Commentary on Psalms - Volume 3
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Life Group Discussion Questions the Heart of Worship Words of Praise
Life Group Discussion Questions The Heart of Worship Words of Praise – Halal and Zamar Gospel Gain: Praising God includes times of celebration and the use of music. Gathering Together (Icebreaker) What events in life inspire celebration? Which of those events are in your top two celebrations? Why? Growing Together (Truth/Equipping) The word praise is used often in the Old Testament. However, the word praise has various meanings when it is used. This week we will learn about is halal and zamar. Halal (haw-lal) – to boast, to rave, to celebrate Read the following passages where halal was used to describe praise… • Psalm 69:30 • Psalm 22:22 • Psalm 109:30 • Psalm 149:3 • Psalm 150:6 Based on these verses, how common do you think the practice of celebration in worship was in the ancient world? If you grew up attending church, describe a typical worship service. Where there elements of celebration and if so, what were they? CS Lewis – The most valuable thing the psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance. What is your reaction to this CS Lewis quote? Why do you think some people are hesitant to express their celebration of God during a church worship gathering? When you praise God in a public setting, how conscious are you of others around you? How does that impact you negatively or positively? Zamar (zaw-mar) – to make music, to celebrate in song and music Read the following passages where zamar was used to describe praise… • Psalm 144:9 • Psalm 7:17 Based on these verses, how important is music when it -
Psalm 69 David's Cry for Deliverance and Vindication in View of Adversaries Who Mistreat Him for His Zeal for God
Psalm 69 David's Cry for Deliverance and Vindication in View of Adversaries Who Mistreat Him for His Zeal for God For the choir director; according to Shoshannim. A Psalm of David. Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). A1 DAVID'S DESPERATE CRY FOR SALVATION. 69:1-4 B1 His Desperate Cry to Elohim for Salvation: {1} Save me, O God, 69:1a B2 His Enumeration of His Overwhelming Conditions 69:1b-4 C1 Threatened by Waters: For the waters have threatened my life. 69:1b C2 Drowning in Trouble 69:2 D1 Sinking in Mire without a Foothold: {2} I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; D2 Drowning in Deep Waters: I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. C3 Exhausted from Weeping 69:3 D1 Exhaustion from tears: {3} I am weary with my crying; D2 Parched throat: my throat is parched; D3 Eyes failing while waiting for Elohim: My eyes fail while I wait for my God. C4 Abused by Enemies 69:4a D1 Needlessly hated by innumerable foes: {4} Those who hate me without a cause 1 are more than the hairs of my head; D2 Wrongfully the target of powerful destroyers: Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; C5 Suffering the Indignity of a Double Standard: What I did not steal, I then have to restore.2 69:4b 1 69:4 - hate me without a cause: Predictive of Christ in John 15:25 "But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, 'THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.' " 2 69:4 - restore: This is a main verb, standing out in distinction from all the preceding background verbs which follow David's imperative, "Save me!" in v. -
A Crisis in Faith: an Exegesis of Psalm 73
Restoration Quarterly 17.3 (1974) 162-184. Copyright © 1974 by Restoration Quarterly, cited with permission. A Crisis in Faith: An Exegesis of Psalm 73 TERRY L. SMITH Starkville, Mississippi Introduction Psalm 73 is a striking witness to the vitality of the individual life of faith in Israel. It represents the struggles through which the Old Testament faith had to pass. The psalm, a powerful testimony to a battle that is fought within one's soul, reminds one of the book of Job.1 Experiencing serious threat to his assurance of God in a desperate struggle with the Jewish doctrine of retribution, the poet of Psalm 73 raised the question, "How is Yahweh's help to and blessing of those who are loyal to him realized in face of the prosperity of the godless?"2 His consolation is the fact that God holds fast to the righteous one and "remains his God in every situation in life," and even death cannot remove the communion between them.3 He finds a "solution" not in a new or revised interpretation of the old retribution doctrine, but in a "more profound vision of that in which human life is truly grounded, and from which it derives its value."4 But Weiser argues, and rightly so, that what is at stake here is more than a mere theological or intellectual problem; it is a matter of life or death—the question of the survival of faith generally.5 The poem represents an 1. A. Weiser, The Psalms, Old Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), p. -
Are There Maccabean Psalms in the Psalter?
