We should not follow the Psalms blindly, for they are not the absolute pattern up to the level of the New Testament standard for us to follow. Instead of following the Psalms, we should appreciate them for the help they give us—the help of being a background for the revelation of the all- inclusive Christ. Christ is the centrality and universality of God's economy, and He is the perfect One whom we should pursue.

From our study of the Bible, we can see that in both the Old Testament times and the New Testament times, many people, including some godly ones, have been misled by the wrong application of God's word. Some have been misled to such an extent that, as the Lord Jesus said, they have thought that by killing the believers they were offering service to God (John 16:2). Throughout the centuries, a great many Christians have been misled by the mistaken application of the Bible. From this we see that we should not follow the Bible without adequate realization of the sources, courses, lines, and principles of the Bible, and we must know the Bible's sources, courses, lines, and principles if we are to understand the Bible in the right way.

In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul charged Timothy, saying, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman, cutting straight the word of the truth." To cut straight the word of the truth means to unfold the word of God in its various parts rightly and straightly without distortion. This is what I am trying to do by helping you to know the Word according to its lines and principles.

If I did not love the Psalms, I would not study them so much. However, I want to emphasize the fact that the function of the Psalms is not up to the standard of the New Testament teaching. Concerning the prophecies related to Christ, the Psalms are outstanding, but in other matters the Psalms are below the standard of the teaching of the New Testament. The Psalms advise us to trust in God, to have confidence in God, and to wait on God. This may be good, but it is far below the spiritual level of the New Testament. New Testament spirituality involves the cross, resurrection, the eternal life of God, the life-giving Spirit, and the Spirit's application of the Triune God to our being for the mingling of divinity with humanity in the accomplishment of God's eternal economy concerning the church. This is the spiritual level of the New Testament, and the spiritual level of the Psalms is much inferior to it.