Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible
Douglas Sean O’Donnell asks and answers some key questions to provide background to a study of the Psalms:
In 1874, Russian composer Modest Mussourgsky gifted the world with a musical masterpiece, composed in honor of his dearly and untimely departed friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann. The piece, originally written for piano but later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, is known as Pictures at an Exhibition. Its ten movements each seek to depict one of Hartmann’s paintings, which had been gathered for public display in his memory. At the work’s beginning, and four additional times throughout, Mussourgsky inserted a “Promenade,” to represent the art-lover ambling from exhibit to exhibit.
What Pictures at an Exhibition is to the paintings of Viktor Hartmann, the book of Psalms is to the person and work of God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ. God gave us this collection of 150 poems to publicly display what he was preparing to do through his appointed, law-abiding King.
In approaching this book, let us be careful to avoid what James Hely Hutchinson calls excessive introspection. “This book is more fundamentally ‘God’s word to us’ than ‘our words to God.’ Sensitivity to the abundance of New Testament quotations of, and allusions to, the psalms should lead us to major on God’s attributes and Christology.”1
Ancient manuscripts of the Book of Psalms clearly demarcate five divisions to the book. Modern Bibles title them “Book 1,” “Book 2,” and so on. This division into five “books” is reinforced by a distinct doxology (word of blessing or praise to God) at the end of each book. These doxologies typically have little to do with the poem immediately preceding them.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. (Ps 41:13)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. (Ps 72:8-20)
Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen. (Ps 89:52)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord! (Ps 106:48)
Praise the Lord! (Beginning and ending of Psalms 146-150)
So the book breaks into the following divisions:
Let’s promenade through these poems/pictures on exhibition. For a more detailed analysis of the book of Psalms than what I can offer in this post, see my spreadsheet.
The first two poems stand apart as some of the only poems in book 1 not written by David. They introduce the book by bracketing a double blessing around the person who delights in God’s law (Ps 1:1-2) and submits to God’s king (Ps 2:12). Law and king; king and law. The king loves God’s law. The law speaks about God’s king. These will be the twin themes of the entire collection.
Book 1 then proceeds in three parts. Part 1 (Psalms 3-14) portray the king’s rejection by men. Part 2 (Psalms 15-24) show forth his acceptance by God. Part 3 (Psalms 25-35) return to the fact of his rejection by men. A closing section (Psalms 36-41) illustrate the king’s response to this state of affairs.
The big idea in Book 1 is that we see David himself suffering as the king of Israel, but finding great courage in God’s divine assistance and declaration of support. And yet, these poems make clear that David is only the beginning. Another king must come to turn what David felt into cosmic reality.
“The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me … Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever” (Ps 18:20, 50).
“Now I know the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand … O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call” (Ps 20:6, 9).
What Book 1 hinted at, Book 2 comes out and says directly.
The Book opens with the king’s wrestling through spiritual depression (Ps 42-43). It ends with him growing old (Ps 71) and passing the baton to the next generation (Ps 72). Along the way he must deal with everything from his own sin (Ps 51), to the sins of others (Ps 52-56), to the effects of such sin all around him (Ps 60-64). This leads him to celebrate both what he does for his people (Ps 44-50) and who he is in himself (Ps 65-68).
But this means we need someone greater than David. Someone who will never buckle under the pressure of opposition but will only see God’s glory in it (Ps 57). Someone whom God will resoundingly exonerate after being baselessly prosecuted (Ps 69). Someone greater than Solomon, ruling from the River to the ends of the earth (Ps 72).
“May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! … May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!” (Ps 72:8, 11).
The third movement moves to a dark place, where all the promises of God (those things we ought to delight in – Psalm 1) are brought into question.
The book begins with the appearance that only the wicked prosper (Ps 73), and it ends with a desperate cry from those whose king has been sent into exile (Ps 89). In between, the poems are structured in pairs (starting on the outside and working in) showing how a people process the experience of being cut off and forcibly removed from all God has given them. This generates deep concern for the present and uncertainty regarding the future.
Yet at the center of this collection, we find a poem (Ps 81) exposing the fact that it is the people’s persistent stubbornness, and not any alleged broken promises on God’s part, that led to this situation.
“Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!” (Ps 80:3, 7, 19).
In Book 4, we get a sizable dose of hope and encouragement. Though we are transient, Yahweh is eternal (Ps 90). When we dwell in his shadow, no-one can harm us (Ps 91). The Lord will not forsake his people in exile; he is present with them to hold them up amid the scorn of the nations (Ps 94).
These poems begin with reminders that God is present in exile and has not abandoned his people (Ps 90-94). It moves the people to praise God as king over all nations, because he is the king of his chosen people Israel (Ps 95-101). These truths enable them, as a community, to grieve with hope (Ps 102-106).
“He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Ps 98:3).
“Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord” (Ps 102:18-22).
The four subsections of Book 5 have a parallel structure:
It should not escape our notice that the cause for praise in this Book’s opening is the people’s being “gathered in from the lands” (Ps 107:1-3). And now that they are back, their king returns to power and prominence (Ps 110, 118, 132, 144). Also, God’s word becomes the driving joy of the community (Ps 119). So the twin emphases of Psalms 1 and 2 return in force in Book 5.
The “psalms of ascent” (Ps 120-134) might seem to be their own unit. But notice how Ps 134 moves right into Ps 135 (compare Ps 134:1 with Ps 135:1-2), and how Ps 135 moves right into Ps 136 (compare Ps 135:11-12 with Ps 136:17-22). And then Psalm 137 returns to the theme of Psalm 120, bracketing the section with reflections on the trauma of exile and the hope for something better.
And consider how the book’s last section develops:
Time and space have failed me to comment on the many connections to the New Testament. While the Book of Psalms doesn’t tell a cohesive narrative or make a linear sustained argument, the book’s 150 poems are clearly arranged like an exhibition of paintings meant to communicate impressions and offer snapshots of how God’s ultimate king interacts with God’s word. I trust you are beginning to understand why the apostles quoted from the Psalms more than any other book when they sought to explain the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For more interpretive walkthroughs of books of the Bible, click here.
1NIV Proclamation Bible, Zondervan, 2013, p.571.
Perhaps you’ve heard that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And perhaps this truth has encouraged you through a season of anxiety or loss. Perhaps it reminds you of his all-sufficient care for you. Such sentiments may be generally true (Luke 12:32, John 10:14-15, etc.), but are they the sort of applications the poet responsible for Psalm 50 had in mind?
Context matters. We ignore it to our peril, increasing the risk of many dangerous consequences for both ourselves and others. When we learn to read the Bible properly—and not merely as a collection of one-liners and sound bites—we’ll find some of our habitual turns of phrase may have far more sinister import than we realized.
Psalm 50 begins with the Mighty God summoning all the earth (Ps 50:1) to Zion (Ps 50:2) to judge his own people (Ps 50:3-4). The very heavens declare his righteousness (Ps 50:6), and he cannot exempt his covenant people from his fiery holiness and searing justice (Ps 50:5).
What does he judge his covenant people for?
In Psalm 50:7-15, he appears to judge them for their legalism. They offer him sacrifices and burnt offerings (Ps 50:8), but what he wants is hearts of thanksgiving and integrity (Ps 50:14). He wants them to need him (Ps 50:15).
In Psalm 50:16-21, he appears to judge them for their licentiousness. Though he speaks to “the wicked” (Ps 50:16), we must remember he came to “judge his people” (Ps 50:4), to gather his faithful ones who made a covenant with him by sacrifice (Ps 50:5). So the “wicked” are those within the covenant community—who take his covenant on their lips (Ps 50:16)—yet refuse discipline (Ps 50:17), subsidize theft and adultery (Ps 50:18), speak words of deceit (Ps 50:19), slander one another (Ps 50:20), and presume God to be as corrupt as they are (Ps 50:21).
Notice what he offers to his people. Away from legalism, he calls them to thanksgiving (Ps 50:23a). And away from licentiousness, he calls them to order their way rightly (Ps 50:23b). May they not forget there is always a way of escape from his terrible judgment (Ps 50:22).
So within the context of this poem’s argument, why does it say he owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps 50:10)?
That verse sits within the stanza condemning them for their legalistic practice of sacrificing animals without hearts of thankfulness and integrity. They think he needs them to pay him off with such animal sacrifice (Ps 50:9-13), when the truth is they need him in the day of trouble (Ps 50:15).
His condemnation resounds. “I do not need your stupid cattle, slaughtered at my altar in an attempt to buy me off. I own all the cattle; why would I have any need of yours? Just call me, and I’ll be there for you.”
The truth that “he owns the cattle on a thousand hills” was not penned to grant us assurance that our kind Father can take care of us. No, this assertion’s plain purpose is to shake up complacent religious people by reminding them they’ll never be able to bribe their God. He cannot be bought with their religious ritual.
Mark this, then, you who are prone to forget God, lest he tear you apart, and there be none to deliver. May we offer not bulls—nor songs, nor daily devotions, nor acts of service, nor financial contributions—for the sake of heaven-bound bribery, but hearts overcome with thanksgiving for his amazing and utterly undeserved salvation.
Context matters.
For more examples of why context matters, click here.
I have a love/hate relationship with the longest chapter of the Bible. I love it, in part, because I know I’m supposed to and, in part, because it speaks extensively of the the word of God, which I love. But funny thing: Loving the Bible and loving Psalm 119 are not always mutually indwelling sentiments.
