Psalm 13 is short and simple. Like many other psalms, it is a prayer for deliverance most purely expressed in the repeated phrase, “how long”. The core idea this expresses is David wondering how long before God will deliver him and answer his prayers. It calls itself a psalm of David, which is similar to most of the other early psalms we have read, but it does not give a historical context in the title, so we are left without a specific incident or event that David is praying about.
One thing we can see is the nature of David’s threat. It is “the enemy” (v. 2, 4), though v. 4 also ambiguously references “my adversaries”. The repeated phrase “the enemy” suggests that David may be thinking about Saul, since Saul was indeed David’s main enemy for several years of his life. It is somewhat speculative however, as no adversary is directly named in the body of the psalm. This is consistent with the generic nature of the psalms as a whole, which is a subject I have previously discussed.
Looking at this psalm broadly, we can discern a logical progression through three sections. It opens in verses 1-2 with a modified form of what I call the “problem statement”. It’s modified because David isn’t directly describing the crisis he faces, but I still think it is a form of a problem statement because the essential purpose of these two verses is to justify and explain why God needs to act and how he needs to act. They are ambiguous because the psalm is, I think intentionally, ambiguous about the problem that David is praying about. Like so many psalms, it is ambiguous so that it may be generally applicable and relevant to worshipers throughout time and circumstance, but that generality by definition makes the exact nature of the crisis less clear.
The closest it comes to a specific crisis is at the end of verse 2 when David’s “enemy [is] exalted over me”. However, while this passage lacks specificity, I nevertheless see these verses as the setup for the next section, which is David’s prayer for relief.
The prayer for relief in verses 3-4 is simple and to the point. Like the “help, LORD” of Psalm 12, the prayer in this psalm is “Consider, and answer me, Oh LORD”. He says some other things but I think “answer me” is really the core of this prayer, and I would also say that it is the center of this entire psalm. Especially if you view the three sections as an arc, then the prayer for relief is the central and most important part.
The final section is praise and thanksgiving for deliverance, which we see in verses 5-6. It’s also quite simple; David is rejoicing and singing because God “has dealt bountifully with me”. As with many other prayers, David concludes with thanksgiving under the presumption that God would answer his request and deliver him from the crisis he is now facing.
This structure is very similar to Psalm 10, where I broke the psalm into four parts that follow a very similar trajectory. I only split that psalm into four parts because I described the “problem statement” in two sections. If we consider the psalm to be “problem statement”, “plea for intervention”, and “praise and thanksgiving for resolution”, then both this psalm and Psalm 10 follow identical formulas.
Interestingly, Psalm 10 does not have a title but it is structurally very similar to this psalm, which gives further evidence in my opinion that Psalm 10 may also be a psalm “of David” but with the title missing for historical reasons unrelated to its original composition.
I’m not sure how often we will run into this tri-partite formula for prayer, but it is simple enough that I imagine it will show up at least a few more times in the book of Psalms. With all that said, let’s move on to Psalm 14.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Bible Commentary - Psalms 12
It has become my tradition to provide an overview for each psalm by simply studying the first verse. In this case, verse 1 tells us that this is another prayer psalm, it is a psalm of David (from the title), and it expresses David’s concern that the righteous are suffering oppression and “disappearing” from society.
Interestingly, this psalm is almost entirely about words. Verses 2-5 describe the words of the wicked, who use “falsehood” and “flattering” (v. 2) to cause “devastation of the afflicted” (v. 5). It’s interesting because there is no overt description of violence in this entire psalm. We don’t see any murder or assault or whatever; it is only flattering and deceptive words that causes “the groaning of the needy” (v. 5).
In contrast, verses 6-8 describe the words of the LORD, which are pure like silver. Unlike the double-minded words of the wicked, the words of the LORD are trustworthy and dependable. One way this contrast is demonstrated is through the words of the wicked and the words of God in verses 4-5. In verse 4, the wicked speak words of pride, claiming that through their deception they would dominate and conquer others. In verse 5, God replies that he will arise to protect the afflicted. These two verses are put directly next to each other to strengthen the contrast.
I think it’s easy to read this psalm and to understand what David is saying. It is harder to read this psalm and to understand why David is saying it, though. It seems clear from both v. 1 and v. 7-8 that David feels some sense of isolation from the rest of society, and this is reflected both in his sense that the faithful are “disappearing from among the sons of men”, as well as his perception that “the wicked strut about on every side”. It’s as if David feels surrounded by evil men who are lying to him and seeking to betray him, and he is left wondering where are the good and faithful men?
I can’t help but wonder why. Was this song precipitated by a specific event? Did David recently experience some particular betrayal that triggered this emotion in him? Or is this an accurate reflection of the society he lived in and their moral character? This psalm is so emotional that I can’t help but question its objectivity. At the same time, I know that David would not have written this song if he didn’t have some reason to believe in the depravity of his culture at the time.
This psalm, much like the ones before it, highlights God’s role as the righteous judge, and it divides people into the camp of “the godly man” and the lying, deceiving masses (the wicked). In verse 5, we see the LORD arise to judge between these two groups and to deliver the afflicted and needy. That is the role of the righteous judge.
In other ways this psalm differs considerably, however. For one, David seems to be thinking of the wicked as members of his own society, rather than the foreign nations that were criticized in e.g. Psalm 9. It’s also unusual how pervasive the wicked appear to be in this psalm, where they have the godly ones surrounded and seemingly exterminated. There are many psalms where David feels surrounded or at a disadvantage to the wicked, but this is the first one where he seems to believe that the righteous are being wiped out entirely. For instance, in Psalm 11 we see the wicked threatening the righteous, and we see God as the righteous judge, but we don’t see David despairing over the seemingly overwhelming power of the wicked like what we see in this psalm.
In spite of the relatively grim imagery, David also says that God would preserve the righteous in the midst of these challenges. This chapter begins describing God by saying that his words are pure and faultless, but it doesn’t just talk about his words. In verse 7, David goes on to say that God would also preserve the righteous. This is true in both directions. The deceptive lying words are somehow resulting in “the devastation of the afflicted”, while on the other hand the “pure words” of the LORD result in the salvation of the “afflicted” and “needy”. Between these two, the word of God is stronger and prevails over the flattering words of evil men. The end result is at least somewhat hopeful, in keeping with the exaltation of God that we see throughout the bible.
However, the conclusion in v. 8 ends this psalm on a bit of a sour note. In the same way that the first verse is significant in defining the themes and tone of a given psalm, the ending verse is significant because that is the final thought we are left with and take away from the psalm. That’s why so many psalms ends with praise or thanksgiving. This psalm, however, ends with the wicked “strutting about” and “vileness exalted among the sons of men”. Both of these mean that mainstream culture has adopted and honors evil values, and this is obviously not a positive or uplifting conclusion. It’s a somewhat depressing conclusion that closely parallels the depressing introduction, and it sets a negative tone for the psalm as a whole, in spite of the somewhat positive middle section.
In the midst of all this negativity, David’s prayer becomes just one word: “help” (v. 1).
Interestingly, this psalm is almost entirely about words. Verses 2-5 describe the words of the wicked, who use “falsehood” and “flattering” (v. 2) to cause “devastation of the afflicted” (v. 5). It’s interesting because there is no overt description of violence in this entire psalm. We don’t see any murder or assault or whatever; it is only flattering and deceptive words that causes “the groaning of the needy” (v. 5).
In contrast, verses 6-8 describe the words of the LORD, which are pure like silver. Unlike the double-minded words of the wicked, the words of the LORD are trustworthy and dependable. One way this contrast is demonstrated is through the words of the wicked and the words of God in verses 4-5. In verse 4, the wicked speak words of pride, claiming that through their deception they would dominate and conquer others. In verse 5, God replies that he will arise to protect the afflicted. These two verses are put directly next to each other to strengthen the contrast.
I think it’s easy to read this psalm and to understand what David is saying. It is harder to read this psalm and to understand why David is saying it, though. It seems clear from both v. 1 and v. 7-8 that David feels some sense of isolation from the rest of society, and this is reflected both in his sense that the faithful are “disappearing from among the sons of men”, as well as his perception that “the wicked strut about on every side”. It’s as if David feels surrounded by evil men who are lying to him and seeking to betray him, and he is left wondering where are the good and faithful men?
I can’t help but wonder why. Was this song precipitated by a specific event? Did David recently experience some particular betrayal that triggered this emotion in him? Or is this an accurate reflection of the society he lived in and their moral character? This psalm is so emotional that I can’t help but question its objectivity. At the same time, I know that David would not have written this song if he didn’t have some reason to believe in the depravity of his culture at the time.
This psalm, much like the ones before it, highlights God’s role as the righteous judge, and it divides people into the camp of “the godly man” and the lying, deceiving masses (the wicked). In verse 5, we see the LORD arise to judge between these two groups and to deliver the afflicted and needy. That is the role of the righteous judge.
In other ways this psalm differs considerably, however. For one, David seems to be thinking of the wicked as members of his own society, rather than the foreign nations that were criticized in e.g. Psalm 9. It’s also unusual how pervasive the wicked appear to be in this psalm, where they have the godly ones surrounded and seemingly exterminated. There are many psalms where David feels surrounded or at a disadvantage to the wicked, but this is the first one where he seems to believe that the righteous are being wiped out entirely. For instance, in Psalm 11 we see the wicked threatening the righteous, and we see God as the righteous judge, but we don’t see David despairing over the seemingly overwhelming power of the wicked like what we see in this psalm.
In spite of the relatively grim imagery, David also says that God would preserve the righteous in the midst of these challenges. This chapter begins describing God by saying that his words are pure and faultless, but it doesn’t just talk about his words. In verse 7, David goes on to say that God would also preserve the righteous. This is true in both directions. The deceptive lying words are somehow resulting in “the devastation of the afflicted”, while on the other hand the “pure words” of the LORD result in the salvation of the “afflicted” and “needy”. Between these two, the word of God is stronger and prevails over the flattering words of evil men. The end result is at least somewhat hopeful, in keeping with the exaltation of God that we see throughout the bible.
However, the conclusion in v. 8 ends this psalm on a bit of a sour note. In the same way that the first verse is significant in defining the themes and tone of a given psalm, the ending verse is significant because that is the final thought we are left with and take away from the psalm. That’s why so many psalms ends with praise or thanksgiving. This psalm, however, ends with the wicked “strutting about” and “vileness exalted among the sons of men”. Both of these mean that mainstream culture has adopted and honors evil values, and this is obviously not a positive or uplifting conclusion. It’s a somewhat depressing conclusion that closely parallels the depressing introduction, and it sets a negative tone for the psalm as a whole, in spite of the somewhat positive middle section.
In the midst of all this negativity, David’s prayer becomes just one word: “help” (v. 1).
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Bible Commentary - Psalms 11
As with every other psalm, we can begin by studying verse 1 to understand the overall theme and direction of this relatively short, 7-verse psalm. In v. 1, the introduction to this psalm is quite simple: “In the LORD I take refuge”. This leaves the psalm roughly halfway between a prayer and thanksgiving. On the one hand, there is an obvious emphasis on God’s role as protector and his intercession into human affairs. On the other hand, David is not directly requesting help here, so we could also reasonably say that it is thanksgiving for God’s help and not a true prayer.
The rest of the psalm mostly bears this out, though prayer isn’t really emphasized at all, so I think the content is much more oriented around praise and thanksgiving.
That said, this psalm does share some structural similarity with the prayer psalms. More specifically, this psalm is divided into two parts. The first part in verses 1-3 is the problem statement. David is highlighting the difficulty of living in a world with wicked men who are busy committing crimes against the innocent and “upright in heart” (v. 2). David ends this part with a question: “what can the righteous do?”
In a sense, this feels like a very hopeless section. David begins with a question, “How can you say to my soul, Flee”, and he ends with a question, “what can the righteous do?” In both cases, the general tone is, what can a righteous person possibly do in the face of the schemes of wicked men?
The second part in verses 4-7 is David’s attempt to answer those questions, and more generally, answer the “problem statement” or the crisis of evil men acting against the upright and the innocent. That answer is not found in men, and would seem almost a non-sequitur to the modern mind. David’s answer is, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven” (v. 4). In a nutshell, this answer is basically that God has sovereign authority and power over the whole earth, and the LORD is the one who will punish the crimes of the wicked and protect the innocent.
