The Psalmist

Oh, Lord our God how admirable is your name Through all the earth (Ps 8:2)

Bless the Lord, oh my soul My God, You are great indeed! (Ps 104: 1)

This is the cantus firmus, the central melody that seasons,

encourages, and is the mainstay of all the cosmic Psalms; awe. Admiration flies incessantly above creation, while His Presence soars above and dives below His creatures.

Herein lays the difference between a geologist and a psalmist. For the geologist, creation is an object of study. He approaches it analytically with the proper instruments. For the psalmist, creation is not an object that is picked up to be analyzed, not even to be admired. It is more likely that the psalmist is seduced and dazzled by creation.

The Psalmist is then, an eminently paschal being, turned inside out, or better said, knocked over by the splendor that surrounds him. He “studies” (contemplates) creation, not from the scientific viewpoint, but rather vibrates with it. It could even be said: “lives with it” experiencing all the characteristics of life such as unity, emotion and gratefulness. In unity, the psalmist is not “outside”

of himself but, above all, immersed in the secret current of the world and at one with its movements; with emotion, a satisfying heartbeat; gratefulness, a feeling of benevolence and gratitude for so much beauty that brings so much happiness to man.

The psalmist could identify with the poet with what has been said up until now. However, there is a lot more; the psalmist is also and above all, a mystic. This is his most outstanding characteristic. The psalmist is basically, a being entranced by God himself, attracted by a God perceived in creation in such a way that the world’s splendor in nothing but His mantle of majesty, and life itself, His breath cf. (Ps. 104).

Extracted from the book “Psalms for life” by Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga