David

Biblical Models of the Doxology (Gloria)

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A doxology is a hymn of praise ascribing glory to God. Scripture includes many doxological expressions, and several traditional doxologies have developed through use in the historic liturgies of the church. In Christian usage, doxologies are often ascriptions of praise to the Trinity; they constitute an important element in the acts of entrance.

Doxologies in Scripture

The word doxology comes from the Greek doxa, “praise, honor, glory,” and logos, “a speaking, a saying, a word”; hence, it means “a praising, ascription of glory.” In the general sense, the term describes any act of Christian worship that is a verbal declaration of the glory and majesty of God.

Since the Bible is the literary deposit of the covenant people’s experience of the glorious Lord, it is not surprising that doxologies abound in Scripture. In the Old Testament, for example, each of the first four books of the Psalter ends with a doxology (Pss. 41:13; 72:18–20; 89:52; 106:48); Psalm 150, in which the expression praise appears thirteen times, is the concluding doxology for the entire collection of Psalms. Other notable doxologies include that with which David began his prayer at the ascension of Solomon:

Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. (1 Chron. 29:10–13)

The opening words of David’s doxology are echoed in the traditional doxology that ends the prayer Jesus gave his disciples for a model: “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matt. 6:13). Although these words do not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts, they may have been added from liturgical usage in the ancient church, a usage that could have originated in the first century and is certainly consistent with the thrust of the Lord’s Prayer.

Doxologies occur elsewhere in the New Testament, beginning with the narrative of the birth of Jesus, in which Luke records the doxology of the hosts of heaven: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). The disciples praise God with a variant of this doxology during Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:37–38). Doxologies also occur in the Epistles; Paul’s letters contain a number of spontaneous doxological outbursts (Rom. 11:36; 16:27; Eph. 3:21; 1 Tim. 1:17). The longest and most comprehensive doxology in the New Testament, and one frequently used as a benediction by pastors, is found in the brief letter of Jude:

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24–25)

In the Revelation to John, the chorus, led by the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, inserts a number of doxologies into the drama at appropriate points. After the Lamb has taken the book of the seven seals, John hears all created beings ascribing glory to God: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13). Another doxological outburst begins in Revelation 19:1: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.… ”

The Structure of the Book of Psalms

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The Psalms are organized into five books. The general organization of the book of Psalms reflects the growth of the collection in several stages. The superscriptions of many psalms contain information relevant to their collection, as well as their performance.

Divisions within the Book of Psalms

The present book of Psalms is divided into five books, probably intended to correspond to the five books of the Pentateuch, or law of Moses. The divisions are: Book I, Psalms 1–41; Book II, Psalms 42–72; Book III, Psalms 73–89; Book IV, Psalms 90–106; and Book V, Psalms 107–150. Each of the first four books ends with a doxology, and Psalm 150 serves as the doxology to the entire collection. The first psalm, which describes the righteous worshiper who delights in the law of the Lord, serves as an introduction to the Psalms.

Several subgroups occur within the Psalms that may be remnants of earlier collections. Psalms 2–72 make up “the prayers of David son of Jesse” (Ps. 72:20); the two psalms that frame this collection are psalms for the coronation of the Davidic ruler. (Psalms of David also appear in other parts of the Psalter.) Within the “prayers of David” are another subgroup (Pss. 42–49) related to the sons of Korah. Other obvious subgroups include a collection of psalms of Asaph (Pss. 73–83), the “Songs of Ascents,” evidently for the use of pilgrims going up to Zion for the annual festivals (Pss. 120–134), and the “Egyptian Hallel” (Pss. 113–118), a group of psalms used during the Passover celebration, four of which end with “Hallelujah!”

The number of 150 psalms may be an imitation of the 153 pericopes (sections to be read in the synagogue) of the Torah. To make up this number, some psalms or sections of psalms are repeated. Psalm 53 repeats Psalm 14; Psalm 29:1–2 is found also in Psalm 96:7–9; Psalm 70:1–5 is a duplicate of Psalm 40:13–17. Psalm 108 consists of Psalms 57:7–11 and 60:5–12, while Psalm 135 is made up entirely of portions of several other psalms. Psalms 9, 10 and Psalms 42–43 are each one psalm, artificially divided. Many psalms like materialS are found in other parts of the Old Testament, especially in the prophetic books and in the New Testament (Luke 1–2).