In Psalm 10:11, the wicked man says to himself, “God has forgotten… he will not see it”. In v. 4 in this psalm, David’s reply is, “his eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men”.
The rest of verses 5-7 are a long and strong declaration that God is the righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. I’ve described this as the theological background of the OT so many times I’m getting bored of saying it, and yet it continues to be true. In verse 5, David says that God judges between “the righteous and the wicked”, and then proceeds to describe in turn how God punishes the wicked (v. 6) and blesses the righteous (v. 7).
Bringing it back to the opening line, this is the reason why the LORD is David’s refuge. The LORD loves righteousness, the righteous will see his face, and implicitly, David understands himself to be one of the righteous who will receive that blessing. That is the reason for David’s confidence; he is confident in his own integrity before God, and he is confident that God will sincerely bless the righteous ones.
In a sense, David imagines himself as the righteous, who God will bless, and his enemies as the wicked who God will destroy. That is how David takes the relatively abstract theology of God as a judge and makes it personal for himself, especially in light of the crisis presented in v. 1-3. David is asking what the righteous can do, and then he answers: look to God for our deliverance, the destruction of our enemies, and ultimately look to God so that we may see his face.
The rest of the psalm mostly bears this out, though prayer isn’t really emphasized at all, so I think the content is much more oriented around praise and thanksgiving.
That said, this psalm does share some structural similarity with the prayer psalms. More specifically, this psalm is divided into two parts. The first part in verses 1-3 is the problem statement. David is highlighting the difficulty of living in a world with wicked men who are busy committing crimes against the innocent and “upright in heart” (v. 2). David ends this part with a question: “what can the righteous do?”
In a sense, this feels like a very hopeless section. David begins with a question, “How can you say to my soul, Flee”, and he ends with a question, “what can the righteous do?” In both cases, the general tone is, what can a righteous person possibly do in the face of the schemes of wicked men?
The second part in verses 4-7 is David’s attempt to answer those questions, and more generally, answer the “problem statement” or the crisis of evil men acting against the upright and the innocent. That answer is not found in men, and would seem almost a non-sequitur to the modern mind. David’s answer is, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven” (v. 4). In a nutshell, this answer is basically that God has sovereign authority and power over the whole earth, and the LORD is the one who will punish the crimes of the wicked and protect the innocent.
In Psalm 10:11, the wicked man says to himself, “God has forgotten… he will not see it”. In v. 4 in this psalm, David’s reply is, “his eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men”.
The rest of verses 5-7 are a long and strong declaration that God is the righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. I’ve described this as the theological background of the OT so many times I’m getting bored of saying it, and yet it continues to be true. In verse 5, David says that God judges between “the righteous and the wicked”, and then proceeds to describe in turn how God punishes the wicked (v. 6) and blesses the righteous (v. 7).
Bringing it back to the opening line, this is the reason why the LORD is David’s refuge. The LORD loves righteousness, the righteous will see his face, and implicitly, David understands himself to be one of the righteous who will receive that blessing. That is the reason for David’s confidence; he is confident in his own integrity before God, and he is confident that God will sincerely bless the righteous ones.
In a sense, David imagines himself as the righteous, who God will bless, and his enemies as the wicked who God will destroy. That is how David takes the relatively abstract theology of God as a judge and makes it personal for himself, especially in light of the crisis presented in v. 1-3. David is asking what the righteous can do, and then he answers: look to God for our deliverance, the destruction of our enemies, and ultimately look to God so that we may see his face.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Bible Commentary - Psalms 10
This psalm immediately breaks from its predecessors by not having a title. Nearly all of the previous psalms, and several following psalms, are attributed as “psalms of David”, generally also with musical directions and specific historical events that the psalm relates to. In this case, it omits the title entirely while remaining largely consistent with the other psalms in general tone and content. From these points, I suspect that this may also be a psalm of David, but where the title was inadvertently removed somehow.
Looking at the structure of this psalm as a whole, then, we can see roughly four parts. It opens with a problem statement: why do the wicked prosper? The second part expands on that problem statement, describing the wickedness of evil men at length, as well as the harm they cause to “innocent” men (v. 8). The third part is the call to action. Having described the harm that innocent men are suffering, the author calls for God to intervene, to protect the afflicted and break the power of the wicked. The fourth and final part is thanksgiving, thanking and praising God for his presumed answer to these prayers.
It is a simple, timeless formula for prayer. For this commentary, I will go into each of the four parts and describe them at greater length.
Beginning with verse 1, the first line of the psalm is the most important. As with the previous psalms we have read, the first line sets the overall theme and direction of the psalm. What v. 1 says in this case is a plea for God to intercede in “times of trouble”. From the rest of the psalm we can see that the author is thinking specifically about the wicked and why God does not punish them. From this perspective “times of trouble” should not be interpreted generically as natural disasters or general stress, but rather as persecution or warfare; basically, human-engineered misery.
The overall tone of this psalm reads very similarly to Job 24, when Job also found himself asking why the wicked prosper and why God did not punish them as their crimes deserve. In fact, Job 24:1 opens with a very similar line of questioning as v. 1 of this psalm. In Job 24:1, Job asks “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, and why do those who know him not see his days?” Job is asking, when will God bring retribution upon the wicked, the times of judgment that he owes us? Meanwhile, in v. 1 the author of this psalm similarly finds himself questioning God’s apparent passivity in the face of wickedness and the “times of trouble” that wicked people bring.
After raising the question of unpunished wickedness in verse 1, verses 2-11 are an extended description of the behavior and attitude of wicked men, which demand the justice that the author is looking for in v. 1. This is basically the motivation for the author’s prayer. He is saying, “see, Lord, look upon all this evil stuff people are doing.”
I want to point out a few things in this middle section (verses 2-11). First, notice how verse 2 uses the same formula as Psalm 9:15-16 and Psalm 7:15-16, of the wicked man being caught in his own trap (or in this case, “caught in the plots which they have devised”). This is another way that we can see if not shared authorship, then at least shared structure or theology with the other, titled psalms.
