statements in the Psalms thus provide a significant starting point for a theology of the Psalms. In reflecting on what has been said thus far, one could be excused for thinking that we have in the Psalter the closed world of the Israelite cultic community and the activities carried out in Israel’s worship. One might even wonder whether the Psalms are distinctively different from the rest of the Old Testament (except the wisdom literature) in that they present the static world of sacred places and