I love the Psalms. For almost five decades I have prayed from them. Our ministry has produced a very helpful and popular volume, Praying the Psalms. I hope you have purchased your copy.

New Testament Christians experience the Psalms differently than did those in the Old Testament. The finished work of the Christ (His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension) forever changed how people can understand and pray the Psalms—especially as it relates to the enjoyment of God’s presence.

New Testament Christians experience the Psalms differently than did those in the Old Testament. The finished work of the Christ (His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension) forever changed how people can understand and pray the Psalms—especially as it relates to the enjoyment of God’s presence.

A New Testament View of God’s Presence

Any Christian who reads Jesus’ final words to His disciples in the upper room (John 13-16) realizes that He would powerfully transform the way believers relate to God. The promise of the new covenant was now going to be realized in Him (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 7:22). He announced the arrival of the new covenant as they broke the bread and drank the cup. We are reminded and reassured of this every time we celebrate the Lord’s table. We should live in this reality moment by moment.

Jesus explained that the Spirit IN them would be better than Jesus WITH them (John 14:17). The Spirit would be permanent in their lives, unlike the coming and going of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament. At Pentecost a new reality began, where every Christian would be personally indwelt and permanently sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30).

Throughout the Apostle Paul’s writings, every reference to the Christian’s experience of God’s presence is clear: The Spirit is in you (not around you, above you, dwelling in a building, or waiting to be invited from some distant location). See this helpful article for more clarity.

Throughout the Apostle Paul’s writings, every reference to the Christian’s experience of God’s presence is clear: The Spirit is in you (not around you, above you, dwelling in a building, or waiting to be invited from some distant location).

We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). The Spirit no longer resides primarily in a physical tabernacle or temple as was the case when the Psalms were written. Pastor Jim Cymbala has noted, “Instead of understanding the full benefits of the new covenant in Christ, most in the church live in a no-man’s land between Jesus and Moses.” [i] When it comes to the Psalms, we could say “between Jesus and David.”

One commentator notes that when we read the Psalms we should do it from the standpoint of the writer, the standpoint of Old Testament saints, and the standpoint of the New testament. Then he states, “A primary condition of exegetical progress is the keeping of these three standpoints distinct” and thus “distinguishing between the two Testaments, and…the plan of redemption.” [ii] Another theologian concurs: “We, in turn, read the Psalms well when we read with one eye to David, his ancient sons and the kingdom of God over which they were given to administer faithfully, and with another eye to the Lord Jesus Christ who in his first coming established and secured God’s kingdom and who in his return will bring that kingdom to its final consummation.” [iii]

Praying the Psalms Through a New Testament Lens

Beyond this explanation, let’s illustrate how Christians can experience the Psalms and express their prayers more clearly because of the reality of the finished work of Christ.

Rather than praying:

“O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8).

You can now pray:

“O Lord, I love that I am the habitation of your presence. Because of Christ, your glory now dwells in me.”

 

Rather than praying:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

You can now pray:

“One thing I ask and seek after: that I will live under the control of the Spirit all the days of my life and behold, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, being transformed by His indwelling presence.”

 

Rather than praying:

^“Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!” (Psalm 43:3).

You can now pray:

“Thank you that in Jesus you sent your light and truth and led me to salvation—and now your Holy Spirit dwells in me.”

 

Rather than praying:

^“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” (Psalm 63:2).

You can now pray:

“I have looked to Jesus in believing faith and am now indwelt by His power and glory through His Holy Spirit.”

 

Rather than praying:

“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise…For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:4,10).

You can now pray:

“I ever sing your praise because of the indwelling presence of your Spirit through Christ. A day walking in the Spirit is better than a thousand without you. I would rather be filled with the Spirit than enjoy the wickedness of the world.”

 

Rather than praying:

“Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:2).

We can now pray:

“We are so thankful that your presence has come into us. We surrender to the Spirit who produces Christ-honoring songs of praise in us and among us.”

 

Rather than praying:

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1).

You can now pray:

“I am glad that, because of Christ, I am now the house of the Lord!”

You can now pray: “I am glad that, because of Christ, I am now the house of the Lord!”

D.A. Carson notes, “Christian worship is new covenant worship; it is gospel-inspired worship; it is Christ-centered worship; it is cross-focused worship.” [iv] Andrew Murray explained, “The whole dispensation of the Spirit, the whole economy of grace in Christ Jesus, the whole of our spiritual life, the whole of the health and growth and strength of the church, has been laid down and provided for, and secured in the new covenant.” [v]

The Delight of God’s Indwelling Presence

Certainly, we can always be inspired by the desire of the psalmists to know and enjoy the presence of the Lord in their physical center of worship in their day. Even more, we can be overwhelmed with the glory of the cross that has made our hearts the very dwelling place of almighty God through the Holy Spirit.

Certainly, we can always be inspired by the desire of the psalmists to know and enjoy the presence of the Lord in their physical center of worship in their day. Even more, we can be overwhelmed with the glory of the cross that has made our hearts the very dwelling place of almighty God through the Holy Spirit.

As Paul wrote, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit…For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6).

Copyright © 2023 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved.

 

[i] Jim Cymbala, Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 57.

[ii] (Biblical Commentary on the Psalms, trans. Francis Bolton, 64).

[iii] https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-and-how-not-to-read-the-psalms/

[iv] D.A. Carson, Worship by the Book (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 37.

[v] Andrew Murray, The Two Covenants (Wellington, South Africa: Andrew Murray, 1898), 10-11.