The Christian Use of the Psalter

NOTES

A. The extent to which the Psalms were used liturgically by the Jews in Temple and Synagogue is not at all fully known. The following list of uses is interesting in itself, but probably does not by any means cover the whole field. And it seems certain, from the free and natural way in which the Psalms are referred to in the New Testament, that, even if a comparatively small number were used in the public services, the Psalter must have been very familiar indeed to the pious Jew of our Lord's time and have formed practically his book of private devotion.

First day. Ps. xxiv. The earth is the Lord's, etc.

Second day. Ps. xlviii. Great is the Lord.

Third day. Ps. lxxxii. God standeth in the congregation.

Fourth day. Ps. xciv. O Lord God, to Whom vengeance belongeth.

Fifth day. Ps. lxxxi. Sing we merrily unto God our strength.

Sixth day. Ps. xciii. The Lord is King.

Sabbath day. Ps. xcii. It is a good thing to give thanks.

THE PASSOVER, AND ON OTHER GREAT FESTIVALS. The Hallel, probably Pss. cxiii.-cxviii.

First day. Ps. cv. O give thanks.

Second day. Ps. xxix. Bring unto the Lord.

Third day. Ps. l. 16. But unto the ungodly said God.

Fourth day. Ps. xciv. 16. Who will rise up with me.

Fifth day. Ps. xciv. 8. Take heed, ye unwise.

Sixth day. Ps. lxxxi. 6. I eased his shoulder. Pss. cxx.-cxxxiv. Songs of Degrees.

Seventh day. Ps. lxxxii. 5. They will not be learned.

NEW MOON OF SEVENTH OR SABBATICAL MONTH. Ps. lxxxi. Sing we merrily.

DEDICATION. The Hallel, as at the Passover.

PRESENTATION OF FIRST-FRUITS. Ps. cxxii. I was glad. Ps. xxx. I will magnify Thee, O Lord.

B. The allusions to the singing of Psalms in the New Testament shew that it was from the first a recognised Christian devotion, both in public and private (Acts xvi. 25; 1 Cor. xiv. 26; Eph. v. 19; James v. 13). This is borne out by the evidence of the Christian Fathers (see, for example, S. Athanasius' Epistle to Marcellinus; S. Aug. Confess. ix. 8; S. Jerome, Ep. xlvi.). But it was no doubt the rise of the monastic life in Egypt and its subsequent spread over the whole Church in the fourth and fifth centuries that led by its disciplined devotion to the systematic arrangement of the Psalter for daily services and to its continuous recitation. Many of the early monks, indeed, recited the whole Psalter daily; but the Western use, settled traditionally by S. Gregory the Great, aimed at a weekly recitation, and this system in theory dominated the Breviary services all through the Middle Ages.

The normal arrangement of the Psalter in the daily offices was, roughly speaking, as follows:

At Mattins, Ps. i.-cix., divided into nine "Nocturns," three of which were said on Sunday, and one on each of the following week-days, beginning each day with the 95th, the Invitatory Psalm.

At Lauds, Pss. lxiii., lxvii., cxlviii.-cl., with certain other varying Psalms.

At Prime, always Ps. liv. and the first four portions of the 119th, and one varying Psalm.

At Terce, the next six portions of the 119th.

At Sext, the next six portions of the 119th.

At None, the last six portions of the 119th.

At Vespers, Pss. cx.-cxlvii., divided into seven portions, omitting the 119th.

At Compline, iv., xxxi. 1-6, xci., cxxxiv.

Thus the bulk of the Psalms were said at the two offices which corresponded most closely to our Morning and Evening Prayer; some few were said daily, the 51st was said at every one of the offices, and the others were said weekly.

But in practice a festival arrangement of the Psalms, in which a much smaller number, and chiefly of the shorter Psalms, were recited, was largely substituted for the normal or ferial use, thus justifying the criticism of our Reformers, "Now of late time a few of them have been daily said and the rest utterly omitted."

The following special uses are also interesting:

Vespers (the "Placebo"): cxvi., cxx., cxxi., cxxx., cxxxviii.

Mattins (the "Dirge"): v., vi., vii.; xxiii., xxv., xxvii., xl., xli., xlii.

Lauds: li., lxv., lxiii., cxlviii.-cl., cxlv.

PREPARATION FOR MASS: lxxxiv., lxxxv., lxxxvi., cxvi. 10., cxxx., xliii.

THANKSGIVING AFTER MASS: cl.

