The Psalms are texts that were originally designed for singing. They also include information that indicates that they were set to melodies and were well known. The idea that many people sang Psalms together is not surprising, as this reflects many traditions of language and music in the Middle East. Many temples at the time had professional singers. It makes more sense that the Psalms are songs rather than poems because the change in pitch allowed for more interpretation than literary text. Psalms could be written about the coronation of kings, conflict, repentance, wisdom, or anything that Israel was dealing with as a community. Psalms help remind people that there is a variety of different stylistic literature within the Bible. The Psalms are also interesting because they are the only work within the Bible that are separated as they were meant to be read and not randomly separated hundreds of years after their writing.
For example, Psalm 22 is one that people often recognize because it contains the phrase “my God, my God why have you forsaken me?” This phrase was uttered by Jesus on the cross and it is likely that he was reciting from this psalm. Psalm 22 is one of the rare psalms that begins as lamentation and ends with confidence and trust in God.