Thread: Worship before the psalms were written?

Hi everyone,

As a 'newbie' to the Puritan Board, may I ask what might be a naive question and, perhaps, one that has even been addressed previously? It's a question for those brethren holding to an EP position. Assuming that the Lord requires the use of only inspired material in his sung praise, what did believers sing before the psalms were composed or collated in the form in which we have them in the OT?

Best wishes,

Paul

Hello Paul,
I'm no EP-er in fact not really qualified to answer at all, only I hate to see your post standing unacknowledged except by Andrew's thanks!

I suppose the answer would be that what was required before the finalisation of the scriptures was necessarily different from after.
There, a truism you had already worked out for yourself!!
Greetings from just over the border in Scotland.

Originally Posted by JennyG

Hello Paul,
I'm no EP-er in fact not really qualified to answer at all, only I hate to see your post standing unacknowledged except by Andrew's thanks!

I suppose the answer would be that what was required before the finalisation of the scriptures was necessarily different from after.
There, a truism you had already worked out for yourself!!
Greetings from just over the border in Scotland.

Thanks, Jenny! Greetings to you too. I suppose I'm interested to know in what ways was worship different before the Davidic psalms were composed. Was singing of praises a significant component of worship, and, if so, what was sung? We have, of course, one inspired psalm (Psalm 90) written by Moses. Were there others not recorded for us in Scripture?

I did just find this statement that may have some bearing on the matter:

Jay G. Williams writes: "Just when the psalms were written is a matter of great dispute. Some scholars argue that nearly all of them are post-exilic in origin, while others maintain that many came from the pre-exilic period. Some would even argue for a pre-Davidic date for several of the psalms. Although it is impossible to reach any absolute certainty concerning the matter, it is becoming more and more evident that those who argue for a post-exilic date for the origin of all the psalms are having an increasingly difficult time defending their position. Surely, the Israelites must have had some sort of psalmic tradition even during the time of the judges, for virtually every ancient religion employed hymns of one sort or another to praise the gods or God. Furthermore, discoveries at Ugarit have shown quite conclusively that Israelite and Canaanite hymnody have many literary similarities. This means that the Israelite psalmic tradition must have originated when Canaanite influence was still strong. The mention of kings in various psalms (20:9; 21:1, 7; 45:1, 11, 14, 15, for instance) also seems to imply a date when kings still ruled Israel. All of this points to a pre-exilic date for many of the psalms." (Understanding the Old Testament, p. 277)

From here

I'd be interested in any other thoughts anyone has on this question.

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