Scott
Puritan Board Graduate
I recently finished Dietrich Bonhoeffer's [i:0c904197b5]Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible[/i:0c904197b5]. He (rightly I think) took a very Christological approach to the psalms. Many through the centuries have prayed and sang the Psalms corporately and individually with a Christological understanding. Having a Christological understanding is what gave them their permnant place in the life of the Christian church.
Here is an excerpt from the book that I find challenging:
[quote:0c904197b5]
In the Psalms of David the promised Christ himself already speaks (Hebrews 2:12; 10:5) or, as nmay also be indicated, the Holy Spirit (Heb. 3:7). These same words which David spoke, therefore, the future Messiah spoke through him. The prayers of David were prayed also by Christ. Or better, Christ himself prayed through his forerunner David. This short comment on the New Testament sheds significant light on the entire Psalter. It relates the Psalter to Christ. How that is to be understood in detail we still have to consider. But it is important to note that David did not pray out of the personal exuberance of his heart, but out of the Christ who dwelled in him. To be sure, the one who prays the Psalms remains himself. But in him and through him it is Christ who prays."
[/quote:0c904197b5]
So, how do we practically incorporate a Christological view into our own prayers of the psalms or when we sing the psalms (privately, as a family or a church body)? Any thoughts?
Scott
[Edited on 4-15-2004 by Scott]
Here is an excerpt from the book that I find challenging:
[quote:0c904197b5]
In the Psalms of David the promised Christ himself already speaks (Hebrews 2:12; 10:5) or, as nmay also be indicated, the Holy Spirit (Heb. 3:7). These same words which David spoke, therefore, the future Messiah spoke through him. The prayers of David were prayed also by Christ. Or better, Christ himself prayed through his forerunner David. This short comment on the New Testament sheds significant light on the entire Psalter. It relates the Psalter to Christ. How that is to be understood in detail we still have to consider. But it is important to note that David did not pray out of the personal exuberance of his heart, but out of the Christ who dwelled in him. To be sure, the one who prays the Psalms remains himself. But in him and through him it is Christ who prays."
[/quote:0c904197b5]
So, how do we practically incorporate a Christological view into our own prayers of the psalms or when we sing the psalms (privately, as a family or a church body)? Any thoughts?
Scott
[Edited on 4-15-2004 by Scott]
