"In short, the Psalms provide the language, the aspirations, the energy for the community as it comes together in prayer, & they then call into being & are formative for the activities of the prophets, wise men, & historians. The Psalms initiate; the prophets follow. The inner action of prayer takes precedence over the outer action of proclamation."
"The implication of this for pastoral work is plain: it begins in prayer. Anything creative, anything powerful, anything Biblical, insofar as we are participants in it, originates in prayer. Pastors who imitate the preaching & moral action of the prophets without also imitating the prophets' deep praying & worship so evident in the Psalms are an embarrassment to the faith & an encumbrance to the church."
Working the Angles
Eugene Peterson
