Describe a Psalmist
07-17-2007, 10:46 PM
Sorry that i missed you and FlagLady today. Bummer. Glad that you dropped by and hope that you'll share lots about what you learn from Joyce.
Psalmist: composer of sacred songs. That's the book definition. Now what about scriptural thoughts.
Psalms were indeed songs with a sacred intention, but I feel as though that hardly begins to touch what the psalms are and as a result what a psalmist is.
True psalms of the biblical variety were just a whole bunch of different things. Some were very simple little ditties, some were of the magna-opus variety (witness #119!). Some were very lofty, some were pretty earthy and dealt with deeply emotional issues. I don't know with certainty, but it's my understanding that most of the psalms in the Hebrew had definite forms and rhyming schemes. Some were very sophisticated in their structure. Each section of the 119th started with the appropriate letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section dealt with a nifty exposition of a symbolic something that's appropriate to the letter and that letter's numeric value. Not your basic shepherd song!
Some folks would say that a psalmist would be a composer and singer of songs. Those songs could be composed or spontaneous. They'd probably be in an easily identifiable rhythmic format. Skilled psalmists can produce spontaneous, rhymed, and rhythmed songs.
Some folks would say that a "modern" psalmist is one who is a singer of songs and might or might not compose them. I don't agree with this set of folks. David was one of the Bible's recognized psalmists. He did not earn that title as a teenaged singer of songs and banisher of Saulish spirits. He earned it for a lifetime of singing and playing and composing some quality poetry married to excellent song tunes.
And then our brother Paul comes along and throws in that wonderful little bit of scriptural admonition that we should be coming to meetings with songs, hymns, and "spiritual songs". I think that Paul was expecting a whole houseful of gifted people! Or he knew that Father and the Holy Spirit were fully up to inspiring awe-inspiring stuff from any vessel that's willing and available.
Psalmist: composer of sacred songs. That's the book definition. Now what about scriptural thoughts.
Psalms were indeed songs with a sacred intention, but I feel as though that hardly begins to touch what the psalms are and as a result what a psalmist is.
True psalms of the biblical variety were just a whole bunch of different things. Some were very simple little ditties, some were of the magna-opus variety (witness #119!). Some were very lofty, some were pretty earthy and dealt with deeply emotional issues. I don't know with certainty, but it's my understanding that most of the psalms in the Hebrew had definite forms and rhyming schemes. Some were very sophisticated in their structure. Each section of the 119th started with the appropriate letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section dealt with a nifty exposition of a symbolic something that's appropriate to the letter and that letter's numeric value. Not your basic shepherd song!
Some folks would say that a psalmist would be a composer and singer of songs. Those songs could be composed or spontaneous. They'd probably be in an easily identifiable rhythmic format. Skilled psalmists can produce spontaneous, rhymed, and rhythmed songs.
Some folks would say that a "modern" psalmist is one who is a singer of songs and might or might not compose them. I don't agree with this set of folks. David was one of the Bible's recognized psalmists. He did not earn that title as a teenaged singer of songs and banisher of Saulish spirits. He earned it for a lifetime of singing and playing and composing some quality poetry married to excellent song tunes.
And then our brother Paul comes along and throws in that wonderful little bit of scriptural admonition that we should be coming to meetings with songs, hymns, and "spiritual songs". I think that Paul was expecting a whole houseful of gifted people! Or he knew that Father and the Holy Spirit were fully up to inspiring awe-inspiring stuff from any vessel that's willing and available.
Blessings!
Dean
DeanZF
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