Psalms

A Guide to Studying the Psalter

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781441238764
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

A leading authority on the Psalms and a seasoned teacher presents a new edition of an already successful book. W. H. Bellinger takes account of the latest developments in Psalms studies and presents a nuanced approach in this accessible and concise primer. Not only will students of the Psalms appreciate these studies but church leaders teaching from the Psalms will also gain new insight from this classic text.

1
Getting Started

The book of Psalms is the most read, the most used, of all the Old Testament books. In the Psalms, ancient worshipers address God; for centuries people of faith have learned how to pray from these texts. The Psalms express every emotion—from joy to despair, from hate to love. Thus pilgrims of faith find themselves in the Psalms, and they find themselves praying. “Prayer Book of the Bible” is a fitting title for the book. Martin Luther wrote,

This explains, moreover, why the Psalter is the favorite book of all the saints, and why each one of them, whatever his circumstances may be, finds in it psalms and words which are appropriate to the circumstances in which he finds himself and meet his needs as adequately as if they were composed exclusively for his sake.[1]

Many readers will fondly remember verse 1 of the Twenty-third Psalm: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Or Psalm 100:

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come into his presence with singing. (vv. 1–2)

Or Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” People of faith throughout the generations, then, identify with the book of Psalms.

The Psalms have also significantly influenced history and theology. These texts relate to vital parts of the history of ancient Israel and thus found a place in the life of the early church (Mark 14:26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). The book also forms a kind of summary of Old Testament theology, reflecting representative themes in the story of God and ancient Israel.[2] In addition, the Psalms have influenced the worship of the church; they address the encounter between God and congregation as well as the significance of the worship event for the life of faith.

The Psalms have greatly affected the community of faith.[3] That reality alone moves us to study these texts to discover their historical impact and their relevance for contemporary life. We will begin with three introductory matters—setting, shape, and poetry—that will prepare us to develop and apply a method of psalm study.

The Setting of the Psalter

Crucial to our study of the Psalms is a framework, and the setting in which Old Testament psalms occur can supply it. The narrative portions of the Old Testament contain psalms; such songs relate to specific experiences in the life of ancient Israel. Exodus 15:1–18 illustrates this perspective. God has just delivered the people from oppression in Egypt, specifically from the armed forces of the Pharaoh at the sea. The people celebrate this deliverance with a hymn of praise:

I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

The LORD is my strength and my might,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The LORD is a warrior;

the LORD is his name. (vv. 1–3)

The psalm conveys the people’s faith and helps them define and understand their encounter with God at this high point in their history. Other psalms embedded in the narrative parts of the Old Testament can also function as songs of faith:

1. Judges 5:1–31 celebrates God’s victory for ancient Israel over the Canaanites. The song serves as a reminder of the God who delivers.
2. First Samuel 2:1–10 offers thanksgiving on the part of Hannah, who has just received the gift of a son. The song encourages future Israelite generations to have faith in the God who “raises up the poor from the dust” (v. 8).
3. Jonah 2:2–9 expresses thanksgiving for Jonah’s deliverance from drowning, a deliverance wrought by way of the great fish. The psalm teaches that “deliverance belongs to the LORD!” (v. 9) and that God is attentive to the cries of those in need.
4. Jeremiah 20:7–18 contains two of the prophet’s prayers of lament. Jeremiah cries out in the midst of difficulty in his prophetic task. These prayers portray the painful side of the honest dialogue of faith and provide justification for the community’s inclusion of the difficulties of life in its relationship with God. Jeremiah’s laments also confronted ancient Israel with its refusal to repent in the face of God’s word.

The Old Testament includes additional psalms, but these examples show that psalms function as pilgrimage songs, expressing and defining faith for the people of God.

The book of Psalms reflects the practice of the people journeying, going on a pilgrimage to worship in Jerusalem. We will see that there is a collection of psalms for the ascent to the temple. As people journeyed to Jerusalem for major festivals, they sang psalms on the way. Note Psalm 122:1:

I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

We might also think of pilgrimage in a broader sense, as a metaphor for the life of faith. Believers, ancient and modern, journey through life. Psalms provided ancient Israel with expressions of faith to sing on the journey of life. Psalms kept the people going and expressed and defined their faith; such songs helped the people understand and enact their belief.

The Old Testament contributes this basic framework for reading psalms as songs of faith, but we also need to remember that the Old Testament has a broader setting—the ancient Near Eastern world. Writing psalms was an ancient practice. Archaeologists have discovered Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Egyptian texts similar in language, poetic form, vocabulary, and thought to the psalms of the Old Testament. Hear a section from a hymn to the Assyrian Moon-God:

O Lord, decider of the destinies of heaven and earth,

whose word no one alters,

Who controls water and fire, leader of living creatures,

what god is like thee?

In heaven who is exalted? Thou! Thou alone art exalted.

On earth who is exalted? Thou! Thou alone art exalted.[4]

Compare Psalm 89:5–14:

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,

your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.

For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?

Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,

a God feared in the council of the holy ones,

great and awesome above all that are around him?

O LORD God of hosts,

who is mighty as you, O LORD?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule the raging of the sea;

when its waves rise, you still them.

You crushed Rahab like a carcass;

you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;

the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.

The north and south—you created them;

Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.

You have a mighty arm;

strong is your hand, high your right hand.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Listen to part of a prayer of lamentation to Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven:

How long, O my Lady, shall my adversaries be looking upon me,

In lying and untruth shall they plan evil against me,

Shall my pursuers and those who exult over me rage against me?

How long, O my Lady, shall the crippled and weak seek me out?

One has made for me long sackcloth; thus I have appeared before thee. . . .

Let my prayers and my supplications come to thee.

Let thy great mercy be upon me.

Let those who see me in the street magnify thy name.[5]

Compare Psalm 13:

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I bear pain in my soul,

and have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;

my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Old Testament psalms also differ from other psalms in the ancient Near East. The immediate distinctiveness of Hebrew psalms is their vision of faith in the one God, Yahweh (the LORD). The book of Psalms is a central expression of ancient Israel’s distinc...