How many psalms did David write?

Answer

Contrary to common belief, David is not the sole author of the Psalms. In reality, out of the 150 Psalms, David is credited as the author of only 75.

David is specifically identified as the writer of 73 psalms in their titles. These encompass Psalms 3—9; 11—32; 34—41; 51—65; 68—70; 86; 101; 103; 108—110; 122; 124; 131; 133; and 138—145.

Apart from these psalms, David is acknowledged as the author of two psalms by authors in the New Testament. Psalm 2 is ascribed to David in Acts 4:25: “You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?’”

Additionally, Psalm 95 is attributed to David in Hebrews 4:7: “God again set a certain day, calling it ‘Today.’ This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’”

The initial psalm by David that we encounter is Psalm 3, composed when David fled from his son Absalom. This title suggests that David’s psalms are not arranged chronologically but thematically. David’s psalms are scattered throughout the five books of Psalms, likely compiled upon the finalization of Psalms during Ezra’s time in the fourth century BC.

While many of David’s psalms lack background information about their circumstances, thirteen do provide details of their context:

1. Psalm 3: A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

2. Psalm 7: A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

3. Psalm 30: A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.

4. Psalm 34: Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

5. Psalm 51: A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had

Gone into Bathsheba.

6. Psalm 52: A Maskil/Maschil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

7. Psalm 54: A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

8. Psalm 56: A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

9. Psalm 57: A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.

10. Psalm 59: A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

11. Psalm 60: A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

12. Psalm 63: A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

13. Psalm 142: A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

David’s psalms express a heart devoted to God. His music comforted King Saul, influenced his nation, and continues to change lives today.