C. Antiphons were originally verses sung as a refrain between each verse of the Psalms, one side of the choir taking the former and the other the latter. The refrain varied at different seasons and festivals. An example of this early and more elaborate use survived in the Breviary in the treatment of the Venite as an Invitatory Psalm. But gradually, for the sake of brevity, this method was abandoned, and the normal use of antiphons in the Breviary was simply after (or on festivals before and after) each Psalm or set of Psalms. The advantage of the antiphon lay in the fact that it shewed at once with what particular intention the Psalm was sung, as the same Psalm naturally might be sung on many different occasions and with reference to a different season or festival. But the very complex nature of the antiphons or "anthems" led the English Reformers to abandon them altogether; "many times," as they said, "there was more business to find out what should be read, than to read it when it was found out." The only traces of antiphons left in the Prayer Book are: (1) "O Sapientia," in the Kalendar on December 16, the first words of the first of the "Greater Antiphons" to the Magnificat, which began on that day and continued till Christmas Eve, each commencing with some striking Old Testament title of the Messiah; (2) in the Litany, the repetition of the words, "O Lord, arise," etc., shews that this is the antiphon to the Psalm "O God, we have heard" (perhaps originally the whole of Ps. xliv., but now one verse only); (3) the words "O Saviour of the world," etc., in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. The last is the best example: the antiphon connects the recitation of Ps. lxxi. with the Passion of our Lord; the intention of the Psalm is thus shewn to be the association of our sufferings in sickness with the Cross of Christ (cf. the second exhortation in the same office).

D. Helps to the study of the Psalter.

Literal Meaning:

Kirkpatrick, in the Cambridge Bible (3 vols.). The Introduction is extremely useful, and an excellent list of the literature bearing on the Psalter is also given.

Perowne, The Book of Psalms.

Cheyne, The Book of Psalms.

Barry, Teacher's Prayer Book.

Mystical and Spiritual Meaning:

Neale and Littledale, Commentary on the Psalms (4 vols.). This has a very valuable Introduction on the Psalms as used in the offices of the Church, and a dissertation (in vol. i.) on the mystical and literal interpretation of the Psalms.

Walpole, The People's Psalter.

General:

Prothero, The Psalms in Human Life.

Marson, The Psalms at Work.

Church, The Sacred Poetry of Early Religions, in The Gifts of Civilisation. The Discipline of the Christian Character, iii.

Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, lect. vii.

Orr, The Problem of the Old Testament, c. xii.

Alexander (Archbishop), The Witness of the Psalms to Christ.

APPENDIX

The following suggestions, which follow the lines of the preceding lectures, do not claim any special authority, except in cases noted, where the New Testament or the Church's actual use has appropriated a Psalm to some particular Christian application.

The Church's witness to the blessedness of the life of holiness, based on obedience to the revealed Word of God (the great example of which is the life of Christ Himself); with which is contrasted the eternal failure of the ungodly.

Acts iv. 25-28. Easter Day, morning (Prayer Book)

The futile warfare of the princes of this world against Christ and His Church. The certainty of Christ's victory and His universal kingdom, as seen in His Resurrection and Ascension.

Christ's victory in His Resurrection over all His enemies; the blessedness of His Church.

The deliverance of Christ from the contradiction of sinners. The Church's certainty of salvation in Christ, both in this life and in that which is to come, contrasted with the doubts and uncertain riches of the world.

[One of the Compline Psalms, in which the Christian commends himself to sleep in Christ.]

A Psalm illustrating the life of prayer, public and private; witnessing to prayer and meditation as the source of inward strength and guidance, both in the life of Christ and in that of His people, in the face of this world's treachery and cruelty.

[One of the Psalms for the Dirge (whence it derives its name, ver. 8, "Dirige"), referring to God's leading the departed soul through the attacks of evil spirits to its rest in Him.]

The prayer of the human soul suffering the temporal punishments, bodily and mental, of sin. Christ Himself endured these sufferings to the utmost, not for Himself, but for His people, and in this sense it, with the other penitential Psalms, may be called a Psalm of the Incarnation.

The declaration of the Innocency of Christ against the persecution and treachery of His enemies; His appeal to the Father's justice.

Heb. ii. Ascension Day, morning (Prayer Book)

The glory of God's Name (or revelation of Himself) in nature and in the Incarnation. The triumph and universal empire of Christ as the Son of Man, and the Second Adam.

Thanksgiving for the triumph of God's righteousness in Christ, which is the pledge of the future destruction of all evil.

Continues the thought of Ps. ix., and prays for the manifestation of God's righteousness in Christ, in view of the continuance of evil, the apparent immunity of the wicked, and their unceasing warfare against the Church.

A Psalm of the Passion of Christ; His faith in the Father's righteousness, and in the ultimate overthrow of the wicked.

A prayer of Christ and His Church against the evil tongues of the wicked; with these are contrasted the purity and certainty of the Divine revelation, "the words of the Lord."

A prayer of Christ and His faithful ones in view of the approach of death.

The judgment of the world's unbelief, contrasted with the Church's faith, and her hope in the coming of Christ.

The human perfections of Christ, enthroned in heaven as the Son of Man.

Also a picture of the saintly life, in union with Christ, Who is God's tabernacle among men (Rev. xxi. 3).

