Using the Psalms in Worship

[Esaias]

Worship occurs on two levels and in two modes. The two levels are personal and corporate, and the two modes are liturgical and ethical. By "liturgical" I mean specific ritual acts of piety, devotion, adoration, etc of God (prayer, praise, communion/Lord's Supper, etc) and by "ethical" I mean moral virtue as manifested in practical habits, ie one's daily living or conduct. Ethical worship then is that manifestation of our service to God that shows up in our obedience to his commandments, in loving him with all our being and our neighbour as ourself, in being honest, trustworthy, temperate, courageous, pious, kind, loving, pure, virtuous, and so forth. Liturgical worship is that manifestation of our service to God that consists primarily in what can be called 'rituals of service', such as prayer, praise, and so forth. Personal worship concerns our worship of God, both liturgical and ethical, on a personal, individual level. Corporate worship concerns our worship of God - both liturgical and ethical - as a community of believers assembled together (two or three gathered in his name, etc.). There is then our personal liturgical worship, our personal ethical worship, our corporate liturgical worship, and our corporate ethical worship. In this thread I am going to explore a little bit of one aspect of liturgical worship, both personal and corporate, specifically the use of Psalms in worship.

I. The Psalms are, technically, songs meant to be 'sung', often to an instrumental accompaniment.

As such, one of the first and most obvious uses of the Psalms would be as songs, for that is what they essentially are. The Book of Psalms is the only genuinely inspired hymnbook of the church. No matter how 'anointed' we may think other compositions and songs and hymns may be, there is no doubt that the Psalms (and other songs found throughout the rest of scripture) are uniquely qualified to carry the designation of 'anointed', for they are God-breathed and are Holy Scripture. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16 KJV) Here we see the purpose of singing: to teach and admonish one another. The word of Christ dwells in the assembly in part by the music we sing to one another. And, this singing is for the purpose of 'teaching and admonishing one another'. Whatever songs we sing in the assembly, they are to be for the purpose of teaching and admonition, and therefore need to be doctrinally correct. And there can be no doubt about the doctrinal correctness of the inspired Psalms. So in addition to whatever gospel songs and hymns are sung, the psalms themselves ought to be sung as well. This can be done several ways:
A. Sing the psalms as they are written. This will require original musical scores that can be adapted to the texts, and may involve adaptation of the text to the music as well (as long as the meaning is not changed).
B. Paraphrase or even re-translate the psalms into a metrical format with rhyme and meter. This has been done continuously since the 1500s and continues today as new metrical versions of the psalms are produced. (Metrical means that each line has specific number of syllables. 'Amazing Grace' is a metrical hymn in the meter of 8.6.8.6. (also called 'Common Meter' or CM) which means the first line has 8 syllables, the second has 6, the third has 8, and the fourth has 6, and this is repeated for each stanza. Any psalm that is in Common Meter or 8.6.8.6. can be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace, or any other Common Meter song such as 'Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed'.)
C. Whole psalms or portions of psalms can be paraphrased into new songs. Isaac Watts began this way back when, and the tradition has continued ever since. New songs may or may not be metered.

II. The Psalms are not only songs, but are also prayers: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. (Psalms 72:20 KJV) The Psalms then are not only meant to be sung, but also meant to be prayed. We see this in a corporate setting in the early apostolic church in Acts: And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. (Acts 4:23-26 KJV) Here we see that the church prayed together corporately using the words of Psalm 2 as part of their prayer. By incorporating the psalms into our prayers, both corporate and private, we are using them for what they were divinely ordained to be used for.

The psalms, as prayers, teach us a lot about prayer, about our God, and about ourselves. By studying and being familiar with them, and by using them in prayer, by actually praying the psalms, we become renewed in our minds. We begin to think and pray Biblically, rather than humanistically.

Some remarks:

A. It is often said that many of the psalms are not suitable for either singing or praying, as they express sentiments with which we cannot relate. For example, Psalm 22 speaks of offering bulls on the altar, Psalm 109 is a long-winded invective against enemies, etc. Yet, we should keep some things in mind. First, under the new covenant animal and grain offerings, incense, blood and so forth have been replaced with spiritual offerings and sacrifices of contrition, prayer, praise, thanksgiving, repentance, obedience, and so forth. So when we read, pray, and sing about offerings upon the altar, we can understand their meanings in a new covenant sense. Second, the psalms express a wide range of feeling and experiences, some of which we may not be familiar with individually. But, God's people have experienced these things, and by singing and praying the psalms we join in with them in their experiences, as it is written: Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. (Romans 12:15 KJV) Furthermore, we must understand the psalms in their Christological context. Psalm 109 for example is a prophetic psalm concerning Judas and his fate, and serves as a warning to any who would follow in the footsteps of the son of perdition.

B. The psalms include numerous declarations of thanksgiving, blessing God, benedictions, calls to worship, petitions, etc. When for example we read of Jesus taking bread and giving thanks, and blessing, it is certain that he knew what to say based on his familiarity with the Psalms and the benedictions found throughout them, as well as throughout the rest of Scripture. Have you ever found yourself not knowing what to say in prayer, or in saying the blessing over a meal, or some other situation? The Psalms supply your needs, and by constant recourse to them you will begin to develop your own unique, but Biblically informed 'manner' of praying, blessing, and giving thanks. For example one of the most common Biblical expressions is 'for the Lord is good, because his mercy is everlasting'. It recurs in ever verse of psalm 136, constituting a refrain or chorus. It occurs in several other psalms as well. Interestingly, it is mentioned as being a prescribed manner of praising God: And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. (2 Chronicles 20:21 KJV) We see it also again, in 2 Chron. 5:13, 2 Chron 7:23, and Ezra 3:11. Psalm 95 includes an awesome call to worship in its opening verses. Psalm 106 concludes with a 'doxology' or benediction that would serve perfectly as an ending to any prayer, or even as a beginning.

C. By using the psalms as part of regular worship, both corporate and personal, one is continuing the tradition of God's people from the most ancient of times. One is literally joining in with the ancient, divinely ordered worship of the one true God, Jesus Christ, the Creator. Nothing is more 'relevant' than that which has existed continuously from the ancient past, and which will continue into eternity...