“Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever. ² Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord, or declare all his praise? ³ Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times. ⁴ Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them; ⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your heritage. Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.⁷ Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. ⁸ Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, so that he might make known his mighty power.⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them through the deep as through a desert.¹⁰ So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.¹¹ The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.¹² Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.” Psalm 106:1-12

The early church’s use of the psalms was in keeping with what we might expect from the early church: the church used the Psalms both as liturgical materials in early Christian worship, and as a theological resource. Evidence for the first use is found in Paul’s advice to the Colossians, that they were to “sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.”  The book of Psalms is quoted and alluded to in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament book. (The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IV) I think it is difficult for us to look at the Psalms as exclusively liturgical material for several reasons including the fact that there is often a reference to the traditional author of the Psalm and our attempts to place the words into context. Does it really matter, after all, if the psalm in question was written by David, or some other Old Testament character? I do not think it does. Whatever is determined by scholars about the authorship of the material, the psalms are a great source of liturgical poetry and words of meditation, and we should study them as often as possible.

Pastor Dave