What are the Psalms?
The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible, containing 150 chapters. It is sometimes called the Psalter, which was derived from the book's Greek name, Psalmoi (the Greek translation of its Hebrew name Tehilim, meaning "Praises").
The book of Psalms is said to be the most-read book of the Bible. It is the Old Testament book Jesus quoted most often, and it is the most quoted book in the New Testament. As church father Martin Luther said, “You may truly call the Book of Psalms, a little Bible; for in it all things that are contained in the whole Bible are given to us in the most wonderfully brief and sweet manner, and condensed into a most beautiful manual.”
The book’s 150 compositions are filled with God-given teaching and yet express the wide range of emotions that are part of the Christian experience. They are expressed in poetry—psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs—by a number of authors, particularly King David. The words move not only our minds but our emotions in a truthful way. Millions of believers through the centuries have read or sung psalms in the heights of joy and in the depths of the darkest valleys.
But perhaps the most important role the Psalms have is their prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. During His ministry, Jesus used the Psalms to demonstrate His divinity, His physical descent from David, His superiority to David, His identity as the "Son of Man", God's judgment on those who reject the Messiah, the infallibility of Scripture in His betrayal, and His trust in the Father even in His death on the cross. (See: The Messianic Psalms.)
So it’s no surprise that people come back to the Psalms often. Evangelist Billy Graham once said that he read five psalms at the beginning of each day. They are worth a little of your time each day, or a lot. Psalms.org exists to help you read and meditate on the Psalms and apply them to your life, or to be blessed by listening to them or singing them as you go through your day.
What is Psalms.org?
Psalms.org is a collection of resources to help everyone learn from and enjoy this majestic book of the Bible, whether you are just learning about or rediscovering the Book of Psalms, or wish to deepen your understanding further.
Psalms.org is a project of Crown and Covenant Publications, the not-for-profit publications ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA). Since its establishment in America in 1790, the RPCNA has held to the historic practice of singing the Book of Psalms in worship, which has been a past practice of many church denominations around the world and which is enjoying a renaissance in our day. With this surge in interest in the Book of Psalms and psalm singing in the broader church, Psalms.org was created to offer expertise on the subject to those rediscovering the Book of Psalms or who wish to dive deeper in their understanding.
To learn more about the RPCNA and its beliefs, please visit reformedpresbyterian.org.
For more resources on Psalm singing and Reformed faith, please visit crownandcovenant.com.
How to Use This Site
There are 3 sections to Psalms.org: Study, Listen, and Sing.
Study features resources to read the Psalms and meditate on their content. On each Psalm's page, you will find its text, a featured devotional, information about the Psalm including its author, its main themes, and how it is referenced in the New Testament, and other writings to help your study. The Study section also features resources to help you understand the Psalter as a whole, with resources to help you learn about the various categories and authors of the Psalms, as well as links to other study materials.
Listen features recordings of the Psalms being sung, available on your favorite music streaming service or for purchase. Use these recordings for meditation, listening for pleasure, or for singing along to God's praises!
Sing features resources to help you get started singing the Psalms yourself. We've featured several different metrical psalters - singable translations of the Psalms set to music - for purchase in both print and digital format!
We're always adding new resources to Psalms.org, so check back often for new content!
Are you a publisher wanting to feature your work on Psalms.org? Contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
