The Psalms: Praises to the Lord Jesus Christ

Title

The Psalms: Praises to the Lord Jesus Christ

Book Title

The Jesus Christ Focused Old Testament: Making Sense of a Monumental Book

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Chapter

42 Year of Publication

2022

Authors

Parry, Donald W. (Primary)

Pagination

114-115

Publisher

Book of Mormon Central

City

Springville, UT

Show Full Text

The book of Psalms is a collection of hymns and songs that were expressed by the ancient Israelites on occasions of worship, reflection, and devotion. Significantly, the psalms are a collection of praises about the lord and His majesty, omnipotence, love, and mercy. For this reason, the Hebrew word for the book of Psalms is Tehillim, which means “praises.”

Although the book of Psalms contains 150 psalms, the evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls psalter indicates that anciently there existed many more psalms.

The Levitical choir (2 Chr. 5:12–13) or a congregation of worshippers sung many of the psalms. At times the singing was accompanied by musical instruments of three types (see Ps. 150): winds (i.e., horn, trumpet, flute), percussion (i.e., tambourine or hand drum, cymbals), and strings (i.e., two types of lyre).

More than seventy of the psalms are attributed to or affiliated with David. Other psalms are associated with additional characters, including Moses (Ps. 90), Solomon (Ps. 72, 127), Asaph (Ps. 50, 73–83), and Ethan (Ps. 89). Many psalms are anonymous. Many have historical titles or introductions. Psalm 3 is titled “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.” See also Ps. 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 60, 63, 142.

Following the findings of biblical scholars, this chart attempts to categorize most of the psalms according to their genre. It is often difficult to categorize certain psalms, and scholars rarely agree on their genre. Additionally, many psalms belong to two or more categories; for example, Psalm 99 has elements that make it a Psalm of Praise and other elements that categorize it as a Royal Psalm.

Type	Psalms	Description
Songs of Praise	8, 19, 29, 33, 65, 66, 78, 93, 96–100, 103–6, 111, 113–14, 117, 134–36, 145–150	Praises directed to the lord for His goodness, greatness, mercy, and love; for His deliverance from enemies; for His majesty, power, work as the creator; for the natural world’s testimony that the lord lives; for the lord’s magnificent kingship and kingdom.
Songs of Thanksgiving	18, 30, 32, 66, 92, 116, 118, 138	Expressions of thanksgiving and joy to the lord for His divine activity among the people.
Songs of Zion	46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122	Describe the lord’s holy city as the place where His presence is found; the lord’s people desire to live in Zion and to worship Him there.
Songs of the Temple and Liturgy	15, 24, 50, 68, 81–82, 95, 115, 132	Pertain to ritual, entering the temple with clean hands, worshipping the lord in His temple.
Laments, Prayers, Songs of Petition	3–7, 9–10, 12–14, 17, 22, 25–26, 28, 31, 36, 38–44, 51–54, 56–58, 60–61, 64, 70–71, 74, 77, 80, 83, 85–86, 88, 90, 94, 102, 108, 120, 129–30, 143	A prayer or cry for divine help during a time of pain, distress, sickness, disappointment, or mourning or for protection against one’s enemies.
Songs of Trust	4, 11, 16, 23, 27, 62–63, 123–26, 131	Songs that feature declarations of trust in the lord and His might, power, and ability to save.
Wisdom Songs	34, 37, 39, 49, 73, 112, 127–28, 133	Set forth qualities and possibilities of a life filled with wisdom; describe those who walk in the lord’s path; how to obtain wisdom; characteristics of those who have wisdom.
Songs about the Law	1, 19, 119	Delight in the lord’s law, its significance and power to change people; blessings to those who hearken to the lord’s instruction and counsel.
Royal Songs	2, 20–21, 45, 47, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, 144	Pertain to the king’s coronation, marriage, character, and success. Many royal psalms foreshadow the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, the messianic king.
Imprecatory Songs	35, 55, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137	Righteous yearnings for the lord’s judgments against one’s enemies.

