praying the psalms and LC 179

[Scott]

LC 179 reads:

Q. 179. Are we to pray unto God only?
A. God only being able to search the hearts, hear the requests, pardon the sins, and fulfill the desires of all; and only to be believed in, and worshiped with religious worship; prayer, which is a special part thereof, is to be made by all to him alone, and to none other.

Would this provision prohibit us from praying the psalms not addressed to God? For example, Psalm 2:10-11 reads: "Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling."

The psalmist is speaking to and rebuking kings, here. He is not speaking to God. Other psalms have the speaker address the wicked, trees and fields, etc.

How is praying these (a long practice of the church. including reformed churches) consistent with the ideas of LC 179?

Scott

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

First, I would say that while there is some overlap between the nature of psalms as both prayers and praises (particularly in Psalm 90, to give one example), the primary nature of psalms is that they are songs of praise to God to be sung by the whole congregation. Prayer and praise are distinct elements of worship and while psalms may provide content for meditation/study/preaching, etc. and models for prayers and in some cases record actual prayers, they are praise songs and that is their intended primary purpose, to be sung. Different elements of worship have different purposes, uses and rules. Prayers and praises have distinctions that must be kept in mind in order to utilitze them properly.

Second, the question of who is speaking is the psalms can be summed up very adequately by Augustine: "The voice of Christ and his church is well nigh the only voice to be heard in the psalms." The human author of each psalm if known helps to give context and deeper understanding of the words but one must always keep in mind Christ and the church in every psalm. Christ himself expounds Psalm 110 to show that David is speaking of Him. Without understanding that this psalm could be confusing.

Third, wrt Psalm 2 verses 10-12 are not a prayer to the kings of the earth. They are a warning to the kings of the earth spoken/sung by Christ and his church. Verses 6-9 record a dialogue between God the Father and God the Son which is elaborated on and fulfilled in the New Testament. When saints take these and other words upon our lips which were directly spoken by God the Son or God the Father (and inspired by God the Holy Spirit) it is a reflection of our communion with God and with the saints that we sing his very word and thereby we are teaching and admonishing one another (Col. 3.16) as well as glorifying our Triune God.


[Edited on 11-1-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

 

[Scott]

Regarding the point about whether the psalms are prayers, songs, or both, what do you think of Binnie'sThe Psalms: Their History, Teachings, and Use? Here is an except:

1. The Psalms are sometimes entitled prayers. The term Tephillah or Tephilloth, which is thus rendered by our translators, occurs five times in the superscriptions.* It occurs also in the note appended to the Seventy"‘second Psalm: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." This note will claim careful consideration when we come to speak of the Psalter as a whole. Meanwhile I simply remark, that it relates not so much to the particular psalm to which it is annexed, as to the book or division of the Psalter which ends with that psalm"‘"‘the second of the five books of which the whole is made up. It implies therefore that every Psalm of David may be correctly described as a Prayer of David. There are other designations in much more frequent use, but this of Tephillah or Prayer deserves to be mentioned first, because it not only seems to be older* than any other, but is certainly more comprehensive than any, and brings out the first characteristic of the Psalms which it is important to keep in view. A Psalm, whatever else it may be, is a Prayer; it is an utterance of the soul before God. It is not a soliloquy; much less is it the utterance of the soul's emotions for the gratification of a human auditory; it conducts us intothe presence"‘chamber of the great King, and teaches us how to pour out our hearts before his throne. A psalm is the Church's response to those two primary articles of the faith, that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. The Psalms accordingly are pervaded everywhere with the consciousness of God. The most of us are so much accustomed to the use of them, so much accustomed also to the use of other sacred lyrics written under their influence and imbued with their spirit, that we seldom give due heed to this quality; but it has never failed to strike with astonishment serious persons who have read much in the hymns and poems of pagan nations. In these the gods are no doubt celebrated, their names come up often enough, but there is no reality about the beings thus addressed; they are unsubstantial, airy nothings. It is the high prerogative of the Psalms, that they not only name the name of God, but bear us into his presence. They bring us face to face with our Maker and Judge, a personal God, who has an ear to hear us and a hand to help us, and of whom the weakest saint under heaven may say, "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me."

