Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
- 1 Samuel 16:23
But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.
- Acts 2:30-31
He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
- Hebrews 2:12
When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” he inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
- 1 Samuel 23:1-2
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
- Luke 24:44
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
- Psalm 8:3-4
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
- Psalm 118:22-23
“Who prays the Psalms? David (Solomon, Asaph, etc.) prays. Christ prays. We pray. We-that is, first of all, the entire community in which alone the vast richness of the Psalter can be prayed, but also finally every individual insofar as that person participates in Christ and his community that prays that prayer. David, Christ, the church, I myself, and wherever we consider all of this together we recognize the wonderful way on which God teaches us to pray.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, psalms, The Prayer Book of the Bible
Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives us a history lesson of the psalms. David is attributed in writing seventy-three of the psalms. This is nearly half of them. But then under David’s appointment as the “worship team”, David appointed Asaph specifically and the people from the tribe of Korah (sons of Korah). Twelve psalms each are attributed to them. Bonhoeffer also states that Solomon is attributed to two psalms and the music masters, Heman and Ethan, were probably hired by either David or Solomon.
Bonhoeffer then speaks of how David would play for Saul to sooth him when the troubling spirit was upon him. David would write psalms in every type of situation. He prayed that God would be with Him in battle. He praised God for the victory. And he spoke of the coming Messiah, the one whose body would not decay. In other words, in every situation in our lives, David had been there, and David wrote music to try to make sense of it, in his way.
But then Jesus states that everything from the Old Testament must be fulfilled. This includes all the prophecies of David about the Messiah. Jesus quotes the Psalms among many of the Old Testament Scriptures.
But as Bonhoeffer builds this history lesson that shows how David and Jesus prayed the psalms, he ends the chapter with this short paragraph that is quoted above.
What was good for King David is good for us. These are words inspired by God to His servant David, who put them in the form of poetry. When those psalms match our feelings, our fears, our hopes, and our faith, giving God the words that He inspired back to Him is a beautiful way to pray.
Lord, guide us as we pray. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalms 8:3-4) And when I consider the works of Your servant, David, and the others who wrote the Psalms, it is hard to add to what is already there. You know my needs, and You provide for me, even the words of my prayers. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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