Superscriptions

About half the Psalms have the introductory note or superscription. The superscription may indicate the collection to which the psalm belongs and often gives directions to the choirmaster for performance, such as the instrumentation to be used and possibly the names of well-known tunes or modes to which the psalm is to be sung. Fourteen of the superscriptions relate the psalm to events in the life of David. Most authorities hold that the superscriptions were prefixed to the Psalms only at a late stage in the organization of the collection, but it is impossible to be certain one way or the other. In printed Hebrew texts, the superscription is verse 1, so that in the case of many psalms the verse numbers in the Hebrew differ from those in the English translations. (This discussion cites the English verse numbers.)

Certain terms in the superscriptions refer to various types of psalms. Many are called a “song” (shir), or a “psalm” (mizmor), a term that probably indicates a song performed to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument. The title shir hamma‘‡lot in Psalms 120–134 means literally “song of the goings up,” often translated “Song of Ascents”; because the expression “go up” often means to go up to Jerusalem, this title probably indicates psalms used by pilgrims to the annual festivals. The designation maskil (Pss. 32; 42; 52; 78) may mean “skillful psalm” or “contemplative psalm,” while the term mikhtam (Pss. 56; 60) may indicate a psalm of expiation. A few psalms are called prayers (tƒfillah, Pss. 86; 90). Occasionally a psalm is designated by more than one of these terms (Pss. 75; 88; 92). Interestingly, only Psalm 145 is called tƒhillah, “psalm of praise,” the Hebrew title of the book of Psalms.

The Authorship and Origin of the Psalms

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Although they bear the stamp of gifted poets such as David, the Psalms are conventional worship texts, adapted to the needs of the community as a whole. The prophetic voice that often speaks in the Psalms reflects their development through the work of the Levitical musicians of the sanctuary.

The book of Psalms is customarily associated with the name of David, though less than half of the Psalms (seventy-three) bear his name in their superscription or introductory note; of these, fourteen are related by their superscription to events in the life of David. Other names that appear are those of Asaph (twelve), the sons of Korah (twelve), Solomon (two), Heman (one), Ethan (one), and Moses (one). A third of the Psalms have no such attribution.

The meaning of the expression lƒDavid in the superscription has occasioned much debate; some exegetes are of the opinion that it does not mean “by David” but “for David,” that is, for the use of the Davidic ruler, whether for David himself or for one of his descendants on the Judean throne. In any case, several things are clear. First, the Davidic psalms have a poetic quality that seems to reflect the personal faith and creativity of a gifted individual such as David; moreover, these songs typically portray a worshiper involved in a struggle with powerful enemies, a situation that fits the circumstances of David’s career. Second, the sanctuary on Zion was established and maintained under the personal sponsorship of the royal house of David; its worship expressed, especially, the situation of the king as leader of the covenant community and the viewpoint of the prophetic architects of Davidic theology. Third, despite what has just been said, the language of the Psalms is generalized to fit the attitude and condition of any worshiper who, in covenant with the Lord, feels the pressures of others against his or her commitment and is moved to express that commitment in prayer and song. Fourth, the Psalms were not offered spontaneously by individual worshipers but were presented by the appointed musicians of the sanctuary in behalf of the king and of the entire community (although it is possible that the congregation joined in responses or other portions of the Psalms).

In sum, even if many of the Psalms did originate in specific events in David’s life, through their subsequent use in the sanctuary they have been adapted to the needs of the general worshiper and of the covenant people as a whole. Thus the psalmist’s description of his distress, for example, often fits many types of situations, as in Psalm 22:

I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart has turned to wax;
It is melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evil men has encircled me,
They have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones. (Ps. 22:14–17)

The church has understood this psalm as prophetic of the suffering of Christ; as used by the Israelite worshiper, however, its language could well describe warfare, persecution, illness, old age, or a feeling of abandonment by God. This universal quality of expression has given the Psalms their continuing appeal in the worship of the church. Like the hymns of a church hymnal, the Psalms are conventional worship texts. In such texts, individual authorship is unimportant, for the aim is to express the corporate faith of the gathered community.

