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PSALMS (New Lecture, Fall 2016) The NAME: Tehillim, and the creation of the word: “PSALM”
FIRST COMMENTS ON HEBREW POETRY and PARALLELISM
(1) Note that “Poetry diverges from regular speech by its being dictated by a particular form, and this form often changes natural behavior”
- So what is the “FORM” that “dictates” Hebrew Poetry?
- CONSIDER PSALM 1 & 2
(A) SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM
Psalm 2:1 (A) Why do the nations conspire,
(B) and the peoples plot in vain?
(B) SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM
Psalm 1:3
(A) They are like trees planted by streams of water,
(B) which yield their fruit in its season,
(C) and their leaves do not wither.
(D) In all that they do, they prosper.
(C ) ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM
PSALM 1:6
6 for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. BUT ARE THERE MORE?
- Gender matched parallelism (Isa 49:22, Embrace (m), shoulder (f))
- Standard word pairs: earth/dust; Isaiah 29:4 4 Then deep from the earth you shall speak, from low in the dust your words shall come;
understand:know; Psalm 92:6 6 The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this:
eat/drink Psalm 102:9 9 For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
rain/dew Job 38:28 28 "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? 2 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
- Father/mother Psalm 109:14 14 May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the LORD, and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
NUMBER Parallelism
Amos 2:1 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four (EIGHT TIMES!)
Proverbs 30:18 18 Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand:
Coogan: “Thought Rhyme” Kugal: “an echoing “seconding” character…”
The Five Books of Psalms
1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150 – “Amen Amen”
DOUBLETS: 14//53 40//70
Psalm 14:1-7 NRS Psalm 14:1
Psalm 53:1-6 NRS Psalm 53:1
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Psalm 40:13-17 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me. 14 Let all those be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt. 15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!" 16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the LORD!" 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
Psalm 70:1-5 NRS Psalm 70:1
THE CANONICAL SHAPE OF PSALMS
(Nancy DeClaisse-Walford, Oxford Handbook of Psalms)
(1) Begins with Reign of David in Book ONE 1-41 (2) Reign of Solomon, Book TWO – close of book two moves toward descendants 42 - 72 (3) Divided Kingdom and Destruction by Assyria and Babylon 73-89 (4) Struggles of Exiles in Babylon to “find identity and meaning” 90 - 106 (5) Return to Israel and God as Sovereign 107 - 150
59% of book one are Laments – calling on God to protect form enemies
In THREE, David moves to the background, and the COMMUNITY voice is dominant. Community laments.
DeClaisse-Walford suggests the key is in 88-89, the end of book THREE
Ps. 88 Lament without expressions of trust and praise!!
Psalm 88:13-18 13 But I, O LORD, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 O LORD, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; from all sides they close in on me. 18 You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in darkness.
A Royal Psalm like no other because it ends in rejection:
Psalm 89:38-52 38 But now you have spurned and rejected him; you are full of wrath against your anointed. 39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken through all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins. 41 All who pass by plunder him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. 43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword, and you have not supported him in battle. 44 You have removed the scepter from his hand, and hurled his throne to the ground. 45 You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah 46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember how short my time is-- for what vanity you have created all mortals! 48 Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah 49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? 50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples, 51 with which your enemies taunt, O LORD, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed. 52 Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen. 4 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
BOOK FOUR – OPENS WITH “Prayer of MOSES”!! Mentioned 7 times in this section – (99, 103, 105, 106 – 3 times) only once everywhere else.
Psalm 90:7-17 7 For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh. 10 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. 13 Turn, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands-- O prosper the work of our hands!
DOMINANT IN BOOK FOUR, GOD IS KING:
Psalm 93:1 NRS Psalm 93:1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
Psalm 95:3-6 3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Psalm 96:10 - 97:1 10 Say among the nations, "The LORD is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity." 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the LORD; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
Psalm 97:1 NRS Psalm 97:1 The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
Psalm 105:1 - 106:48 NRS Psalm 105:1 O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.
