Book V of the Psalter · Psalms 107 to 150 · 44 psalms
The return and the great Hallelujah
The longest book gathers what the returned people sang. It holds a thanksgiving for being brought home, a third Davidic collection, the Hallel of the feasts, the pilgrim songs of the ascents, and the longest psalm in the Bible.
- Sealed by
- Psalm 150
- Where it stands in the argument
- Psalm 107 opens the book by telling the redeemed to say so, and the whole Psalter closes not with one doxology verse but with an entire psalm of praise.
- Who the headings name
- David in Psalms 108 to 110, 122, 124, 131, 133 and 138 to 145, Solomon in Psalm 127, and no name on the rest.
Every psalm in Book V
44 doors, coloured by the kind of psalm- Songs of Ascents 15
- Penitential 1
- Imprecatory 2
- Historical recital 3
- Royal 2
- Wisdom and Torah 3
- Thanksgiving 4
- Lament and trust 4
- Praise 10
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 140
- 141
- 142
- 143
- 144
- 145
- 146
- 147
- 148
- 149
- 150
The colour is the psalm's primary kind, following the form-critical categories of Hermann Gunkel (Einleitung in die Psalmen, 1933) as set out in C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms (2001). A psalm that carries more than one kind is filed under one of them, and every type is explained on the Psalms page.
The collections inside it
7 gathered groups, in the order they stand- The thanksgiving of the redeemedPsalms 107
Four pictures of trouble and rescue, each closing with the same refrain.
- The third Davidic collectionPsalms 108 to 110, 138 to 145
David again, including Psalm 110, the psalm the New Testament quotes most.
- The Egyptian HallelPsalms 113 to 118
The psalms sung at Passover, and most likely the hymn sung at the Last Supper.
- Psalm 119Psalms 119
An acrostic of twenty-two stanzas, eight verses each, on the word of God.
- The Songs of AscentsPsalms 120 to 134
Fifteen pilgrim songs sung going up to Jerusalem.
- The Great HallelPsalms 136
Twenty-six verses, each closing with the line that His loving devotion endures forever.
- The final HallelPsalms 146 to 150
Five psalms that open and close with Hallelujah, the doxology of the whole Psalter.
The name of God in this book
The LORD, and the book ends by calling on every breath to praise Him by that name.
What the kinds of psalm come to here
- Songs of Ascents 15
- Penitential 1
- Imprecatory 2
- Historical recital 3
- Royal 2
- Wisdom and Torah 3
- Thanksgiving 4
- Lament and trust 4
- Praise 10
The same nine kinds colour every psalm on this page and on the four other books of the Psalter.
The doxology that seals it
Psalm 150, Berean Standard Bible1Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His excellent greatness.
3Praise Him with the sound of the horn; praise Him with the harp and lyre.
4Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.
5Praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Hallelujah!
Why the seam is marked
The doxology belongs to the collection rather than to the psalm it closes, which is how the five books can be seen in the text itself. The other four seams stand at Psalms 41:13, 72:18-19, 89:52 and 106:48, and the whole of Psalm 150 closes the Psalter.
Key psalms of Book V
9 doors, with what each one carriesLet the redeemed of the LORD say so.
Sit at My right hand, the psalm the New Testament cites most often.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
One hundred and seventy-six verses on the word of God.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD.
His loving devotion endures forever, twenty-six times.
You have searched me and known me.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
The rest of the Psalter
5 books, 150 psalmsKeep studying
Read it1
On this page
Studies5
Doctrines1