Getting Into the Psalms

Have you ever noticed how the Psalms are divided into five books? If you pull out a modern English translation of the Bible, nearly all of them place “Book 1” in front of Psalm 1. “Book 2” shows up in front of Psalm 42. “Book 3” precedes Psalm 73. While “Book 4” and “Book 5” stand at the top of Psalm 90 and Psalm 107, respectively.

Why is that? The answer to that question relates to the order of the Psalms, in general and the way that Ezra, or some inspired prophet like Ezra, arranged the Psalter so that it would tell the story of David’s suffering and glory (Book 1), David’s kingdom (Book 2), the sons of David’s demise (Book 3), the return of the Divine King (Book 4), and the installation of a new and greater David (Book 5). Indeed, the arrangement of the Psalter is not accidental, and it plays a vital role in understanding the book, the history of Israel, and God’s plans of salvation for the world.

A few years ago, we looked at the outline of the Psalms and you can find a plethora of resources on reading the psalms “canonically” (according to their arrangement) here. But suffice it to say, the five hymn-books of David are meant to extend and exceed the five books of Moses (Genesis–Deuteronomy). And for reasons that we will see this Sunday, this extension has everything to do with singing.

Indeed, as we have recently considered where, and who, and how we worship, we have not given any time to the subject of songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Matt Wood taught a series by that title, and if you were not in Sunday School, you should go listen to it. But in this sermon series on liturgy, we have focused on the location, participants, and forms of worship. But this Sunday, that changes as we look to the Bible’s songbook, the 150-song collection that we know as Psalms. And to prepare for Sunday, there are two things you need to see—(1) the shape of the Psalter and (2) the place of singing in the Bible.

Seeing the Psalter
First, if you treat the Psalms as a random collection of Israel’s greatest temple hits, you will miss the message of the Psalter. As I hinted above, the Psalms have a discernible storyline from David, to David’s sons, to David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, as I have tried to show in a more technical article, Psalm 2 is the promise of great son of David who will sit enthroned on Mount Zion. And Psalm 110 is the fulfillment of that promise in the Psalter itself. And not surprisingly, when the Apostles saw the son exalted on high, in his ascension, they wrote their Gospels and and Epistles with exalted Christ in view—even conjoining Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 in places like Hebrews 5:5–6.

Now, if we had more time, we could look further at the whole Psalter—and if you’d like to know more, catch me Sunday and I’ll point you in the right direction. But for now, I want you to consider how Book 5 proceeds when the Lord is seated on the throne. And the best way to do that is with an outline of Psalms 107–50 and an open Bible.

Psalms	Storyline
107	Song of Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance – Melodic Line for Book 5
108–09	Songs of Petition for God to Save – Summons God’s “Right Hand”
110	The Enthronement of the Royal Priest – This psalm celebrates Christ’s enthronement in heaven and his salvation and judgment on earth
111–17	7 Hallelujah Songs – These psalms celebrate Christ’s coronation (Ps 110)
118	Song of Praise for the Day of the Lord – This psalm pairs with Psalm 110 to tell of Christ’s death and resurrection (v. 24, “This is the day . . .”)
119	22 Stanzas of the Law – This psalm evidences the joy of the New Covenant saint who delights in the Word of God
120–34	15 Songs of Ascent – These psalms bring worshipers into God’s presence
135–37	3 Songs of Praise (135), Thanksgiving (136), and Lamentation (137)
138–45	8 Songs of David – These psalms narrate the new covenant realities of spiritual warfare
146–50	5 Songs of Praise – These psalms conclude the whole Psalter

In these 44 psalms, we have storyline of Jesus Christ after he has been seated at God’s right hand in heaven. Remember, Psalm 110 is the most cited psalm in the New Testament (see, e.g., Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42, 43; Acts 2:34, 35; Heb. 5:6; 7:17, 21). And as such, it tells us that when Christ ascended to heaven, he made a way of worship for his people and he made a way of spiritual warfare on the earth. Lest we think that Christ is inactive on his throne. Psalms 111–145  tell us how Christ is bringing his kingdom from heaven to the earth, so that all creation might redound in his praise (Psalms 146–50).

