Key of David & Psalm 110 Excerpt

The Ascription

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     “A psalm of David” is not part of the psalm proper but an ascription.  Ascriptions appear before psalms and include not only names but also musical directions.  This ascription is an editorial addition, which is not unusual in the Bible in general and the psalms in particular.  We do not reject ascriptions added by editors.  They are part of the textus receptus, the received text, the text accepted as inspired.

     A common practice in the Ancient Near East was to attribute a song, letter, essay, or exposition to an authority figure.  The first five books of the Bible are attributed to Moses, although Moses did not write those five books.  More than 70 psalms are attributed to David.  David may have authored psalms, but Davidic authorship cannot be demonstrated through modern historical-critical scholarship.  The history of the writing of the psalms began before the birth of David and continued centuries after his death.  Biblical scholars commonly accept that the psalms were compiled in a final form sometime during or after the Babylonian Captivity in the 6th century BC, a watershed moment in the history of Israel.

     However, the attribution of psalms to David is not merely a conventional connection to an authority figure for the purpose of validation, but also the work of the Holy Spirit for his greater purposes.  Attributing psalms to David and Psalm 110 in particular was an editor’s inspired decision, with import concerning the place of the psalms in the spiritual life and, of utmost importance, the identity of the messiah.