THE TASK OF APPLYING the Scriptures to modern life means more than just “translating of words” from ancient to modern languages and “transposing of meanings” from Bible times to the twenty-first century cultures. The task also means finding the appropriate ways to use the biblical text, ways that may be different from the way these texts were used in their original settings—call it “transfer of use.”
Gerald Wilson, in this insightful commentary on the first half of the book of Psalms, shows how our use of Psalms illustrates this principle. He argues that the Psalms were originally used in public Jewish worship. Only centuries after they were first composed and sung did they begin to be used in private devotional settings, one of the most common uses of the Psalms today.
Is this “transfer of use” legitimate? Wilson, along with many other biblical scholars, argues that it can be. Perhaps it will be helpful to illustrate from history the many ways the Psalms have been used. As just noted, they were probably used in public worship—though many scholars feel that Mowinckel, the scholar who proposed this thesis, overemphasized the cultus use of the Psalms. The Psalms were also used as private cries of lament of individual sick people (Seybold). The early Qumran community on the edge of the Dead Sea used the Psalms as a hymnbook. Early Jewish leaders used the Psalms in mishnaic argument and in temple liturgies. Early Christian monastics memorized the Psalms for personal devotion and used them in community recitation. Clearly, the Psalms have been used in many different ways throughout their history.
Those same scholars, however, caution that not all such uses are legitimate. Many of us cringe, for example, when we see the way Old Testament texts are used in Masonic rites, or when the words of Scripture are used for demonic ends by Satanists. Satan himself uses Scripture with the best of them.
Thus, as we consider the proper use of the Psalms today, what are we to think of all these possibilities? Are some more correct than others? Can we say that one or another of these early uses should guide us in their use today? Do we need to know the earliest, original use of the Psalms in order to know how to properly use them today? Are there rules of guidance when we find our application of Scripture is leading us toward possible “transfer of use” territory?
Perhaps two rules of thumb, one negative and one positive, can guide us. (1) The negative rule: We should ask the question whether or not the use we make of the Psalms contradicts the message of the Psalms themselves. Although the Psalms contain many “messages” of a historical, theological, and practical nature, their primary message is that God is great and God is good. A corollary of this primary message is that we should begin all of our thinking, feeling, and acting with an acknowledgement of God’s primacy.
More than anything else the Psalms tell us that God is great. Psalm 29 starts with the words, “Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” (vv. 1–2). But the Psalms also emphasize over and over that God is good. Psalm 135 says, “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant” (v. 3).
The psalmist knew to put God first in all things. Psalm 86 shows the proper sequence of God’s greatness first, our needs second: “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy” (vv. 5–6).
(2) The other rule of thumb is more positive: Are we using the Psalms in ways that will glorify God, not just glorify us? A popular use of the Psalms is as personal devotionals. Although this use, on the face of it, is legitimate, it can become self-centered. The Psalms are not mantras designed to transport us into alternate states of consciousness. They are not psychological recipes for healthier living. They are opportunities for us to get right, one more time, the proper relationship between us, God’s created beings, and God, the creator and ruler of the universe.
Contrast these therapeutic uses of Psalms with Eugene Peterson’s brilliant translation of the Psalms in Praying With the Psalms (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1993). Peterson’s craft insists that we see in the Psalms the ultimate textual guide to acknowledging our maker and the proper way for us to make requests to God.
One of the reasons we properly understand Scripture to be God’s final and complete revelation to us is because of the extraordinary versatility of the texts. They do indeed address all the needs of life, and do so in ways that more than keep pace with the developments of modern culture. But the biblical texts are not infinitely elastic in either their definition or use. The easiest way to keep a rein on the boundaries is to fully absorb the main lesson of the Psalms: God reigns. God is great. God is good.
Terry C. Muck