Athanasius to Marcellinus:On the Psalms

My dear Marcellinus, I have heard about the faith with which you are enduring your present illness, and I am especially glad to hear how you are using this season. You have been giving yourself to the study of the Holy Scriptures, and particularly to the Book of Psalms, trying to understand the meaning and force of each one. I am delighted to hear it, because I too have a special love for the Psalms. Some time ago I had the opportunity to speak with an old and learned Christian who had spent many years studying the Psalter. He spoke about it with such wisdom and clarity that his words have remained with me. I want to pass along to you what I learned from him.

A Garden Containing the Whole of Scripture

All Scripture, both the Old Testament and the New, is inspired by God and useful for teaching. Yet there is something especially rich about the Psalter. Each book of Scripture has its own particular work to do. The books of Moses tell us about creation, the patriarchs, Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, the giving of the Law, the tabernacle, and the priesthood. Joshua, Judges, and Ruth tell of Israel’s life in the land and lead us toward David. Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles recount the history of Israel’s kings. Ezra tells of the return from exile and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The prophets announce the coming Savior, remind the people of God’s commands, expose sin, and speak also about God’s purposes for the nations. Each of these books is like a garden producing its own particular fruit. The Psalter is different. It is like a garden in which you find not only its own fruit but something of the fruit of all the other gardens as well. The Psalms sing about creation. Psalm 19 declares the glory of God displayed in the heavens, while Psalm 24 celebrates the earth and everything in it as belonging to the Lord.

They sing about the exodus. Psalms 78, 105, 106, and 114–115 remember Israel coming out of Egypt, the signs God performed there, the journey through the wilderness, and the Lord’s faithfulness to his people. They remember the tabernacle, the priesthood, the conquest of the land, the time of the judges, the kings, Jerusalem, exile, and restoration. The history that is narrated at length elsewhere in Scripture is gathered up again in the Psalms and turned into song. The same is true of the prophets. Indeed, when we come to what the prophets say about the Savior, we find their message almost everywhere in the Psalter.

The Psalms Proclaim Christ

The Psalms announce beforehand that the Savior will come among us. They speak of God coming openly to his people. They celebrate the one who comes in the name of the Lord. They speak of the Word whom God sends, the Word by whom the heavens themselves were made. The Psalter also makes clear that this coming one is the Son. Psalm 45 speaks of the king whose throne is forever and whom God has anointed above his companions. Psalm 110 speaks mysteriously of one who is David’s Lord and yet comes from David’s line. Nor do the Psalms present his coming as an appearance only.

The one who made all things would truly become man. He would enter our human life and share our nature. The eternal Word through whom Zion was founded would himself be born in Zion. The Psalms even point toward the woman through whom he would come. In Psalm 45 the king desires the beauty of the daughter who is summoned to leave her former household and belong to him. The same Christ who is eternally the Son of God would truly enter David’s family and be born among us. Having spoken of his coming in the flesh, the Psalms also tell beforehand of his suffering.

Psalm 2 shows the rulers of the world gathering together against the Lord and against his Anointed. Psalm 22 speaks with remarkable clarity in the voice of the suffering Savior: enemies surround him, his hands and feet are pierced, his garments are divided, and lots are cast for his clothing. Other Psalms speak in the same voice of one suffering not for his own wrongdoing but bearing affliction for the sake of others. This suffering is not the end. The Psalms also announce his resurrection. Psalm 16 declares that God’s Holy One will not be abandoned to the grave.

They announce his ascension. Psalm 24 cries out for the ancient gates to open before the King of Glory, and Psalm 47 celebrates God going up with shouts of joy. They announce his enthronement. Psalm 110 places him at the right hand of the Lord until every enemy is placed beneath his feet. They announce his judgment. Psalms 50, 72, and 82 speak of God judging the peoples with righteousness. And they announce the gathering of the nations. Psalm 47 summons all peoples to clap their hands and shout to God. Psalm 72 sees distant kings bringing their gifts and the nations bowing before the king.

The point is not that the Psalms have one message while the prophets have another. The same Spirit speaks throughout the Scriptures. The books differ in form and emphasis, but their testimony is one. What the prophets proclaim, the Psalms sing.

The Special Gift of the Psalter

Yet the Psalter has a particular gift that deserves careful attention. Elsewhere in Scripture we learn what God commands, what the prophets proclaimed, and what holy men and women did. In the Psalms we learn all these things, but we learn something else as well: we learn about ourselves. The Psalter portrays the movements of the human soul in all their variety. It shows our changes, disturbances, recoveries, failures, hopes, fears, loves, griefs, and joys. It is like a picture in which we see ourselves portrayed. By seeing ourselves clearly, we begin to understand our condition and to learn how it should be changed.

