Theme of Psalms
Stanley L. Jaki
Twenty of the themes that run across the Book of
Psalms are presented in this book, whose author ha already published a
commentary on all the psalms.
Taking the psalms one by one has, of course, been the hallowed way of
commenting on them. But it may be worth the effort to follow up some
themes that reoccur in various psalms, with ever new nuances.
The principal theme of the psalms is the praise due do God, the author
of a Covenant with man. Another major theme is sorrow felt over one's
sins, for his failures to respond to God's plan. Still another,
to speak of the principal themes, is hope in the coming of a Messiah, a
Deliverer.
Then there is the love of God, the contempt for idols, trust in God,
and last but not least the puzzlement, indeed agony, felt over the
apparent tragedies of life, individual and national.
Reflection on these and other themes may greatly help in turning the
use of psalms into ever new songs, as the psalms time and again want
this to be.