Week 80: Psalms Part 2
January 30, 2012
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Emotions
Some psalms express deep grief. I am especially moved by Psalm 56, which says that God ‘puts our tears into his bottle’. When Jewish people wanted to express their sympathy at the death of someone they loved, they didn’t send flowers or wreaths to the funeral, but instead they had glass bottles, about four inches high, which they would hold under their eyes and weep into. They would then send the bottle of tears to the bereaved relatives as an expression of sympathy. The psalm tells us that God is able to do the same for us, even when our tears are about things not nearly as serious as death.
The Psalms cover the whole gamut of human emotions. They include what we might term the ‘negative’ emotions of anger, frustration, jealousy, despair, fear and envy. The psalmist expresses exactly how he thinks and feels, including cursing men and complaining about God. They also reflect the more ‘positive’ emotions of joy, excitement, hope and peace.
David wrote most of the personal psalms. They cover many of the things that people might want to say to God. Later we shall look at three particular kinds of psalms, which I call ‘please psalms’, ‘thank-you psalms’ and ‘sorry psalms’.
In spite of their strong worship focus, the Psalms were not intended to be used only by priests. There is an almost complete absence of altars, priests, vestments and incense. The Psalms are intended for common people to use in their worship of God.
Biblical themes
The Psalms not only cover every human emotion; they are also comprehensive in their treatment of biblical themes. Luther said the Psalms are ‘the Bible within the Bible’ – the Bible in miniature. They cover the history of Israel, creation, the patriarchs, the Exodus, the monarchy, the Exile and the return to Jerusalem.
The Psalms are the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament. The most quoted verse in the New Testament is Psalm 110:1: ‘The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
Not all the psalms in the Old Testament are in the Book of Psalms. Moses and Miriam wrote one (see Exodus 15). Deborah and Hannah also composed psalms (see Judges 5 and 1 Samuel 2). Since the authors of most of the Bible were male, it is interesting that women too wrote psalms, perhaps reflecting the naturally intuitive side of the feminine nature. Job wrote three psalms, while Isaiah and King Hezekiah each wrote one.
Other Old Testament characters also used psalms. Jonah’s prayer while he was inside the whale is a classic example. He said he was praying from Sheol, the world of departed spirits, and quoted five different psalms in that prayer. Habakkuk quotes from the Psalms three times in his prophecy.
All the Psalms employ poetry as their sole means of expression. So do the Song of Solomon, Proverbs and Lamentations. Other Old Testament books (e.g. Ecclesiastes and the Prophets) are a mixture of poetry and prose. Parts of the historical books are also in poetic form (e.g. Genesis 49; Exodus 15; Judges 5; 2 Samuel 22).
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Week 79: Psalms Part 1
January 23, 2012
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Introduction
The Book of Psalms is the most loved and the best known part of the Bible. Individual psalms are popular with people who are not regular Bible readers and also with those who wish to praise the god whom they know and love. they have a universal appeal, translating easily into today’s culture, despite being from so long ago. While most of the Old testament needs to be understood in the light of the new testament, most of the Psalms can be used directly. there is a timeless quality to the Psalms, and they can easily be applied to the Christian life. It is no surprise that hymn-writers throughout history have drawn their inspiration from them.
The Psalms have been valued throughout the history of the Church. Martin Luther said, ‘In the Psalms we look into the heart of every saint.’ John Calvin said that in the Psalms ‘We look into a mirror and see our own heart.’ A modern commentator put it this way: ‘every psalm seems to have my name and address on it.’ It is the most human part of the Old testament, which everyone can readily identify with.
The Book of Psalms is the hymn-book and prayer-book of Israel in the Old testament. It is the longest book in the Bible and took nearly 1,000 years to write. Although most of the Psalms were written at the time of david (around 1000 BC), some of them were written at the time of Moses (about 1300 BC) and others at the time of the Exile (500 BC).
The word ‘psalm’ literally means ‘twang’ or ‘pluck’, referring to the stringed instruments that were used to accompany the singing of psalms. The Book of Psalms is placed in the Hebrew Bible at the start of the books of Writings – the third section of the Bible, coming after the books of the Law and the Prophets. In Hebrew the book is called Tenillim, which means ‘Songs of Praise’, which is probably a much better name for it (especially as the word ‘Jew’ comes from ‘Judah’, which means ‘praise’). Psalms are most commonly spoken or sung, but they can even be shouted – a form that doesn’t go down well in some cultures!