Scripture often tells us what we should do. The Psalms teach us how to bring ourselves before God while we are learning to do it. Scripture commands repentance. The Psalms give the sinner words with which to repent. Scripture tells us to endure suffering. The Psalms show us what endurance sounds like in the middle of suffering and how hope speaks when the suffering is finally over. Scripture commands us to give thanks. The Psalms place thanksgiving in our mouths. Scripture tells us that those who seek to live faithfully will face persecution.

The Psalms give words to the persecuted, to those who are fleeing danger, and to those who have been delivered from it. Scripture tells us to praise and confess the Lord. The Psalms teach us how. Whatever the condition of life, we find in these songs words fitted to the needs of the soul.

Words That Become Our Own

There is another remarkable difference between the Psalms and much of the rest of Scripture. When we read the words of Abraham, they remain Abraham’s words. When Moses asks to see God’s glory, we understand that Moses said this. When Elijah speaks before the Lord, we hear the words of Elijah. We may learn from them and imitate their faith, but we do not normally take their exact words onto our own lips as though the events they describe had happened to us. The Psalms are different. When we sing them, we naturally receive their words as our own.

We do not merely hear about another person’s fear; we speak our own fear. We do not simply observe another person confessing sin; we confess. We do not stand at a distance while someone else gives thanks; the thanksgiving becomes ours. The person singing Psalm 3 can bring his own affliction into the prayer. When he sings Psalms of trust, he expresses his own faith. When he sings Psalms written in the midst of persecution, he is able to bring his own experience of opposition before God. This is why the Psalter is like a mirror.

In it we see the movements of our own souls reflected back to us. Yet the mirror does more than reveal what is there. It gives us a pattern by which our lives may be corrected. The faithful person finds himself in the Psalms, and so does the sinner. The joyful person finds words, and so does the grieving person. The Psalter receives us as we are and then teaches us how to speak before God.

Christ Is the Pattern

There is an even greater kindness of the Savior hidden in all of this. When Christ became man for us, he did not only offer his body for our salvation. He also showed us in his own human life what a life perfectly ordered toward God looks like. He did not merely give commands. He lived them. In him we see patience, love, goodness, courage, mercy, righteousness, humility, and every other virtue. He tells us to learn from him, and then he places his own life before us as the pattern. This is important for understanding the Psalms, because before the Savior came among us in the flesh, God had already sketched the shape of this perfect human life in the Psalter.

Before he came among us, the Lord caused this same pattern to resound in the Psalms. Just as in his own person he showed us the pattern of the earthly and heavenly human life, so from the Psalms anyone who desires can learn the movements and dispositions of the soul and find in them the healing and correction suited to each movement. If I may put it more strongly: all Holy Scripture teaches virtue and true faith, but the Book of Psalms also gives us an image of the soul’s course of life. It reminds the person who runs after virtue and wishes to understand the Savior’s life in the body of the movements of the soul, and then shapes and teaches the reader through these words.

A Psalm for Every Condition

Because the Psalter portrays so many movements of the soul, it contains many kinds of Psalms. Some tell stories. Some instruct. Some prophesy. Some are prayers. Some confess sin. Some confront evil. Others overflow with thanksgiving, praise, and joy. This means that whatever situation you find yourself in, you can find words in the Psalms fitted to it. If you want to understand the blessed life, begin with Psalm 1. Psalms 32, 41, 112, 119, and 128 also teach the blessedness of those who belong to God. If you are considering the opposition of the nations against Christ, sing Psalm 2.

If you are surrounded by opposition, even from those close to you, Psalm 3 gives you words. When affliction passes and you want to thank God, Psalms 4 and 75 will help you praise him. When evil people set traps for you, pray Psalm 5. When you are weighed down by the sense of God’s displeasure, Psalms 6 and 38 teach you how to cry out. When someone plots against you, Psalm 7 teaches you to place the matter in God’s hands. When you contemplate the salvation God has given to the world through his Son, sing Psalm 8. When you see God’s victory over evil, give the glory to him rather than to yourself.

