Crucified Hearts

Why the Psalms?

“Then he [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44

We meet Christ, through His Spirit, in the Psalms. We pray and sing them with Him now just as He prayed and sang them with His disciples more than two thousand years ago. The same voice His mother heard as she taught Him the sacred Psalter will be in our own hearts, lifting them in praise to God for,
“wonders He has done”.

Said Luther,

“Where does one find finer words of joy than in the Psalms of praise and thanksgiving? There you look into the hearts of all the saints, as into fair and pleasant gardens, yes, as into heaven itself.… On the other hand, where do you find deeper, more sorrowful, more pitiful words of sadness than in the Psalms of lamentation? There again you look into the hearts of all the saints, as into death, yes, as into hell itself.… It teaches you in joy, fear, hope, and sorrow to think and speak as all the saints have thought and spoken.”
~ Martin Luther, Luther’s Works (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House), vol. 35, pp. 255,256

“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”
~ Psalm 78:4

Thirty years after his birth He spoke of the Psalms as sacred Scripture to His disciples, teaching them about Himself, how He, God’s promised Messiah, must have suffered for their redemption:

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” ~ Luke 24:45-49

The Psalms were on His lips as He, the crucified Word, spoke from his Cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (Psalm 22:1). And at last, “Into your hand I commit my spirit”. (31:5)

Jesus lived, moved, and had His earthly being in the Psalms. No other book of the Hebrew Scriptures speaks so often and so eloquently of the Anointed One, the Christ to come, of His suffering and victory over sin for the glory of God and our redemption. More than 1,000 years before His birth, we can read the words of life that would come from His lips, words that would fill the earth with the light of truth.

The Gospels tell us Jesus quoted often from the Hebrew Scriptures, but most often from the Psalms. Eleven quotes are given to us, but we can only wonder how much more came from His melodious voice. The Psalms He sung at the Last Supper before His crucifixion are not recorded, but we know the verses sung then for Passover, Psalms 115-118, are still sung today among those who have yet to know Jesus as their promised Messiah!

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” ~ Matthew 26:30

Of His childhood, Ellen White writes:

“Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The minds of His hearers were carried away from their earthly exile, to the heavenly home.”
~ Desire of Ages, p. 73

“And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.” ~ Luke 2:40

In the Psalms, the young Jesus read the prophecies of His coming, His suffering, and His victory. From the Word He Himself had inspired in prophets, priests, and King he learned the meaning of His incarnate life as the Spirit of God spoke to Him in His dependent flesh.

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.”
~ Luke 4:16-20

This same Spirit of Christ, the inspiration of the Psalms and all of holy Scripture, is promised to all of His disciples, to all who put their faith in Him, all the way to the end of the ages. The Divine Psalmist will write His Word on our hearts, present with us in all we face for His name’s sake.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you….when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me…I will send him to you.
~ John 14:26: 15:26; 16:7

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
~ Matthew 28:18-20

“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.”
~ Psalm 54:4

“The Book of Psalms fulfills a unique role in the Bible. Just as the heart has a special function in the human body, so the Psalms function in the Scriptures as the heartbeat of Israel’s religion. In this book of prayers the covenant people found their stairway to heaven. It reaches from the lowest depths of human agony and suffering to the highest joys of communion with God. Laments and cries of despair exchange with hymns of thanksgiving and praise in view of dramatic answers to intense supplications.

This living interchange between man and God is perhaps the deeper reason why the Book of Psalms has been cherished as the invaluable jewel in the Hebrew Bible by seekers after God in all ages. It proved to be an unceasing fountain of spiritual comfort and revival.”

— Hans K. LaRondelle, Deliverance in the Psalms: Messages of Hope for Today (Bradenton, FL: First Impressions, 2006), p.7