The fact of the matter is that Psalm 119 has a lot of lines. And even more words. I can handle many lines and many words if there is a linear argument or a compelling plot. But Psalm 119 has neither, so it typically feels like floating amongst the stars—please suspend your disbelief while I pretend to know what that would feel like—or breaststroking my way through a lake of peanut butter.
The nice thing is that the mastermind responsible for this interminable poem had the courtesy to start every verse within a stanza with the same letter, and to move through the alphabet from stanza to stanza, perhaps to make it easier to memorize. So if you’re a native speaker of ancient Hebrew, you’ll have an easier go at it. The rest of us covenantal immigrants, however, receive no such assistance, beyond those funny Hebrew shapes and transliterated words at the heading for each stanza. Bring on the peanut butter; I have more laps to swim today.
I’ve tried counting the number of distinct terms used for the Scripture. I’ve tried counting how many times each term is used. I’ve tried labelling verses as either praise/encouragement or lament/suffering. I’ve tried many times to read it in one sitting, and I’ve tried reading it a stanza or three at a time.
None of those techniques have helped me to grasp the message of the poem, in such a way that I have any confidence to have understood it. The practice that has helped me the most has been to try identifying a single main idea for each stanza, so as to see how each stanza then contributes to the overall effect. In the last 15 years, I’ve made four attempts at writing down main points for each stanza. Each time, I adjust it further and gain more confidence that I’m closer to the true main idea than I was the last time.
I will now share with you the fruit of my labor in this poem from the last few weeks. (You can also find this on the second tab of my Psalms spreadsheet, which you can access any time through the blog’s Resources page.) I would not consider myself to have mastered this psalm yet, but I trust I’m getting closer. I can at least say the poem makes more sense to me now than it did a few months ago, so progress has been made.
This poem sheds much light on the person and work of Jesus Christ, when we recognize that he is the “I” of the psalm. And as we are conformed to his image, we ought to strive to similar trust in both the Bible and the God who delivered it to us.
I invite your feedback on anything I’ve written here. I am eager to improve my understanding of this glorious poem, to inflame greater love for it. “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love” (Ps 119:47-48).
| SECTION | THEME/SITUATION | |
| א | Aleph | Blessed are those who walk in Yahweh’s commands (Ps 119:1-8) |
| ב | Bet | Young people remain pure by storing up God’s word while they can (Ps 119:9-16) |
| ג | Gimel | God must deal bountifully for the word to take effect (Ps 119:17-24) |
| ד | Daleth | The struggle for strengthening in sorrow, from the scripture (Ps 119:25-32) |
| ה | He | I need divine help to persevere in God’s commandments (Ps 119:33-40) |
| ו | Vav | God’s love for me arouses my love for his commandments (Ps 119:41-48) |
| ז | Zayin | I can trust God’s words in a way I can’t trust anyone else’s words (Ps 119:49-56) |
| ח | Cheth | I turn to the word because through it, I inherit Yahweh (Ps 119:57-64) |
| ט | Teth | Your word is good, and I do it, because you are good (Ps 119:65-72) |
| י | Yod | He who made me will complete his work in me (Ps 119:73-80) |
| כ | Kaph | I persevere through persecution because I long for you to do what you have said (Ps 119:81-88) |
| ל | Lamed | God’s eternal word is fully consistent with how God made the world to work (Ps 119:89-96) |
| מ | Mem | The student who loves the law surpasses his teachers (Ps 119:97-104) |
| נ | Nun | Your word guides all of life (Ps 119:105-112) |
| ס | Samek | God’s word shapes my thinking toward evildoers to be like God’s (Ps 119:113-120) |
| ע | Ayin | God’s love and God’s word give me every expectation of vindication (Ps 119:121-128) |
| פ | Pe | I’m desperate for light from your word (Ps 119:129-136) |
| צ | Tsadhe | Your rules are righteous, and I do them, because you are righteous (Ps 119:137-144) |
| ק | Qoph | Your word occupies all of me all the time (Ps 119:145-152) |
| ר | Resh | Your law gives me hope for deliverance from adversaries (Ps 119:153-160) |
| ש | Sin/Shin | I rejoice in your words, even under fire, for you see all my ways (Ps 119:161-168) |
| ת | Tav | I pour forth praise for the God of this Bible (Ps 119:169-176) |
As I’ve worked through the book of Psalms, I’ve shared with you the fruit of my labors on Book 1 (Psalms 1-41) and Books 2-4 (Psalms 42-106). Now that I’m near the end of my study, I’m ready to share some reflections on Book 5 (Psalms 107-150).
As far as the themes of Book 5, the following topics are constantly repeated:
The prominent calls to praise appear at key moments to signal climaxes in each section, or transitions to the next section.
