The psalms are, without doubt, a treasure trove for the believer. But how do we preach them as Christian literature? My colleague, Christopher Ash, has some helpful pointers when he teaches this genre at Cornhill. Each of the psalms relates to the anointed King, the Messiah, he says, in one of the following ways:

• Songs about the anointed King: these are the messianic and kingship psalms which ultimately find their meaning in Christ. He is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
• Songs sung by the anointed King: these are the psalms which are ultimately about the anointed King: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
• Songs sung by us in the anointed King: these are the psalms which we can only sing because we are in Christ, and therefore part of his holy kingdom of priests. Apart from Christ we cannot sing the righteous man's songs.

To which I might cheekily add a fourth category:

• Songs sung about the anointed King's city: some of the psalms have as their focus the city of Jerusalem. If the psalms ultimately point us to Christ, we are greatly helped in understanding these psalms for their ultimate fulfilment must be in the joy and delight of the heavenly Jerusalem, Christ's own bride.