“praise the lord, o my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name” (ps. 103.1)
TRANSCRIPT
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The Psalms
The Psalms as Literature and
Theology
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The Psalms of Praise“Praise the Lord, O My Soul; all my
inmost being, praise his holy name” (Ps.
103.1)
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The Anatomy of Praise
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor. 10.31)
Praise of Yahweh is a response to the grace of Yahweh for his people
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The Anatomy of Praise continued“For you are holy, inhabiting the praise of Israel” (Ps. 22.3)
Praise of Yahweh’s people encourages the weak (Ps. 149.6-9) and summons the individual (Ps. 103.1-2), Yahweh’s people (Ps. 106.1), and everything (Ps. 150.6) to praise Yahweh
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The Hebrew title of the book of psalms is tehillim, praises; tehillah, praise.
A helpful distinction in the psalms of praise is between declarative praise and descriptive praiseDeclarative praise refers to generic
language of praise, such as ‘Praise the Lord’ (hallelu+yah)
Descriptive praise refers to the details of a psalm (Ps. 113.5)
Form of Psalms of Praise
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Description of Psalms of PraiseTwo
Groups identified
by
2)Theme
1)Form
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Form: Imperative psalms (Ex. 15.21; 98, 100, 136), participle psalms (cf. Is. 40-55), psalms of individual (8, 104)
Theme: praise of creation (8, 19a, 33, 104, 136); Yahweh as king (47, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99); harvest (65, 145); historical (105, 106, 114, 135, 136); entrance (24, 94, 100)
Frequently the life situation of the psalms is difficult to identify
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Major ThemesTwo major themes are central to
the psalms of praise:
creation the history of
Israel
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Creation is an important subject of the psalms, for it demonstrates Yahweh is in charge
Creation by the word (Ps. 148, 33)Creation by action (Ps. 147; Gen. 2.19-20)
Creation
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Creation by wisdom (Prov. 8.30, 3.19; Jer. 51.15; Pss. 136, 104)
Creation by power (Pss. 65; 134)Beauty of creation (Ps. 8)Universality of Yahweh’s presence (Pss. 19, 113, 117, 33, 65, 66; 47)
Creation continued
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Israel’s HistoryThe story of Joseph (Ps. 105.16-22)Egyptian sojourn (vs. 23-27)The plagues (vs. 28-36)The exodus (vs. 37-38, 43)The wilderness (vs. 49-42)The conquest (v. 44)Others history psalms (Pss. 106, 114, 136Psalmists sometimes use generic terms
(Pss. 65.5, 66.5, 105.1-2, 5; 106.2, 136.4, 145.4, 12)
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SummaryThe psalms of praise dominate books 4 and 5 of the psalter (90-106, 107-150)
The psalms of praise extol the Lord for his great deeds in creation and in the history of his people
The psalms in this category praise the Lord and give reasons for it
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Summary continued
“God the creator and his creation, the universality of God’s presence and reign, God’s awesome deeds in history, and the historical events in which God has shown himself to be faithful and powerful” (Bullock, Encountering, p. 133)
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Psalms of Lament
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
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DefinitionJoy and sorrow, hope and despair are the
emotions that represent the two extremes of life
The psalms of lament include the fact and the reasons
Laments can be divided into laments of the people and laments of the individual
In some of these psalms there is a strong trust component (Pss. 46, 123, 126)
The vow to praise rarely appears in the lament of the people, since individuals make vows
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Laments of People The laments of people have five
components:Address and petitionLamentConfession of trustPetitionVow of praise (rarely)
Not all laments include all the parts nor do they always follow the same order
Psalms of lament deal with three dimensionComplaint against God Against the enemy Against themselves/himself (see Ps. 22)
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Laments of IndividualsLaments of individuals have these components:
Address with introductory cry for help and/or turning to God
LamentConfession of trustPetitionAssurance of being heardWish or petition for God’s intervention Vow of praisePraise of God when petition has been heard
The psalmists are completely honest with the Lord about their feelings toward him, toward their enemies, and about themselves.
They encourage us to be fully honest with the Lord about our situations without defiance to God and hatred for our fellows
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Subcategories
Psalms of Lament
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Prayers of IndividualsPrayer of the sick (Pss. 38, 41, 88)Prayer of the sick with modifications
(Pss. 6, 13, 22, 30, 31, 32, 35, 39, 51 i69, 71, 91, 102, 103)
Prayer of the persecuted and accused (3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 17, 23, 26, 27, 57, 63)
Prayer of a sinner (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143; these psalms are also known as penitential psalms)
The thanksgiving prayer of the individual (18, 31, 32, 32, 66B, 92, 116, 118, 120)
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Community PrayersThese are the prayers of the people (Pss. 44, 60, 74, 77, 79, 80, 83, 85, 90, 94, 123, 126, 137)
The individual psalms of lament are concentrated in book 1, psalms 1-41, the core collection of the Davidic psalms
The community laments occur in books 2-5 (Psalms 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150)
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Analysis of Lament PsalmsIndividual lament of the sick:
Problem (38.7, 11, 17-18; 41.3-5; 88.3-5)Complaint against God (38.2-3; 88.6-9, 14-18)Complaint against self (38.4-5; 41.4) Complaint against enemies (38.11-12, 19-20; 41.5-9)Petition (38.1, 16, 21-22; 41. 4, 10; 88.1-2, 9b, 13-14)Solution (38.18; 41.4, 10-12)
In these psalms physical illness, spiritual anguish, and sin cannot be separated
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In ten out of the fifteen psalms the psalmist considers God as the cause of his suffering
In as many times he blames his enemies as causing the problems
In the midst of their troubles the psalmists point out that trust in Yahweh’s unfailing character was the solution to their problems
Notes on Lament Psalms
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Notes on Lament Psalms cont.
