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The Acrostic Psalms

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The Acrostic Psalms The Acrostic Psalms ACROSTIC — It means a poem in which the first letters, consecutive lines, or stanzas form words or an alphabet, The Old Testament contains fourteen acrostic poems, in which the 22 letter Hebrew alphabet appears, with slight variations at the beginning of: • Each line, of 1 line (Lam 3) • Each line, or each half of 2 line (Psalm 111, 112) • Each verse every second line of line (Psalm 24, 34, 119, 145) • Every second line, or each half of 4 line v. (Nahum 1(2-10). • Each v, every third line of 3 line (Lamentations 1,2) • Every Fourth line, or every two verses or 2nd line verse (Psalm 9,10, 37) • A strophic arrangement in which each letter begins three successive verses appears in Lamentations 3 – total 66 vv., or eight successive vv. In Psalm 119 (total 176 vv.) The order or letters in the Semitic Alphabet is now known to date back to Mosaic times (15th century B.C.) confirming the possible antiquity of the acrostic Psalms 9, 25, 24, 37, 145, and their claim to Davidic authorship. Psalm 10 must then go with 9, since the two form one acrostic. Acrostics aid in memorization. Awareness of acrostic structure has also assisted in the textual restoration of verses such as Psalms 25(5,19), 34(7), 37(28), and 145(13). There are two examples of the acrostic device outside the Psalter, In Proverbs 31, the twenty-two verses (10-31), which describe the virtuous woman, begin respectively with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. And in the Book of the Lamentations the arrangement is second to Psalm 119 in respect of elaboration. This form of writing strikes us as being very artificial and constrained, but probably these Hebrew writers did not feel it to be so; and they, on their part, would regard our method of rhyme as artificial. Indeed Milton regarded rhyme as “no necessary adjunct or true ornament of poem or good verse . but the invention of a barbarous age, to set off wretched matter and lame metre.” The acrostic form has been spoken of as a “shackle,” and the system regarded as belonging “not to the period of national prosperity and vigorous life, but to the time of its decadence and extinction. Psalm 119 could also be a Psalm of Repentance. PSALM 9 – A Psalm of David - First Prayer/Praise Psalm 1. Fourfold praise to God 2. Tenfold destruction of the wicked 3. The Lord: Judge of the world; refuge of the righteous 4. Praise; reasons for praise 5. Prayer and reason for it 6. The wicked are snared in their own nets 7. The destiny of the righteous and the wicked (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:11-15; Isaiah 66:22-24) 8. Prayer: four requests; one reason PSALM 10 – First Psalm of the Wicked 1. First appeal to God to punish the wicked; twenty-two sins of the wicked 2. Second appeal to God to punish the wicked and help the righteous in his oppressions PSALM 25 - A Psalm of David - Seventh Prayer of Distress 1. Twelve requests of God 2. Sixfold instruction and prayer for sinners 3. Sixfold blessing to those who repent and fear God PSALM 34 – A Psalm of David - Second Psalm of Deliverance 1. Sevenfold praise for deliverance 2. Sevenfold testimony of deliverance 3. Sevenfold promise of deliverance 4. Tenfold condition of deliverance 5. Fifteen-fold ministry of the Great Deliverer Psalm 37 – A Psalm of David - Third Psalm of Instruction 1. Thirteen commands: ten blessings of obedience 2. Tenfold sowing and reaping of the wicked 3. Five contrasts between the righteous and the wicked 4. Seven blessing of the righteous 5. Three commands: ten blessings of the righteous; two sins and curses of the wicked 6. Four commands: destiny of the righteous and wicked 7. Six blessings of the righteous: reason for blessings PSALM 111 – Third Psalm of God - twenty-two reasons to praise Him 1. Praise to God 2. His sevenfold works and character 3. Fourfold providence of God 4. Fourfold character of His works and word 5. His fourfold redemption and name 6. The source of wisdom PSALM 112 – Seventh Psalm of the Righteous - Twenty-four blessings of the righteous 1. His fourfold happiness 2. His eightfold riches and character 3. His sevenfold confidence 4. His fourfold character and reward 5. Fivefold envy of the wicked PSALM 145 – Nineteenth Psalm of Praise - David's Psalm of Praise 1. Fourfold personal praise to God 2. Twelvefold greatness of God 3. Sixfold character of God 4. Conditions of the eternal kingdom 5. Fifteenfold providence of God Psalm 119 – It will be seen at a glance that 1. There are twenty-two stanzas, corresponding to the twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. 