Words to God, Word from God

The Psalms in the Prayer and Preaching of the Church

Howard Neil Wallace

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9780754636922
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351871037
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The psalms challenge and sustain us in a number of ways, and in times of new challenges to the very fabric of the church, to its faith, and its values, we need to re-examine these ancient prayers and songs. This book explores the place and function of the psalms in Christian prayer, preaching, and worship. Examining the dual nature of the psalms as both words to God and word from God, the author brings together the historical experience of the church, biblical studies and theological reflection to focus on the application of the psalms in contemporary Christian life. A number of individual psalms are explored in terms of what they have to say about prayer or what theological issues they raise for contemporary life. This book encourages a reclamation of the psalms in the private and public prayers of the church and in the preaching of the word.

Part I
Introduction

Chapter 1
The Dual Role of the Psalms in the Church

This is the secret of the Psalms. Our identity is hidden in them. In them we find ourselves, and God. In these fragments He has revealed not only Himself to us but ourselves to Him.

Thomas Merton¹

Introduction

Throughout its life the Church has maintained two equally important traditions relating to the psalms. One has to do with the use of psalms in prayer and song to God. The other concerns the use of the psalms for the instruction and guidance of the faithful. The crux at the heart of this matter is theological. Should the psalms be understood more in terms of human words to God, or as God's word to humans? Or are they both at the same time? Over the centuries this issue has been expressed in different ways, with different answers given. At times uncertainty, or even a difference of opinion, has been evident. Both consciously and unconsciously, it has affected the Church in its day-to-day life, from the construction of lectionaries for the public reading of scripture, to how individuals and communities have shaped their prayers to God.

What, then, are the origins of these two traditions and how have they developed in the Western Church? We do not need to give a full historical picture here, but by focusing on key events, individuals, and attitudes up to the time of the Reformation, we can see the particular issues involved. To extend the following survey beyond this would result in repetition of the same or similar understandings and uses of the psalms, and simply track the waxing and waning of the traditions. The survey will also show that each of the traditions has received from the Church as a whole due weight over time. Although individuals or groups at particular points in the Church's life have, from time to time and from place to place, favoured one tradition over the other, in the long term a degree of balance has been struck.

The Psalms in Israel

We do not know a lot of the details of worship and liturgy in ancient Israel, let alone the way the psalms were used, but we can make some basic points. We read in the psalms: 'Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing' (Ps 100:2) and 'Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you' (Ps 102:1). There is mention of singing or instrumental accompaniment in some psalm headings or within the psalms themselves (e.g. Pss 6:1; 9:2; 27:6; 54:1 etc.). Some psalms could indicate different speakers uttering different sections of the psalm. Psalm 136 reads:

¹ O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
² O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁴ who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

The repetition of the second line, which runs through the whole psalm, suggests that a responsorial or antiphonal pattern might have been used for this psalm. However, beyond this sort of information we have few details in the Book of Psalms on how they were sung or prayed. The Books of Chronicles give us glimpses of post-exilic worship and indicate the use of choirs for psalm singing (1 Chron 16:7, 41-42). These choirs were groups of Levite priests serving in the temple. They were designated by their ancestral names of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. The first two of these are mentioned in the Book of Psalms. Psalm 150 also gives some indication of the types of instruments that may have been used to accompany psalm singing. Thus, Israel appears to have spoken or sung the psalms to God, at least as part of its worship.

As well as speaking to God in psalms, the people of Israel heard the voice of God speaking to them in various ways in those very same psalms. We can also trace this back to a time before the psalms were accepted as part of the canon of Scripture, 1 Chron 25:1-8 records the appointment of groups of Levites, whom we noted above sang psalms in worship, 'to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals' (v. 1). Verse 6 makes it clear that these people served in relation to the music in the temple, but their duty is referred to as 'prophesying.' The verb that occurs here is also used for prophets elsewhere. Clearly, the task of the temple musicians was not only to offer hymns to God in temple services, but also to help in the mediation of the divine message to the people. This is further suggested by verses 7 and 8 where we find mention of both teacher and pupil casting lots for their duties, as well as references to training and discipline. In temple worship the casting of lots was associated with the determination of the divine will by the priests and Levites. The connection of divination with the role of temple musicians, as well as that of priests, indicates the importance of temple music and the need for it to be in accord with divine order. It would, therefore, seem that the psalms which the musicians sang were understood not only as offerings of prayers and songs to God, but also as words from God, and hence standing in continuity with other forms of prophecy or divinely inspired words to humans. Thus, already in their earliest use the psalms fulfilled a dual role, as both words to God and words from God; words to be said as well as words to be heard.