 

[Scott]

"Second, the question of who is speaking is the psalms can be summed up very adequately by Augustine: "The voice of Christ and his church is well nigh the only voice to be heard in the psalms.""

I have looked over some of Augustine's comments on particular psalms and doubt that many people today would understand them Christologically as he would. For example, the infants to be dashed against the rocks in Ps. 137 are nascent sins. Few people would see it this way.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Scott,

I think Binnie's comments are elucidated further here:

This, then, is a second point to be noted in the Psalms. They are prayers, indeed, but they are something more. There are elements essential to themwhich are not found in ordinary prayers. A prayer is not a work of art. On the contrary, the more artless a prayer is, the more perfectly does it answer its end. Prayer is the simple, unadorned outpouring of the heart before God. The true idea of it is seen in the artless petition presented by a child at its father's knee. This is the conception of prayer taught by the Lord himself, "When ye pray, say, Our Father which is in heaven." The true idea of a psalm takes in more than this. Every psalm is a prayer, but every prayer is not a psalm. To the production of the Psalms there was required consummate art"‘"‘the art of the poet and the art of the musician. It is evident from the memorials of the primitive times preserved in Genesis, that Music and Poetry, although they rank amongst the noblest of the arts, were amongst the first to be cultivated; and God has been pleased to sanctify them by assigning to them a place and a function in the ordinances of his worship. It is his will that we should worship him not only with the artless effusions of our hearts, but also with the musical recitation of poems that have been composed with care and educated taste.

I think it is proper to say that psalms are utterances which utilize the "vehicle" of God's word to bring us into his presence and, thus, bear characteristics in common with prayers. There is, as I mentioned, an overlap between psalms and prayers. Many of them reflect the inner life of the soul uniquely in all of Scripture. But they are not identical and the two elements of worship are truly distinct as to their proper use in worship. I wouldn't sing the Lord's Prayer in worship, for example, nor would I expect my pastor to recite word for word an entire psalm in his public prayer, nor would our congregation verbally recite (as opposed to sing) a psalm during worship in any context -- all because these are not the appropriate usages of prayers and psalms; they confound that which is distinct. The primary purpose of the Psalter is to provide us songs fit for the praise of God. They bear testimony to the prayers and praises of David and others; they are indeed the very word of Christ; and they declare the testimony of the church, Christ's bride. The Psalms are full of Christ (Luke 24.44); they a Christological treasure whether spoken, read, sung or contemplated; but their primary purpose is to be sung.

[Edited on 11-2-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

I think the primary role of the psalms is for singing, not prayer (but they certainly can be used as such).

 

[Scott]

Some of the superscriptions expressly identify psalms as prayers.

 

[Scott]

Let's move to songs. How does addressing a song (or part of a song) to someone other than God constitute worship of God? Short example is Psalm 6:8: "Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping." Addresses to other believers, the wicked, kings, and even trees are common in many places.

Also, what is happening in a Psalm like 121 where the perspective changes from first to second person? How is someone singing to understand what is happening?

 

[Scott]

"Whoever prays the Psalms earnestly and regularly will soon stop those other light and personal little devotional prayers and say: Ah, there is not the juice, the strength, the passion, the fire which I find in the Psalms."

- Martin Luther

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

I said 'primarily', by the way, in case you were still responding to my comment.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Originally posted by Scott
Some of the superscriptions expressly identify psalms as prayers.

This is a point acknowledged by all and I alluded to this earlier wrt Psalm 90 and others.

However, the fact that some psalms are recorded as prayers and the fact that some words from the psalms were actually prayed by Christ himself (on the cross, for example) and can/should be a help to us in our prayers as they reflect the emotions of the soul poured out to God does not mean that their primary intended purpose is to serve as liturgical prayers in public worship. Their primary intended purpose is to be sung to the praise of God. There are some who argue that singing is not a distinct element of worship (Bahnsen, for example). But I believe it is clear that singing psalms to God's praise is an element of worship distinct from prayers and Scripture reading (WCF, XXI.III & V). The following comments may shed some light on why some Reformed/Anglican/Lutheran traditions feel it is warranted to pray psalms or sing the Lord's Prayer in public worship while the EP Puritan tradition does not.

