Moral Characteristics Of The Psalms

"Foremost among these meets us, undoubtedly, the universal recourse to communion with God. Connected with this is the faith by which the Psalmist everywhere lives in God rather than in himself. It is of the essence of such faith that his view of the perfections of God should be true and vivid. The Psalter describes God as He is: it glows with testimonies to His power and providence, His love and faithfulness, His holiness and righteousness. The Psalms not only set forth the perfections of God, they proclaim also the duty of worshiping Him by the acknowledgment and adoration of His perfections. They encourage all outward rites and means of worship. Among these they recognize the ordinance of sacrifice as an expression of the worshiper's consecration of himself to God's service. But not the less do they repudiate the outward rite when separated from that which it was designed to express. Similar depth is observable in the view taken, by the psalmists, of human sin. In regard to the law, the psalmist, while warmly acknowledging its excellence, feels yet that it cannot so effectually guide his own unassisted exertions as to preserve him from error (Ps. xix.). The Psalms bear repeated testimony to the duty of instructing others in the ways of holiness (Ps. xxxii., xxxiv., li.). This brings us to notice, lastly, the faith of the psalmists in righteous recompense to all men according to their deeds (Ps. xxxvii., &c.)."

William Smith, A Dictionary Of the Bible Comprising Its Antiquities, Biography, Geography, and Natural History, p. 776