All About the Book of Psalms

Psalms originate from the collection of Jerusalem Temple chants. Tradition wanted to think that King David had set the standards for this liturgy and attributed a large number of psalms to him, just as he attributed the books of Wisdom to Solomon. Levites, in charge of songs and melodies, "sons of Asaph" or "sons of Yedutum", were likely to play an important role in their composition or selection. Over time the compilations were enriched with personal prayers or collective lamentations, an expression of another time where personal piety and vicissitudes of the believing community took on diverse nuance. Psalms have nurtured popular piety and been Jesus' prayer. They are still the basis of the liturgical office recited today by several hundred thousand religious, priests, deaconos and lay people. Psalms baffle many Christians, because they do not find their own aspirations. But we are the ones who must adapt, or rather let ourselves be educated and trained by them. If we want to be in tune with God, we cannot cling indefinitely to our own way of seeing and feeling the facts. You have to know how to hear his word and open ourselves to the Other. These psalms, which have been transmitted over the centuries, are a good means to this. If they do not give full satisfaction to our sensitivity, it will not be a serious fact. Instead it will be of great benefit to us to break our pious schemes and customs. Perhaps they will be able to oxygenate and renew our language, subject to a world where God is a stranger, where one seeks, first and foremost, to live smoothly as we please. The psalms were distributed in five books, and we found traces of the end of those books (confront the end of Psalms 41, 72, 106). Some psalms appeared almost identical in different compilations, which is why we have duplicates. The numbering of psalms is different in the Hebrew Bible than in the Greek Bible. First we transcribed the number in Hebrew and in parentheses the Greek number preserved in our liturgy.

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