Wisdom Lit Exam 3 - Psalm

Who forgets the Lord and His Word?

Those who do not praise

What is the secret of praise?

Its power to bring connection with God

What do the Psalms teach us?

The one thing we cannot forget is God

What are the Psalms a picture of?

• Man’s encounter with God

• When God acts, man must respond

What do we see in the Psalms? What do they record?

• The history and personal encounters with God

• Men’s worship

The Title

• English title comes from Greek Septuagint

• Psalmos - Hebrew word Mitzmor (song sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument)

• Psalterion - stringed instrument

How does man usually respond to God?

Praise or Lament

What do praise and lament in the Psalms show us?

• Praise - There was a connection between the Psalm and a historical incident. By Joshua and Samuel’s time a collection of hymns existed

• Lament - Found on the whole path of God with His people

What is the Psalter our primary example of?

Hymnody in Israel

2 questions regarding the dating of the Psalms

1. When was it written?

2. When was it collected?

How did the Psalms come about?

• They came from worship. They were probably prayed and sung long before they were written down

• They also came out of real-life situations

What was at the center of community life?

• Worship

• Everything that happened was related into their worship: individual and community

How are the Psalms organized?

They are divided into 5 books and all end with a doxology

1. Psalm 1-41

2. Psalm 42-72

3. Psalm 73-89

4. Psalm 90-106

5. Psalm 107-150

Why were they divided the way they were?

• Author

  • David - 1

  • Sons of Korah and Asaph - 2-3

  • David and sons of Asaph - 4-5

• Age of original hymn

  • Yahweh - 1-5

  • Elohim - 2

  • Yahweh - 4

  • alternate - 3

• The reasons are lost in antiquity but may be to imitate the Pentateuch

When were the Psalms collected? What 4 periods are suggested?

1. David

2. Jehoshaphat

3. Hezekiah

4. Ezra and Nehemiah

How many Psalms have no title?

34

What are the 5 categories in the English Bible from the times of the collectors?

1. Authorship (73 of David, 12 of Asaph, 2 of Solomon, 1 of Moses, 1 of Heman, 1 of Ethan)

2. Historical Origin

3. Literary feature - Psalm, prayer, praise

4. Liturgical Use

5. Musical Notation - Lammasseah, Choirmaster, Selah

What is the best way to categorize the Psalms?

2 dominant forms are Praise and Lament

How are praise and lament broken down further?

1. Community Psalm of Lament

2. Individual Psalm of Lament

3. Community Psalm of Narrative Praise

4. Individual Psalm of Narrative Praise

5. Psalm of Descriptive Praise

6. Narrative Psalm of Praise

7. Descriptive Praise

What are other important types of Psalms?

1. Liturgical

2. Wisdom

3. Creation

4. Royal

5. Enthronement

6. Impreccatory

7. Penitential

8. Messianic

What is the poetic form of the Psalms?

• Parallelism

• 3 types:

1. Synonymous

2. Synthetic

3. Antithetic

Theology of the Psalms

• There are no formal creeds or expressions of theology

• Closest would be the 10 Commandments

• We can deduce ideas of corporate and private faith

Praise of God in the Psalms (praise vocabulary)

1. Berek - blessed

2. Hillel - hallelugha

3. Yah - praise you Lord

4. Hadah - confess

5. Shibah - praise

6. Zimner - praise with an instrument

What all does the Psalmist tell us?

• Words of praise

• Who the Lord is

• What the Lord has done

Who is God in the Psalms?

1. Transcendent - Creator

2. Immanent - Shown through His activity with Israel and personal intervention with individuals

Who is man in the Psalms?

• Part of God’s design but corrupted by sin

• Realistic picture of sin with divine forgiveness as the only remedy

Hermeneutical Considerations of the Psalms

1. Is it personal or corporate

2. Historical circumstances

3. Emotional orientation - praise or lament

4. Liturgical usage

5. New Testament usage

Usage in the Temple, Synagogue and Church

Temple: By 250 BC certain Psalms were read every day, others at holidays

Synagogue: Still used

Church: 1 Cor 14:26, Eph 5:19, Col 3:16

Community Psalm of Lament

• Not as many

• Examples in the prophetic books

Liturgical Usage of the Psalms

Directly to worship festivals:

1. Pilgrimage

2. Songs of Zion

3. Psalm of Blessing

4. Entrance Psalms

5. Procession of the Ark

What is a well-known worship observance?

• Lamentation and fast

• Always brought on by a crisis

Psalm 80 as an example of lament

• Cry to God (1-3)

• Complaint (4-7)

• Review of God’s saving acts (8-11)

• Complaint (12-13)

• Petition (14-15)

• Action against enemies (16-17)

• Vow to remember (18-19)

Structure of Psalms

1. Address - Call to God for help

2. Complaint - Accusation against God, suffering, against enemies

3. Review of God’s acts

4. Petition - Attention or intervention

5. Vow to praise

Community Psalm of Narrative Praise

• They narrate God’s deeds, but there are few

• Most are found in other books

Where are most Community Psalms of Narrative Praise found?

