Psalms are essentially poems, and the word is used with three different senses in the Bible as referring to:
1) individual poems found in various parts of the OT.
2) the collection of 150 poems used in the worship of the OT community of faith and found in what is popularly called "The Psalms" (Hebrew: Tehilim) or the Psalter. The Psalms, in this sense, has become a channel through which God has spoken to many of the faithful, especially as they go through tough times, the means by which they find a voice when they cannot find the words to speak for themselves, and has, in the process, become the favourite book of most Christians.
3) more broadly, as a name for one of the three parts of the Hebrew Bible; Jesus, e.g., referred to the OT Scriptures as "the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms" (Lk 23:44). Used in this sense it is the equivalent of the Hebrew Ketubim (Writings) and the English "Poetic & Wisdom Literature" and consists of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
J. Gordon McConville, "The Psalms: Introduction and Theology," Evangel 11:2 (1993): 43-54.
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Media Resources for the Psalms in General:
Learning to Love the Psalms, by Dr W. Robert Godfrey. Part 1. Ligonier Ministires. This is a series of 12 studies.
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