Knowing the authorship of a psalm can enlighten us as to the content and emotion of a particular psalm. For instance knowing the story behind Psalm 51, gives us great insight into this prayer song. The superscription “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba” puts David’s prayer of repentance in proper perspective for the reader.
Likewise “To the chief Musician, Altaschith (Al tashcheth 516) (Aramaic), Michtam (4387) of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him” enlightens the reader with the knowledge that David was hiding from Saul's servants who planned to kill him. It also lets the reader know that David delivered this Psalm of deliverance (destroy not) to the Chief musician to plead for Elohiym to deliver him from his enemies. All of this knowledge sheds a great amount of light on the content of Psalm 59. Just like knowing the story behind a hymn or gospel song, knowing about the psalmist and the situation from which a psalm was born is vital in helping to make a psalm come alive to a congregation of worshipers.
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