In the Bible, the book of Psalms is traditionally located between Job and Proverbs, roughly in the center of the Old Testament. This placement in the middle of the Old Testament can give a wrong impression, however, if we thereby come to view the Psalter as a book formed in the midst of the Old Testament period. The book of Psalms is actually one of the later products of the Old Testament era. If we were to arrange the books of the Old Testament according to their dates of compilation, we would have to put the Psalter among the post-exilic volumes toward the very end of the collection. Many of the songs contained in it are, to be sure, much older, but the particular selection and arrangement of Hebrew hymns into the volume we call the book of Psalms is a post-exilic work. In fact, rather than looking at the Psalter as an Old Testament worship hymnal, it is probably more appropriate to regard it as a final product of the Old Testament temple, compiled in preparation for New Testament worship.

“The Hymns of Christ: The Old Testament Formation of the New Testament Hymnal” by MICHAEL LEFEBVRE in Sing a New Song: Recovering Psalm Singing for the Twenty-First Century, editors Joel R. Beeke and Anthony Selvaggio, Loc. 2012.