Introduction Throughout the history of the church, Psalms have remain the mirror through which we “look into the hearts of all the saints, and we seem to gaze into fair pleasure gardens-into heaven itself….where it blooms in sweet, refreshing gladdening flowers of holy and happy thought about God and God benefits.” Furthermore, it has become a refuge where people have turned to them when faced with fear, illness, death, or sorrow for solace and guidance. As Tremper put it psalms “appeal to the whole person…..as they inform our intellect, arouse our emotions, direct our wills and stimulate our imaginations” With these benefits and its use in our church services or individually, people are concern on their structure or historical background. In her book Introduction to the Psalms, Nancy deClaisse-Walford takes her reader on a journey through the Hebrew Psalter by presenting them with its historical development over a period of two thousand years, with the ultimate aim “provide the reader with a solid …show more content…
90–106) presents the story of Israel in the exile. A picture of a frustrated Israel is brought out. They realised they “had to rely completely on their God, Yahweh, to provide for, protect, and sustain them.” Psalms in this book unlike the previous books with lots of laments, book four contain ‘only four laments’ five hymn, one royal, one creation and six enthronement psalms. Book Five (Ps. 107–150) present a celebration of the Israelites after the Babylonian exile. It offers “a story of survival in the changed and changing world with which the postexilic Israelite community was confronted.” It is here that they turn to God as their own King and to Torah as the guide for life. In chapter ten, Nancy deClaisse-Walford deals with how the Psalter ought to be read. According to her proper understanding of the Psalter is achieved by reading the Psalms as a whole. Since they are unified and related, the psalms should not be interpreted