PSALM 23

We had been married about ten days and were preparing to leave Kentucky for California via my home in Louisiana. Vivian's mother made a little ceremony of our leaving that focused on the 23^rd Psalm, which she read. Since then, I've read that Scripture at many bedsides, in funerals, for sermons. I've taught it in Sunday School and Prayer Meetings. I don't think I've used it at a wedding, but it would be perfectly appropriate. The Psalm also fits daily life!

The psalm seems to speak to many people in many times of life. From all my study, here's the best outline I've found.

The Lord as Shepherd: vv1-2

He leads to fulfilled needs, green pastures, living water

The Lord as Guide: vv3-4

Even through life's dark valleys, including death, He leads us past fear

The Lord as Host: vv5-6

The Lord sets the table and invites us to a feast

I'm convinced one of the most helpful things we can do for scriptures this familiar is to read them in a wide variety of translations.

Here are a few random notes, more or less in order::

The word “shepherd” is also applied to kings and rulers. They had the responsibility to care for their people. Shepherd life was not as peaceful as we think. The ability to let the sheep lie down and drink water includes the idea of keeping them safe. Remember David told King Saul he had killed both bears and lions by jumping on their backs, Tarzan style, and knifing them. I have long suspected he knocked them out, or at least dazed them at first with his slingshot.

I shall lack nothing. He gives me all I need. The rest of the poem can be seen as illustrating this.

He restores my soul. “Soul” is the same Hebrew word nephesh used in Genesis 2 when the Lod breathed into man the breath of life and man became “a living soul.” The verb restore in its simplest form is the word for turn or repent. This is a more intensive form and can mean to refresh or revive. H brings me back to life!

Paths of righteousness is a better translation than straight paths. The word is usually translated righteousness or justice. (I may have commented before that a Latin American translator said the Spanish translations use “justice” more than the English ones. I find it a useful exercise to try out the word justice whenever I run into “righteousness.” It often makes good sense.

“Shadow of death is also a good translation. In Hebrew it's one word, the last half of which means death. “Deep darkness” is ok, but the ominous death quality should be preserved. It does mean that God will be with us in the most difficult trials of life, including death. My ordaining pastor once commented that he and I at that time did not want to die and wwere meant to fear death at that stage of life. When our time came to die, however, he believed we would receive dying grace, which certainly fits this idea.

Fear no evil. Interesting that a way to transliterate “evil” into English is ra, while “my shepherd” can be written ra'. Just that much different in Hebrew, but what a world of difference in meaning.

The rod and staff may refer to the shepherd's rod, but since the king is sometimes referred to as the shepherd of his constituents, the word can also mean sceptre. So God's authority protects us!

The ship's captaain honors many of his travelers by inviting them to the caaptain's table. It's also a high honor to be called to dine with the king. And to be anointed is to be greeted as a welcome guest! It's even the word Messiah, the anointed one. In

Revelation we are invited to the marriage feast of the lamb!

The house of the Lord brings to mind the temple. If David wrote the Psalm, it had not yet been built. Even later, we can think of His house as representing His presence. We shall live in His presence forever!

Psalm 138

This is a Thanksgiving Psalm amd a Praise Psalm as the first verse indicates. Indeed “praise” can also mean “sing praise.” This means worship of God, the living God with whom we have a relationship! Note we worship with our WHOLE heart, not half-hearted.

V 2 – I will bow down – actually the form of the Hebrew verb is an intensive form that means more than a slight boy – it means falling down before, prostrating oneself as in the pictures we often see of Moslems at prayer. The Author says he will bow TOWARD THE TEMPLE, as though it were the residence of God. Mosl                                            ems bow toward Mecca, Jews toward Jerusalem. As Christians we are more into bowing from the heart toward the Lord Himself. The idea is humility, subservience. In worship we remind ourselves and reflect toward God that we are finite, and He is infinite, almighty, the Creator and Redeemer!

To give thanks to his Name is to give thanks to Him.

Mercy and truth – Mercy is a special word. The Hebrew word behind it is a covenant word. Some Bibles translate it “steadfast love.” I prefer “covenant love.” It is the special loyalty God displays toward His people, Israel in the OT, the church in the New. Truth connotes firmness, reliability, and sureness. We can reliably turn to God, certain of His fidelity toward us, enabling us to trust Him.

Magnify your Name, grow its reputation and renown. Magnify your word is to make important His teaching, His instruction, His law. Remember that a major theme, perhaps THE major theme running through the Psalms is God's Word or Law. It's the continuing challenge of Ps 1 to choose the right Way and walk in it!