2. In each stanza are eight verses, making 176 in all 3. Each verse consists of two members 4. The first line of each couplet begins with a letter of the alphabet, and of the same letter, throughout each stanza, as in its first verse 5. This is true of all twenty-two stanzas and the letters are in their alphabetic order. From this arrangement there is no variation. The word at the top of each stanza, in most Bibles, is the name of the Hebrew letter FACETS OF THE LAW Eight words at least, and perhaps ten, answering to the ‘ten words’ of the Ten Commandments are used in this Psalm to describe the Law. These are: 1. COMMANDMENT—MitsvЛh. Occurs 22 times - A definite command imposed by authority 2. JUDGMENTS—MishpЛtim. Occurs 19 times (ordinances), “As Thou usest to do” in verse 132, is “according to Thine ordinance” (mishpat). Judicial decision or sentence 3. LAW— Torah. Occurs 25 times - A law, instruction, teaching, revelation of the will of God for the life of man 4. PRECEPTS—Piqqudim. Occurs only in the Psalter; 24 times; 21 of which are in this Psalm. It means mandates, injunctions. Always in the plural. 5. SAYlNG—’Itnrah. Occurs 19 times. An utterance and the purport of it something communicated orally 6. STATUTES—Chuqqim. Occurs 22 times. This word comes from a root which means to hew, cut in, engrave, scribe; and so comes to mean what is ordained, decreed; prescribed, enacted 7. TESTIMONIES—Edüth. Occurs 9 times. Edah. occurs 14 times. It means reiteration, attestation, witness. 8. WAY—Derek. Occurs 13 times. It signifies a road as trodden, a mode of life, a course of action marked out by God’s law. 9. WORD—DabЛr. Occurs 24 times, “I will answer one reproaching me a word From dabar, to arrange in a row; to set forth in speech. This is not the same as SAYING (above). It signifies the articulation of God’s will to men. The Ten Commandments are the Ten Words, the Decalogue. 10.There are several other words, one or other of which is sometimes regarded as a synonym for the Law but which more properly are attributes of it. These words are righteousness, faithfulness, and truth. a. Right. Righteousness. Ydshar: ver. 128. Tzedek. Occurs 12 times. Rendered righteousness; righteous; justice; right Tz’dakJh. Occurs 2 times. These words mean, what is right, just, equitable, virtuous; these qualities characterize the Law of the LORD. b. Faithfulness, faithful. EnCunJh. Occurs times; translated truth in ver. 30). The meaning is fidelity, security, firmness, stability, trustworthiness; and these qualities characterize the Law of God. c. Truth. True. Emeth. Occurs 4 times. This word has the force of stability, certainty, trustworthiness, which ideas are applicable to the Divine Law. It is commonly said that there is some reference to the Law in every verse of this Psalm except in verse 122; but this is not correct. The word “judgment” in verse 84 is not a designation of the Law, but a sentence, which will be carried out in keeping with it. “Faithfulness” in verse 90 is, as we have just said, an attribute of the Law, rather than a name for it. There appears to be no word for Law in verse 132, but see under No. 2, Judgment. It is safe to say that the Law is referred to in 173 of the 176 verses of the Psalm. The New Testament contains no acrostics. Early Christians, however, used the fish as a symbol of Christ because I X O T E is the acrostic of Inoovs Xpioros Oeov Tios Ewrnp or Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. I X O T E.
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