Praying the Psalms Together

This past month I presented a paper to the Free Lutheran Seminary Symposium in Plymouth, MN. Below is an edited selection from that paper.

~Pastor Schultz

Praying the Psalms Together

The Psalms are unique in scripture. That is because the Book of Psalms is a prayer book. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “It is at fist very surprising that there is a prayer book in the Bible. The Holy Scripture is the Word of God to us. But prayers are the words of men.” Certainly, there are many prayers throughout the Bible, however, an entire book of prayers is very noteworthy because the Psalms form a single unified book of prayer that not only teaches believers how to pray but encourages you to make the prayers your own.

One of the most important pastors in church history, Athanasius of Alexandria (The Athanasian Creed is named after him, after all) wrote this about the Psalms:

“He who hears the one reading (the psalms) receives the song that is recited as being about him, and either, when he is convicted by his conscience, being pierced, he will repent, or hearing of the hope that resides in God, and the succor available to believers—how this kind of grace exists for him – he exults and begins to give thanks to God… And these words, as his own, he chants to the Lord. And so, on the whole, each psalm is both spoken and composed by the Spirit so that in these same words… the stirrings of our souls might be grasped, and all of them be said as concerning us, and the same issue from us as our own words, for the remembrance of the emotions in us, and a chastening of our life. “

What Athanasius is pointing out is that the Psalms invite us to make their prayers our prayers. They encourage us to not only see ourselves in the psalm, but then to see that we have the same need that the psalmist has.

The Psalms do this in a couple different ways. First, they deal with the things we deal with in life: loss, joy, sorrow, anger, frustration, fear. Second, they give us statements of blessings such as in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who… delights in the law of the LORD.” Third, the psalmists invite us to make their prayers our own by switching from the third person, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven…” to the first person, “’I said I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Martin Luther points out in a devotional called, Reading the Psalms with Luther, “There are psalms for instruction, which teach us what we should do and what we should avoid, in accordance with the Law of God.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer adds, “(The Psalms) make the law of God athe object of thanks, praise, and petition,” which, “seeks to show us, above all, the blessing of the law.”

Taken together, the Psalms not only teach us what we should do but actual make us eager to do what the law says and give thanks and praise to God for His commands.

What law is there in the Psalms? The Ten Commandments are found throughout the Psalms. Especially prominent is the Eighth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

“O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah” (Psalm 4:2)

“You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” (Psalm 5:6)

“His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.” (Psalm 10:7)

“Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.” (Psalm 12:2)

“Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.” (Psalm 27:12)

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” (Psalm 34:13

It is important to recognize that the Psalms also lead us in repentance. Repentance consists of two parts. First, the contrition over sin and second, the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ Jesus.

The penitential psalms do this particularly well. (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143) These psalms lead us into the very depth of the recognition of sin before God. They help us in the confession of guilt, and they turn our entire trust to the forgiving grace of God.

When we pray the psalms together, I would encourage you not to just consider it a responsive reading. I would encourage you to pray.

In the midst of a busy life with activities, work, family, and church, we can simply receive the psalms as beautiful and ancient words given to us by God to pray to him. There is no need to feel super spiritual, no need to come up with the right words. Just repeat God’s Word back to him.