Many attempts have been made by scholars to analyse the Psalms into different-types. The whole Psalter is made up of five smaller collections, the end of each collection being indicated by a brief doxology or verse of praise; for example, Psalm 41: 13 'Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! Praise him now and for ever! Amen! Amen! Within each collection different types of psalms can be found although some psalms are difficult to classify. Of the 150 psalms, 116 have some kind of title in their Hebrew form. Many of these titles refer to people, some of them famous, such as Moses, David and Solomon, but others about whom we know nothing, such as the sons of Korah or Heman the Ezrahite. These titles indicate that these psalms were connected in some way with the people named, but how they were connected with them is often not clear. The titles do not necessarily mean that the people referred to composed those psalms, although some may have done.

Some titles refer to the kind of psalm, such as a song of praise, a prayer, a lament. Other titles refer to special uses of psalms. For example, Psalms 120-134 are referred to as 'songs of ascents', and this seems to indicate that they were sung by worshippers as they approached the Temple by the ascending road of the hill of Zion.

The German scholar Gunkel, who pioneered modem study of the Psalms, defined a number of types of which the most important are:

(i)                       hymns of praise

(ii) national laments

(iii) royal psalms (including messianic psalms)

(iv) Individual laments

(v) Individual thanksgivings.

Five dominant themes occur frequently:

(i)  realization of God's presence

(ii)  recognition of a need for thanksgiving

(iii)  personal communion and fellowship with God

(iv)  remembrance of God's part in the history of the Israelites (v) a sense of deliverance from enemies.

Other important themes which we have seen in the prophetic teaching, such as God's anger against evil men, can be identified.

All the Psalms are concerned with the activity and nature of God. God is creator, king, judge, saviour. He is righteous, moral, holy, merciful, loving, almighty, faithful. He reveals himself to his people and the nations. The Temple is his holy dwelling place with his people, on his holy hill of Zion, In the holy city of Jerusalem.