Covenant with Abraham over LAND:
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance." 12 When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in it, 13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 14 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 15 saying, "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."
Taking Care of JOSEPH IN EGYPT
16 When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread, 17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD kept testing him. 20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free. 21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler 5 CBISA Year II 2019-2020 of all his possessions, 22 to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. 23 Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
MOSES
24 And the LORD made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes, 25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. 26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron whom he had chosen. …42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant. 43 So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing. 44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples, 45 that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!
THE HISTORY LESSON CONTINUES in 106
NRS Psalm 106:1 Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. 2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or declare all his praise? 3 Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. 4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them; 5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your heritage. 6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. 7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. 8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, so that he might make known his mighty power. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them through the deep as through a desert. 10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. 12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
INTO EXILE:
34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did. 36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus they became unclean by their acts, and prostituted themselves in their doings. 40 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; 41 he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. 43 Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low through their iniquity.
PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE:
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress when he heard their cry. 45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 46 He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive. 47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the LORD!
BOOK FIVE BEGINS WITH REDEMPTION
Psalm 107:1-21 NRS Psalm 107:1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 7 he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town. 8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. 9 For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills 6 CBISA Year II 2019-2020 with good things. 10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom, prisoners in misery and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor; they fell down, with no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; 14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder. 15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze, and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17 Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; 20 he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. 21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. A “CONSTITUTIVE DOCUMENT OF IDENTITY FOR POSTEXILIC ISRAEL” (NICOT 38)
PROMISES FOR THE FUTURE:
Psalm 102:15-21 15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory. 16 For the LORD will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory. 17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer. 18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD: 19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die; 21 so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
Psalm 103:2-13 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits-- 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.
Psalm 105:43 - 106:1 43 So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing. 44 He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples, 45 that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!
THE THEME OF VENGEANCE AFTER EXILE:
Psalm 137:1-9 NRS Psalm 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon-- there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! 6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. 7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem's fall, how they said, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!" 8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! 9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock
Clifford, “Ps. 137 has the distinction of having one of the most beloved opening lines and the most horrifying closing line of any psalm” (NICOT 956), Ps. 73-150, Clifford, 275. 7 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
MORE VENGEANCE AGAINST KINGS:
Psalm 149:6-9 6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, 7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, 9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
BUT IS THERE ANOTHER VOICE?
Psalm 138:1-8 NRS Psalm 138:1
Hossfled and Zenger, 2011, relates to 72 (enemies lick dust, kings bow down) 529
532 – 137 – demand for songs but not able…now kings of earth join in songs about Yahweh.
Psalm 138:4-6 4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth. 5 They shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. 6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away.
THE KEY IS “THE WAYS OF THE LORD” “PATHS OF GOD”, “ROADS OF GOD”
NRS Deuteronomy 8:6 Therefore keep the commandments of the LORD your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
NRS Deuteronomy 10:12 So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
NRS Deuteronomy 11:22 If you will diligently observe this entire commandment that I am commanding you, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him,
Deut 19:9 - by loving the LORD your God and walking always in his ways—
NRS Deuteronomy 28:9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
NRS Deuteronomy 30:16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
NRS Psalm 25:4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
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NRS Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Micah 4:2 2 and many nations shall come and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Psalm 29 as a Baal Hymn??
Psalm 29:1
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh…
HOW TO STUDY PSALMS
(1) Historical Setting
23 % = Pre-Exilic (but if it mentions Temple[ 68, 122]…can’t be Davidic!)
4.5 % = Exilic
62% = Post Exilic
10.5% = UNKNOWN ??
“A Psalm of David” (Such as linking Psalm 51 to David and Bathsheba) – “FOR David” dwI)d"l.
A form of ascribing Psalms to times in the King’s Life.
