The Book of Psalms is a hymnal, consisting of song lyrics believed to be associated with worship at the Temple. The psalms are thought to have been composed from the 9th through 5th Centuries BCE, but they were compiled in the 5th Century, i.e. the Second Temple period. The canonical version in the protestant Old Testament largely corresponds to the Masoretic text. There are some small differences in numbering and content with the Septuagint, but I won't waste your time with that.
We don't know much of anything about the music. There was instrumental accompaniment, at least to many of them, as it is occasionally referenced in the text. I'm using the Revised Standard Version because the NIV, for some reason, omits the instructions and other extraneous matter. The Psalms are usually considered to be of five main types, which I'll explain further as we get to them: Hymns, or songs of praise to God; communal laments; "Royal" psalms which extoll the power of a king, although the kings are never identified; individual laments; and individual thanksgiving. Here are the first three. Number One is a hymn; Number Two is a royal psalm, the "son of God" referring to a king and referencing his divine right to rule; Number Three may be considered a royal psalm. The attribution to King David is surely fictitious, however. It might also be considered an individual thanksgiving, but for the attribution. Note its very violent content, which is typical. Psalm One is presumably the inspiration for the freedom song lyric "Like a tree, planted by the water, we shall not be moved."
Nobody knows what the word "Selah" means. It could be a musical instruction, e.g. a trumpet call or drum motif, or perhaps a dance instruction.
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
2 Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.”4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son,
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling 12 kiss his feet,[a]
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of me,
there is no help for him in God.Selah3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.Selah5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me round about.7 Arise, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For thou dost smite all my enemies on the cheek,
thou dost break the teeth of the wicked.8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
thy blessing be upon thy people!Selah
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