Second, notice how this section (and the psalm in general) contains many of the same social justice themes that we see in the other psalms as well as Job. Wickedness is defined in part by pride (see verses 4, 6) but also substantially by social justice crimes like preying on the vulnerable members of society. We see that in v. 2 where the wicked “hotly pursue the afflicted”, v. 9 where they “catch the afflicted”, and verses 8 and 10 where the wicked seek to rob “the unfortunate”; my bible notes that the word “unfortunate” may also be translated “poor”.
Third, one part of this psalm that I find quite unique is the multiple references to what the wicked man “says to himself”. We see the wicked man talking to himself in verses 4, 6 and 11. The relatively consistent theme through all three of these thoughts is the pride of the wicked man, who alternately denies the reality and activity of God, or else exalts himself, claiming his own immortality. Denying God is an important part of wickedness because the essential theology of this psalm (and many other places in the bible like Job) is that God is the judge who punishes the wicked. If you really believed in God, fear of his punishment would keep you from wickedness. Therefore the essential theology is that in order to live an intentionally wicked life, you must either deny that God is real (v. 4), or else deny that God judges wickedness (v. 11). The wicked man in this psalm apparently does both, which is slightly contradictory. Verse 6 does not reference God, but in that case the wicked man is implicitly denying that he would ever be punished for his crimes; otherwise, he would not believe in his own perpetuity.
Having reviewed the evil thoughts and deeds of the wicked, verses 12-15 are pleading for God to act, to remember the suffering ones and to “break the arm of the wicked”, i.e. to break their strength so that they could no longer cause harm. Verse 12 in particular is another chiasmus. It follows an A-B-B-A pattern with “Arise” and “lift up your hand” as pairing elements A in this pattern, and “LORD” and “God” as pairing elements B in this pattern. Verse 12 is one of the most important verses in the psalm because this is really what the prayer is about. It is a call to action, for God to “arise” and act, to overthrow the wicked and protect the righteous.
As a brief aside, I think it is evident that this psalm follows the typical theological framing of God as the righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Everything about this psalm is either an expression of the great crimes of the wicked, or a plea for God to remember and “vindicate the orphan and the oppressed” (v. 17). It doesn’t quite frame things as wicked vs. righteous though, it frames things as wicked vs. vulnerable. This is also a typical theological structure and we see strong elements of it in both Deuteronomy (where the vulnerable are the widows, orphans and foreigners), Job (widows and orphans) and here (“the orphan and the oppressed”, v. 17).
The concept of God as a righteous judge and the social justice themes are closely connected because generally speaking, God is perceived as “the judge” who upholds the principles of social justice. In this case, righteousness is effectively defined as protecting the vulnerable and punishing the wicked. This is principally a characteristic of God, but it is a characteristic that people are encouraged to emulate, inasmuch as we also desire to be righteous like God.
I remember in my commentary on Job 24 discussing the similarities between the “protect the vulnerable” moral imperative that is woven through the Pentateuch and a similar moral imperative, largely assigned to God, in Job. Interestingly, Job 24 is also where Job decries the unchecked abuses of the wicked and asks why God does nothing to punish evildoers, which is very similar to this psalm. In the same chapter, Job describes the actions of the evildoers as largely oriented around exploiting the vulnerable classes. We see the same structure here, as the author of this psalm is also asking why God does not act against the wicked, and then describes the wicked in terms of how they oppress the poor and vulnerable classes of society.
In the final section, verses 16-18, the author praises God for destroying “nations… from his land” (v. 16). I think it’s fair to say that this is implying they are the “wicked nations” like who David was railing against in Psalm 9. Verse 17 thanks God for hearing this prayer, and v. 18 concludes that God will help the “orphan and the oppressed”, so that wicked men “will no longer cause terror”. Given the structure of this psalm, I believe that verse 18 is meant to address the question raised in v. 1. In verse 1, the author asked why the LORD does not intervene in “times of trouble”. Here, at the end of the psalm, the author concludes that God would indeed hear “the desire of the humble”, and that he would silence the oppressors who are causing so much “trouble” to begin with. This closes the loop on this psalm and neatly wraps it up by bringing us back to the beginning.
Looking at the structure of this psalm as a whole, then, we can see roughly four parts. It opens with a problem statement: why do the wicked prosper? The second part expands on that problem statement, describing the wickedness of evil men at length, as well as the harm they cause to “innocent” men (v. 8). The third part is the call to action. Having described the harm that innocent men are suffering, the author calls for God to intervene, to protect the afflicted and break the power of the wicked. The fourth and final part is thanksgiving, thanking and praising God for his presumed answer to these prayers.
It is a simple, timeless formula for prayer. For this commentary, I will go into each of the four parts and describe them at greater length.
Beginning with verse 1, the first line of the psalm is the most important. As with the previous psalms we have read, the first line sets the overall theme and direction of the psalm. What v. 1 says in this case is a plea for God to intercede in “times of trouble”. From the rest of the psalm we can see that the author is thinking specifically about the wicked and why God does not punish them. From this perspective “times of trouble” should not be interpreted generically as natural disasters or general stress, but rather as persecution or warfare; basically, human-engineered misery.
The overall tone of this psalm reads very similarly to Job 24, when Job also found himself asking why the wicked prosper and why God did not punish them as their crimes deserve. In fact, Job 24:1 opens with a very similar line of questioning as v. 1 of this psalm. In Job 24:1, Job asks “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, and why do those who know him not see his days?” Job is asking, when will God bring retribution upon the wicked, the times of judgment that he owes us? Meanwhile, in v. 1 the author of this psalm similarly finds himself questioning God’s apparent passivity in the face of wickedness and the “times of trouble” that wicked people bring.
After raising the question of unpunished wickedness in verse 1, verses 2-11 are an extended description of the behavior and attitude of wicked men, which demand the justice that the author is looking for in v. 1. This is basically the motivation for the author’s prayer. He is saying, “see, Lord, look upon all this evil stuff people are doing.”