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(2) THE GENRES
Celebration Protest and Petition
Communal…………………………………HYMN………………………………………Communal lament
Personal……………………………………..Song of Thanksgiving……………….Individual Lament
(319, Linafelt and Brueggemann)
CURRENTS FOR STUDY OF THE PSALMS:
(1) Jerusalem accent of the Psalms.
- The centrality of the Temple
- In the Temple, YhWH is celebrated as Creator and King
- The place of the Davidic King (Ps. 2 and 110 taken up by early Christians)
(2) The COSMIC THEMES of CREATION!!
- Therefore in competition with Mosaic Covenant Tradition!! Sinai, not ZION!
Psalm one placed to reaffirm the MOSAIC and TORAH tradition:
Psalm 1:1 - 2:1 NRS Psalm 1:1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; 2 but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. 3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
AS OPPOSED TO PRAISE OF KINGSHIP and ISRAELITE RULE:
Psalm 2:6-12 6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." 7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling 12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.
(3) Liturgical Use of the Psalms – the “Recreate the World” each year? Or now “Instructional”?
(4) Orientation – Disorientation – New orientation
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(5) Is there a canonical ORDER to the Psalms?
CONSIDER POSSIBLE Chiastic Structures?
Patrick Miller – 15 – 24 Entrance Liturgy 16 – 23 Song of Trust 17 – 22 prayer for help 18 – 20-21 royal Psalms 19 TORAH PSALM
INFLUENCE FROM EGYPTIAN? LIKE WISDOM??
- O Sole God beside whom there is none! – to Aten - O YHWH my God you are very great. – to YHWH
- How many are your deeds … You made the earth as you wished, you alone, All peoples, herds, and flocks. – to Aten - O YHWH, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. to YHWH
- When you set in western lightland, Earth is in darkness as if in death – to Aten - You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. – to YHWH
- Every lion comes from its den – to Aten - The young lions roar for their prey .. when the sun rises, they withdraw, and lie down in their dens. – to YHWH
- When you have dawned they live, When you set they die; – to Aten - When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die – to YHWH - - You set every man in his place, You supply their needs; Everyone has his food. – to Aten - These all look to you to give them their food in due season. – to YHWH
- The entire land sets out to work – to Aten - People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening – to YHWH
- The fish in the river dart before you, Your rays are in the midst of the sea. – to Aten - Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there – to YHWH
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- Birds fly from their nests, Their wings greeting your ka – to Aten - By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches – to YHWH
- He makes waves on the mountain like the sea, To drench their fields and their towns. – to Aten - You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills … The trees of YHWH are watered abundantly – to YHWH
CALL AND RESPONSE?
Psalm 24:1-10 NRS Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah
ZION HYMNS 46, 47, 87
PILGRIMAGE HYMNS 84, 122
• ROYAL PSALMS? Psalm 2; Psalm 18
• Psalm 20 Psalm 20:1-9 NRS Psalm 20:1
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright. 9 Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call.
• Psalm 21 Psalm 21:1-13 NRS Psalm 21:1
• Psalm 45 Psalm 45:1-7 My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2 You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty. 4 In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds. 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you. 6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity; 7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
• Psalm 72; Psalm 101; Psalm 110; Psalm 132; Psalm 144
WISDOM 37 (Acrostic!) Psalm 37:1-40 envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret-- it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming. 13 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance. 20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish-- like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23 Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way; 24 though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.
TORAH PSALMS 1, 19, 119
“The Law of God in Song?” the FIVE BOOKS?
Statutes, commandments, decrees, ordinances, “your way”, word…in almost every verse!:
Psalm 119:1-48 NRS Psalm 119:1 Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.
9 How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes. 14 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
13 With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, so that I may live and observe your word.
18 Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 I live as an alien in the land; do not hide your commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.
LEGAL PSALMS???
Here is a Psalm that STARTS like it is national enemies…but keep reading!!
