Praying the Psalms ... a Personal Account        For the conclusion of our series on praying the Psalms, a wonderful first-person account may inspire our own prayer of the Psalms.      In Book IX of St. Augustine’s Confessions  (written 397-401 AD), St. Augustine relates how Psalm 4 showed him his life before and after his conversion (August, 386 AD). The Confessions in older translation is in public domain (e.g., at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110109.htm ), so we will quote him but with modifications for clarity and readability.       “What utterances I sent up to You, my God, when I read the Psalms of David, those faithful songs and sounds of devotion with no swelling of pride ... and how was I inflamed towards You by them, and burned to recite them, if it were possible, throughout the whole world, against the pride of the human race! And yet they are sung throughout the whole world, and 'none can hide him...

Praying the Psalms ... God's Covenant with David, Part II        As we pray the Psalms sometimes it seems like they are a random collection: a praise psalm may be next to a lament psalm next to a thanksgiving psalm next to a royal psalm. But there really is some order.       Last week we noted that the Book of Psalms is divided into five books indicated by a closing doxology at the end of Psalms 41, 72, 89, 106 and the final Psalm 150 is entirely a doxology. David Composing on a Psalter (Paris, 10th C.)       We also noted that the Psalms predominantly focus on themes relating to God’s Covenant with David (and not His covenant with Moses). The Davidic themes are:       - an everlasting covenant for all peoples (not just Israel) – fulfilled in the New Covenant [Jer 31] of Christ [1 Cor 11:25; Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:22-24];       - ...

Praying the Psalms ... God's Covenant with David, Part I As we pray, read and sing the Psalms, we may not be aware that they actually convey something of a dramatic shift in the course of salvation history. First, note that the Psalms is divided into five books. These are indicated by a closing doxology at the end of Psalms 41, 72, 89, 106 and the final Psalm 150 is entirely a doxology (in fact, the final five psalms, 146-150, are a closing doxology). Now there is an interesting rabbinical tradition contained in the oldest surviving commentary on the Psalms, the “Midrash Tehillim,” (Tehillim, “Praises,” is the Hebrew title for the Psalms). The Midrash states: “Moses gave Israel the five books” (of the Law) “and David gave Israel the five books of the Psalms.” The idea is that as the Law represented God’s covenant with Moses, but the Psalms represent God’s covenant with David. St. Hippolytus (170-235 AD, a disciple of St. Irenaeus) wrote: “The book of Psalms contai...

Praying the Psalms ... Christ in the Psalms      In continuing our series on praying the Psalms of the Bible, we’ve mentioned that the Psalms speak of Christ prophetically, as Jesus also said of himself (Lk 24:44). St. Athanasius’ early Fourth Century “Letter to Marcellinus” (available online http://athanasius.com/psalms/aletterm.htm ), gives us some specifics:       “Of the coming of the Savior and how, although He is God, He yet should dwell among us, Psalm 50 says, ‘God shall come openly, even our God, and He shall not keep silence;’ and in Psalm 118 we read, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the House of the Lord. God is the Lord, and He has given us light.’ That He Who comes is Himself the Father's Word, Psalm 107 thus sings, ‘He sent His Word and healed them, and rescued them out of all their distresses.’ For the God Who comes is this self-same Word Whom the Father sends, and of this Word Who i...

Praying the Psalms ... the Divine Office Last week we began looking at the Psalms in the Bible as a way to pray always (Lk 18:1; 21:36; I Thes 5:17-18; Eph 6:18). Before our life might come to be continuous prayer, we need to make the effort to pray regularly. A time of prayer each day, with some Scripture reading and meditation, is a minimum for every Christian. Adding a Psalm to read and pray would join us to the universal practice of Hebrews, Jews and Christians since the Psalms were composed. In Jesus’ time, liturgical prayer accompanied the morning (3rd hour or 9 AM) and evening (9th hour or 6 PM) sacrifices (Ex 29:38-39) at the Temple in Jerusalem, which the Apostles continued to attend (e.g., Ac 3:1). In the synagogues, there is some but tentative evidence of regular prayer (which is part of Jewish practice today). In the early Church, there is clear evidence of the widespread practice of praying the Psalms in church liturgically as Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Over th...