I want to point out a few things in this middle section (verses 2-11). First, notice how verse 2 uses the same formula as Psalm 9:15-16 and Psalm 7:15-16, of the wicked man being caught in his own trap (or in this case, “caught in the plots which they have devised”). This is another way that we can see if not shared authorship, then at least shared structure or theology with the other, titled psalms.
Second, notice how this section (and the psalm in general) contains many of the same social justice themes that we see in the other psalms as well as Job. Wickedness is defined in part by pride (see verses 4, 6) but also substantially by social justice crimes like preying on the vulnerable members of society. We see that in v. 2 where the wicked “hotly pursue the afflicted”, v. 9 where they “catch the afflicted”, and verses 8 and 10 where the wicked seek to rob “the unfortunate”; my bible notes that the word “unfortunate” may also be translated “poor”.
Third, one part of this psalm that I find quite unique is the multiple references to what the wicked man “says to himself”. We see the wicked man talking to himself in verses 4, 6 and 11. The relatively consistent theme through all three of these thoughts is the pride of the wicked man, who alternately denies the reality and activity of God, or else exalts himself, claiming his own immortality. Denying God is an important part of wickedness because the essential theology of this psalm (and many other places in the bible like Job) is that God is the judge who punishes the wicked. If you really believed in God, fear of his punishment would keep you from wickedness. Therefore the essential theology is that in order to live an intentionally wicked life, you must either deny that God is real (v. 4), or else deny that God judges wickedness (v. 11). The wicked man in this psalm apparently does both, which is slightly contradictory. Verse 6 does not reference God, but in that case the wicked man is implicitly denying that he would ever be punished for his crimes; otherwise, he would not believe in his own perpetuity.
Having reviewed the evil thoughts and deeds of the wicked, verses 12-15 are pleading for God to act, to remember the suffering ones and to “break the arm of the wicked”, i.e. to break their strength so that they could no longer cause harm. Verse 12 in particular is another chiasmus. It follows an A-B-B-A pattern with “Arise” and “lift up your hand” as pairing elements A in this pattern, and “LORD” and “God” as pairing elements B in this pattern. Verse 12 is one of the most important verses in the psalm because this is really what the prayer is about. It is a call to action, for God to “arise” and act, to overthrow the wicked and protect the righteous.
As a brief aside, I think it is evident that this psalm follows the typical theological framing of God as the righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Everything about this psalm is either an expression of the great crimes of the wicked, or a plea for God to remember and “vindicate the orphan and the oppressed” (v. 17). It doesn’t quite frame things as wicked vs. righteous though, it frames things as wicked vs. vulnerable. This is also a typical theological structure and we see strong elements of it in both Deuteronomy (where the vulnerable are the widows, orphans and foreigners), Job (widows and orphans) and here (“the orphan and the oppressed”, v. 17).
The concept of God as a righteous judge and the social justice themes are closely connected because generally speaking, God is perceived as “the judge” who upholds the principles of social justice. In this case, righteousness is effectively defined as protecting the vulnerable and punishing the wicked. This is principally a characteristic of God, but it is a characteristic that people are encouraged to emulate, inasmuch as we also desire to be righteous like God.
I remember in my commentary on Job 24 discussing the similarities between the “protect the vulnerable” moral imperative that is woven through the Pentateuch and a similar moral imperative, largely assigned to God, in Job. Interestingly, Job 24 is also where Job decries the unchecked abuses of the wicked and asks why God does nothing to punish evildoers, which is very similar to this psalm. In the same chapter, Job describes the actions of the evildoers as largely oriented around exploiting the vulnerable classes. We see the same structure here, as the author of this psalm is also asking why God does not act against the wicked, and then describes the wicked in terms of how they oppress the poor and vulnerable classes of society.
In the final section, verses 16-18, the author praises God for destroying “nations… from his land” (v. 16). I think it’s fair to say that this is implying they are the “wicked nations” like who David was railing against in Psalm 9. Verse 17 thanks God for hearing this prayer, and v. 18 concludes that God will help the “orphan and the oppressed”, so that wicked men “will no longer cause terror”. Given the structure of this psalm, I believe that verse 18 is meant to address the question raised in v. 1. In verse 1, the author asked why the LORD does not intervene in “times of trouble”. Here, at the end of the psalm, the author concludes that God would indeed hear “the desire of the humble”, and that he would silence the oppressors who are causing so much “trouble” to begin with. This closes the loop on this psalm and neatly wraps it up by bringing us back to the beginning.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Bible Commentary - Psalms 9
In many cases, the first verse of each psalm tells us what kind of psalm we are reading. I mentioned how Psalms 3-7 were all prayers for relief, while Psalm 8 is a psalm of praise, declaring the glory of God.
Psalm 9 is also a psalm of praise, which we see in the very first verse: “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders”. This really sets the tone for the rest of the psalm, and even though it may share common themes with the prayer psalms, the intent is fundamentally different.
Similar to Psalm 8, this psalm also lacks a specific historical context. It is a psalm “of David”, but does not otherwise give us a specific incident when this psalm was composed. It leaves us relatively unmoored from the biblical histories, so instead we must focus our study on the structure and theological content of the psalm.
In terms of content, this psalm places a strong emphasis on God as the righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. In that sense it shares some parallels with Psalm 7. Rather than asking God to come in and punish the wicked, this psalm is a bit of a past-tense, “thank you God for having destroyed the wicked”, but it nevertheless follows a very similar theological framework. Verses 7-8 in particular highlight God’s role as judge, but the rest of the psalm feels built around the same theme. We see God destroying the wicked in verses 3-6, and on the other hand we see God delivering the oppressed and afflicted in verses 9-14.
What makes this psalm somewhat unique compared to previous descriptions of the “righteous judge” is how this psalm emphasizes God’s judgment as resting upon evil nations. For the most part, previous descriptions of God’s role as the righteous judge describe him destroy wicked individuals. Even Psalm 7 followed that formula, describing at length how an evil man would be destroyed by his own wickedness (Psalm 7:12-16).
In contrast, Psalm 9 seems to be focused almost exclusively on wicked nations. We see this in verses 5, 6 (the “cities” of the wicked imply they are an evil people, not an evil person), 15, 17, 19 and 20. Verse 15 in particular uses the “wicked will fall into their own pit” metaphor that is almost literally identical to Psalm 7:15. The only difference is that Psalm 7:15 talks about an evil person falling into his own pit, while Psalm 9:15 describes “the nations” falling into the pit that they made.