Psalms 9 and 10 teach you to trust the Lord even when evil appears strong. When wickedness seems to be everywhere and you wonder whether anything holy remains, take refuge in God. Psalms 11–12 give voice to that situation. If the trial lasts a long time and you are tempted to believe that God has forgotten you, Psalm 27 calls you back to hope. When people deny God’s providence altogether, Psalms 14 and 53 answer their foolishness. If you want to know the character of a person who may dwell with God, pray Psalm 15. When enemies press against you, Psalms 17, 86, 88, and 140 supply words for prayer.

If you want to hear the prayer of Moses, turn to Psalm 90. When deliverance comes, Psalm 18 gives you words of thanksgiving. When creation fills you with wonder, Psalm 19 teaches you to see God’s glory in the heavens and his goodness in his instruction. Psalm 24 teaches you to see the whole earth as belonging to him. Psalm 20 helps you pray with others who are in distress. When you know yourself to be fed and shepherded by God, Psalm 23 is waiting for you. When enemies surround you, lift your heart to God with Psalm 25.

When you need to surrender judgment to the one righteous Judge, Psalms 26, 35, and 43 help you do it. If opposition becomes overwhelming, Psalm 27 teaches courage. When your own weakness becomes painfully obvious, Psalm 28 teaches you to keep calling upon the Lord. Psalm 29 teaches you to approach him with thanksgiving and worship. Psalm 30 is fitting when you want to dedicate your whole life to God. The Songs of Ascents also teach us to think of the spiritual life as a journey upward toward him. If friends or relatives turn against you because of your faith, Psalm 31 teaches you not to despair.

When you see people rescued from the power of sin and brought into the people of God, Psalm 32 gives you reason to rejoice. Psalm 33 is well suited to the gathered people of God lifting their voices together. When you escape evil counsel, Psalm 34 teaches you to bless the Lord. When you watch people give themselves eagerly to wickedness, Psalm 36 reminds you that evil does not arise from some necessity of human nature; people choose and cultivate it. Psalm 37 teaches you not to envy those who prosper through wrongdoing, because their apparent success will not last.

When you need wisdom under attack, Psalm 39 teaches restraint. When suffering becomes a school of endurance, Psalm 40 helps you wait for God. Psalm 41 calls God’s people to remember the poor and needy. When longing for God burns within you, Psalms 42–43 give that desire a voice and teach the soul to hope even while it is cast down. If you want to remember the long history of God’s kindness toward his people, especially the exodus and wilderness, sing Psalms 44, 78, 89, 105, 106, 107, and 114–115. These Psalms teach us to remember both God’s faithfulness and the repeated forgetfulness of his people.

When God has delivered you and you want to tell of his kindness, Psalm 46 gives words of grateful confidence. When you have sinned and need to confess honestly, Psalm 51 is ready for you. When you have been slandered and the person who harmed you boasts about it, Psalm 52 helps you entrust the matter to God. When others pursue and accuse you unjustly, Psalms 54, 56, and 57 teach confidence in the Lord. When danger follows you even into hiding, Psalms 57 and 142 remind you that no place is beyond God’s care. When you escape a carefully planned attack, Psalm 59 turns deliverance into thanksgiving.

When the deepest wounds come from a friend, Psalm 55 gives voice to that grief. When hypocrisy surrounds you, Psalm 58 reminds you that God sees through appearances. When people seek your life, Psalm 62 teaches quiet confidence in God. If persecution drives you into lonely places, Psalm 63 teaches you to seek God even in the wilderness. When fear and opposition continue to pursue you, Psalms 64, 65, 70, and 71 keep the heart turned toward God. Psalm 65 is also fitting when you simply want to praise God, and Psalm 66 celebrates his mighty works and points toward resurrection.

Psalm 67 joins prayer for mercy with a longing for God’s ways to be known among all nations. When wicked people appear to prosper while faithful people suffer, Psalm 73 teaches you not to judge the story too quickly. When God’s people are under discipline, Psalm 74 gives words for grief and appeal. When you need to bear witness publicly to God, Psalms such as 10, 71, 75, 92, 105–108, 111, 126, 136, and 138 supply testimony to his deeds and character. When enemies have taken possession of what once seemed secure, Psalm 77 teaches the afflicted people to cry out and then to give thanks when God answers.

When the house of God has been desecrated and God’s people suffer terrible violence, Psalm 79 teaches the community how to lament before him. Psalms 81 and 95 are well suited to festival worship. When many enemies unite against God’s people, Psalm 83 becomes an anchor of hope. When you long for the dwelling place of God, Psalm 84 speaks that desire beautifully. When trouble has passed and peace is restored, Psalms 85 and 116 teach thanksgiving. Psalm 87 celebrates Zion and the people gathered into God’s city. Psalm 91 teaches how fearlessness grows from dwelling in the shelter of the Most High.

