Book I (Psalms 3 -41): The First Collection of David’s Prayers. After the introductory Psalms 1-2, Book I gives an extended grouping of Davidic psalms. Every psalm in this section is attributed to David except for Psalms 10 and 33.

David is the Old Testament symbol of the righteous king, and his psalms dominate Book I, where the prevailing note is one of lament, arising out of David’s distresses.