It is often said that the Psalms are the voice of the worshiper calling out to God, rather than the word of God directed to his people. In actuality, the Psalms are a dialogue, for God speaks in them as well. Frequently we hear the prophetic word in the Psalms declaring the word of the Lord to the community or its representative for judgment or for encouragement:

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
He will watch over your life.
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
Both now and forevermore. (Ps. 121:7–8)

Where your fathers tested and tried me,
Though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
And they have not known my ways.”
So I declared on oath in my anger,
“They shall never enter my rest.” (Ps. 95:9–11)

Such utterances occur in perhaps a tenth of the Psalms and are a clue to the origin of psalmic worship in the cult of Zion during the Davidic era. Prophecy and music were closely associated in ancient Israel; the prophets were musicians, and the sanctuary musicians, at least, seem to have been prophets. When the ark of the covenant was brought to David’s tent on Zion, he appointed Levitical musicians “to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals” (1 Chron. 25:1 NASB); regular animal sacrifices were not offered here at this time, but these priests “prophesied in giving thanks and praising the Lord” (1 Chron. 25:3 NASB). The origin of most Israelite psalmody with the Levitical prophet-musicians of the sanctuary would explain why the Psalms so seldom refer to the sacrificial cult of the Zadokite priesthood.

This is not to say that all the Psalms stem from the Davidic period; some of them, for example, obviously reflects the circumstances of later centuries, including the destruction of the temple and the exile in Babylon (Pss. 74; 137). However, the tendency of scholarship during the past century to assign a late, postexilic date to a large proportion of the Psalms does not do justice to that remarkable burst of insight and creativity that occurred during the era when the institutions of Israel’s covenant worship were being established in Jerusalem.

Scriptural References to Stringed Instruments

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Several sorts of stringed instruments are mentioned in the Bible. The harp and the lyre, especially, were prominent in the music of the sanctuary.

Ancient stringed instruments were plucked, not bowed like the instruments of the violin family that are the mainstays of the classic orchestra in Western culture (the translation “viol” is inaccurate). The superscriptions of the Psalms, in the instructions for performance, refer to stringed instruments under the general term nƒginot (Pss. 4; 54–55; 61; 67; 76); the noun is derived from the verb nagan, to “pluck” or “play.” Another general term for strings is minnim (Pss. 45:8; 150:4). Two principal kinds were used in worship: the harp and the lyre.

The lyre was a popular musical instrument born in the shepherd’s field and in the courts of Israel. The musician tuned the lyre by tightening the strings. As the strings were plucked, the sound was amplified by the sound box at the base of the instrument.

The Harp

An important instrument in Israelite worship was the nevel, evidently a type of harp. Several psalms refer to its use in the orchestra of the sanctuary (Pss. 57:8; 81:2; 92:3; 150:3). The strings of the harp are strung across a curved neck, like an archer’s bow, or across a frame consisting of two members at right angles. Ancient Egyptian harps that have been preserved typically have ten or twelve strings; the Psalms refer to the nevel ‘asor, or “harp of ten [strings]” (Pss. 33:2; 144:9) or simply ‘asor, “instrument of ten [strings].” As the harp lacks a fingerboard, each string is restricted to one pitch. The kithara of the New Testament was probably a harp, although it might have been a lyre. Paul refers to its ability to produce distinct pitches (1 Cor. 14:7); John portrays the elders worshiping with the harp (Rev. 5:8), and the music of harps figures in his depiction of the worship of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 14:2; 15:2).