Psalm 35:1-28 NRS Psalm 35:1
11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me about things I do not know. 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is forlorn. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my bosom, 14 as though I grieved for a friend or a brother; I went about as one who laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning. 15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; ruffians whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; 16 they impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O LORD, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions! 18 Then I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. 19 Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me, or those who hate me without cause wink the eye. 20 For they do not speak peace, but they conceive deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. 21 They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it." 22 You have seen, O LORD; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me! 23 Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense, for my cause, my God and my Lord! 24 Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me. …
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THE POOR IN THE PSALMS
Ps. 9:18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
NRS Psalm 10:2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor-- let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
NRS Psalm 12:5 "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up," says the LORD; "I will place them in the safety for which they long."
NRS Psalm 14:6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.
NRS Psalm 22:26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
NRS Psalm 34:6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, and was saved from every trouble.
NRS Psalm 37:14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
NRS Psalm 40:17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
NRS Psalm 41:1
NRS Psalm 49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
NRS Psalm 70:5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
NRS Psalm 72:2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
NRS Psalm 74:19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.
21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.
NRS Psalm 86:1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
NRS Psalm 109:16 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me. 16 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
NRS Psalm 112:9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
NRS Psalm 113:7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
NRS Psalm 132:15 I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread.
NRS Psalm 140:12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.
Imprecatory Psalms – Psalms of Vindictive Revenge
God in Battle:
Psalm 18:6-16 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 9 He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. 10 He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water. 12 Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice. 14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters.
Psalm 3:7 7 Rise up, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
Psalm 18:46-48 46 The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, 47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me; 48 who delivered me from my enemies; indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries; you delivered me from the violent.
(1) IGNORE THEM! (2) ADMIT THAT THIS IS HOW WE FEEL
(3) TURN OVER VIOLENT THOUGHTS TO GOD – NONVIOLENCE!!
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MYSTERIES:
SELAH
This word occurs seventy-one times in thirty-nine of the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk 3: altogether 74 times in the Bible.
The Septuagint, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate διάψαλμα (diapsalma, or "apart from psalm") — a word as enigmatic in Greek as is selah in Hebrew.
which means "to lift up (voices)" or "to exalt," and also carries a close connotational ס ֶ֜ לָ ה verb root ".which is similar in meaning: "to lift up" or "to cast up ,סָלַל relationship to the verb
SALLAH – “hang” = Weigh? Consider?
HOW WERE PSALMS USED??
- CULTIC………….73.5%
- NOT CLEAR…..8.5%
- NONCULTIC!....18% So how used???
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ZION PSALMS Zion Theology, as enumerated again recently by Matthew Lynch:
(1) Zion is where God defeat’s enemies and builds his house (Ps. 78:66 then 67) (2) Zion is a symbol of Yhwh’s world-ordering justice (3) The convergence of the nations to Zion in response (4) Zion, a place of refuge for the disenfranchised (Lynch, 248-249)
Hans Wildberger is widely credited with strongly defending a fifth element of this, namely the “Volkerwallfahrt” = “pilgrimage” of the nations as an additional primary theme of Zion Theology
Isaiah 60:3-12 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall be acceptable on my altar, and I will glorify my glorious house. 8 Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows? 9 For the coastlands shall wait for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from far away, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the LORD your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. 10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you down, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. 11 Your gates shall always be open; day and night they shall not be shut, so that nations shall bring you their wealth, with their kings led in procession. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste. BUT ALSO:
Zechariah 8:20-23 20 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21 the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going." 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
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Laments in the Old Testament
Why is it that we “lament” to our spouse or friend, but never to our boss? THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP of TRUST that encourages “VENTING”. This is precisely the issue before us - how does bitching establish bonding!
WHY do we respond, “Why are you telling ME this??”
But lets say there IS a bond with your boss - you DO trust her. What is the basis for a legitimate, and non-legitimate, complaint? How should it be worded?
What is the Lament as a Prayer form in the Hebrew BIble? It is COMPLAINT, it involves PETITION, it involves REASONING, and it also involves a pronouncement of God’s action!
But it also evolved. Lets examine that last issue, first.
