Date of Award

2019

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Theology

Abstract

In the following paper I wish to investigate various aspects of Christ's use of the Psalms.

First of all, I wish to discover, through a study of extra-biblical sources, the use of the Psalter in the Jewish synagogue service and Jewish prayer in the home; that is, in their public and private worship.

Secondly, after examining the four Gospels, I list the verses which the primitive Church has placed on the lips of Jesus, with their parallel statement in the Psalter.

After presenting this indirect and direct evidence, which supports the thesis that the Psalms figured prominently in the prayer and religious attitude of Christ, I wish to move into an area of theological conjecture, a conjecture based on the reality that Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace. First, I will discuss several aspects of the Psalms as poetry, pointing out a general reference to the salvation history of the Israelites. With that, it is hoped that a valid foundation is laid for that ultimate reinterpretation of the Psalms which, I allege, was made by Jesus, namely, that he saw the "fuller sense" of the Psalms in the light of His Paschal Mystery.

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