Each Day also features a suggestion for further reading in the Psalms that coordinates with or furthers some aspect of the appointed readings from the Daily Lectionary.

While Lutheran Service Book includes more psalms than either Lutheran Worship or the Lutheran Hymnal before it, a substantial number of the psalms do not appear in the LSB Pew Edition. Editorial direction was that the psalmody and suggested psalm reading for the Day should endeavor to use as much of the Psalter as possible, with the 44 Psalms that do not appear in LSB Pew Edition assessed and given first placement, then as much of the remain Psalter as possible. In this way, those psalms that are not part of regular use in the Sunday lectionary become part of daily prayer.

In addition to the daily Psalmody, the Treasury includes the complete Psalter. Each psalm is pointed for those who choose to chant the texts. Two schedules allow for the complete Psalter to be read over the course of thirty days (using the schedule codified in the Standard Book of Common Prayer), or over the course of two weeks as part of a full schedule of the Daily Office.

[Missing from LSB Pew Edition are Psalms 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 20, 21, 35, 37, 39, 44, 49, 52, 53, 55, 57-60, 63, 64, 69, 71, 74-76, 78, 79, 82, 83, 87, 88, 94, 101, 105, 106, 108, 109, 120, 129, 135, 137, 140, 144.]

Now, then, in addition to being the Word of God—and, really, precisely as the Word of God—the Psalms also become the Church’s words of prayer (and a sacrifice of praise), when they are spoken back to God and confessed before the world as words of faith. Indeed, such “confession” (which, if one considers the Greek word for such confession, means “to say the same thing”) is the very voice of faith and thus the fountain out of which all faithful prayer flows; because, in order to “pray, praise, and give thanks,” as the Catechism and the Second Commandment teach, it is above all necessary that the Word of God be heard and received in its truth and purity, and that Christians do and speak all things in harmony with it. The people of God are thus given to say the same thing that God has said to them: the confession of sin (as in Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), and the confession of faith (as in Psalms 2, 96, 97, 98, 110, 148–150); in either case to say what is true and right, because it is what God has said. Such confession of the Word of God, and so also the confession of the Psalms, is a priestly-sacrificial service of God’s people—the sacrifice of repentance, of faith, of thanksgiving, and of intercession for others. To confess what God has done and said is the foremost sort of praise and thanksgiving; and it is on the firm foundation of what He has done and said that one petitions Him according to His promise for the future, not only for one’s self, but also for the Church and for the neighbor. In the case of the Psalms, in particular, all of them to some extent or another (some more than others) served the priestly worship of the Temple in the Old Testament; many of them, in fact, originated within that liturgical context, specifically for that purpose (especially Psalms 118–134). They are thus ideally suited for the Church’s priestly-sacrificial use as prayers of praise and petition, because they present the Word of God in a poetic and lyrical form that is most appropriate for and conducive to worship. Yet, for all that, the Psalms do not cease to be the Word of God, always speaking (liturgically) to His people.

Whatever God speaks to His people, it is always spoken in and through the Son of God: the Word of God, Who has become flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ. It has been mentioned that the New Testament and the early church cited the Psalms primarily as Messianic Prophecy. By this was meant, not only that specific Psalms referred to specific events in the life and Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that all of the Psalms in their entirety were Christological, and that they were fulfilled in the Incarnation, life, death, and Resurrection of the Christ. The point is that all of the Psalms (both individually and collectively) are ultimately of Christ. Some of them were spoken by Christ Himself, as it were, though voiced through the mouth of His servant David; others were addressed by the Father to His Son. But all of the Psalms, again, are inherently Christological, and, as such, they find their meaning and purpose only in Christ Jesus.

This Christological character of the Psalms was one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s most important points and emphases, as well (cf. Bonhoeffer 13–21). By extension, it is also important to understand that those who pray the Psalms do so in Christ (and, as such, “in the name of Jesus”). Which means, further, as in the case of the Our Father, that the Psalms are always the prayer of the entire Church in Christ (cf. Bonhoeffer 36–42), in contrast to the private voice or expression of an isolated individual. Not to say that one cannot pray the Psalms alone, “in the closet,” as it were; but even under such circumstances, the one who prays the Psalms in faith is therein united with Christ in His prayer, and therein united with the body of Christ in heaven and on earth, in all times and places. What is more, not only does the individual thereby pray with the entire Church of God in Christ; he or she also prays for the Church—indeed, for the entire world, for which Christ died—as, again, in the case of the Our Father. As the Psalms are first and foremost the prayers of Christ, so it is that, when His Church prays the Psalms—or when any of her members pray the Psalms—the body of Christ is praying with the Head; the bride with her Bridegroom.

