For our parish magazine:
From
The Rectory
No
hot takes on the news from me this month. I want to use this page to invite
you, or welcome you back, to The Bible’s Book of Psalms – the 150 poems,
prayers and songs to be found in the Old Testament. If you’re off to the beach
this summer, why not pack a Psalter? You could read the Psalms in Miles
Coverdale’s beautiful translations in The Book of Common Prayer (1662).
Or you could find a whole host of translations online such as at biblegateway.com.
The New International Version is popular – we use it in church. If you’re
looking for something fresher, The Message by Eugene Peterson might be
worth a look. Or Robert Alter’s translation and commentary could be of
interest.
Sometimes
the church has neglected the Psalms. I feel I don’t know them as well as I
should. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787,
decreed that, “Candidates for a bishop’s orders must know
the Psalter by heart” and had that rule been preserved, we might have a rather different church leadership.
The
Psalms occupy a very special place in the Bible. As with all Scripture they are
the words of God, given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but in particular they
are human words which God invites us to say or sing back to him. Here is a
guide to infallible prayer and worship. Here are songs God loves to hear, because
he gave them. Here are prayers which we know are according to God’s will.
Knowing, prayer and singing the Psalms would be a spiritually transforming experience.
We can come to them with confidence as the Word of God, as textbook worship and
prayer.
The
German Reformer, Martin Luther wrote about the Psalms: ““The Psalter should be
precious to us if only because it most clearly promises the death and
resurrection of Christ, and describes his kingdom, and the nature and standing
of all Christian people. It could well be entitled a “Little Bible” since
everything contained in the entire Bible is beautifully and briefly
comprehended, and compacted into…a Manual [or handbook]. It seems to me as if
the Holy Ghost had been pleased to take on himself the trouble of putting
together a short Bible…touching the whole of Christianity…in order that they
who are unable to read the whole Bible may nevertheless find almost the whole
sum comprehended in one little book…the Psalter is the very paragon of books.”
There’s almost everything in the Book of Books!
Although
divine, the Psalms are very human. It feels like all human life is here. Joy
and delight. Great love and faith. But also sorrow and despair. These poems are
an anatomy of the soul in all its conditions – including its ailments. The
human heart is laid bare. The Psalmists had a very robust and real relationship
with God. They felt they could be honest. If they were angry or at a loss, they
felt God could cope with that! They bring their emotions, doubts and fears as
well as their noble aspirations to God. Whilst there is great artistry in the
Psalms (they love an acrostic, for example), there is no pretence. Whatever your
mood or situation, however happy or desperate, there is a psalm to meet your
need.
(My
friend, The Revd Ben Williamson, whom we support in his church planting work in
Greater Manchester, has written a one-line summary of each Psalm which you
might find helpful in choosing a Psalm: benjaminwilliamson.co.uk/2011/09/10/one-line-psalm-summaries/)
Jesus,
of course, would have said and sung the Psalms. Like all the Bible, the Psalms
are ultimately about Jesus. It is always worth thinking about what a particular
prayer would have meant on the lips of Jesus. How does it relate to his life
and mission? Many of the Psalms are by King David, and Jesus is the Davidic
Messiah, great King David’s long-promised greater son. Many of the Psalms are
spoken by an innocent person suffering unjustly and trusting God. It is not
hard to hear the crucified Jesus here. The Psalms were the song book of Israel
and Jesus is, as it were, the epitome of the nation, the True Israel, the only
perfectly faithful Man of God. The Psalms are ultimately the songs of Jesus. But
they are also our songs because we are Jesus’ people. We sing these songs by
faith in him. His story is our story. We march to his tune.
On
Saturday 14th October, we’re having a day thinking about and mainly
singing the Psalms. We’re expecting some interest from beyond the parish so you
might like to book now to avoid disappointment. I shall be there and singing
enthusiastically so the line is no musical ability required! I hope you can
join us. psalmroar.org/sussex/
The Revd Marc Lloyd
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