The Psalms: Hymn Book of the Temple

In the closing lines of my last post, I cited an intriguing statement by Margaret Barker:

“The Psalms were the hymn book of the temple, and in them we glimpse something of the ancient liturgy” (M. Barker, Temple Themes in Christian Worship, p. 137).

If this is truly the case, then a careful study of the Psalms should reveal important insights regarding the nature of temple worship in ancient Israel. Barker is not alone in her opinion regarding the close relationship between the Psalms and the temple. Due to the generosity of a dear friend, I have recently had the opportunity to look over Sigmund Mowinckel’s The Psalms in Israel’s Worship (2 vols., trans. D.R. Ap-Thomas, New York: Abingdon,1962) and Aubrey R. Johnson’s Sacral Kingship in Ancient Israel (Cardiff: Univ. of Wales Press, 1967). Both of these texts support Barker’s assertion that many, if not most, of the psalms referred to, or were used in, temple worship. I’m sure support for this idea could be found in many more works, but I happened to be blessed to have my hands on a copy of these two, which related directly to the topic of this post.

Mowinckel: The Relationship between the Psalmists and the Temple

While I will not attempt an in-depth overview of all that these two authors say on the topic, I want to give at least a taste of what their research finds. Mowinckel concludes that most of the psalms were written by temple singers–temple personnel who lived on the temple grounds and composed (often prophetic) hymns for use in temple rituals and for praising Yahweh (see vol. II, pp. 85-90). In discussing the connection between the psalms and the temple, Mowinckel reasons:

The original cultic psalmography obviously developed at the temples.This is the case everywhere. So also with the psalmography of Israel…This conclusion as it applies to psalmography in general and to the origin of the psalm types is generally acknowledged at the present time (p. 85).

As we have seen, the psalmists time and time again speak of their internal and external relations with the Temple and its orderings and the service there. They are living in the Temple, they are thinking and expressing themselves in the notions of Temple and cult (p. 89).

Again and again they disclose their knowledge of the cultic life that went on at the Temple, and not infrequently they allude directly to the different ritual functions taking place there.

Broadly speaking the psalms came into being at the Temple…they were composed for use at the regularly or irregularly recurring cultic functions and situations there, to be recited by or on behalf of persons of such standing that psalms were to be sung for them (p. 90).

Johnson: The Psalms, the King, and Temple Ritual 

Johnson’s approach to the psalms is quite similar to Mowinckel’s (see footnote on p. 61)–also relating them to the liturgy/ritual of the Temple (see e.g. p. 60). Johnson, in Sacral Kingship, is concerned with how the psalms played an important role in temple ceremonies and festivals that celebrated the kingship of Yahweh. She notes that there are many liturgical works among the Psalms “which lay stress upon the fact that Yahweh is King, and, what is more, that He is enthroned as King in virtue of His control over the great cosmic sea and His rule over the more stable world of heaven and earth, of which He is the Creator” (p. 60).

Johnson presents an incredibly interesting reconstruction of what some of these rituals may have entailed. As indicated by the title of the book, the main thrust of its hypothesis is that the Davidic king was considered to be the anointed high priest (messiah) and that he led the temple rituals and processions, representing/acting in the place of Yahweh himself (pp. 13-14). The ritual enthronement of the earthly king represented the re-enthronement of the heavenly King.

Psalm 132, for example, according to Johnson, appears to have as its original Sitz im Leben (life situation) a dramatic commemoration or liturgical re-enactment of the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem and the founding of the “everlasting covenant” of Yahweh with the House of David (pp. 19-20).

Mowinckel had seen Pss 90-106, among others, as a liturgical collection to be used in the Autumn, or New Year, Festival, which was the most important of ancient Israelite festivals (Johnson, pp. 54-57).  According to Johnson, the liturgy of this festival included:

a) the celebration of Yahweh’s original triumph, as leader of the forces of light, over the forces of darkness as represented by the monstrous chaos of waters or primeval ocean;

b) His subjection of this cosmic sea and His enthronement as King in the assembly of the gods; and

c) the further demonstration of His might and power in the creation of the habitable world (p. 101).  

These accomplishments of Yahweh are re-enacted annually in the form of a ritual drama. Johnson translates Psalm 48:9 as “O God, we have pictured Thy devotion in the midst of Thy Temple.” The human participants re-enact a ”picture” of the real acts of Yahweh.

Psalms 29, 95, and 99 depict the enthronement of the victorious Yahweh on his Throne, which was likely represented by the ritualized enthronement of the Davidic king.

Psalm 95 depicts the temple officiator calling the assembly to worship. The officiator becomes the representative of Yahweh. Johnson explains:

 “Then the personality of the speaker (possibly a cultic prophet [or the king himself]) gives way, as it were, to that of the Godhead; so that, acting as an extension of the divine Personality, he proceeds to address his hearers as Yahweh Himself” (pp. 68-69). 

Psalm 118 depicts another procession, where the king/messiah, the earthly representative of Yahweh, takes the place of the Ark. This ritual includes the king’s ritualized  humiliation at the hands of enemies, his symbolic death and resurrection, and also his washing, anointing, and investiture in royal robes.[1] The king is raised up and re-enthroned as God’s vice-regent (Ps 2). God then sets the king on his Holy Hill (the Temple), and the king declares the decree that he received from Yahweh: “Thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee.”

Ps 110 deals with the rebirth of the king. This takes place after his dramatized deliverance by God from the Underworld, apparently at the spring of Gihon, “as the morning appeareth” (v. 3). He has been reborn and raised up (resurrected), both to the throne and also to the priesthood of Melchizedek.

Much more could be said about both Mowinckel and Johnson’s superb analyses of the Psalms and their relation to the Holy Temple. Suffice it to say that there is much more about the temple that could be gleaned from the Psalms, and we Latter-day Saints are in a great position to be able to do so.

Barker on the Psalms and the Vision of Yahweh in the Temple

After all that, I want to come back to Barker and her research in Temple Themes on how the Psalms depict God in the temple. She indicates that the Psalms envisaged the Lord as dwelling in Zion (Ps 9:11) on his holy hill–temple–(Ps 43:3) [2].  The Lord’s glory could be seen shining from the temple (Psalms 80:1; 94:1-2). Those who visited the temple expected to see the Lord there (Ps 17:3,15).  Barker also seems to suggest that the psalms (which were put to music) were used to invoke the presence of the Lord (p. 142). She notes that the word “hallelu-jah” is found at the beginning or end of many psalms. Hallelujah is usually taken to mean “praise the Lord,” but the Hebrew root hll can also refer to “shining.” Barker then reasons that perhaps the people, when saying ‘hallelujah,” were invoking the brilliant presence of the Lord in the temple (p. 142).  This is a very interesting idea and probably relates to the reason we play prelude hymns in our chapels (temple chapels included)–we are “invoking” the Spirit of the Lord to be present.

Again, I was very pleased to find that so much could be learned about the temple from the Psalms. I look forward to learning much more in the future–and I’ll be sure to tell you about it. Please share your insights with me, as well. 

Notes

[1] See also Baruch Halpern, The Constitution of the Monarchy in Israel (Ann Arbor: Scholars Press, 1981), 99.

[2] For more on the Lord dwelling in His temple, see Psalms 84:1, 7; 26:8; 11:4; 80:1; 99:1; Isa 6:1; 12:6; Jer 8:19.  

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