Psalms In Praise and Worship

The Psalms are not only of historical interest in understanding how the ancient Israelites worshiped God — they greatly influenced the New Testament church in how it worshiped and praised God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Moreover, the legacy of the Psalms continues to influence worship services in the church today.

Jesus told his disciples, "Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44). The apostles were thoroughly familiar with the book of Psalms and quoted from it frequently. Of the 263 times the Old Testament is quoted by the New Testament writers, 116 quotations are from Psalms.

Even when not directly quoting the Psalms, the apostles and evangelists were often influenced by them in the expressions they used. Ralph P. Martin tells us that the early church, like Jesus himself, "turned to the Psalms for language in which to express their deepest emotions" ("Worship," in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 4, p. 1125).

Undoubtedly, the early church created psalms in which they praised Jesus Christ. Donald Guthrie notes, "Many scholars have considered that Philippians 2:6-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 were originally hymns which had been composed and used before being incorporated into the respective epistles" (New Testament Theology, p. 343). Other hymns of the early church may have included 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:1-3 and 1 Peter 3:18-22.

The Psalms had been central to the Jews’ worship of God for centuries, providing the inspiration for their prayer patterns. These prayer patterns, in turn, were used by the early Christian communities. David E. Aune writes: "The Jewish hodayah (‘thanksgiving’) pattern of prayer, which characteristically began with the phrase ‘I/we thank you,’ is frequently found in the NT and early Christian literature (Luke 2:38; Heb 13:15; Rev 11:17-18). This type of prayer is also frequently used [by] Paul to introduce petitions and intercessions (Rom 1:8; cf. Phil 4:6; Col 4:2; 1 Thess 5:16-18)" ("Early Christian Worship," in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 6, p. 980).

As you read the epistles, you will come across sayings based on the doxologies in the Psalms. A doxology is an ascription of praise to God by the congregation. For example, Psalm 72 concludes: "Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen" (verses 18-19; see also Psalm 41:13; 89:52; 106:48). A typical Christian doxology similarly attributes various characteristics — especially glory — to God and/or Christ, and includes phrases such as "forever" or "for ever and ever." It usually concludes with an "Amen."

Here are some examples of doxologies in Paul’s writings:

• "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17).

• "For from him [God] and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen" (Romans 11:36).

• "To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen" (Romans 16:27).

Other New Testament writers also used this format:

• "To him [Jesus Christ] be glory both now and forever! Amen" (2 Peter 3:18).

• "To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen" (Jude 25).

• "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb [Jesus Christ] be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13).

Another area in which the Psalms have continued to influence Christian worship throughout the centuries is that of congregational singing. In the sixth century, when Benedict set up a monastic order, he commanded the monks to chant all 150 psalms during each week. A thousand years later, Martin Luther established a church hymnal in the language of the people. He wrote a number of hymns himself, the most famous being "Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), which is based on Psalm 46. And Psalm 23, in its numerous arrangements, remains a perennial favorite with all denominations.

Paul’s encouragement to the New Testament church, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16), is as important today as ever. During the song service, a congregation offers its praise to God and strengthens its relationship with Jesus Christ. Singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs helps unify the congregation in an inspirational endeavor that draws it closer together as the Body of Christ.