The individual psalms have various names. The most general of them is ‏מזמור‎ a poem, set in music. Of some it is distinctly stated that they were intended to be sung; this is expressed in the heading by the word ‏שיר‎ “song,” which either precedes or follows the title ‏מזמור‎ or stands alone without ‏מזמור‎. The term, ‏שיר‎ “song,” is further qualified by ‏חנוכת הבית‎ “of the dedication of the house,” ‏ידידות‎ “of love,” and ‏המעלות‎ or ‏למעלות‎ “of degrees leading upward,” i.e., towards God. Another name occurring in twelve psalms is ‏משכיל‎ “instructive song;” the maschil proclaims the lesson that God is King of the universe, and that those are happy who trust in His justice and mercy. A similar meaning attaches to ‏ללמד‎ the word superadded to ‏משכִל‎ in Ps. lx.; lit. “to teach,” i.e., that the song be learnt by all, in order that people may strengthen their confidence in God in times of trouble (comp. 2 Sam. i. 18). The meaning of ‏להזכיר‎ which occurs in two psalms (xxxviii. and lxx.), is “for prayer.” There is one psalm ‏לתודה‎ (c.), “for thanksgiving;” another “for the Sabbath-day,” ‏ליום השבת‎ (xcii.). Four psalms are called ‏תפלה‎ “prayer” (xvii., lxxxvi., xc, cii.); one (cxlv.), ‏תהלה‎ “praise;” one (vii.), ‏שגיון‎ “an error,” [8] referring to the miscalculation of the wicked in preparing weapons against the innocent, which weapons are turned against themselves; and six are superscribed ‏מכתם‎ “a jewel.” Such a jewel is the Psalmist’s “faith in God,” that inspires him with hope and pure joy in the midst of misfortune. The headings include also instructions for the singers and references to the musical instruments which are to be used. The most general term is ‏למנצח‎ “to the chief,” scil., of the singers or Levites; it refers to the chief of a particular division of the Levites if it is followed by a qualifying phrase, and to the chief of all the Levites if it is not followed by any qualification. The term ‏למנצח‎ describes the psalm as a Temple-song, although this may not have been its original object. Even poems which have been composed by David on certain personal events became—perhaps slightly modified—national songs, and formed part of the public service. The adaptation was easy, because these historical psalms rarely contain any allusion to the particular event mentioned in the superscription.