We can infer from this that David likely wrote this psalm in the later half of his life, once he was already king. My intuition is that when Saul was still alive, David would have thought much more about “the evil man” such as Saul and Saul’s men who were trying to kill him. After becoming king, David’s conflicts became much less personal and a lot more focused on fighting wars with the surrounding nations (whom he routinely defeated). It’s not a sure thing, since David did fight against the Philistines even during his exile, and before his exile he was one of Saul’s chief commanders, but the longest period David spent fighting foreign nations was as the king of Israel.
From a theological point of view, this is basically an adaptation of the existing “righteous judge” concept. David takes the idea of God being a righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked, and extends it to God blessing righteous nations and punishing wicked nations. This is a simple idea and we will see it repeatedly throughout the Psalms and later in the prophets as well.
This is not an entirely new idea, however. We can point to several other cases in the bible where God has inflicted punishment for “wickedness” of differing kinds upon nations. The most prominent example is the plagues of Egypt during the Exodus. This was effectively God “judging” or “punishing” the Egyptians collectively for their treatment of the Israelites (collectively). While that is the most prominent example, we could point to many other cases, especially in Pentateuch, when God “punished” offending nations who attacked Judah, or conversely we can occasionally see God punish Judah or Israel for the times when they do things wrong. I’ll point to one example and leave the rest as an exercise for the reader: in Numbers 11, “the people” complained about the trials of desert life and their desire for meat (rather than manna), and God punished them for their collective sin by sending a plague and fire to burn in their midst.
Since I mentioned it, I do think this psalm seems to share characteristics of the Pentateuch, namely the emphasis on nations. So much of the Pentateuch is built around national identity. The covenant, for instance, is called the covenant of Moses but it is not a covenant WITH Moses. Instead, it is a covenant between Israel, as a nation, and God. The plagues I mentioned struck Egypt, God’s dealings with Israel in the desert generally (but not always) involved national sins and corresponding national punishments. For instance, the twelve spies entered the promised land and came back with a bad report, but it is the nation was wept and “the whole congregation” criticized Moses and planned to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-5).
At the same time, the enemies of Israel are also nations. The nations of the promised land are one of the most commonly recited lists: the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites and so on (Exodus 23:23, Deut 7:1 and others). To state the obvious, these are not individual people; these are nations set in opposition to the Israelites, and by framing things in these ways the conflict is framed as a conflict between nations. The justification for this invasion was partially a blessing for Abraham (the righteous man of faith), but also partially a punishment for “the sin of the Amorites” who were previously dwelling in the land (Gen 15:16).
While this isn’t exactly identical to calling God a righteous judge who judges between good and bad nations, it does show in some cases God blessing good nations and punishing evil ones, in much the same way that we see God treat individuals in e.g. Job. Another great example of this is the grand dichotomy of Deut 28, when Moses lays out blessings and curses before the people based on their conduct. Once again these are national blessings or curses based on national behavior, not something that devolves to the individual (though we can possibly reason that there was a similar scheme at the individual level). The whole system of Deuteronomy is fundamentally predicated on group behavior, group rewards and group punishment, both for Israel and for the foreign nations. Psalm 9 takes it in a different direction compared to Deuteronomy, but I think it’s fair to say they are both starting in the same place and both put God in a very similar role as judge of the nations.
This psalm is pretty dense so it would take me a lot longer to unpack everything. I’ve already written at some length however, so I will conclude with one final point. One other broad theme of this psalm appears to be the subject of remembrance and memory. In verses 5-6, David says that the punishment of the wicked is the destruction of their “name” and their “memory”. In contrast, verse 7 says that God lives forever and in verse 12 God remembers the oppressed (“he does not forget the cry of the afflicted”).
In verse 17, it is the wicked who forget God, though ironically they will be the ones forgotten by the world (v. 5-6). In contrast, while the wicked forget God, God remembers the needy and afflicted, who are being oppressed by evil nations (v. 18). So basically the punishment of the wicked is that they will be forgotten by everyone (after they are destroyed), while God remembers the oppressed (who will be saved). At the same time, the wicked forget God and that is part of their crime (because they have no shame or fear to do what is right). So uhh, yeah, it’s kinda complicated, but that is basically what’s going on here. :) Let’s move on to Psalm 10.
Psalm 9 is also a psalm of praise, which we see in the very first verse: “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders”. This really sets the tone for the rest of the psalm, and even though it may share common themes with the prayer psalms, the intent is fundamentally different.
Similar to Psalm 8, this psalm also lacks a specific historical context. It is a psalm “of David”, but does not otherwise give us a specific incident when this psalm was composed. It leaves us relatively unmoored from the biblical histories, so instead we must focus our study on the structure and theological content of the psalm.
In terms of content, this psalm places a strong emphasis on God as the righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. In that sense it shares some parallels with Psalm 7. Rather than asking God to come in and punish the wicked, this psalm is a bit of a past-tense, “thank you God for having destroyed the wicked”, but it nevertheless follows a very similar theological framework. Verses 7-8 in particular highlight God’s role as judge, but the rest of the psalm feels built around the same theme. We see God destroying the wicked in verses 3-6, and on the other hand we see God delivering the oppressed and afflicted in verses 9-14.
What makes this psalm somewhat unique compared to previous descriptions of the “righteous judge” is how this psalm emphasizes God’s judgment as resting upon evil nations. For the most part, previous descriptions of God’s role as the righteous judge describe him destroy wicked individuals. Even Psalm 7 followed that formula, describing at length how an evil man would be destroyed by his own wickedness (Psalm 7:12-16).
In contrast, Psalm 9 seems to be focused almost exclusively on wicked nations. We see this in verses 5, 6 (the “cities” of the wicked imply they are an evil people, not an evil person), 15, 17, 19 and 20. Verse 15 in particular uses the “wicked will fall into their own pit” metaphor that is almost literally identical to Psalm 7:15. The only difference is that Psalm 7:15 talks about an evil person falling into his own pit, while Psalm 9:15 describes “the nations” falling into the pit that they made.