The Lyre

The lyre (kinnor) is mentioned more frequently than the harp and seems to have been a more popular instrument in common life as well as in the worship of Yahweh. The strings of the lyre are stretched across a frame from a bar supported by two necks. The lyre had a fingerboard, so the pitches of the strings could be changed. The Psalms frequently refer to this instrument (Pss. 43:4; 71:22; 98:5; 137:2 rsv; 147:7 rsv; 149:3 rsv), and it appears elsewhere in Scripture (Gen. 4:21; Job 30:31 rsv; Isa. 5:12; Ezek. 26:13 rsv). The superscriptions of Psalms 6 and 12 direct their performance with instruments “upon the shƒminit,” perhaps an eight-stringed lyre. The kinnor is frequently mentioned together with the nevel (1 Kings 10:12; Pss. 57:8; 81:2; 150:3). Rabbinic tradition indicates that nine or more lyres were always used in the worship of the sanctuary. The lyre was David’s instrument (the translation “harp” is incorrect), and with it he soothed Saul’s mental depression (1 Sam. 16:16, 23 rsv). Together with the harp and other instruments, the lyre was associated with the activities of prophetic bands that frequented the sanctuaries (1 Sam. 10:5); when the central sanctuary was established, its musicians, led by Jeduthun, prophesied to the accompaniment of the lyre (kinnor, 1 Chron. 25:3 rsv). The prophets of Israel were musicians who customarily uttered or sang their oracles, apparently with stringed instruments; Elisha called for a string player or “minstrel” (mƒnaggen) when the king asked him to prophesy (2 Kings 3:15 rsv).

Other Stringed Instruments

The shalishim of 1 Samuel 18:6 were instruments played by women to welcome Saul and David returning from battle against the Philistines. The name of the instrument is related to the Hebrew word for “three,” so it may have been a three-stringed lute with a long neck of the type pictured in Egyptian tomb paintings being played by a young woman. However, it could also have been a percussion instrument such as a triangle. The pƒsanterin in Nebuchadnezzar’s orchestra (Dan. 3), sometimes translated “harp” or “psaltery,” was more likely an early type of dulcimer, in which the strings were stretched over a frame and struck with a rod. In this respect it would have been a precursor of the piano, but it was not an Israelite instrument. The sabbƒkha in the same orchestra was probably another stringed instrument used in Babylon, possibly a seven-stringed lyre; the King James Version translation “sackbut” (an early type of trombone) is incorrect. None of these instruments were used in the worship of the Lord.

Scriptural References to Musical Instruments

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In Scripture, musical instruments serve a purpose within and for the life of the covenant community; their function was not a matter of individual self-expression, as is often the case today.

Musical instruments in general are designated by the term kelim (instruments for singing, Amos 6:5; 1 Chron. 16:42; the instruments of David, 2 Chron. 29:26; Neh. 12:36). The fact that this Hebrew term also denotes utensils and implements of various types, such as kitchenware, weapons, and “things” generally, including the “baggage” by which Saul was hiding when Samuel came to anoint him (1 Sam. 10:22), underscores the utilitarian nature of musical instruments in the biblical perspective. Music, along with all the worship arts, was not a means of individual self-expression but an activity that performed a specific function within the life of the covenant people.

Several passages in Scripture provide brief lists of instruments used in the worship of the Lord (1 Sam. 10:5; 2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Chron. 13:8; 15:16, 28; Pss. 81:2–3; 92:3; 150:3–5). In addition, lists of instruments occur in connection with banquets (Isa. 5:12), the wicked person’s celebration of prosperity (Job 21:12), the foreign worship of images (Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15), and the destruction of the unfaithful city that had persecuted the saints (Rev. 18:22). The apostle Paul lists several instruments metaphorically in his discussion of speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 14:7–8).

Because ancient instruments differed from those in common use in Western culture, a correct understanding of the types of instruments signified by the various biblical terms is a task for musicological research. An important tool in this research is archaeological evidence, in the form of actual instruments preserved in tombs or reproductions of them in coins, monuments, seals, manuscripts, and the like. The instruments used in biblical times fall into the same general classes with which we are familiar: percussion, wind, and stringed instruments. Instruments of all three classes were used in the praise of the Lord. Many of these instruments were also used for other purposes, such as warfare, family celebrations, and mourning. Some instruments had erotic associations or connections with fertility cults, and their use in the worship of the sanctuary was avoided.