Look at an early Laments: Judges 15:18; Nu. 14:13-19. Who are the parties involved? US - GOD - THEM! Compare Ps 13:1-2. Anything seem interesting or unexpected here?
Now look at the lament in Daniel 9! What is similar, and what is different? NO complaints against God! The impact of Deuteronomic Guilt.
Explain the Deuteronomic Movement, and the Exile, and what happened.
So, we look at the evolution of the Lament. 20 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
Early stage - simple protest and complaint. Second Stage - FULL BLOWN “Lament Forms” Lament of Individual // Communal
(a) Address - introductory petition. (b) Lament Complaint. (c) Turning Toward God - Petition. (d) Motivation. (e) Vow of Praise / offering / Assurance of being heard.
Address - the establish the relationship - who is talkin to whom?
Individual Laments: What is the problem? \ - sickness 6:2; 13:3
- danger before enemies 6:8, 7:1-4 - Loneliness and abandonment 31:11, 38:11 - shame, humiliation 4:2; 22:6-7 - death 28:1; 59:3
Communal Laments - Group Humiliation, War, and/or drought/famine 44,58,74,79, 80, 83
Petition Related to Complaint Healing 6:2; 41:4 deliverance from humiliation 22:20; 25:3 21 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
Motivations God’s Reputation 13:4; 25:1 Past action 22:4-5; 143:5 Guilt of Speaker 25:11 Innocence 26:3-7 Helplessness 25:16; 55:18 Trust of speaker 17:8-9; 22:9-10
God has Heard 13:5-6; 17:15 Thanksgiving 7:17; 16:9-11 Promised Vows 26:12; 54:6-7
But how, and WHY, does a Lament move from lament to Praise? - speaker, worship leader announces word - Announcement guarantees later action
- In the name of Yahweh - possible “magic” ? - determination to make change? Announce God’s intent and reality?
Did these laments express: - demand for justice in the Temple? - praise for asylum? - seek punishment of opponents?
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The LAMENT IS CENTRAL TO THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE:
Ex. 2:23b Ex 3:7-8 Ex 15:1 The Exodus Event itself moves with the rythm of a Lament
(1) The Judges Cycle 3:7-11 - basic literary cycle. (2) Judges to David - David as response (3) 1 Kings 17:20-22 - Elijah and the Widow woman’s son (4) EVEN LAW PRESUMES LAMENT!! Ex. 22:21-27.
LAMENT IS A FORM - DO WE NEED FORMS?? (1) We use regularized sounds to communicate, and also to identify self and others as part of a linguistic group. (2) To use forms expresses the appropriateness of the attitude and feeling (3) To have forms BRINGS THIS EXPERIENCE BACK INTO COMMUNITY as part of life. The sufferer is NOT prey to alienation and destruction.
ONLY PRAISE is bad faith. False praise will be found out!! Job 13:7-12 and its’ context.
COMPLAINT is NOT ONLY PART OF LIFE, IT IS PROTEST!! To have PROTEST at the center of religious life is a profound statement of Hebrew faith. It is a recognition of the “not right”, and that GOD IS ALSO RESPONSIVE. TELL GOD, because GOD IS RESPONSIBLE!!
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How should we incorporate LAMENT into our worship and our lives? Are we tempted by the “just silently suffer”, “bear it” - that is STOICISM, and not Christianity. We said that PRAISE reunites us as a community. So, too does Lament!! We say that complaints are valid.
Brueggemann studies Laments because: REAL - Study laments takes us back to life as it is. HONEST - Life is as it comes, not always sweetness and joy. DIALOGUE - Laments show that our faith is a dialogue - with a real God.
A startling insight. Assignment: Take a troubling text, and tell us what is happening.
Matthew 15:21-28. - Lament to Jesus. - Jesus responds to CANAANITE woman!!
Lamentations
Notes from Lamentations: Issues and Interpretation, Claus Westermann, Fortress 1994 Dirge and Lament over the Death of a City
2 Samuel 3:33-34 33 The king lamented for Abner, saying, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen." And all the people wept over him again.
