​  “The Hebrew Psalms have furnished the bridal hymns, the battle songs, the pilgrim marches, the penitential prayers, and the public praises of every nation of Christendom since Christendom was born.”
   “At the time of the Reformation,” says the great expositor Delitzsch, “the Psalter began to diffuse its odors as in the renewed freshness of a May morning.” Von Mueller says that the Psalms can make a life of trial to be a life of joy; while LeFevre calls them “the marrow of lions.”
   The Psalter is found in the center of the Bible, and contains the heart of revelation. It is sometimes called “the Bible within the Bible,” because it summarizes what precedes and anticipates what follows. It is the one book of Scripture for which every other book has a marked affinity.
   Most of the Psalms are prayers—not merely forms of devotion but the heart utterances of men who could not live without God. All of their experiences—whether unheard-of sufferings or unutterable joy—are viewed in relation to the divine will.
   A number of the Psalms are songs which celebrate the history of the Hebrew people. While the leading events are depicted in broad outline, there is also a wealth of detail. About one-third are anonymous; 73 bear the name of David; 24 are attributed to the minstrels of his reign and subsequent singers, some of whom lived in the glorious period of Ezra’s restoration.
   There are five books in the collection: first, Psalms 1-41; second. Psalms 42-72; third, Psalms 73-89; fourth, Psalms 90-106; fifth, Psalms 107-150. —Through the Bible Day by Day 

Book I. Songs of Deliverance, Psalm 1-41
Book II. The Divine Judgments, Psalm 42-72
Book III. National Hymns of Judah, Psalm 73-89
Book IV. The Over-ruling Kingdom, Psalm 90-106
Book V. Anthems of Praise and Thanksgiving, Psalm 107-150