V 3 – Call and Response – His testimony is that he called out to God, and God answered. That answer was to embolden him, to strengthen him, perhaps to encourage him. This strengthening was deep – in his soul or spirit.

V 4 – From the beginning the Lord was establishing a universal kingdom, not merely one for Israel. Remember in Genesis 12 the Lord calls Abraham and promises that through him all the nations of the world would find blessing. Here the psalmist claims “all the kings of the earth” will praise Him. Note also that the reason given is “they have heard the words of your mouth.” That might mean they have observed the success of Israel in the world, or it could mean they have heard the actual Torah of God. If so, remember it's a future promise that all the kings of the earth will praise the Lord. A missionary passage in Psalms! But how will the kings know to praise and thank without someone to tell them of God's mighty acts?

V 6 – The Lord is exalted! Even so He decided to created us and stay involved with that humanity. I love Philippians 2:5ff where Paul teaches that Christ being with God was willing to “empty Himself” to become a finite man, Jesus. I thought that this incarnation was itself a kind of death, reverse from what we think of it, dying to heaven to be born on earth! One of the things that can separate us from God is a haughty spirit. Why? Because such a person feels no need of God, is indeed his own Lord.

V 7 – Walking in trouble. Many of our friends on Facebook are going through trouble of one sort or another. Some even express loneliness. But the Psalmist says the Lord walks with him through trouble. Further, God strengthens His followers who trust him. And God does more. He becomes a warrior God facing the fury of Israel's (and the Christian's) enemies, and He will save us from that hour of trouble.

V 8 – The writer affirms his faith that God will, in fact, answer his prayer for help and deliverance. That same Lord will endure with His covenant love and mercy for His people. He concludes with a prayer that the Lord may indeed continue to work in their lives!

The takeaway? No matter how chaotic life may get, continue to rest that life in His hands, knowing He brought you this far, and will continue to walk with you.

                                                       

Psalm 78
What's a Maskil?
Why Do I Care?

In last week's introduction, I pointed out many types of Psalms. If you have the Exploring the Bible quarterly, there's a good list of types near the front of the book. I don't know what kind this is, maybe three kinds (at least).

1 – The heading says “a Maskil to Asaph.” WE have no clue as to who Asaph was. We have several clues as to what a maskil is. First, the root word means to instruct. So a maskil would be an instruction – or a group of them. Those instructions seem to be largely from the Pentateuch, so this was Divine teaching – or Word, or Torah. Most of the Bible is presented within itself as the Word of the Lord, so that's a good point to make. It's Scripture.

2 – It's an historical Psalm. (NOT hysterical, like Isaiah 60:6).
I've heard a lot of people say they don't like history. Well, to understand the Bible, you have to understand history – you don't have to like it, you just have to learn it. A huge chunk of the Bible is the history of Israel and of God's actions in relating to Israel. Several Psalms recount a summary of Israel's history as a source of faith. The reasoning is this: God has worked in history, in your history. Therefore, you can expect Him to act again today, so trust Him.

3 – It's a wisdom Psalm. The quarterly author chooses this one. The word “maskil” supports it. It's a teaching Psalm that exalts wisdom and warns of the need for it.

Basic Ideas:

1 – Teach the next generations Biblical history. Hand down the religious traditions of the ancestors. This is how the world works if you have the eyes of faith to see it. To make that teaching contemporary, we need to share our own personal history with God with the next generation or two. The fact that I have seen God working repeatedly in my life is one strong reason for believing He was working that way in Israel.

2 – The author repeats the most common pattern underlying much of the theology of the OT. We saw that most clearly a couple of years ago when we studied the Book of Judges. Twelve times the pattern repeats itselve, focused on each of the 12 tribes and a charismatic (God appointed) leader from that tribe. First Israel sins, then gets into trouble in battle and is often dominated by a foreign nation. Next, they realize they have sinned, and an angry Yahweh has allowed this enemy to trouble them as punishment. Israel then repents, and Yahweh provides a deliverer . Israel then behaves itself until the cycle begins once more.

3 – He aksi enumerates God's blessings as being a source for their trust and praise. If the Lord did all this for them, why not be thankful and obedient to His laws. Remember a purpose of the maskil is to instruct and point the reader back to the wisdom teachings from God.

