Throughout the Psalms, a myriad of different themes are shown, but there are five fundamentals which are used throughout the whole book. They are: sovereignty, hierarchy, law, sanctions, and future. They could also be written as: God, man, ethics, causation, and time, or sovereignty, representation, law, sanctions, and inheritance. Used extensively in other forms of literature, many societies base their institutions off of these five fundamental points. 

Sovereignty is discussed in the Psalms to display God’s rule over all of creation and David’s faithful worship of God. In Psalm (18: 1-3), “I will Love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverance,” it proclaims David’s love of God. Continuing on: “The earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the hills were moved because he was wrought and smoke went up out of his nostrils,” this displays God’s power over his creation.

Similar to the book of Genesis, hierarchy is explained in the Psalms. “The kings and rulers set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bonds asunder. The Lord shall have them in derision. Be wise of ye kings, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord. Blessed are they that put their trust in the Lord.” Therefore, God is the supreme ruler of the earth and his anointed are second, and he also warns earthly kings and rulers to serve the Lord. 

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord.” Ruling in terms of law, God obliges men to follow the Law of the Lord and not to partake in evil acts and follow evil men. 

Sanctions are God’s punishments for setting yourself against God or against righteous men. God brings both positive and negative sanctions. “The ungodly are like chaff which the wind driveth away. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. The foolish shall not stand in their sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”

“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my cup.” Time and the future are used to show the inheritance that men who keep God’s law will get.