"One basic difference between the exclusive-psalmody position and the didascalia-position is this. The exclusive-psalmody position tends to see 'singing' as a separate 'element' of worship alongside prayer and preaching. The didascalia-position ["words that communicate the teaching of Scripture" may be used] sees singing as another means, alongside poetic speech and prose speech, of praying, praising, confessing, teaching, preaching, admonishing, etc. In this latter case, singing does not actually need a separate justification at all. It is justified simply by the fact that praying, praising, confessing, teaching, etc., are justified." -- Vern S. Poythress, "Ezra 3, Union with Christ, and Exclusive Psalmody," Westminster Theological Journal 37 (1974-75): 231; cf. pp. 224 and 225-26.

[Edited on 11-2-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

 

[Scott]

Andrew: How do you respond to the questions about how singers should understand perspectives?

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Originally posted by Scott
Andrew: How do you respond to the questions about how singers should understand perspectives?

WRT Psalm 121 Matthew Henry says that in verses 1-2 David is assuring himself of God's help and in the rest of the psalm he is assuring others of God's help. I think there is a personal and a corporate aspect to this psalm (and really this is true of all psalms). Thus we are comforted by God's word ourselves and we comfort (and teach/admonish, cf. Col. 3.16) others. The shift in persons reflects that, In my humble opinion.

 

[Scott]

Andrew: What does it mean to worship God by assuring other people? The song ceases to be directed at God and becomes directed at people.

Also what does it mean to worship God by addressing the wicked and not God (such as addressing Absalom's (now deceased) henchmen) or the kings of the earth (Psalm 2) who are not even part of the worship service?

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Originally posted by Scott
Andrew: What does it mean to worship God by assuring other people? The song ceases to be directed at God and becomes directed at people.

Also what does it mean to worship God by addressing the wicked and not God (such as addressing Absalom's (now deceased) henchmen) or the kings of the earth (Psalm 2) who are not even part of the worship service?

A psalm sung (or prayed or read or preached for that matter) with grace in the heart does not cease to be directed to the worship and praise of God because the content includes an address to others present (fellow believers) or not present (historical personages, kings, etc.).

Psalms speak to a variety of situations and have a variety of applications (some personal, some corporate), but they are the word of God, which we are commanded to sing in his worship. It must be assumed that God would not command us to direct our worship anywhere other than himself.

Therefore, when a psalm speaks of or to others besides God and the psalmist we must understand the address in the context of Christ and his church. In the case of Psalm 2 Christ is speaking to kings and judges of the earth (whether present in the assembly of the saints as they ought to be or not) and admonishing them as to their duty to kiss the Son. The Church is charged with singing these words but it is the word of Christ. Whether kings and judges heed the admonition or not it is the duty of the Church to testify in song to the praise of God as commanded by Christ our King.

We worship God when a minister preaches about the civil magistrate or persons long ago deceased; so we may sing to God as commanded and worship him while giving utterance to words of admonition or comfort.

Every word of God testifies of God; every word of God glorifies himself; every word of God has Christological import; every word of God is profitable (2 Tim. 3.16). Given that Martin Luther likens the Psalms to a "little Bible," and given that we are commanded to sing them and in so doing let the word of Christ dwell in us richly and thus instructing and admonishing one another (Col. 3.16), and that the Psalms testify of Christ (Luke 24.43); then we must lay hold of Christ by faith in every word that we sing whether the specific utterance seems addressed to others besides God or not.

A psalm only ceases to be directed to God when it is sung with a lack of faith, not because there is something in the content that is instructive or comforting to others present or not. The personal and the corporate aspects of psalms are not exclusive. Their instructive value does not exclude their devotional purpose.

John Brown's Psalter Notes are a helpful guide to understand how we should approach the specific content of each psalm in the worship God.

[Edited on 11-3-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

 

[Scott]

Those are all good points, Andrew.