Psalm one said so, part II
Is there more to the fact that we find order, divisions and subheadings within the Psalms, than just the subtext that subeditors ought to leave well enough alone, and not add subheadings to the Bible where there are already subheadings (See Psalm one said so, part I)?
Well, yes. Turns out that most of the Psalms have some sort of heading supplied by God, which are part of the original text and every bit as divinely inspired as every other bit of the Psalms. Given that this is so, the absence of a subheading in a Psalm is just as interesting as the divinely inspired subheadings elsewhere.
You see, when Psalms have a subheading, they anchor the Psalm somewhere specific; either with a person, or with a particular historical situation, or with a person in a historical situation. Sometimes they tell you other things as well, such as that the Psalm was meant to be sung. If the heading says “To the choirmaster: according to Muth-Labben. A Psalm of David”, then we learn a number of things.
A choirmaster suggests the presence of a choir, indeed a choirmaster would look rather foolish without them, as they say. We don’t really know what a Muth-Labben is; possibly a musical term or the name of a tune. But a “Psalm of David” tells us that, more than likely, the Psalm was written by “the sweet Psalmist of Israel” as David is called in 2 Sam 23:1, and it“s fair to assume that the Psalm expresses his thoughts and feelings, not just as an individual but one who is the King of Israel. “Sing praises to the LORD” is more than just a hopeful wish, it is the command of God’s chosen ruler.
When the Psalm lacks a heading, however—a so-called ‘orphan’ psalm—this means that it is not a psalm that you would tie to a specific time or place, beyond recognizing that it is written before Christ and so, by definition, looks forward to him (as 2 Corinthians 1:20 says). It is not quite a timeless truth, because we must ask ourselves what difference it makes that Christ has come. But there will be things in the Psalm that are just as true today, in every respect, as they were when they were first sung. No wonder that Christians are so willing to take the words of the Psalms and make them their own.