We can infer from this that David likely wrote this psalm in the later half of his life, once he was already king. My intuition is that when Saul was still alive, David would have thought much more about “the evil man” such as Saul and Saul’s men who were trying to kill him. After becoming king, David’s conflicts became much less personal and a lot more focused on fighting wars with the surrounding nations (whom he routinely defeated). It’s not a sure thing, since David did fight against the Philistines even during his exile, and before his exile he was one of Saul’s chief commanders, but the longest period David spent fighting foreign nations was as the king of Israel.
From a theological point of view, this is basically an adaptation of the existing “righteous judge” concept. David takes the idea of God being a righteous judge who blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked, and extends it to God blessing righteous nations and punishing wicked nations. This is a simple idea and we will see it repeatedly throughout the Psalms and later in the prophets as well.
This is not an entirely new idea, however. We can point to several other cases in the bible where God has inflicted punishment for “wickedness” of differing kinds upon nations. The most prominent example is the plagues of Egypt during the Exodus. This was effectively God “judging” or “punishing” the Egyptians collectively for their treatment of the Israelites (collectively). While that is the most prominent example, we could point to many other cases, especially in Pentateuch, when God “punished” offending nations who attacked Judah, or conversely we can occasionally see God punish Judah or Israel for the times when they do things wrong. I’ll point to one example and leave the rest as an exercise for the reader: in Numbers 11, “the people” complained about the trials of desert life and their desire for meat (rather than manna), and God punished them for their collective sin by sending a plague and fire to burn in their midst.
Since I mentioned it, I do think this psalm seems to share characteristics of the Pentateuch, namely the emphasis on nations. So much of the Pentateuch is built around national identity. The covenant, for instance, is called the covenant of Moses but it is not a covenant WITH Moses. Instead, it is a covenant between Israel, as a nation, and God. The plagues I mentioned struck Egypt, God’s dealings with Israel in the desert generally (but not always) involved national sins and corresponding national punishments. For instance, the twelve spies entered the promised land and came back with a bad report, but it is the nation was wept and “the whole congregation” criticized Moses and planned to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-5).
At the same time, the enemies of Israel are also nations. The nations of the promised land are one of the most commonly recited lists: the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites and so on (Exodus 23:23, Deut 7:1 and others). To state the obvious, these are not individual people; these are nations set in opposition to the Israelites, and by framing things in these ways the conflict is framed as a conflict between nations. The justification for this invasion was partially a blessing for Abraham (the righteous man of faith), but also partially a punishment for “the sin of the Amorites” who were previously dwelling in the land (Gen 15:16).
While this isn’t exactly identical to calling God a righteous judge who judges between good and bad nations, it does show in some cases God blessing good nations and punishing evil ones, in much the same way that we see God treat individuals in e.g. Job. Another great example of this is the grand dichotomy of Deut 28, when Moses lays out blessings and curses before the people based on their conduct. Once again these are national blessings or curses based on national behavior, not something that devolves to the individual (though we can possibly reason that there was a similar scheme at the individual level). The whole system of Deuteronomy is fundamentally predicated on group behavior, group rewards and group punishment, both for Israel and for the foreign nations. Psalm 9 takes it in a different direction compared to Deuteronomy, but I think it’s fair to say they are both starting in the same place and both put God in a very similar role as judge of the nations.
This psalm is pretty dense so it would take me a lot longer to unpack everything. I’ve already written at some length however, so I will conclude with one final point. One other broad theme of this psalm appears to be the subject of remembrance and memory. In verses 5-6, David says that the punishment of the wicked is the destruction of their “name” and their “memory”. In contrast, verse 7 says that God lives forever and in verse 12 God remembers the oppressed (“he does not forget the cry of the afflicted”).
In verse 17, it is the wicked who forget God, though ironically they will be the ones forgotten by the world (v. 5-6). In contrast, while the wicked forget God, God remembers the needy and afflicted, who are being oppressed by evil nations (v. 18). So basically the punishment of the wicked is that they will be forgotten by everyone (after they are destroyed), while God remembers the oppressed (who will be saved). At the same time, the wicked forget God and that is part of their crime (because they have no shame or fear to do what is right). So uhh, yeah, it’s kinda complicated, but that is basically what’s going on here. :) Let’s move on to Psalm 10.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Bible Commentary - Psalms 8
This psalm breaks sharply from the tone and content of the preceding five psalms. Each one of those psalms was a prayer for deliverance from David’s enemies. We see several of these psalms opening with requests for the LORD’s audience, and it really defines that particular genre. Psalm 8, in contrast, is a psalm of praise through and through.
Psalm 8 is a psalm “of David”, but it is not contextualized into any specific time or occasion. Prayers or petitions are often tied to specific occasions because the prayer itself is for God to change one’s circumstances relating to a specific need or crisis. In contrast, praise is timeless.
Structurally, this psalm begins and ends with the same refrain, that God’s name is majestic and should be honored in the whole world. In my opinion, the primary thought of this psalm is expressed in verses 3-8. Verses 1 and 9 are the refrain, which expresses the purpose of this psalm as one of praise.
The core message of verses 3-8 contains two related ideas. The first is the grandeur of creation. Verse 3 states it outright, eloquently phrasing David’s awe at the glory of the heavens. Verses 7-8 express David’s awe in a more circumspect way, but I think it’s still there. The second idea is that God has chosen to place man as the master and center of creation. We are the deputy of God in the same way that Joseph was the deputy of Pharaoh.
This psalm expresses David’s surprise and awe by contrasting the weakness and smallness of man against the greatness and glory of creation. This is the central dichotomy of verses 3-4, where creation is this glorious, beautiful thing and yet “what is man” that God would pay attention to us?
Yet in spite of this, God has elevated us to be rulers of all creation. This raises a number of interesting questions.
Why does David think that man is the lord of creation? This is actually quite a new thought that does not have many parallels in the rest of the OT. Generally speaking, the theology of the OT tends to emphasize the lordship and greatness of God over all creation, not the lordship of man. For instance, consider God’s response to Job in Job 39-41. In those chapters, God was challenging Job specifically on his LACK of mastery over creation. The behemoth and leviathan are both specifically named as creations that man can neither kill nor tame, and by extension that creation itself is uncontrollable and untameable by man.
