Psalms of Ascent: The 15 Songs of Ascents

The Songs of Ascents are the fifteen psalms numbered 120 to 134. Every one of them opens with the heading "A Song of Ascents" in the World English Bible, and "A Song of degrees" in the King James Version. They are short. Together they run to 101 verses, and three of them, Psalms 131, 133 and 134, have only three verses each. Psalm 132 is the longest at 18 verses. The group opens in distress among liars in Psalm 120 and closes with a blessing from Zion in Psalm 134.

Four of the headings name David and one names Solomon. The other ten name no author. Below you will find what the title may mean, why older Bibles call them psalms of degrees, and the phrases that tie the fifteen together. Each psalm in the list links to its own page with the full text.

The psalms do not explain their own heading, and the meaning is debated. The Wikipedia article on the Song of Ascents sets out several views. Many scholars think worshippers sang them as they went up the road to Jerusalem for the three pilgrimage festivals. Another view links the fifteen songs to fifteen steps in the Temple, climbed by Levite singers. Others think they were separate poems, collected later and given the pilgrimage title after the Babylonian captivity. The text itself gives some support to the pilgrimage reading. Psalm 122:1 opens with gladness at the words "Let's go to the LORD's house", and Psalm 122:4 speaks of Jerusalem as the place "where the tribes go up".

The King James Version heads all fifteen psalms "A Song of degrees". The World English Bible heads the same fifteen "A Song of Ascents". So "psalms of degrees", "psalms of ascent" and "Songs of Ascents" all name the same group, Psalms 120 to 134. The two versions word the named headings a little differently: the KJV reads "of David" where the World English Bible reads "By David", and "A Song of degrees for Solomon" over Psalm 127, where the World English Bible reads "By Solomon". Numbering also differs between Bibles. The Wikipedia article notes that the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate number these psalms 119 to 133. The Douay-Rheims Bible follows that count, so there "In my trouble I cried" is Psalm 119 and "Out of the depths" is Psalm 129.

The headings are the only guide, and they are not proof of authorship. Four headings name David: Psalms 122, 124, 131 and 133. One names Solomon: Psalm 127, the psalm about the LORD building the house. The remaining ten carry only the words "A Song of Ascents" and name nobody. Psalm 132 is about David, since it asks the LORD to remember David and his vow, but its heading does not attribute it to him. Several of the songs speak as a community rather than one person. Psalm 124 and Psalm 129 both have the words "let Israel now say" in their first verse.

The fifteen share a small set of repeated phrases. Three of them describe the LORD as the one "who made heaven and earth": Psalm 121:2, Psalm 124:8 and Psalm 134:3. Two call out "Israel, hope in the LORD": Psalm 130:7 and Psalm 131:3. Two close with a wish of peace on Israel: Psalm 125:5 and Psalm 128:6. Zion or Jerusalem is named in eight of the fifteen, from the gates of Jerusalem in Psalm 122 to the dew on the hills of Zion in Psalm 133. The subjects are everyday: home, work, sleep, children, a family at table, brothers living together. Beside them sit prayers for mercy, and one cry from the depths in Psalm 130.

Because the group is short and holds together, it suits a set reading. At 101 verses in all, the fifteen can be read in one sitting, or one psalm a day for fifteen days. Some pairs sit well side by side. Psalm 127 and Psalm 128 both deal with the house, work and children. Psalm 130 waits for the LORD "more than watchmen long for the morning", and Psalm 131 answers with a soul stilled "like a weaned child". Psalm 132 is the only long song, and it rests on the LORD's oath to David. Psalm 130 is also one of the seven penitential psalms, so it belongs to two collections on this site.