The Psalms and the Christian Life:
Singing in the Reign

A theologian once wrote that Christians were "God's spoiled children."  Not only has He given us an abundance of life in the redeeming love of Christ through His Church, He has also given us the very words we can use to praise and thank Him with in the Book of Psalms.  Let's have a closer look at what has been called the spiritual "Treasury" of the people of God and its relation to us.

The Psalms were shaped over many years under the Old Covenant and form an inspired Book of the Bible.

King David was its chief author, but there were other contributors, including Moses.  However, a short form for identifying this inspiring body of prayer and spirituality has been to simply call it "The David" as the Assyrian Church does to this day.

The 150 Psalms (including  a Psalm at the end in which David recalls his battle with Goliath, Psalm 151) are a remarkable text that covers every facet of our spiritual lives, even though their primary use was, and still is, for public, liturgical worship.

Every known inner anguish and feeling that human beings experience and suffer is relived in the Psalms.

Moments of doubt, self-deprecation, hopelessness, even wondering about whether God truly cares for us - all these are embodied in the words of this Book. 

As inspired literature, we know that these words are words that God has given us.  He has shaped them in relation to the shared community of spiritual growth that we, as human beings, participate in.

The Psalms teach us what it means to pray in a way that God would have us pray and worship. 

Rather than "cover up" our feelings of hopelessness and despair before God out of a sense of false respect, the Holy Spirit bids us pour our hearts out to Him, weep before Him and tell Him about our feelings of anger and even of revenge!

The Psalms teach us not to "hold back" but to let everything go.  We place our cares and worries onto God to carry them for us, lift us up and bring us to everlasting joy.

The Psalms are the perfect prayer of the people of God.  Christ and His Apostles used the words of the Psalms in their daily prayer and one may find allusions to them throughout the New Testament.

The "Our Father" prayer taught by Christ is, in essence, a concise summary of the entire Psalter.  Christ makes reference not only to the prophecies concerning Him that are contained in the Law and the Prophets, but also in the Psalms.

The Christian Church prays the Psalms directly to God the Holy Trinity and included Trinitarian doxologies at the end of groups of Psalms divided every three or so Psalms into "Stases" and "Kathismata" of which there are twenty.  A complete division of the Psalter according to Orthodox usage can be found at:  pomog.org.

The Fathers of the Church, most notably St John Chrysostomos, produced commentaries on the Psalms to indicate the central role that Christ plays in them.

One of the greatest of the Messianic Psalms is Psalm 22 (KJV).

Christ, in fact, recited this Psalm from the Cross when He began with "My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

This is the opening verse to the Psalm that Christ recited from memory just as He was fulfilling its prophecies.

The Psalm talks about the crucifixion of our Lord, God and Saviour, even going so far as to go into details like the casting of lots for His garments and the piercing of His hands and feet!

Psalm 23 or "The Lord is my Shepherd" is one of the most popular of all Psalms. It was inscribed on many tombs in the Roman catacombs.  The Fathers see in it allusions to Baptism and the Divine Liturgy as well as to God's Providence over our lives.

Psalm 91 (KJV) is a great Psalm of protection against our visible and invisible foes.  Orthodox monks often have this Psalm engraved on their monastic belts.  Soldiers have carried paper copies of this Psalm in their coat pockets and there are reports of bullets being stopped miraculously by them!

The 16^th Kathisma is actually the prayer that Christ and His disciples sang after the Mystical or Last Supper before going on to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The 17^th Kathisma is a song in honour of the Law of God and is sung by the Church daily in the Horologion.  The 18^th Kathisma contains 15 Songs of Ascents since people used to stand on each of the fifteen steps leading up to the Temple and said one of these per step.

We may, if we wish, repeat this tradition on the steps of Shrines and our Churches today!

The early Christians and Monks would have a discipline about getting through the Psalms by assigning certain numbers to their morning, afternoon and evening prayers.

Monks of Egypt divided the Psalms into groups of 12, with three extra added to the first dozen and three to the last.

They would then say a group of twelve at the turn of each day and night hour.  The monks of Ethiopia still practice this.  In the seventeenth century, a pious Anglican by the name of Nicholas Ferrar retired to the countryside with his family and performed this Rule of Prayer until his death!

The Church sings all 20 Kathismata in the space of one week, which was formerly the discipline in the West as well.

During the Great Fast, the Psalter is recited twice during the Horologion.

In addition, monks are required to say the Psalms in private, once a week, twice a week or once a day, depending on the advice of their Spiritual Fathers.

The Nine Biblical Odes at the end of the Psalter are added as well and they form the basis of the weekly Canon during the Matins of the Great Fast.

As laity, we should all make the effort to pray the Psalms once a week, and especially during the Great Fast. 

It really isn't a terrible imposition, once we adhere to a rule that suits our lifestyle best.  It is best to have some time morning, noon and night in which we can retreat somewhere and say some Psalms.

If we said seven Psalms during each of these three periods a day, we would get through the Psalms in a week.  Or we could follow the Church's division of Kathismata.  This is up to us!

As we get into the spirit of the Psalms, we will be drawn to them by their lyrical beauty and in depth spirituality.

It is good to take a verse from our Psalm reading that really speaks to us with us into our daily work and lives and recall it during moments of difficulty and temptation.

After a while, we will be wondering how we managed to get through life so far without the spiritual consolation of the Psalter!

During the Great Fast, we return to our Biblical roots and to the experience of struggle that the people under the Old Covenant had. 

We also call to mind the prophecies concerning the Suffering Servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

By using the Psalms extensively and especially during the Great Fast, we not only enter into the historical foundations of our Faith, but also and most importantly into the Spirit of Christ Himself.

And the only thing we have to do is to pick up a copy of the Psalms and begin to read slowly and thoughtfully.  As we do, we should listen to what God wishes to tell us as He blesses us with feelings of peace, calm, inspiration, andcitement.  There is never a dull moment with our God, the Lord of surprises!

May the words of the Psalms be ever on our lips and in our hearts and minds.

Dr. Alexander Roman  alex@unicorne.org