Last time we saw that N.T. Wright challenges us to read the Psalms Christologically. Wright builds upon this theme and challenges us to read those same temple psalms Pneumatologically:
Sing them also pneumatologically, that is reflect as you sing, on the New Testament’s vision of the church as the new Temple, indwelt by the Spirit of the living God.
This challenge certainly has a biblical basis. Ephesians 2 unabashedly teaches the doctrine that the Church is the Temple of God:
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
So I challenge you to try reading Psalms in this way. Try it out by reading Psalm 100, understanding the we the Church are God’s Temple. How does doing that change the way you read this Psalm?
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
CWoznicki Think Out Loud 