“that which St. Augustine has said is true, that no one is able to sing things worthy of God except that which he has received from him… when we sing [the psalm], we are certain that God puts in our mouths these, as if himself were singing in us to exalt his glory (Preface to the Genevan Psalter). ” – John Calvin
The book of Psalms, Calvin described it as “the anatomy of the human soul,” for every emotions common to mankind is expressed within. Luther called it “a little Bible, and the summary of the Old Testament”. The psalms no doubt is the heart beat of the whole Bible. As a book of praise, it provides God’s people throughout the ages with the most magnificent sonnets of praise befitting the God Almighty, the Most High. On the other hand, it is a balm for the weary, it plumbs the depths of human emotion and provides the truly penitent with some of the deepest expressions of sorrow and grief. For this reason it is most beloved and most well-read portion of the Bible throughout the history of the Christian Church.But more than being a book that meets the spiritual and expressive needs, the book of Psalms is also eminently Christological. The reason Christ could point us to the Psalms to Himself (Lk 24:44) is because the psalmists wrote not merely out of their own emotion, but moved by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them (see 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Peter 1:11). Thus the “I” in the psalms points ultimately to the Greater David, who is both the Singer (Heb 2:12) as well as the focus of the psalms.
