Studies in the Psalms

By Rev. Philippe L. De Coster, D.D.

The Language of the SoulIntroduction

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while Iwas yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the lawof Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44)”(KJV)Jesus tells his disciples, that everything must be fulfilled that is written in thelaw of Moses, the five first books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, the Prophets andthe Psalms. Although the Psalms are usually not referred to as part of theprophetic literature of the Old Testament, many psalms do contain propheticmaterial, especially regarding the coming Messiah, the Christ. As the NewTestament writers cite Old Testament quotations to demonstrate how Jesus of Nazareth fulfils Old Testament prophecy, the Psalms are of the most frequentlyquoted books. References from the Psalms regarding prophecy and fulfilmentoccur in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke; Acts of the Apostles,and further the epistles of Paul, Hebrews and Revelation.The Messianic King is one of the main prophetic themes in the Psalms. TheMessianic Psalms associated with Christ recall with praise the promises made by

2

God to David regarding a Davidic dynasty, and as such, the Psalter describesboth present and future situations. The Davidic king is praised that currently sitson the throne; however, anticipating a future Davidic king who will be greater,Jesus Christ, the Son of God.Although numerous Psalms are recalled and alluded to in the New Testamentabout prophetic fulfilment, five Psalms in particular have special significancebecause they are referred to numerous times in several books of the NewTestament. Later we will consider Psalms 2, 22, 69, 110-111, and 118, amongothers.

Synthesis of the Psalms

We have now in front of us one of the greatest and choicest and most excellentpart of all the Old Testament, as so much is there in it of Christ and His Gospel,as well of God and his law or precepts, that it has been called the abstract orsummary of both Old and New Testaments.Unquestionably, the foundation of the Psalter is Davidic. With the son of Jesse“a new era of religious poetry began. David was also the originator of theTemple liturgy, as found in 1 Chronicles, chapter 25. The earliest records, wewill see later on, attest David’s skill as poet and musician, and his interest in thedevelopment of religious music.In making the approach to the Sacred Songs, “The Praises of Israel,” there areseveral matters of literary and historical importance that is well we shouldconsider. The purpose of this study renders it unnecessary that we do more thanmerely introduce the most important of these matters, and suggest to those whowould pursue the study of them some books that will prove helpful.The Book of Psalms is a reflection of the soul of the Jewish and Christianbelievers, which of old in the Old Testament were sung or chanted to theaccompaniment of string, percussion, or wind instruments, or a combinationthereof, mostly at the Temple of Jerusalem, on festivals, national events, orsimply in the days of the week. As such, the Book of Psalms represents one of the oldest forms of formal Jewish prayer. In its words, we find the beliefs, hopesand concerns of both the individual and the nation, and by extension, the entirehuman race.King David, to whom the Bible refers as the “Sweet Singer of Israel,” isconsidered the original author of the Book of Psalms. David was a poet and aharpist, and during his reign Temple music became a prominent aspect of thereligion of Israel. The era also gave rise to many outstanding liturgical poets,

3

and to guilds of singers who arose from among the Levites and others, andplayed a prominent role in the spiritual and cultural life of the nation.However, the Book of Psalms is not only the product of David’s reign. As thenational repository of Jewish liturgy, pre- as well as post-Davidic compositionsfound their way into this canon, dating back to the Exodus and forward to thetime of the return from Babylon and possibly even to the time of the Maccabees,a period of close to one thousand years.This poetic collection of one-hundred and fifty Psalms is also the mostinfluential book of liturgy in the history of the world. Christianity as a wholeuses it in various religious services. Liturgy is inconceivable without the Psalms.Jesus’ last words before dying on the cross of Calvary, were taken from thePsalms:“

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

why art thou so far fromhelping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1). (KJV)and:“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. (Psalm 31:6)” (KJV)Jews, and also Christians, routinely recite from the Book of Psalms at all criticalmoments, as well as on all joyous occasions. When the decision was made at theend of the nineteenth century by the new Zionist movement to bring the Jews of the world back to Zion, the words that galvanised the delegates of the ZionistCongress and united all the various ideological factions were the famous wordsof the Psalmist:“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do notremember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer notJerusalem above my chief joy. (Psalms 137: 5-6)” (KJV)To return to what we first said about the authorship and age, these two mattersquite obviously are closely related to one another, for if we could be sure whowas the author of any given Psalm the date would not present any seriousdifficulty.It has been fashionable in certain quarters to assume a late date for the greaternumber of the Psalms, in fact, to find its origin in the later Persian and Greek periods, and in the Maccabees age. However, the like view is not consistentwith sound criticism.