,” “shigaion,” “gitthith,” “muth-labben,” “sheminith,” “shoshannim,” “machalath.”

⁴ A musical notation

⁵ “Maskil” means a type of psalm “giving intelligence.” See Ps. 47:4. Musical instruments (see AC 8337:5) that were strummed.

⁷ Probably a musical instrument (see AC 8337:5), the name of which literally means “a silent dove in far-off places.”

⁸ “Michtam” is a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning found in the headings of six psalms (16 and 56-60).

⁹ “Al-tashcheth” means “destroy not.”

¹⁰ A musical instrument (see AC 8337:5); “shushan” means “lily.”

¹¹ A province called “Syria of the two rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates)

¹² Another province of Syria

previous		next