Throughout the history of the church, key leaders have extolled the value of the Psalms, even its unique value within the canon, typically because it summarizes the whole of scripture and teaches us to worship. Here is Luther echoing this sentiment:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Psalter ought to be a precious and beloved book, if for no other reason than this: it promises Christ\u2019s death and resurrection so clearly \u2013 and pictures his kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom \u2013 that it might well be called a little Bible. In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible. It is really a fine enchiridion or handbook.\u00a0 In fact, I have a notion that the Holy Spirit wanted to take the trouble himself to compile a short Bible and book of examples of all Christendom or all saints, so that anyone who could not read the whole Bible would here have anyway almost an entire summary of it, comprised in one little book.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin Luther, \u201cPreface to the Psalter,\u201d LW, 35, p. 254. Cited in Paul Westermeyer,\u00a0 Te Deum: The Church and Music<\/i> (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998) 35<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If we do not sense this value in the Psalms, we are the exception in the history of the church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Throughout the history of the church, key leaders have extolled the value of the Psalms, even its unique value within the canon, typically because it summarizes the whole of scripture and teaches us to worship. Here is Luther echoing this sentiment: \u201cThe Psalter ought to be a precious and beloved book, if for no other …<\/p>\n