4 – Versses 32 &34 both say, “when He killed them...” meaning the extreme punishment from God that did at last get their attention. In OT times, Hebrew thought made no distinction between God's active will and His permissive will, as we often do. Many find it hard to deal with after believing in a God of grace and love to find He can also be a God of wrath. One prof of mine suggested the wrath is the flip side of God's love. It is His reaction to the rejection of His love. We understand when we hear the old saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” We can easily see that if we reject human love, that love can turn to fury. And yet none has been more gracious to us than God – to the point of sending His Son. So if we reject that salvation, what else is left?

5 – Indeed the miracle in the eyes of the Psalmist is not the wrath, but His salvation. Verse 40 says that even though Israel repeatedly followed the cycle of disobedience, God also repeatedly followed the cycle of forgiveness. He punished them through captivity in Babylon (v 61)but by v 65 the Lord again becomes the Champion of Israel.

6 – Moreover, God chose the tribe of Judah to carry on His covenant in v 68. From Judah He raised up David and on Mt Zion He built His temple.

Note that many Psalms, especially the longer ones, change direction at least once. The Psalm Jesus quoted on the cross, 22:1, begins in agony, but ends in victory.

Question: what does this Psalm have to you with us today? With YOU?
   

PSALMS

INTRODUCTION

HEBREW POETRY

Bible poetry doesn't rhyme. In Hebrew the lines often have rhythm, but that rhythm doesn't translate well into English. I prefer the King James Version to read the Psalms and some other Biblical poetry because of its beauty. The 17^th century English was the English of Shakespeare, and the guys who translated these songs did so superbly. To grasp their meaning, however, unless you read Hebrew, you would do well to consult several translations.

If it doesn't rhyme, and we can't discern the rhythm, what makes it poetry? The answer is parallelism, at least primarily. So what is parallelism? It is two or more lines that state similar ideas that reinforce one another.

Consider the opening lines of Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man,

who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners,

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

The three lines build and strengthen each other. In one sense they say the same thing. In another, they add on to one another. Note the progression: walk, stand, sit. We begin with the picture of someone walking along with someone, but then both stop, and both sit down. Each movement seems to go deeper into the ranks of sin.

Sometimes the parallels merely repeat an idea in different words, sometimes they bring in the opposite idea: But his delight is in the law of the Lord

and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

(Compare the first lines that are negative with these that are positive.

Repetition is another major characteristic of the poetry. The repetition includes phrases and words.

The next frequent characteristic will be new to most of you. It's called “chiasm.”

Chiasm is a pattern of words, phrases, or sentences. The most common pattern is ABBA or ABCBA, with the last line repeating the first, and the fourth line repeating the second. I'll try to point this out when we find one.

We will meet other variations as we go through the Psalms this quarter.

Who Wrote the Psalms

Many of them say they are a “Psalm of David.” But the preposition in Hebrew is more vague. You could also translate it “to David,” or even in some cases “about David.” We do know David played and apparently sang well on the harp. I like to compare his music to the modern day singers who accompany themselves on a guitar. Many of them also compose their own songs as well as sing songs of others. If David was a musician, it's easy to think his court was full of music, including his own. Other names are also given along with instructions about who is to lead the song or how the song should be sung.

There are a number of different kinds of Psalms:

Praise songs, or hymns

Laments, both personal and corporate

Thanksgiving

Royal psalms, both to the earthly king and God as King

Wisdom

Entrance, pilgrimage, or songs of ascent

Prophetic exhortation (preaching)

Trust and faith

Psalms is divided into five “books” or sections. 1-50 is the first one, and 50-72 the second. Scholars believe the first three sections are the oldest, and the last two later. For one thing the copies found at Qumran have more variations in the last two books, perhaps indicating those were not yet considered as part of the canon, or fixed as scripture.

Each of the five books ends with a doxology or “praise to the Lord.” Check it out at the end of Psalms 50 and 72.

A Few Themes

Kingship, especially God as King. When speaking of an earthly king like David, he always represents God on earth and rules for Him. Jesus quoted the Psalms more than any other OT book, and His predominant theme was the Kingdom of Heaven.

Righteousness shows up very often. Righteousness is a major characteristic of a citizen of God's kingdom. I once read an article by a Latin American translator, who pointed out that in all the Spanish Bibles you find the same word we render as righteousness, rendered in Spanish as justicia or justice. I tried substituting the word justice in a number of places, and found it makes sense. You might try it. Incidentally, Psalms does not present a righteousness that you can do-it-yourself. It's part of God's grace and forgiveness, even here in the OT.