Table of Contents

Book

The Jesus Christ Focused Old Testament: Making Sense of a Monumental Book

Parry, Donald W.

56 Chapters

Introduction

Parry, Donald W. | pp. i-viii

Prophecies of Jesus Christ’s Mortal Ministry and Atonement

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 1-5

Symbols That Testify of Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 6-9

The Lord Jesus Christ: Conquering Hero

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 10-12

Jesus Christ Is the Lord of History: Nine Major Historical Eras

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 13-16

The Lord Jesus Christ: Potter, Captain, Shepherd, and More

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 17-21

The Lord Jesus Christ Controls the Nations: Book of Judges Case Study

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 22-23

Old Testament Passages Cited by Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 24-28

Messianic Prophecies in the Psalms

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 29-31

Psalm 22 and Its Fulfillment in Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 32-33

Isaiah's Prophecies of the Mortal Messiah

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 34–36

The Messiah in Isaiah 53: Four Recurring Themes

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 37-38

Names, Titles, and Metaphors of the Lord Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 39-43

Lord (Jehovah): The Most Frequently Used [Content] Word in the Hebrew Bible

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 44-47

Equivalent Designations of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old and New Testaments

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 48-50

God: Compound Names

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 51-53

Lord: Compound Names

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 54-56

The Lord Is Our Savior

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 57-59

The Lord (Jehovah) Is Our Redeemer

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 60-61

The Lord Is Our Atoner

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 62-63

Jesus Christ Is the Messiah

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 64

Jesus Christ Is the Lord

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 65-66

One, Three, and Seven: Sacred and Symbolic Numbers

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 67-69

Seven and Sacred Time

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 70-71

Eve: Life and Help: A Type of Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 78-79

Adam: "The Figure of Him that Was to Come"

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 80-81

Prophets and Prophetesses: The Lord's Messengers

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 72-77

Melchizedek: Type of Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 82-83

Isaac: Type and Shadow of Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 84-85

Joseph of Egypt: Foreshadow of Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 86-87

Moses: Type and Shadow of Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 88-89

Elijah: Symbol of Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 90-91

Job: Suffering Servant, A Type of Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 92-93

Hosea’s Family: Symbols of the Lord for Ancient Israel

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 94-95

The Sign of Jonah: Pointing to Christ’s Death

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 96-97

Priests and High Priests: Foreshadowing Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 98-99

The Lord Reveals Cycles of Sacred Time

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 100-101

Striking Blood on the Doorposts: The Passover Anticipates Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 1102-103

The Day of Atonement: Messianic Foreshadowing

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 104-105

"A Feast to the Lord": Sacred and Secular Meals

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 106-107

Parallelisms: Teaching About the Lord Jesus Christ Through Poetry

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 108-110

Chiasmus: Unique Presentations of the Lord’s Word

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 111-113

The Psalms: Praises to the Lord Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 114-115

Lord: Focused Prophetic Speech Forms

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 116-117

Prayers: Mortals Seeking the Lord's Divine Favor

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 118-119

Worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ through Music and Song

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 121-123

Law of Moses: Anticipated Jesus Christ and His Atonement

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 124-125

Manna: Symbol of Jesus Christ

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 126-127

Symbols of Christ in the Tabernacle of Moses

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 128-129

Sacrifices Under the Law of Moses: Six Acts

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 130-131

Sacrifices: Symbols of Jesus's Atoning Sacrifice

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 132-133

Diet Code: Unclean and Clean Animals

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 134-135

God Is a Holy Temple: Temples and Sacred Space

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 136-137

The Atonement-Focused Earthly and Heavenly Temples

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 138-140

Jesus's Royal Ancestry: Rulers of the Kingdom of Judah

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 141-142

Bibliography

Parry, Donald W. | pp. 144-145

Bibliographic Citation

Terms of use

Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.