1. Early Period - Exodus 15

2. Expanded Form - Psalm 129

3. Song of Victory - Judges 5

Why are Psalms of community praise and lament not that popular in church today?

• Too linked to history

• Forced to find use in Christian community

What is the most frequent form of Psalms?

Individual Psalm of Lament, about 50

What is the structure of Individual Psalm of Lament?

• Similar to Psalms - Address, Complaint, Petition

• Differences - No review of past, confession of trust, vow to praise

4-fold complaint of Psalm 13

1. Two complaints against God

2. Complaint about self

3. Complaint about enemies

What is the 2-fold petition that follows complaint?

1. Prayer to God for help

2. Against the enemy

What are the types of lament?

• Lament about suffering

• Complaint about enemies

• Confessions of sins

• Confession of confidence

What do the laments about suffering address?

• Sickness

• Innocent person unjustly accused

What is the most frequent type of lament?

Complaint about enemies

What are the 3 thoughts about Complaints about enemies?

Threatened, Conspired against, Seek their ruin

What does Psalm 140 teach us about the enemies?

• They are general

• Always against the individual

• No defense

• Enemies are often neighbors

What is an important consideration in the cry for destruction of enemies?

Old Testament views are different than the New Testament views

Confessions of Sins

• Penitential Psalms (very important)

• Only few have a confession of sin and repentance

• Usually maintain innocence

• More likely a call for healing is the same as a confession

Confession of Confidence

• Very important section

• Became an independent Psalm of Trust (23, 27, 62)

• Will trust God no matter what happens

Are there more Lament of Praise Psalms?

Lament, but many Lament end in a vow to Praise

Hebrew word for Psalm used in liturgy

• Todah - sacrifice of praise

• Oral fulfillment of the vow

Common structure of Psalms used in liturgy

1. Announcement

2. Introductory summary

3. Main section (crisis and rescue)

4. Conclusion of praise

What is the difference between individual lament and individual praise

• Lament - complaint, petition, praise

• Praise - to you I cried, you hear, you drew me out

Structure of Psalm 30 (example)

1 - Announcement

2-3 - Introductory summary

4-5 - Call to listeners

6-10 - Review of crisis

11-12 - Announce

Tehillah

• Song of a congregation for worship

• Accompanied by musical instruments

• Ex: Psalm 30

What is the structure of Psalms of Descriptive Praise?

1. Introduction - call to praise

2. Main section

What are 2 reasons to praise God?

1. Creator and Lord of history

2. Goodness and compassionate

Structure of Psalm 33 (example)

1-3 - Summons

4-5 - Reasons

6-9 - Creator

10-12 - Lord of History

13-19 - Deliverer

19 - Preserver

Structure of Psalm 113 (example)

1-3 - Call to praise in the imperative

4-9 - Reason to praise

What does praising God lead to?

A list of acts of God which should be praised

What is important to understand about Liturgical Psalms?

All Psalms are liturgical, but some have a special liturgical activity

What are the 2 main points of Pilgrimage Songs (120-134)(Journey to the Sanctuary)

1. Departure from home

2. Arrival at the sanctuary

Structure of Psalm 122 (example)

1-2 - Departure and arrival

3-5 - Reason for pilgrimage

6-9 - Wish for a blessing

What are Songs of Zion?

• Prayers to protect God’s city from attack

• They also look forward to oncoming victory and judgment

Structure of Psalms of Blessing: 91 and 121

They deal with departing from the sanctuary and receiving a blessing

1 - Look to sanctuary for help

2 - Confidence in the Lord

3-8 - Priests blessing

Royal Psalms

• Ex: 2, 18, 20-21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, 144

• The king plays a role

• May be post-exile looking for the future king and later messianic

Enthronement Psalms

• Ex: 47, 93, 96-99

• The Lord reigns and is king

• He is coming to judge the nations

Wisdom Psalms

• Ex: 1, 112, 127-28, 37, 49, 73

• Combines worship and instruction

• Lower wisdom: how to live, why wicked prosper

What do Psalm 37 and 1 contrast?

Righteous and unrighteous/wicked

Impreccatory Psalms

• Ex: 35, 69, 109

• Most perplexing of the Psalms

• Some call them curses or black magic

• No effort at personal revenge, always left to God

• OT, not NT, may point to Jesus

How is God’s reputation at stake in impreccatory psalms?

1. Innocent

2. God’s fortune at stake

Psalm 119

• Great doxology of the law of God

• Each group of 8 verses begin with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet

• Teaches us God’s Word is foundational for life

Messianic Psalms

• Idea of redemption

• Future redemption in the form of a Messiah

What are the 2 subdivisions of Messianic Psalms?

1. The King and His rule

2. Life in General (quoted in NT and perfectly fulfilled in Christ)

How do we know if they are Messianic Psalms?

They are quoted in the New Testament

How do we know if they are Messianic Psalms if they are not in the NT?

1. Are the achievements too big to be humanly possible?

2. Do they use Messianic terms like Son of Man?