O Lord, Open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise! (Psalm 51:15)
According to their Christological and ecclesiological character, one does not pray the Psalms because they happen to express his or her personal feelings, but in order that the Psalms might shape one’s “feelings,” so to speak—or, to say it better, one’s faith and piety—to correspond with the Word of the Lord and with the proper and appropriate prayer of His Church. It is for that purpose that the Psalms will be included in the proposed Prayer Book. Thus, it is not so much a question of what “we” should do with the Psalms, but rather what the Psalms shall do with us.

If all of this sounds like rather heady and ambitious stuff for a few verses of a Psalm each day, it remains yet to consider the way in which the Psalms are to be used, and how they function in that capacity.

As already indicated to some extent, the way in which the Psalms have been used by the Church has not been consistent throughout her history. Various resources can give you the details of that history with respect to daily prayer and the Psalms, but for the purposes at hand a brief thumbnail sketch will do.

In the worship of the early church, the Psalms were used quite selectively at first. Particular Psalms were used at particular times, because they were deemed to be especially appropriate for the occasion; and the same Psalm would then be used for the same such occasion whenever it might occur, as for example every morning or evening. The emphasis was on the specific content of the Psalms and on the way in which they spoke in their liturgical context. Over time, especially with the rise of monasticism in the fourth century and beyond, a greater stress was placed on the use of the entire Psalter—as much of it as possible, as often as possible. This development went hand-in-hand with a shift from an emphasis on corporate daily prayer to an emphasis on personal devotion. As such, there was a corresponding stress on personal meditation following the prayer or recitation of each Psalm. Thus, for example, when the monks would gather to go through the Psalms, there would be a period of silence following each one, so that each of the monks would have that opportunity for personal meditation on that Psalm before proceeding to the next. Regrettably, there gradually developed an understanding of the Psalms as a kind of “currency” of works-righteousness. It was thought and said that God simply liked to hear the Psalms recited for their own sake, and it was the special obligation of the monks to keep God happy by repeating the entire Psalter every week. The period of silence in between the Psalms disappeared altogether, because they were no longer spoken for the people to hear them and learn something from them, but offered to God as a meritorious work. As such, the Psalms were no longer offered as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, but as an attempted sacrifice of propitiation (in very much the same way that the Lord’s Supper had gradually become the Medieval sacrifice of the Mass).

Thankfully, in the past fifty years, there has been a resurgence of a more salutary use of the Psalms in the practices of daily prayer. Especially since the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Church in the mid-1960s, it has become apparent that less may be more when it comes to the daily prayer of the Psalms. Thus, instead of trying to include as many Psalms as possible over the course of the day or week, there has been a renewed emphasis on hearing the Psalms as the Word of God, first and foremost, and then also allowing time for thoughtful meditation on that Word. Martin Luther would have heartily approved such developments, as one may gather from his comments on prayer in his various devotional writings. By this approach, the Word of God becomes the prayer of faith, in the way that has been discussed in this paper; so that one may pray the Psalms from a heart of faith and with a mind of understanding (cf. 1 Corinthians 14).

By this way of thinking, what might be said or concluded regarding the important place and purpose of the Psalms in daily prayer, specifically as they shall be presented in the proposed Prayer Book? In the first place, the limited number of verses included from the Psalms each day should not be looked upon as a limitation or weakness, but as a strength and benefit. The focus and concentration is not on great quantity, but on the quality of each Psalm (and each verse of the Psalm) as the Word of God. By the same token, the daily Psalms will have been chosen and appointed selectively, thoughtfully and deliberately, in order to engage the mind and heart of the Christian in connection with the Readings and liturgical focus of the day. The regular and repeated use of those Psalms, year after year, with patience and the discipline of faith, will allow those small portions of the Psalter over time to catechize the Christian in the Word of God and prayer (in contrast to the mind-numbing burden of a gross repetition of the entire Psalter each week, or each month).

As the daily Psalm is read or heard, it is first of all received as the Word of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ and given to the Church (as the people of God) by His grace. And having been heard and received as such a Word of God, it is then (even simultaneously) prayed as the Church’s confession of the faith and as the daily sacrifice of thanksgiving. What is more, so to pray and confess and give thanks—both for and with the Church of God in Christ—leads also to the priestly service of intercession for the world; which, in turn, will lead the Christian from prayer to his or her vocations in the world, in order to serve those very neighbors for whom prayer has been offered, and for whom the Savior of us all has sacrificed Himself. Thus are the Psalms among those right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings which are daily offered by faith upon the Altar of our Great High Priest—even Jesus Christ our Lord—in the midst of His new Jerusalem.