These patterns yield four primary sections within Book 5:
I commend this masterful book of poetry to you for further reflection and consideration. You may want to consider some of the following questions:
I have updated my Psalms spreadsheet with my thoughts on this last part of the book. I also added a second tab, where I try to capture the main idea of each stanza of Psalm 119. You can always find this spreadsheet on the blog’s resources page to assist your further study.
I’ve written before about my study of Book I of the Psalms (Psalms 1-41), sharing the spreadsheet I created to help with the analysis. I’ve now proceeded through books II (Psalms 42-72), III (Psalms 73-89), and IV (Psalms 90-106), updating the spreadsheet accordingly.
I propose the following as the main point of each book:
In addition, I have a strong suspicion that books III and IV are each structured as an extended chiasm, where the second half is parallel to the first but in reverse order.
Please feel free to check out the spreadsheet, make a copy, and use this information in any way that may be helpful to you. The spreadsheet also links to each of the daily devotional videos I recorded over the last few months.
For future reference, you can find a link to the spreadsheet on the Resources page. I’ll let you know when I complete my work on Book V.
Perhaps you’ve heard Jesus’ cry of dereliction while hanging on the cross. “How great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns his face away” (Stuart Townend). Perhaps you knew that Jesus was alluding to David’s lament in Psalm 22. But what exactly was David’s concern, and why was it so devastating? And how did Jesus share that experience in his own crucifixion?
When we learn to read the Bible properly—not as an assortment of quotes and aphorisms—we find that some familiar phrases take on entirely new meanings.
In Psalm 22, David feels utterly abandoned by God (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). The reason is that, as he looks around, he sees no evidence of God’s presence or activity to save (“Why are you so far from saving me?”). David cries and cries, but receives no answer (Ps 22:1-2).
David understands how these things work, and he seeks to console himself with the perspective of history. In Israel’s covenant with her God, there is a direct connection between loyal trust and deliverance.
Those who trusted in God were rescued, and those who proved disloyal were put to open shame. This strengthens David to persevere in trust and believing loyalty (Ps 22:3).
“But I am a worm and not a man” (Ps 22:6). The problem is, it’s not working the way it ought. David has trusted and remained loyal, but he is still put to shame! He is mocked and scorned. His trust in Yahweh is now the very thing for which he is mocked (Ps 22:8).
What’s at stake here is that the connection between trust and deliverance appears to be broken. For generations, the Israelites had a pattern of abandoning God when things didn’t go their way. Will David do the same? Now that he has hard evidence that trust in God will not pay off? Will he change his mind and go back to Egypt? Will he grumble and complain? Will he turn to other gods?
In the rest of the psalm, we see David mature from a questioner (Ps 22:1-10) to a beggar (Ps:11-21), then to a preacher (Ps 22:22-26), and finally to a missionary (Ps 22:27-31). He withstands the test and survives the crisis of faith. With all outward appearances to the contrary, he proclaims that Yahweh remains worthy of fear (Ps 22:23), praise (Ps 22:25), and service (Ps 22:30).
Though David felt that God had abandoned him, we can confidently conclude that this was not truly the case (2 Sam 7:9, 12-15). Yet for Jesus, such abandonment by the Father was in fact a reality. He faced his darkest hour alone (Mark 15:33-34), accompanied only by the sin of the world that had now become his own (2 Cor 5:21).
Once again, we must ask the question of historical habits: Will Jesus survive the crisis of faith? Will he fall to pieces, just like generation upon generation of Jews had done before him? Since trust in the Father is not paying out in deliverance, is it worth it for him to continue trusting at all?
This tension is all the greater when we observe Mark’s attention to the question of perseverance. Those who deride him dare him to come down from the cross (Mark 15:29-30). They doubt his ability to attain salvation for himself (Mark 15:31). They claim they will believe what he has said, only if he will come down (Mark 15:32). If he can’t save himself, they wonder whether Elijah will come to take him down from the cross (Mark 15:36).
But Jesus perseveres. He stays on the cross until all is finished, and he can proclaim that “he has done it” (Ps 22:31; see John 19:30). He remains loyal, even when abandoned by his Father. Because the Father despised and abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and hid his face from him (Ps 22:24), all the families of the nations can now worship before him (Ps 22:27).
And though the answer was delayed three days, we know that he who cried out to his Father was eventually heard (Ps 22:24, Rom 1:4, Heb 5:7-9).
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When you hear or recite the question, don’t allow it’s familiarity to dull your senses to the visceral conflict it betrays. Delight in this hero, who succeeded in every way where Old Covenant Israel failed. Behold the crisis of faith, the disillusionment, and the unbelievable temptation to come down from the cross to prove his worth. And rest assured that you will never have to experience such complete abandonment, because he already went through it once for all.
Tell the coming generations of his righteousness, and that he has done it.
Context matters.
For more examples of why context matters, click here.
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Posted by Grace Fellowship Church on Saturday, June 27, 2020
Or watch it here.
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Or watch it here.
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Or watch it here.
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