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Jeremiah 38:22 22 a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying, 'Your trusted friends have seduced you and have overcome you; Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they desert you.'
Amos 5:2 2 Fallen, no more to rise, is maiden Israel; forsaken on her land, with no one to raise her up.
Ezekiel 26:17-18 17 And they shall raise a lamentation over you, and say to you: How you have vanished from the seas, O city renowned, once mighty on the sea, you and your inhabitants, who imposed your terror on all the mainland! 18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the coastlands by the sea are dismayed at your passing.
(1) Announcement that a death has occurred (2) A summons to mourn (3) A thematic statement of finality (4) A contrast motif (5) A reference to the impact of the demise upon immediate bystanders (6) Some description of general state of distress.
Genuine dirges must have been quite short.
Dirges are separate from “lament” and prophetic announcement of judgment. Judgment does not imply that the deed is DONE, but that it is coming! Dirge moves toward LAMENT because the event has happened. (6-7)
WOMEN involve in Dirges – may have begin within families:
Jeremiah 9:17-22 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skilled women to come; 18 let them quickly raise a dirge over us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids flow with water. 19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: "How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed, because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings." 20 Hear, O women, the word of the LORD, and let your ears receive the word of his mouth; teach to your daughters a dirge, and each to her neighbor a lament. 21 "Death has come up into our windows, it has entered our palaces, to cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares." 22 Speak! Thus says the LORD: "Human corpses shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves behind the reaper, and no one shall gather them." 25 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
Westermann compares older Lament over Destruction of Ur – even though no direct path of influence can be observed – he insists that it is a genuine parallel worthy of consideration (20ff) because it is a social parallel – reaching over 1000 years!
24-25 Karl Budde – Ch. 3 much later (Hellenistic Period? Assumes 1,2,4,5)
28ff – Gunkel notes – familial dirge joined to communal lament, and thus “the originally profane genre has been transformed into religious poetry…” 28
Rudolph (29) “the overall intent of Lamentations is to lead the people to a proper understanding of the ways of Yahweh and thereby also to a proper form of behaviour…”
One should not endlessly engage in lamentation! Says Rudolph!
Lamentations makes sense in Jeremiah’s Theological orbit! We brought this on ourselves, we must return to Yahweh to see a future.
Weiser, “The lament is a natural expression of the suffering human being…” quoted in Westermann, page 36
Ploeger, 41, the intent of the book, “…to instill a disposition, amidst a crisis of faith, that can lead to a transformation.”
WESTERMANN
54-55 – Lamentations (except 3) written soon after the events of 587. Probably in Palestine.
61 – “IN fact, however, there is no other book in the Old Testament whose contents force the question of the life-setting more strongly than Lamentations.”
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62 – ORAL tradition assumes that these songs were actually spoken in the midst of the disaster, rather than as reflection later on?
Zech 7 and 8 presume days of observing the memory of the destruction of Jerusalem:
Zechariah 7:1-3 NRS Zechariah 7:1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men, to entreat the favor of the LORD, 3 and to ask the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, "Should I mourn and practice abstinence in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"
Zechariah 8:18-23 18 The word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying: 19 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah: therefore love truth and peace. 20 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21 the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going." 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
Westermann states the central fact of CH. 3: (71) deals with 587 in “not one of its clauses”. “One gets the impression that the interpreters of chapter three have simple failed to perceive how far removed are its clauses, with their edificatory or pastoral language, from the bloody reality of the event of which the other songs speak. Can one really say this chapter is the culmination of the lamentation which takes place in the other songs?”
76-77 “Astonishing agreement” among commentators that the intention of Lamentations is to properly understand the events as God’s doing, and to repentence.
But these same people downgrade the significance of even DOING laments! Because there are better and somehow more proper ways to remind people to repent?