The Service of the Word begins with the song of entrance. During this song of entrance the pastor makes his entrance to the chancel. The chancel is the area immediately around the altar–the center and symbol of the Lord’s presence among His people. While a hymn or psalm can be used as the song of entrance, the most common beginning is found in the use of the Introit.

INTROIT

The Introit is a collection of passages from scripture (usually the Psalms) that set the tone for worship. The verses chosen are different each Sunday and reflect the theme of the Gospel reading to come and serves as an introduction to the Divine Service that follows. Because the texts change each Sunday, the Introit is the first Proper of the Divine Service.

introit
Latin introitus, entrance, to go in.

The historical purpose of the Introit was to bring the worshipers into the church and allow those who would lead and assist in the liturgy to take their places. Most Introits are taken from Psalms, though there exist some historic introit texts from Proverbs, Isaiah, the New Testament and even the Apocrypha. Most often the choice of Psalm has something in common with the readings that will be featured later in the Divine Service. The choir sang the psalm text, and the congregation repeated an antiphon after each psalm verse or group of verses. The antiphon for the introit was typically a verse of scripture that would express the theme of the season, feast, or occasion of the day. The introit continued as long as needed to accompany the entrance procession. After reaching the altar, the officiant would signal the choir to stop.

The conclusion of the Introit was signaled by the singing of the Gloria Patri, or “Glory be to the Father” which has become a traditional liturgical conclusion for any reading or singing of the Psalms. It is a venerable custom to bow the head in “due and lowly” at the Gloria Patri and at the Name of Jesus throughout the service. The Gloria Patri, sometimes called the Little Doxology has doctrinal as well as devotional value. It connects the Old Testament texts with the fulfillment in the New Testament. It is regularly added to every reading or singing of the Psalms, or poritons of the Psalms, in the Divine Service.

There is evidence that Celestine I (d. 432) originated the practice of the Introit (various portions of the liturgy are attributed to him by Roman Catholic scholarship), nevertheless it is seen regularized in structure and in its use in the liturgy by the time of Gregory I (ca. 540-604).

By the late middle ages, the introit was reduced to an antiphon, the first verse of the chosen psalm, and the Gloria Patri. In his reform of the Mass, Luther preferred use of whole psalms for the introit instead of just one verse. This was not widely adopted. The 1888 Common Service Book, which seems to be referenced as a pattern for most subsequent English orders of worship, used the classic sixteenth-century (historic) introits consisting of short psalms with antiphons. This remains the predominate pattern used in our liturgy today.

Historically the Introit has served another purpose: the names of particular Sundays of the Church Year, are derived from the first word or phrase of the Introit. For example, this is why the first Sunday after Easter Sunday, though having no official liturgical name, is colloquially labeled “Quasimodogeniti,” or as we used to say as children “Quasimodo Sunday,” as the first phrase of the Introit is “Quasi modo geniti infantes. . .” (“As newborn babes. . . .”). Even though Latin is no longer used widely in our liturgy, the traditional names serve a purpose in the organization of the calendar based upon the historic one-year lectionary.

Since the texts are taken from the Psalms, which were the hymns of the Old Testament, it is a common practice to sing, or chant, the Introit.

During the singing of the Introit, the ministers enter the altar area and go to their places. The officiant and assisting ministers stand facing the altar as one of the congregation. Even if the local custom is for the minister, or minister and congregation, to read the introit, this is done with the minister facing the altar because the introit is considered to be devotional in nature. It is appropriate for the choir to sing or chant the Introit. It can also be that the congregation may sing the antiphon and the choir the Psalm verses. Whenever the congregation has been involved in the singing or speaking of the Introit, they should unite with ministers and choir in the Gloria Patri.

It is difficult to speak of the movement and position of the officiant during the Introit in any concrete or universal way. I would dare say that for the last 30 years most Lutheran congregations are used to seeing the pastor approach the altar during the singing of introit just before the Gloria Patri and then prepare to lead the Service of the Word from the altar itself. However, an older rubric is becoming popular again and is showing up in the contemporary Lutheran manuals on the celebration of the Divine Service. This ‘new’ old rubric posits that during the Service of the Word the altar is not yet the focus of attention. That attention rightly comes with the Service of Holy Communion. So instead of leading the Service of the Word from the altar, all the ministers are directed to go to their chairs and the Officiant leads the liturgy from a prie dieu, or prayer desk, positioned before him, or from the ambo, or reading desk, at the side of the chancel.

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