Bibliotheca Sacra 105 (Jan. 1948): 44-55. Copyright © 1948 by Dallas Theological Seminary. Cited with permission. Department of Semitics and Old Testament ARE THERE MACCABEAN PSALMS IN THE PSALTER? BY CHARLES LEE FEINBERG, TH.D., PH.D. Perhaps one of the most important questions in the mat- ter of dating the Psalter is that of the presence or absence of Maccabean psalms in the collection. Scholars differ wide- ly on the subject of such psalms in the Psalter, some finding a large number, others noting but a handful, while still others declaring the improbability of any such compositions in the Bible. The trend today is clear enough, however. Rowley notes: "At the beginning of the present century it was common to hold that a large number of the psalms was not composed until the Maccabean period. Such a view made the compilation of the Psalter so late that it could hardly be supposed that the Temple choirs of the Chron icler's day could have used this Hymn Book. Today there is a general tendency to find few, if any, Maccabean psalms, but on the contrary a good deal of ancient and pre-exilic material, though it is unlikely that any part of our Psalter was collected in its present form before the return from the exile."1 W. T. Davison contents himself with the general remark that there were probably such psalms.2 Driver proceeds very cautiously in reviewing the opinions of Olshausen and Reuss on this type of psalm, and thinks there would have been more prominent marks of such a period in the diction and style of the psalms.3 J. -
Psalms 73-89 the Psalms: Jesus’ Prayer Book
Book III - Psalms 73-89 The Psalms: Jesus’ Prayer Book My father valued his tools. Back in his day he was a slide-rule totting mathematician by vocation and a hammer-swinging carpenter by avocation. He loved his tools. He kept track of them, used them for their specific function, and returned them to their designated place. Nothing made a job go better than having the right tool. My dad took special pride in his wood turning lathe. A lathe is to a furniture-maker what a potter’s wheel is to the potter. With practice my father became skilled in turning out matching table legs. Of all his tools this is the one that reminds me most of the Psalms. A block of wood, locked in place, rotating at variable speeds, powered by an electric motor. The craftsman’s blade carving the wood into the desired shape. The Psalms are the right tool for shaping our spirituality and giving substance to our communion with God. They are soul- carving tools, to use Gregory of Nyssa’s metaphor. Each psalm is its own unique instrument, “and these instruments are not alike in shape,” but all share the common purpose of “carving our souls to the divine likeness.”1 We have plenty of tools for doing and getting, but as Eugene Peterson insists, we need “the primary technology of the Psalms, essential tools for being and becoming human.”2 The Psalms are instrumental in the care of souls. John Calvin entitled the Psalms, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul,” because there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious of that is not represented in the Psalms.3 Like an MRI, the Psalms are diagnostic. -
Psalms Psalm
Cultivate - PSALMS PSALM 126: We now come to the seventh of the "Songs of Ascent," a lovely group of Psalms that God's people would sing and pray together as they journeyed up to Jerusalem. Here in this Psalm they are praying for the day when the Lord would "restore the fortunes" of God's people (vs.1,4). 126 is a prayer for spiritual revival and reawakening. The first half is all happiness and joy, remembering how God answered this prayer once. But now that's just a memory... like a dream. They need to be renewed again. So they call out to God once more: transform, restore, deliver us again. Don't you think this is a prayer that God's people could stand to sing and pray today? Pray it this week. We'll pray it together on Sunday. God is here inviting such prayer; he's even putting the very words in our mouths. PSALM 127: This is now the eighth of the "Songs of Ascent," which God's people would sing on their procession up to the temple. We've seen that Zion / Jerusalem / The House of the Lord are all common themes in these Psalms. But the "house" that Psalm 127 refers to (in v.1) is that of a dwelling for a family. 127 speaks plainly and clearly to our anxiety-ridden thirst for success. How can anything be strong or successful or sufficient or secure... if it does not come from the Lord? Without the blessing of the Lord, our lives will come to nothing. -