The Psalms in the New Testament

In the very early Church the psalms gained much more prominence in their function as words to be heard and listened to, than in their function as words to say to God. As far as we can tell from the New Testament evidence this seems to have been the case. While the psalms were part of the liturgical life of the early Church, much more weight is given in the New Testament to their role in the development of the theological thinking of the Church as it went about the task of understanding the life and work of Jesus.

Only a few New Testament passages speak of the role of psalms as words spoken or sung to God in worship. In Col 3:16-17 and Eph 5:19 there is mention of singing psalms although in both places 'psalms' are linked with 'hymns and spiritual songs'. Clearly, psalms were not the only songs offered in worship. The same situation probably holds for the mention of 'psalm' (NRSV 'hymn'; the Greek is psalmos) in 1 Cor 14:26. The question of which psalms or how many from the canonical collection were used is difficult to answer. It may well have been only a small number.² We could draw the same conclusion in relation to the use of psalms in prayer, although it is clear that some psalm forms and their words influenced the prayer of the early Church. We can see this in some New Testament writings, e.g. the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55; cf. 1 Samuel 2 and Psalm 113), the Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-75), and the Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32).

In contrast to this situation, there is a good deal of evidence in the New Testament for the important role the psalms played in preaching and teaching. They were understood as part of the word of God in prophecy and possibly played a greater role as readings in the ministry of the word in early Christian liturgy, than they did as part of prayer or praise.³ In over half of the citations or allusions to the psalms in the New Testament, we see them used in the context of preaching and teaching. Paul frequently made use of the psalms in his letters, either to build his arguments or to support them. For example, in Romans 3 he employed material from various psalms on seven occasions.⁴ While Jesus is reported to use the psalms in his own general teaching on only a few occasions, e.g. Luke 23:46 (Ps 31:5), in many places he is portrayed using the words of various psalms to speak about himself.⁵ It is often through such quotations or allusions that the New Testament writers interpret the life and work of Jesus. They see the psalms either as prophecy fulfilled by Jesus (e.g. Matt 13:34-35) or as texts understood fully in the sayings and events of Jesus' life (e.g. Jn 2:16-17). These instances can be summed up by the statement in Luke 24:44 'Jesus says "These are the words I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled that are within the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me".'

New Testament writers used a number of psalms to interpret the life and work of Jesus.⁶ These included some which had been interpreted by a number of 1^st century CE Jewish sects as messianic, but were not limited to that group. Early Christians did not simply apply an earlier Jewish messianic interpretation of psalms to Jesus. Rather, the experience of Jesus and the events at the end of his life gave rise to Christian messianic interpretation of many psalms. The two most important psalms for the interpretation of the end of Jesus' life were Psalms 22 and 118. The former was used in particular to interpret the passion of Jesus, especially in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark,⁷ while Ps 118:22-26 are quoted or alluded to in a number of places.⁸

The Psalms in the History of the Church⁹

In the centuries following the New Testament period, considerable developments in the two traditions relating to the psalms took place. Moreover, they became more intricately connected. The New Testament tradition of Christians gathering for meals and individuals singing psalms and songs continued. Until recently it had been assumed that early Christian singing of psalms continued a practice of the Jewish Synagogue. However, a 'new consensus' has emerged which argues that it was not until the fourth century, after the more official recognition of Christianity under the emperor Constantine, that the shape of daily and weekly prayer and worship stabilized with the singing of psalms holding a firm place in that. According to this 'new consensus' that there was little singing of psalms in Christian worship before the third century, with newly composed hymns being favoured. The scant New Testament evidence for psalm singing noted above would seem to favour this position. Furthermore, some early Christian writers on hymnody are ambiguous to say the least in what they say. For example, in the late second or early third century Tertullian, in a statement similar to 1 Cor 14:26, speaks of Christians bringing to gatherings a 'hymn' (and the Greek is psalmos). This could refer to either a scriptural or non-scriptural song.¹⁰ A major factor in bringing about a change in this position was the growing popularity of heretical hymns, especially Gnostic hymns, in the second century. In order to combat this, the singing of biblical psalms was promoted. Some modification to this 'new consensus' could be made by suggesting that, while there were many hymns composed a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• PART I: INTRODUCTION
• PART II: THE PSALMS AS WORDS TO GOD
• PART III: THE PSALMS AS WORD FROM GOD
• Appendix
• Select Bibliography
• General Index
• Index of Authors
• Index of Scriptures