As you have time, read Book 5 with consideration for the ways that Christ has fulfilled Psalm 110 and is now creating worshipers from every nation; he is writing his law on their hearts; he is leading them to sing praises to him in heaven; and he is commissioning them to go into the world with the gospel message of salvation and judgment. Indeed, while the entire Psalms functions as prophesy; Book 5 is the most prophetic part of the book, as it points directly to new covenant realities.

Knowing this, take time to review this outline as you read Psalms 107–150. On Sunday, we will see how these psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs lead us in worship, and how they both inform our order of service and prepare us for descending the hill of the Lord, where we will meet a host of difficulties and dangers, until when return to the Lord’s Mountain.

Singing in Service
Second, and this will be mercifully shorter, the Psalter teaches God’s worshipers how to sing, what to sing, and (in some ways) in what order. Big picture first, the Psalms move from lamentation to praise. If you were to count them all up, you would find that the lamentations are frontloaded in the psalter, and the hymns of thanksgiving and praise are stacked in the back. Indeed, in Book 5, we begin with two psalms of lamentation and petition (Psalms 108–09), and then we have only one other notable imprecatory psalm (Psalm 137), which calls for the downfall of God’s enemies. Technically, there are others doleful parts of Psalms 138–45, but this is set in the context of spiritual warfare—as the new David leads the battle against persisting enemies (cf. Ps. 110:4–7).

Aside from this big picture, the order of Book 5 also helps us to see how singing is part and parcel of the whole order of service. Now, it wasn’t always this way. As Peter Leithart, in his book From Silence to Song, helped me to see, the worship of Moses largely lacked music. Yes, there were some silver trumpets to be played when the people marched (Num. 10:1–9) and when they offered sacrifices (Num. 10:10), but if you look throughout the five books of Moses, aside from Exodus 15, you will be hard pressed to find music.

By contrast, David’s five books are nothing but song. And not only do they range over the whole human experience—joy and sorrow, guilt and forgiveness, petition and praise, etc and etc—but they tell the story of salvation. And, as we see in Book 5, we anticipate a coming savior who will be praised by people from every nation. Notably, this is why Psalm 107 begins the book. It tells of salvation from all people and all places. And knowing that the throne of David died in the dust of Psalm 89, we have good reason to see how this final book anticipates the coming salvation of Jew and Gentile alike in the finished work of Christ. And in that future hope, now fulfilled in Christ, we can see how the people of God sing praises for the law written on their heart (Psalm 118), how they praise God for bringing them into his heavenly temple as new covenant priests (Psalms 120–134), and how when they return to the earth, they do so with praise (Psalm 135), thanksgiving (Psalm 136), and lamentation (Psalm 137).

This is the reality of new covenant worship today. We are invited into the presence of God, but not all things are seen as submitting to Christ today (Heb. 2:5–8). Christ is the one who leads us in worship (Heb. 2:11–12), but that worship is intermittent, so long as we live on the earth. Unlike the spirits of the righteous made perfect who now live on the mountain of the Lord, praising God without tiring, we who walk through the valleys of this world, must go to battle Monday through Saturday (Psalms 138–45), so that we might return to worship on the Lord’s Day (Psalm 118:24), always anticipating the day when all things will be made new and the praise of the Lord will be universal. This is how the Psalter ends in Psalms 146–50. And every time we gather for worship and sing praises to our exalted priest-king (Psalm 110), this is the universal reign of Christ that we are proclaiming the nations.

Putting All The Pieces Together
Thus, it behooves us to continue to refine our liturgy by the revelation of God in the Psalter. And this Sunday, that is where will be, as we look at the place of song, and how Psalms 107–50 teach us to sing—both when we gather and when we depart.
As the Lord allows, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. Until then read some or all of Psalms 107–150 and pray for our time to be profitable and filled with praise.