Do you wish to sing on the Sabbath? Use Psalm 92. Do you wish to give thanks on the Lord’s Day? Use Psalm 24. If you wish to sing on the second day of the week, use Psalm 48. If you wish to praise God on Friday, use Psalm 93, for on that day the cross was accomplished and the house of God was built despite the enemies who tried to prevent it; therefore it is fitting to sing a victory song. If the house has been destroyed in captivity and then rebuilt, sing Psalm 96. When the land has rest from war and the Lord reigns, sing Psalm 97. Do you wish to sing on the fourth day of the week? Use Psalm 94, for on that day the Lord entered upon his Passion and began openly to triumph over death and the devil on our behalf. When you see God’s providence and power in all things and want to instruct others in faith and obedience, use Psalm 100. When you have experienced his power in judgment, the next Psalm gives you fitting words.

When life leaves you weak and discouraged, Psalm 102 gives language to affliction. Psalms 103 and 104 then lift the soul again into praise.

Psalms 105, 107, 113, 117, 135, and the final Psalms of the Psalter teach not only that God should be praised but also why he deserves our praise. When you need to continue pressing forward in the life of faith, the fifteen Songs of Ascents—Psalms 120–134—provide words for the journey. If you realize that you have been led astray, Psalm 137 teaches you to stop, remember, grieve, and return. When you have passed through testing and want to thank God for his searching knowledge of you, Psalm 139 gives words. When evil again closes around you, Psalm 140 teaches you to seek deliverance.

For prayer and supplication, Psalms 5 and 141–143 are especially useful. When some giant rises against you, Psalm 144 teaches you the confidence of David: salvation comes from the Lord, not from our strength. And when the goodness of God overwhelms you, the Psalter gives you no shortage of songs. Psalms 96 and 98 call the whole earth into praise. Psalms 145–150 carry the book toward its great conclusion, until everything that has breath is summoned to praise the Lord.

Psalms That Speak Especially of the Savior

In truth, you can find something about Christ throughout the Psalter. Yet some Psalms speak of him with particular clarity. Psalm 45 and Psalm 110 speak of his divine Sonship, his kingship, and his coming among us. Psalms 22 and 69 speak of the cross, the hostility directed against him, and the suffering he endured for our sake. Psalm 3 and Psalm 109 reveal something of the opposition and betrayal he faced. Psalms 21, 50, and 72 present him as king and judge and look toward his coming kingdom and the calling of the nations.

Psalm 16 announces his resurrection. Psalms 24 and 47 celebrate his ascension. Psalms 93, 96, 98, and 99 celebrate the reign and victory that flow from his saving work. Some Psalms, then, correct and train the individual soul. Others announce beforehand the coming, suffering, resurrection, ascension, and kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ. Often they do both at once.

Why We Sing the Psalms

We should not pass over another question: Why are these words meant to be sung? Some people may suppose that the Psalms are sung simply because music makes them more pleasant to hear. That is not the reason. The singing is for the benefit of the soul. Certainly it is fitting that God should be praised not only in ordinary speech but also in poetry and song. Scripture itself contains songs beyond the Psalter—the song of Moses, for example, and the songs found in the prophets. Human beings should love and praise God with the whole strength of their being.

But there is another reason, and this one goes more deeply into the life of the person singing. Singing brings the person into harmony. Our lives are often divided. We know one thing and do another. We desire what is good and at the same time feel ourselves pulled toward evil. Our thoughts, desires, words, and actions do not naturally move together. Psalm singing gathers these scattered movements. Think of several musical notes being brought together into one harmony. Something similar happens when the Psalms are sung with understanding.

The mind attends to the words, the voice gives them sound, the body participates in the singing, and the desires of the heart are drawn toward what the words proclaim. The melody becomes the outward expression of an inward harmony. This is why the singing must not be mindless. It is possible to enjoy the sound of sacred words without allowing them to touch the soul. That is not the purpose of Psalm singing. We are to sing with the voice and with understanding. When the soul is sad, the Psalms teach it to speak to itself and ask why it is cast down.

When the soul recognizes that it has nearly fallen, the Psalms teach it to confess honestly. When the soul is afraid, the Psalms teach it to remember that the Lord is its helper. In this way singing does not merely describe the state of the soul. By degrees, it helps put the soul back into order. David himself gives us a picture of this. When he played before Saul, the music did not merely entertain the king. Saul’s troubled spirit was quieted. Peace returned where there had been turmoil. In the same way, priests who sing well call the souls of the people into tranquility and into concord with those who form the heavenly choir.