We must note the importance of confession, but especially that of forgiveness
A vow to praise Yahweh occurs in ten out of the fifteen psalms.
In three of the psalms there is an answer from Yahweh
Thirteen of these psalms are psalms of David
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Community PsalmsCommunity psalms
present the laments of the
people In thirteen psalms the focus
is on some national crisis
The community appeals to the Yahweh’s work in history
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Community Psalmscontinued
The solution to their problem is divine interventionHis intervention is an expression of his character; he is a God of mercy and grace
In three cases the community vows to praise Yahweh for his aid to his people
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The following are suggestions:Friends who insisted that the person was punished because of his grievous sins (Pss. 32.5-6 38.18, 51; but 7.3-5, 17.4-5)
The viewers of the psalmist’s suffering accuse him of sin (Ps. 41.5-6, 8)
Identity of Enemies
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Identity of Enemiescontinued
Foreign powers who threaten Israel (more true of the community rather than individuals: Ps. 83.4-12)
The language is metaphorical, inviting readers to identify with the psalmist (the enemies are an open category, which readers can fill with their own enemies)
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SummaryThe psalms of lament as the largest
category in the book of psalms express the extremes of the human situation
At the same time there is also praise in these psalms at the point of help
While sickness is sometimes the crisis, spiritual and psychological anguish are usually present caused by personal failures and enemies
The faith of the OT believers encompassed also personal and communal complaint
Lament in not separated from praise; they are the two ends of the relationship with Yahweh
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The Psalms of Thanksgiving
“I love the Lord, for He has heard my voice’ He heard my cry for mercy”
(Ps. 116.11)
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Relation to LamentPsalms of lament and thanksgiving seem to be on opposite endsThe distance can be traversed quickly; when the psalmist experiences a response to his lament, he breaks out in praise
Praise grows out of Yahweh’s response to the needs of the psalmist
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Relation to Lament cont.
Our experiences as human beings range between these two poles
In psalms of lament, the crisis is ongoing; in psalms of thanksgiving, the crisis is past (Pss. 31.9-13; 40.2)
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Form and ContentThough ambiguity exists, some
essentials mark this category:The psalmist reports about his crisis that cause his difficulty
He states that the crisis has passed and he experienced Yahweh’s deliverance
The experience of deliverance differentiates these psalms from others
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Elements Introduction: gives the intention to
worship and the reason, fluid (Ps. 92.1-4)Report of a crisis: one of the essential
elements (Pss. 52.1-7; short: 32.3-4, 40.2, 92.10-11, 120.1, 6; extended: 18.4-5, 7-19; 30.2-3, 6-9, 11-12a; 31.9-13, 21-22; 66.5-12)
Deliverance as fact: Yahweh’s deliverance issues in praise (Ps. 52.8-9, 32.5-9)
Conclusion: fluid as introduction, vow or promise of sacrifice (Ps. 116.17-19, 118.28-29; 30.11-12, 32.8-10
List of psalms of praise: 18, 30, 31, 32, 40, 66, 92, 116, 118, 120; Isaiah 38.1-12, Jonah 2.3-9
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Life Situation
The ritual accompanying the psalms of thanksgiving are somewhat unclear
What is clear, a personal or national crisis initiated the psalm
Worshippers performed some kind of ritual in the temple before the congregation (Pss. 63.13, 116.19)
Origin of psalms of thanksgiving (Ps. 107.4-9)
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Life Situation cont.
Psalms of thanksgiving may have been recited in connection with the sacrifice (Pss. 66.13-15, 40.5-8) in the presence of worshipers (Pss. 30.4, 31.23, 32.11)
Psalms are samples of accomplished composers: David (18, 21, 30, 32, 40); anonymous (66, 92, 116, 118, 120)
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Community PsalmsSame two criteria: crisis and crisis
passed with community emphasis (Pss. 65.3, 124.1, 129.1)Individuals at times drew strength from
Yahweh’s deliverance of his people (Ps. 66.5-7, 8-12)
This deliverance demonstrated Yahweh’s character (Pss. 30.10, 31.19, 32.5, 10; 40.11, 66.20, 92.2, 116.5, 7, 12; 118.1, 29)
Community psalms of thanksgiving are: 65, 66, 107, 118, 124, 129
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Theological ImplicationsYahweh’s mighty deliverance of his people
became the basis for the psalmist’s confidence of Yahweh’s deliverance of him (Ps. 66.5-12, 16)
The psalms indicate a double movement, from the community to the individual (Ps. 66.5-16) and from the individual to the community (Pss. 25.22, 51.18-19, 130.7-8)
The psalmists stress both the vertical and horizontal dimension of Yahweh’s grace; it radiates down and outward
Individual and community are codependent; gratitude frees both, but usually begins with individuals