Nature of a Book Theology
One of the methods of biblical theology is a book theology. It seeks to display the theological themes that occur in a book of the Bible and to present the data supporting those themes. A Biblical verse has a context within what precedes and follows it. We could call this its vertical context. But it also has a horizontal context: its themes are related to the other parts of the book that treat the same themes.2 By presenting a book’s theological themes, a book theology provides this horizontal context for the verses in a Biblical book.
It may appear that Psalms contains a miscellaneous collection of poems written over a long period by many different authors, but actually, careful study reveals a unifying element. The Holy Spirit as the real Author behind a series of human poets who focused on one key topic with a related set of themes.3 Since Psalms focuses on worship and prayer, the theological truths about God (His attributes and works) abound in the book’s poems.4 Furthermore, Psalms presents also truths about mankind. The psalmists set their hopes on what God promised to do, the key event being the universal rule of the Messiah, who is God Himself as well as David’s descendent.
The theological value of Psalms has often been recognized. Geoffrey W. Grogan speaks of “a coherent theological perspective”: “This means that although the immediate literary context for any one word, phrase, verse or stanza is the particular psalm in which it is to be found, each psalm needs also to be interpreted within the context of the whole book. In some ways, therefore, a theology of the psalms is like a biblical theology.”5 Martin Luther called the Psalms “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.”6 Included are the truths about mankind’s inward state: Calvin called Psalms, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul.”7
Quotations in the New Testament
The significance of the theological message of Psalms is evident in the frequent use the New Testament makes of this book. It is difficult to nail down exactly how many quotations of and allusions to the Psalms there are in the New Testament. Delitzsch says there are about seventy;8 Waltner claims that 60 psalms provide the New Testament with 93 quotes;9 Henry M. Shires claims seventy cases introduced by formulas and sixty without.10 Other works provide lists of references: the UBS NT has 79;11 Leopold Sabourin itemizes 112 quotations;12 a key reference work tabulates 67;13 a collection of articles charts 118 quotations and allusions.14 Another list carefully distinguishes between “formal quotations,” allusions, and paraphrases.15 Table P.1 below charts 58 cases where the NT uses some introductory word or words to introduce information from Psalms, clearly indicating a direct or indirect quote. Table P.2 provides a list of 25 places where the NT author directly quotes Psalms without an introductory formula, and Table P.3 adds seven more instances of quoted portions by some other speaker. Thus my total would be 90 quotations. The tables help us identify the key Messianic psalms: 2, 8, 16, 22, and 110, which was quoted six times and alluded to one additional time.
Organization of This Book Theology
Table P.4 charts this book’s arrangement, referring first to the three main categories of theology mentioned above in the first paragraph. In the table they are called topics. The next column divides this book according to the four main theological propositions, called principles in the table. Next are 28 themes that run through Psalms; these are the chapter titles of this book.
Table P.1 Direct Psalm Quotes Introduced in the New Testament
| # | Psalm | NT Reference | Introductory Word(s) |
| 1 | 2:1-2 | Acts 4:25-26 | said |
| 2 | 2:7 | Acts 13:33 | written |
| 3 | 2:7 | Heb. 1:5 | say |
| 4 | 2:7 | Heb. 5:5 | said |
| 5 | 5:9 | Rom. 3:13 | written (v. 10) |
| 6 | 8:2 | Matt. 21:16 | read |
| 7 | 8:4-6 | Heb. 2:6-8 | saying (somewhere) |
| 8 | 8:6 | 1 Cor. 15:27 | for |
| 9 | 10:7 | Rom. 3:14 | written (v. 10) |
| 10 | 14:1-3; 53:1-3 | Rom. 3:10-12 | written (v. 10) |
| 11 | 16:8-11 | Acts 2:25-28 (31) | says of Him |
| 12 | 16:10 | Acts 13:35 | says |
| 13 | 18:49 | Rom. 15:9 | written |
| 14 | 19:4 | Rom. 10:18 | indeed they have |
| 15 | 22:15 | John 19:28 | Scripture … be fulfilled |
| 16 | 22:18 | John 19:24 | fulfill the Scripture |
| 17 | 22:22 | Heb. 2:12 | saying |
| 18 | 24:1 | 1 Cor. 10:26 | for |
| 19 | 32:1-2 | Rom. 4:7-8 | David also speaks |
| 20 | 34:12-16 | 1 Pet. 3:10-12 | for |
| 21 | 34:20 | John 19:36 | fulfill the Scripture |
| 22 | 35:19 | John 15:25 | fulfill the word … |
| 23 | 36:1 | Rom. 3:18 | written (v. 10) |
| 24 | 40:6-8 | Heb. 10:5-7 | says |
| 25 | 41:9 | John 13:18 | Scripture … fulfilled |
| 26 | 44:22 | Rom. 8:36 | written |
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