The instruments mentioned in the Psalms can also teach us something. A well-tuned instrument produces harmony because all its parts have been properly ordered. In the same way, the person who praises God should seek to have body, mind, desire, word, and action brought together under the direction of the Spirit. The person who sings the Psalms well is therefore being tuned. Slowly the disordered rhythms of the soul are corrected. Fear loses its rule. Empty thoughts are quieted.

The heart becomes freer to desire the things of God. And as the soul is brought into harmony through the sacred words, it increasingly turns its attention away from its own confusion and toward Christ.

Take What You Need From This Garden

So, my son, approach the Book of Psalms as Scripture inspired by God. Enter it as you would enter a great garden, and take from it the fruit needed for the condition in which you find yourself. For I believe the whole range of human life is contained in this book. Every movement of the soul, every change of condition, every kind of thought can be found here. Do you need repentance or confession? The Psalms give you words. Are you in trouble or temptation? They give you words. Are you being opposed or persecuted? They give you words.

Have you escaped danger? They teach you thanksgiving. Are you grieving? They teach you lament. Are you growing in faith and seeing God defeat what once mastered you? They teach you praise. Whatever your need, the words are already there, and you may take them upon your lips as your own.

Do Not Improve Upon the Psalms

There is, however, one warning I must give you. Do not surround the words of the Psalter with persuasive language borrowed from outside Scripture, and do not try to recast or replace the words themselves. Say them and sing them simply as they have been given. In this way the holy people through whom these words were first spoken recognize what is their own and join us in prayer—or, more truly, the Spirit who spoke through them recognizes the words he inspired and comes to our aid.

The lives of the saints were better ordered than ours, and their words are therefore better than words we manufacture for ourselves—and, if we speak plainly, stronger as well. By such faith they pleased God. As Scripture says, they conquered kingdoms, practiced righteousness, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, found strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and even received their dead back again.

So when you take these same sacred words upon your lips, pray with confidence. If you are afflicted, you will find encouragement in them. If you are tested or persecuted, you will be strengthened and sheltered by the Lord who also protected those who first spoke them. If you have sinned, the words will expose and correct you. If you are advancing in faith, they will strengthen you to press forward. Through them you will remain firm in the truth and become harder for deceivers to lead astray.

Scripture itself gives us confidence in this. God commanded Moses to write the great song and teach it to the people. He commanded Israel’s ruler to keep Deuteronomy close at hand and meditate continually upon its words because they were sufficient to remind him of virtue and strengthen those who sincerely attended to them. When Joshua entered the land and saw the armies gathered against Israel, he read the Law in the hearing of the people and armed them with its words. When the book of the Law was found in Josiah’s day and read publicly, the king took courage. Even the ark containing the testimony went before Israel in battle. Yet none of these sacred things operated apart from faith and sincerity. Where sin and hypocrisy ruled, outward possession of holy words could not substitute for a faithful heart.

The old man who taught me these things also told me that he had heard from wise men that in earlier times the people of Israel drove away demons and resisted their attacks simply by reading the Scriptures. For this reason he condemned those who abandoned the words God had given and instead composed impressive-sounding phrases of their own, calling themselves exorcists. They were treating a serious matter like a game and exposing themselves to ridicule—just as the sons of Sceva discovered when they attempted to command evil spirits without true faith.

Evil spirits do not fear clever religious language. They fear the words of the saints because the Lord is present in the Scriptures. This is why Paul could command unclean spirits, why the demons were subject to the disciples, and why in the days of Elisha the hand of the Lord came upon the prophet as music was being played. So if you care for someone who is suffering, speak these sacred words in faith. They will benefit the sufferer, and your own faith will be shown to be genuine and steadfast before God.

This is why the Psalm says, “I will meditate on your decrees; I will not forget your words,” and again, “Your decrees were my songs in the place of my pilgrimage.” The saints found salvation in these words: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” Paul likewise strengthened his disciple by telling him to practice these things and devote himself to them so that his progress might be evident.

So you too, Marcellinus, continue in this practice. Read the Psalms attentively and sing them with understanding. Guided by the Spirit, you will increasingly grasp the meaning of each one. And as you do, you will learn to imitate the kind of life lived by the holy, Spirit-bearing people through whom these words were first spoken.