...the loss of Christian devotion?
Dr. Jim Houston asked this question last night during an Evening Public Lecture at Regent College. Houston spoke primarily on three points. 1) We recover the Psalms when we recover the Scriptures for, and within, our own lives. 2) Jesus and the apostles used the Psalms "prophetically" to give us a Christian Psalter. 3) Without the communion of the saints, we remain shallow in our appreciation of the Psalms.
In an effort to expand our appreciation of the effect the communion of saints has had on our understanding of the Psalms, Dr. Houston surveyed the work of Athanasius, Bede, and Calvin (yes, conveniently A, B & C). In Athanasius' letter to Marcellinus (I recently blogged about this letter here) we see the Psalms as a sort of micro-bible. In Bede we see a monk who lived a liturgical life and found great comfort in the "hedgehog spirituality" of Psalm 104:18. (If you are praying the psalms then you are protected.) In John Calvin we were presented with the greatest commentator on the Psalms. (Although I think Augustine may have the edge here...and Augustine didn't even know Hebrew!)
Where the lecture got really interesting was when Dr. Houston boldly suggested that Isaac Watts was a major player in the downfall of the use of the Psalter in our time. For this, Houston was leaning on the work of William Romaine:
"I have no quarrel with Dr. Watts, or any living or dead versifier. I would not wish all their poems burnt. My concern is to see Christian congregations shut out divinely inspired psalms, and take in Dr. Watts' flights of fancy; as if the words of a poet were better than the words of a prophet or as if the wit of a man was to be preferred to the wisdom of God. When the church is met together in one place, the Lord God has made a provision for their songs of praise - a large collection, and great variety - and why should not these be used in the church according to God's express appointment? I speak not of private people, or of private singing; but of the church in its public service. Why should the provision which God has made be so far despised, as to become quite out of use? Why should Dr. Watts, or any hymnmaker not only take the precedence of the Holy Ghost, but also thrust him entirely out of the church? Insomuch that the rhymes of a man are now magnified above the word of God, even to the annihilating of it in many congregations. If this be right, men and brethren, judge ye. Examine with candor the evidence, which has determined my judgment, so far as it is conclusive may it determine yours."
- from An essay on psalmody by Wlliam Romaine. (p. 112-113)
As one who has spent some time versifying the psalter I most definitely took note! It is important here to remember the context of the work of Dr. Watts. He was working at a time when exclusive psalmody was the norm and he was introducing a new form into worship. While Watts' work certainly helped lead the movement away from exclusive psalmody I would not say that he, or his "flights of fancy", led to the downfall of the psalter...
...for that we must point the finger at ourselves.
If we are to reclaim the psalter in Christian worship then we must be committed to doing so. Scriptural songs should never direct us away from Scripture but back to it. They are not a replacement. But that should not stop us from examining "with candor the evidence". For those of us who plan worship we need to be regularly asking ourselves how we incorporate the psalter in our worship.
Dr Houston closed his lecture with the following five points:
1) Embrace the Psalms in your own personal prayer life. (But know that you are never alone when doing so.)
2) Be inspired by the energies of worship within the Psalms.
3) Be aware that the Psalms are replete with the presence of God.
4) The Psalms show us that our conversion as the children of God, is not a once-for-all experience, as we might think, but a daily process.
5) Whatever inner tranquility the psalms give us, they introduce us to hell as well as heaven. (We are troubled by the imprecatory psalms because we don't understand evil.)
A very good lecture. Stayed tuned to Regent Audio for the mp3 version.
Great stuff BMoss. Keep it coming.
Posted by: Bryan Burton | June 09, 2009 at 02:28 PM