Elsewhere, we see famines and droughts striking Israel repeatedly, seemingly beyond their control and yet within God’s control. For instance, when Elijah prayed to end the drought in 1 Kings 18, it was very much at God’s direction (1 Kings 18:1). Furthermore, Elijah’s prayer itself demonstrates a subservience and dependency on God to change the weather, rather than Elijah showing mastery or lordship over it (1 Kings 18:42-43). A remarkable miracle, but one flowing from God’s power and lordship, not Elijah’s.
In contrast, this psalm imagines man as “ruling over the works of your hands” (v. 6). The closest prior evidence we have for man’s lordship is, in my opinion, Genesis 1-2 when God creates man, places us in the garden and commands us to fill the earth and subdue it. Man was also made last in the creation narrative, on the sixth day, and in that regard also stands as the greatest and most important part of creation.
I wonder if David was thinking about the creation story when he wrote this psalm? If not, what was his inspiration? It is possible this psalm is simply prophetic, establishing a new theological principle out of David’s direct revelation from God. Or, like I mentioned previously, it is taking from early Genesis a theological framework in which man is the center of creation. Either way, it is quite distinct from the rest of the OT in this regard, and very important for that reason.
Astute readers may notice that I skipped over verse 2. The reason why is that compared to the rest of the psalm, verse 2 doesn’t really fit in. It helps establish the overall tone of praise and the greatness of creation, but I still find it perplexing. In what way has God brought praise (or strength, depending on the translation) out of the mouths of infants? Even more importantly, who are the adversaries and enemies that are supposed to be ashamed or silenced by this? It doesn’t make much sense, and it fits in with the later themes even less.
As I often do in moments of confusion, I checked my NIV study bible to see what theologians have to say about this verse. Unfortunately, in this case my study bible was not much help. They pointed out the interesting contrast between the greatness and glory of God and the weakness of the children who praise him, as well as the irony of children and infants being the ones who silence “the enemy”. However, they have little insight into the nature of these enemies or how it relates to the broader themes of this psalm. They suggest the enemies could possibly be demonic forces, but have little evidence to justify that position, so unfortunately I think I will remain confused about this point. If my readers can offer additional insight, feel free to comment below.
Psalm 8 is a psalm “of David”, but it is not contextualized into any specific time or occasion. Prayers or petitions are often tied to specific occasions because the prayer itself is for God to change one’s circumstances relating to a specific need or crisis. In contrast, praise is timeless.
Structurally, this psalm begins and ends with the same refrain, that God’s name is majestic and should be honored in the whole world. In my opinion, the primary thought of this psalm is expressed in verses 3-8. Verses 1 and 9 are the refrain, which expresses the purpose of this psalm as one of praise.
The core message of verses 3-8 contains two related ideas. The first is the grandeur of creation. Verse 3 states it outright, eloquently phrasing David’s awe at the glory of the heavens. Verses 7-8 express David’s awe in a more circumspect way, but I think it’s still there. The second idea is that God has chosen to place man as the master and center of creation. We are the deputy of God in the same way that Joseph was the deputy of Pharaoh.
This psalm expresses David’s surprise and awe by contrasting the weakness and smallness of man against the greatness and glory of creation. This is the central dichotomy of verses 3-4, where creation is this glorious, beautiful thing and yet “what is man” that God would pay attention to us?
Yet in spite of this, God has elevated us to be rulers of all creation. This raises a number of interesting questions.
Why does David think that man is the lord of creation? This is actually quite a new thought that does not have many parallels in the rest of the OT. Generally speaking, the theology of the OT tends to emphasize the lordship and greatness of God over all creation, not the lordship of man. For instance, consider God’s response to Job in Job 39-41. In those chapters, God was challenging Job specifically on his LACK of mastery over creation. The behemoth and leviathan are both specifically named as creations that man can neither kill nor tame, and by extension that creation itself is uncontrollable and untameable by man.
Elsewhere, we see famines and droughts striking Israel repeatedly, seemingly beyond their control and yet within God’s control. For instance, when Elijah prayed to end the drought in 1 Kings 18, it was very much at God’s direction (1 Kings 18:1). Furthermore, Elijah’s prayer itself demonstrates a subservience and dependency on God to change the weather, rather than Elijah showing mastery or lordship over it (1 Kings 18:42-43). A remarkable miracle, but one flowing from God’s power and lordship, not Elijah’s.
In contrast, this psalm imagines man as “ruling over the works of your hands” (v. 6). The closest prior evidence we have for man’s lordship is, in my opinion, Genesis 1-2 when God creates man, places us in the garden and commands us to fill the earth and subdue it. Man was also made last in the creation narrative, on the sixth day, and in that regard also stands as the greatest and most important part of creation.
I wonder if David was thinking about the creation story when he wrote this psalm? If not, what was his inspiration? It is possible this psalm is simply prophetic, establishing a new theological principle out of David’s direct revelation from God. Or, like I mentioned previously, it is taking from early Genesis a theological framework in which man is the center of creation. Either way, it is quite distinct from the rest of the OT in this regard, and very important for that reason.
Astute readers may notice that I skipped over verse 2. The reason why is that compared to the rest of the psalm, verse 2 doesn’t really fit in. It helps establish the overall tone of praise and the greatness of creation, but I still find it perplexing. In what way has God brought praise (or strength, depending on the translation) out of the mouths of infants? Even more importantly, who are the adversaries and enemies that are supposed to be ashamed or silenced by this? It doesn’t make much sense, and it fits in with the later themes even less.
As I often do in moments of confusion, I checked my NIV study bible to see what theologians have to say about this verse. Unfortunately, in this case my study bible was not much help. They pointed out the interesting contrast between the greatness and glory of God and the weakness of the children who praise him, as well as the irony of children and infants being the ones who silence “the enemy”. However, they have little insight into the nature of these enemies or how it relates to the broader themes of this psalm. They suggest the enemies could possibly be demonic forces, but have little evidence to justify that position, so unfortunately I think I will remain confused about this point. If my readers can offer additional insight, feel free to comment below.
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