There are various kinds of psalms, as we will see later. The simplest division is between the personal psalms, using the pronoun ‘I’, and the collective psalms, using ‘we’. Thus some psalms are most suited to private worship and others to public worship. However, the division must not be too strict, as Jesus encouraged his disciples to use the words ‘Our Father’, implying that they should have a corporate responsibility even when they prayed privately.
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Week 78: Hebrew Poetry Part 6
January 16, 2012
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Poetry in God’s Word
Our study of Hebrew poetry shows us how appropriate it is that it should be included within God’s Word.
Modern chorus writers have found the Psalms rich in inspiration. But when psalms are used verbatim, it is rare that a whole psalm is included. Thus we do not have the words in their original context. This can mean that the balance of the psalm is lost and, in some cases, the meaning is changed.
Hebrew poetry is easy to translate into other languages because its emphasis is on content rather than sound. If I quote English poetry when preaching to a non-English-speaking congregation through a translator, the translation kills the poem dead, because English poetry is often based on sound, and those English sounds will not survive the translation process. But Hebrew poetry can be translated into any language, so it is easy to see why God chose such a medium.
Poetry in worship
Many people argue that we should be spontaneous in our approach to God and that it is artificial for us to plan what we are going to say. There is some truth in that, but there is enormous value in first thinking through what we wish to say. The Psalms give us a model of how to address God so that we are not over-familiar, and they powerfully reveal to us God’s greatness and majesty. On the other hand, they also describe an intimate relationship with God that many people may not yet have enjoyed, and so they can spur us on to seek a greater experience of God’s goodness.
The planned wording that we find in biblical poetry is a necessary part of our corporate worship. If we merely sang what we wanted to sing when we came to worship, it would be chaos – not to mention a dreadful noise! Corporate worship is made possible because choruses and hymns are designed for a congregation to sing them. Those who argue that we should only sing what we ‘feel’ forget that there is value in voicing responses that we may not feel, as an encouragement to respond genuinely and also to remember the truth for the future.
There used to be a family tradition in our house. Our three children used to come and wake me up at an ungodly hour on a certain day in the year, and then stand in a row at the foot of my bed and address me in a most artificial way with poetry. They finished by giving me a bag of their favorite sweets. The poem (or song ) was ‘Happy birthday to you’!
Of course, in a sense this was artificial – three children standing in a row, all saying the same thing. Wouldn’t it have been nicer if each of them had come separately and told me what they really felt? No, because they would then not have been doing it together as my family. The fact that they came to me together and sang to me together – in a relationship with one another – made the little tradition much more special to me.
In a similar way, it pleases the Lord when we say something together, even though we have to use words that someone else has written. God loves to see us together. We may be standing in a row, singing to God in a somewhat artificial
way, but we are corporately expressing our love for God. Poetry enables us to do this.
We noted earlier that psalms lend themselves to antiphonal singing, where choirs sing to each other. It is also possible to shout psalms as well as sing them. Psalm 147 is an example of this.
Psalms can also aid our sense of corporate identity. Psalms using the words ‘I’ and ‘my’ are best for private worship, but those using ‘we’ and ‘our’ remind us that we are praising together as the whole family of God.
Just as poetry touches the heart of man, it also touches the heart of God. We have noted that poetry is used in all the Psalms and also in many of the prophetic books. The Holy Spirit chose this form as a way of communicating the mind of God and as a means for us to respond to him. Those who are skeptical about the idea that poetry touches God’s heart need to remember the bold language that Scripture uses to talk of God’s feelings.
For example, Psalm 2 says that God ‘laughs’ when he views the futile attempts of humanity to defy him. Zephaniah 3 tells us that God ‘rejoices’ over us ‘with singing’. So God is musical! Music is not something that modern people have invented but is part of what it means to be made in the image of God.
So when God addresses us with poetry we know that he is communicating his feelings from his heart to our hearts, and so we can ask what such biblical passages tell us about God’s feelings. Understanding H ebrew poetry can be a key to understanding the very heart of God.
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Week 77: Hebrew Poetry Part 5
January 9, 2012
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Other features of Hebrew poetry
Simile
Hebrew poetry is full of similes – that is, pictures that show us how one thing resembles another. For example :
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
from Psalm 103
Here a tender father’s care for his children is likened to God’s care for his people.
Chiasm
Here the second part of the first line becomes the first part of the second line. For example:
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
from Psalm 1
The second line reverses the first – ‘the way’ has swapped places.