Exegesis of the Psalms “Selah”
Notes ! 147 BIBLE STUDY METHODS: PSALMS The Psalms are emotional. At times, God speaks too, but most of what we read are man’s words directed toward heaven. All these words are completely inspired by God. Our issue is to determine how they function as God’s Word for us. The Psalms are not: • doctrinal teaching - No! • biblical commands on our behavior - No! • illustrations of biblical principles - No! They provide examples of how people expressed themselves to God (rightly or wrongly). They give us pause to think about (1) God, and (2) our relationships to God. They ask us to consider the “ways of God.” Exegesis of the Psalms Separate them by types. Understand their different forms and their different functions. The New Testament contains 287 Old Testament quotes. 116 are from Psalms. The 150 Psalms were written over a period of about 1000 years. Moses wrote Psalm 90 in 1400B.C. Ezra wrote Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 about 444 B.C. Our task is to view the Psalms through the lens of Salvation History. “Selah” The Psalms are poetry and songs. The music is lost to us. “Selah” was intended to signal a musical pause. It’s not necessary to read it out loud. It’s a signal to pause and meditate. Though the Psalms are different from each other, they all emphasize the spirit of the Law, not the letter. Do not use them to form doctrines, independent of New Testament writings. The Psalms are emotional poetry. They often exaggerate through the emotions of their writers. The language is picturesque. -
Psalm 70 — an Urgent SOS
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: The Master Musician’s Melodies Bereans Sunday School Placerita Baptist Church 2006 by William D. Barrick, Th.D. Professor of OT, The Master’s Seminary Psalm 70 — An Urgent SOS 1.0 Introducing Psalm 70 y Psalm 70 is almost identical to Psalm 40:13-17. 9 Psalm 70 is the third to the last psalm in Book 2, while Psalm 40 is the second to the last psalm in Book 1. 9 “David appears to have written the full-length Psalm [40], and also to have made this excerpt from it, and altered it to suit the occasion.”— Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 3 vols. (reprint; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, n.d.), 2/1:203. y Psalm 71 has no heading, so some commentators believe that Psalms 70 and 71 should be treated as one psalm. 9 “Hasten” (70:1, 5; 71:12) translates an unusual Hebrew word that occurs only once outside Psalms (1 Samuel 20:38). It occurs in Psalms 22:19; 38:22; 40:13 (= 70:1); and 141:1. 9 “Shame” occurs in 70:2, 3; 71:13, 24. y The psalm heading (“for a memorial”) is also found on Psalm 38. Perhaps the psalm was sung in conjunction with a sacrifice that would help “remind” the Lord of the psalmist’s request (cf. Leviticus 2:2; 24:7; 1 Chronicles 16:4). y Psalm 70 is a very short version of the message of Psalm 69. 2.0 Reading Psalm 70 (NAU) 70:1 A Psalm of David; for a memorial. -
Psalm Praise: Declarations of Praise from the Psalms
Psalm Praise: Declarations of praise from the Psalms Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen. □ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; Psalm 7:17 and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. □ I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; Psalm 9:1-2 I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. □ Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; Psalm 9:11 proclaim among the nations what he has done. □ I trust in your unfailing love; Psalm 13:5-6 my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. □ I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; Psalm 16:7 even at night my heart instructs me. □ The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Psalm 18:46 Exalted be God my Saviour! □ Be exalted O LORD, in your strength; Psalm 21:13 we will sing and praise your might. □ Praise be to the LORD, Psalm 28:6-7 for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song. □ Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; Psalm 30:4 praise his holy name. -
Psalm 84-88 Monday 27Th July - Psalm 84