Happiness is a major theme. That's what “blessed” implies: God-given happiness, the real deal.

The Law, or Torah, the Word of God. Right off the bat, in the first six verses we are told “in His Torah/law he meditates day and night. In Psalm 119, we will find in the enormous poem that every verse praises the law/Torah. That law refers first to commands of God, but also to the entire Pentateuch, the first five books. Those books were already considered sacred Scripture by the time his poetry was written.

That Torah, however, is not law as we usually think of it. Torah is a way of life, God's way. It is instruction in life; in fact, one could translate Torah in some cases as instruction, and they would be correct.

PSALM 1

Appropriately the quarterly begins the study with the First Psalm. This wisdom Psalm serves as the introduction to all 150, as well as the first book.

Blessed is the man/one – It's legitimate here to translate “one” rather than “man,” because the idea fits all people. Happy, to be congratulated have also been used in other translations. I still like Blessed, because it carries more of the idea that this happiness comes from God, It is “shalom,” peace, health, holy happiness.

Then there follow three parallels, somewhat synonymous, but also adding a bit more with each phrase.

Who does/has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly/wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of the scornful/scoffers.

He begins with the negative, some things the righteous person does NOT do. One author suggests a progression here as though describing how one gets involved with a bad crowd. First he walks by, then stops and stands, and finally sits down and joins the group. The sinners are also described in different terms, although these don't seem to be progressive: ungodly or wicked, sinners, finally scornful or scoffers. The OT has many terms for sin and sinners, and we will encounter many of them in this study. By the way, this is the only three part parallelism in Psalms.

But his delight is in the law/Torah of the Lord/Yahweh,

and in His Torah/law he meditates day and night.

This is a rough positive parallel to the first verse and its negative expression. This is called antithetical parallelism and is like an antonym, though it's not an opposite thought. Again, it adds to a picture of the righteous man.

Note the word “meditates.” It implies much more than a quick reading of the Law, rather the good people think deeply about that Torah and how it applies to them and their society. How much do we meditate/think about/ponder/study the Word of God? I am reminded of last Sunday's lesson on the great commission: teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Incidentally, some have compared the five books of the Psalms as related to the five books of the Pentateuch.

And he shall be like a tree, planted by streams of water

that brings forth its fruit in its sseason,

and whose leaf does not wither

and in whatever he does he shall prosper.

He prospers first because God blesses him for keeping His instruction. Yet he also prospers because that way of life leads to prosperity. As the roots of the tree stretch down into the streams of water to nourish it so it can produce fruit, so the happy person extends roots deeply into God's instruction in His way of life.

The ungodly are not so,

but are like the chaff

which the wind blows away.

Remember Gideon trying ridiculously to thresh wheat in a wine vat so the enemy would not see him? The idea is that the dried wheat is tossed in the air, and the wind blows away the husks, leaving the good grain to fall safely to the ground. Often threshing was done on hilltops, perhaps with a scooped out rock like a saucer to catch the fallen grain. The Psalmist is saying the wicked and their plans will not endure, but will be whisked away.

Compare the celebrities whose lifestyle too often leads them to early deaths. They are the tip of the iceberg compared to thousands across the land whose habits lead them to constant trouble with the law, homelessness, and early death.

Yes, I know bad things happen to good people, and many fine Christians die early. I don't always understand this, but as a group, those who live by the Way of Truth are far more likely, not only to endure, but to succeed in doing the will of God.

Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the Congregation of the righteous.

Judgment is the Hebrew term mishpat. The word can also mean a judgment or law. The word for judge where Moses appointed 70 judges to interpret the law before giving the law is derived from mishpat. The judgment, therefore, is the time when the Lord rules on our lives...Judgment Day. The wicked will be swept away in the judgment as the chaff are blown away by the wind. Neither will they be included among the family of God, the citizens of the Kingdom. (Depart! I never knew you...)

For the Lord/Yahweh knows the way of the righteous/just,

but the way of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 1, indeed the Book of Psalms, clearly defines two roads or ways in life. They are black and white, true and false. They do not overlap. One is travelling toward God; the other is headed away from God. At the Judgment at life's end the wayfarer arrives at opposite destinations. One who aims away from God lands forever at the destination he chose. The other who heads toward God ends up in His Presence eternally.

To say God knows our way means more than that the Lord intellectually perceives what road we choose. Rather the verse means God knows by experience, as though He travels that road with us. Communion with God (in Christ) IS eternal life here and now as well as in eternity!