Omission
In omission (or ellipsis), part of the second line is omitted. For example:
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
from Psalm 88
We are meant to read this as if the phrase ‘you have put me’ recurs in the second line.
Staircase
Sometimes the lines of a psalm resemble a staircase:
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
from Psalm 29
The second line expands on what the first line has already told us. We already knew that ‘the Lord breaks the cedars’; now we are told that he breaks them ‘in pieces’ and that they are cedars ‘of Lebanon’.
Acrostic
Here the poetry is based on the alphabet. In Psalm 119 – the longest of all the psalms, with 176 verses – each section (and every verse in that section) begins with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Refrain
Here the second line provides a refrain throughout. For example, in Psalm 136 the words ‘His love endures forever’ form the second line of every verse.
(from Unlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Week 76: Hebrew Poetry Part 4
January 2, 2012
(fromUnlocking the Bible by David Pawson)
Parallelism
While rhythm is not unknown (especially the 4/3 and the 3/3 rhythms), Hebrew
poetry is mostly based on a form of repetition called parallelism. The word
refers to the correspondence that occurs between the phrases of a poetic line.
Parallelism is the basic ‘building block’ of Hebrew poetry. It is used for:
■ Emphasis. If something is said twice, we know it is important.
■ Response. A couplet enables ‘antiphonal’ singing, in which two choirs
sing to each other. O ne choir sings the first sentence and the other choir
echoes it.
■ Balance. Just as there is balance in a human body – two hands, two eyes,
two ears, two arms, two legs – so the couplet helps us to understand the beauty of a thought.
Usually the repetition is in the form of couplets but the Psalms also contain
some triplets and just a few quadruplets. Here is an example of a couplet, from Psalm 6:
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
To ‘rebuke’ is to tell someone they are in the wrong, while to ‘discipline’ is to
punish, so the second line develops the first line’s thought a little further. Or take
the next verse in this psalm:
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am faint;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
In the first line the psalmist feels faint, but in the second line he is in agony
and needs healing. So once again the second line has taken the first line a little
further. But note that it is the sense that is repeated, not the sound.
I am conscious of the fact that analyzing poetry is like taking a flower to
pieces and looking at its parts. Analysis destroys the beauty. Nevertheless, I want
to help you to understand what’s going on when you read biblical poetry – why
it was written and how it was written.
There are three different forms of parallelism:
Synonymous
In synonymous parallelism the same thought is expressed twice in different
words. Let’s take Psalm 2 as an example:
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.
‘Let us break their chains,’ they say,
‘and throw off their fetters.’
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath.
Note how the words in italic type in each couplet have the same meaning, but
generally the second word is ‘stronger’ or ‘heavier’ than the first.
Antithetic
Antithetic parallelism functions like synonymous parallelism, but the second
line contrasts with the first line. So, in this example from Psalm 126:
Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Two pairs are contrasted: ‘sowing’ and ‘reaping’, ‘tears’ and ‘joy’. In the next
verse we have the theme expanded:
He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
These two lines add more detail to the contrast. We now have going out with
seed and returning with sheaves.
Synthetic
In synthetic parallelism the second phrase complements or supplements the
first. I t doesn’t say the same thing or the opposite thing, but something that follows
from the first phrase. For example:
When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
from Psalm 126
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
from Psalm 23
In these examples the second phrase is the result of the first. Psalm 23 is built
on the synthetic pattern:
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters.
The shepherd has to know where there are green pastures and quiet waters.
But those two things together create a picture of a shepherd who really
knows his job and cares for his sheep.
So we have three forms of Hebrew poetry but many varieties within these
forms. Parallelism is not just in thought and word, but also in grammar. For example,
in these lines from Psalm 2 the order of the words in the Hebrew is:
Then he rebukes them in his anger
and in his wrath he terrifies them.
The order of the verb, the object and the prepositional phrase is varied in the
second line.
Tricolon
These three types of parallelism are often interrupted by irregularities. Sometimes
the rhythm and pattern are broken. Sometimes, instead of two lines there
are three lines together. This is called a tricolon or triplet.
Take these three lines from Psalm 29:
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name.
Here the lines build up a crescendo – ‘Ascribe to the Lord’ is the refrain – and
then different words are added in three lines.
Or consider Psalm 3:
O Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’
Here we have the repetition of ‘many’, and each line builds on the previous
one: who he is complaining about, what they do, then what they say. Sometimes
there’s an omission and a word is not included or a phrase drops out.