Christ's devotion to the Father; His preservation through death and the grave; His Resurrection and eternal joy at the right hand of the Father.

A prayer of Christ and His Church against the temptations of the world, in view of the hope of the Resurrection and the Life everlasting.

The triumph of Christ (under the figure of David); His universal empire.

The Church's thanksgiving for God's Word in Nature, in the Incarnation, in the Bible; and her prayer for faithfulness.

The Church's witness to Christ her King as He goes forth to battle in the power of His finished sacrifice. Suitable also as a prayer for a Christian ruler, whose strength is in Christ.

The Church's joy in the triumph of Christ; in the Father's answer to His prayer, and in His glorious coronation as the Son of Man.

Matt. xxvii. 35-46 (with parallels in other Evangelists), Heb. ii. 12. Good Friday, morning (Prayer Book)

Christ's prayer in His Passion and Crucifixion; His prophecy of the calling of His Church, and of the Eucharist. (See above, pp. 77, 78.)

The Church's confession of faith in Christ the Good Shepherd, and in His sacramental gifts.

The joy of the Church and of the angels in the Ascension of Christ, the King of Glory.

A confession of faith in the Name of God; the Church's prayer for deliverance from temptation and adversity.

A prayer of Christ as He approaches His Passion; and of the Christian priest when about to offer the Holy Eucharist.

The hope of Christ and His Church in the Fatherhood of God; a prophecy of the Resurrection and the Holy Eucharist (vv. 6, 7).

The prayer of Christ for deliverance from His enemies; and for His Church (ver. 10).

The Church's thanksgiving for the sovereignty of Christ over all the powers of nature, and over His Church.

A thanksgiving of Christ and His Church for the Resurrection.

Christ's prayer in His Passion and Crucifixion; His exhortation to His Church (vv. 26, 27).

The Church's confession of sin, and the blessedness of forgiveness through faith in Christ. (See on Ps. vi.)

The Church's thanksgiving for creation and redemption, and for her own exceeding blessedness in being called to be the people of the Lord.

A thanksgiving of Christ for His Resurrection. His call to His Church to obedience, to holiness, to courage.

A prayer of Christ against the persecution and false witness of His enemies, and on behalf of those who love Him.

The Church's witness to the awfulness of sin; her confession of hope in the blessedness of the life eternal in contrast with the doom of the ungodly.

A Psalm of a proverbial character; the testimony of the Church's experience of the justice of God, in spite of the apparent prosperity of the wicked: it expresses the restfulness of the life of faith.

Cf. ver. ii with Matt. v. 5.

A Psalm of Christ bearing in loneliness and silence the burden of human sin, confessing it on man's behalf to the Father, and praying for our salvation.

Continues in some respects the tone of the previous Psalm. It may be regarded as a Psalm of Christ bearing the sorrow of man's mortality, and interceding on man's behalf with the Father.

A Psalm of Christ's Incarnation, Passion, Sin-bearing, and Resurrection; it expresses the secret of His Atonement (see above, pp. 61, 62) and His fulfilment of O.T. prophecy (ver. 10).

A Psalm of Christ's compassion; and of the treachery of His enemies, especially of Judas.

A Psalm of Christ's human soul in His earthly pilgrimage, and in the prospect of death; His desire to return to the Father. Hence also suitable for the Christian soul in sickness and dying.

A continuation of the previous Psalm. Christ speaks in it to the Father as He approaches His Passion, and contemplates with joy the sacrifice He is about to offer for man. Hence this Psalm has long been used in the Church as the immediate preparation of the Priest for offering the Holy Eucharist.

The appeal of the suffering and persecuted Church to Christ; her confession of faithfulness to that which He has entrusted to her keeping.

The Church celebrates the Incarnation under the figure of a royal marriage. The bridegroom is Christ Himself, described in vv. 3-9; the bride, the King's daughter, is the Church destined to spread into all lands. The "daughter of Tyre" is symbolical of the heathen world coming to Christ. The "queen" (or queen-mother) of ver. 10 has often been interpreted of the Blessed Virgin.

A Psalm of the Church's confidence: she is conscious of the presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit (ver. 4, R.V.) within her; and confesses that this is her eternal strength amidst the warfare and tumult of the world.

The joy of the Church in the glorious Ascension of Christ; and in His universal sovereignty, which all the world will ultimately acknowledge.

The joy of the Church in her ideal beauty and her steadfastness; and her sure hope of ultimate victory over all the powers of this world.

[The Psalm should be compared both with the promise of Christ in Matt. xvi. 18 and the picture of the perfected Church in Rev. xxi., xxii.]

The Church's meditation upon the vanity of human riches and greatness in view of death; the need of man's redemption through Christ alone (vv. 7, 8); the certainty of the resurrection of the faithful through the Resurrection of Christ.