Daily Devotions in the Psalms Psalm 84-88 Monday 27th July - Psalm 84 How lovely is your dwelling place, 7 They go from strength to strength, Lord Almighty! till each appears before God in Zion. 2 My soul yearns, even faints, 8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; for the courts of the Lord; listen to me, God of Jacob. my heart and my flesh cry out 9 Look on our shield, O God; for the living God. look with favour on your anointed one. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, 10 Better is one day in your courts and the swallow a nest for herself, than a thousand elsewhere; where she may have her young— I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my a place near your altar, God Lord Almighty, my King and my God. than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; they are ever praising you. the Lord bestows favour and honour; 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, no good thing does he withhold whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. from those whose walk is blameless. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, 12 Lord Almighty, they make it a place of springs; blessed is the one who trusts in you. the autumn rains also cover it with pools. One of my boys loves to have his back scratched and preferably scratched hard. As I was scratching his back one night, he said: “This is the life!” At that moment, his idea of the good life was pretty simple. -
Psalm 70:1-5 Hurry, Lord, Help!
Psalm 70:1-5 Hurry, Lord, Help! Book II concludes with a three psalm finale. Psalm 70 brings the “save-me” psalms to a quick and decisive climax. Psalm 71 follows with the joyful prayer of a resilient saint who expresses lifelong confidence in the Lord. Psalm 72 is a royal psalm dedicated to Solomon’s reign with a prophetic vision of the coming Messiah, the ideal king, who will rule and reign over the global Kingdom of God. Psalm 70 brings the worshiper back to a theme that has dominated Book II. The human condition is fallen and broken. We are in danger from every conceivable angle, from our own sinful nature to a vast array of enemies who lurk in the shadows ready to pounce. The cry, “save me!” has run through Book II as a dominate theme. It is fitting then that a quick spontaneous cry for help should bring these deliverance psalms to a clear finish. Save Me Hasten, O God, to save me; come quickly, Lord, to help me. Psalm 70:1 The plea for help remains even after great psalms of hope and salvation. David has given us an exhilarating sense of the grand sweep of redemption and creation (Ps 65) and a compelling invitation to join all the earth in shouting praises and singing hymns to God for his awesome deeds (Ps 66). David unites the blessing of God and the mission of God in a redemptive trajectory that encompasses all the nations (Ps 67) and leads us in a rousing crescendo of praise (Ps 68). -
Psalm 69:36 in the Light of the Zion-Tradition
358 Groenewald: Psalm 69:36 in the light of… OTE 21/2 (2008), 358-372 Psalm 69:36 in the light of the Zion-tradition ALPHONSO GROENEWALD DEPARTMENT OF OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA ABSTRACT Zion is explicitly mentioned in Psalm 69:36a. This article will en- deavour to outline its significance for the interpretation of the text of Psalm 69. The text of Psalm 69 functioned as an individual lament in the pre-exilic period. In the crisis of the exilic/early post-exilic period, as well as later in the post-exilic period, it became a vehicle for a divided Jewish community to express their laments as the per- sonified ‘I’. Consequently, a new perspective has been created in this text: the sufferer of the basic text has now come to reflect the suffering community in the different epochs in the post-exilic Judah. Moreover, it is significant that the end of this text discovered the hope for Zion and the cities of Judah in God’s faithfulness expressed to the suffering individual. A INTRODUCTION A look at the concordance discloses the following statistical data with regard to the proper noun !AYci (‘Zion’): it occurs a total of 154 times in the whole of the Old Testament; 53 times in the poetical books with 38 of these occurrences in the Psalter.1 According to Levenson (1992:1098) the concept ‘Zion’ has at least four meanings in its biblical usage. First of all, the word seems to have been the name of a citadel in Jerusalem during the period just before David captured the city from the Jebusites.