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81 – In sum, Lamentations did not arise in order to answer certain questions or to resolve some problems or conflicts. These songs arose as an immediate reaction on the part of those affected by the collapse. Those so affected then expressed themselves in lamentations…the real significance of laments resides in the way they allow the suffering of the afflicted to find expression…”
Accept guilt – but this is a reflection on Lamentations and is it really a central theme of the book??
Westermann sees one problem that laments are not a central part of the Christian tradition of prayer!! Thus they are minimized and criticized.
89 – The honest humanity of laments? W. states about The cry of Jesus on the cross is “most deeply human”.
Westermann wonders if the initial human cry leads to the structured lament. Initial cries:
Genesis 4:13 13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!
Genesis 15:2 2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
Genesis 27:46 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
Judges 15:18 18 By then he was very thirsty, and he called on the LORD, saying, "You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant. Am I now to die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"
91 – That sufferers have been given the opportunity to pour out their hearts before God, precisely in the language of the lament, is seen in the Old Testament as itself an expression of divine mercy…in the Bible, sufferers are allowed to voice their laments directly to their Lord…” 28 CBISA Year II 2019-2020
Organization: 98-99 following
ACROSTIC:
5 – each verse one line – 22 lines, but not rigidly acrostic 4 – each verse, two lines – 22 letters 1-3 each verse, three lines
CH. 3 – first word of EACH LINE begins with the letter of the alphabet! Ch. 3 is the most rigidly organized of all!
Occurs also in Pslams 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145 Nahum 1:2-8 and Prov. 31:10-31
ALSO in Akkadian, Canaanite (Ugaritic) poetry
- Mnemonic device - Magical spell? - Express wholeness? - Alphabet itself growing in significance? Sacred? (similar to Magic)
Simply pleasing to ear! A rhetorical device? Westermann rejects all of these explanations in favor of just “pleasing”.
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WHEN WRITTEN?? SOME TEXTS seem to presuppose knowledge of Lamentations:
Is. 51:17b-20; Mic 4:9-14; Nah 1:9, 11-13; 2:1-3; Hos 14:2
LITERARY FORMS:
(105) 264 lines contain 75 comparisons! Comparisons with common every-day things, only one historical (Sodom), and thus the Lamentations arose among “simple folk” (106)
Introductory Comments on Prayer in the Old Testament
(1) If I asked you to pray - why would you be comfortable, or uncomfortable - knowing the words to say? - NOT knowing the words to say? - How do we recognize “genuine” prayer from fraudulent?
(2) Are there ways that are appropriate to prayer? Numbers 14:10-19 Set up the situation: Israelites complaining (again) about not being able to take over the land - and some of them want to return to Egypt. Moses, Aaron are grief-stricken. God warns that God is going to punish the people:
Numbers 14:11-19 11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." 13 But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people; for you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, 16 'It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.' 17 And now, therefore, let the power of the LORD be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying, 18 'The LORD is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, 30 CBISA Year II 2019-2020 forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children to the third and the fourth generation.' 19 Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now."
What should we say to God?
DISCUSS - Then Read the surprising results. - What is most unexpected about this?
What we discover when we study prayer in the Old Testament is that there are a number of aspects to the question:
(1) It is NOT a formal part of the worship of Ancient Israel. There is not a single discussion of prayer in the entire Levitical/Priestly code, and there is nowhere a command to pray.
(2) Yet, we will see that there are very formal aspects to prayers in the Old Testament - a certain pattern that they tend to follow, especially in certain kinds of situations. Praise/Thanksgiving, and Lament, are the two most common forms.
(3) God is portrayed in the Old Testament as a being who can “see” and “hear” (precisely what idols cannot do, Isa. 44:10). Therefore, discussion with God is considered rational and sensible. Furthermore, since God is also portrayed in Royal language throughout the text, there is the element of prayer as “addressing a mighty monarch”, etc.
(4) Finally, it will become clear that prayer evolves in the Bible. What is more common earlier in the tradition becomes less common later, and vice-versa. The Lament form, especially, goes through an interesting transformation in the context of Israelite history.