Psalms

Psalm 19:7-11 – The Perfection of God’s Word

The second half of Psalm 19 describes The perfection of God’s word. The first six verses of the Psalm described God’s continuous silent revelation of his existence and attributes to the whole world. Despite the testimony of creation, not all people recognize the God of creation and fail to give him his proper glory. He therefore has revealed himself more specifically in his Law. This is a written revelation, and like creation, it is a constant and steady witness to God’s existence and attributes. While creation reveals the creator God is powerful, the Torah reveals he is fair and just in all his commandments and these commandments are good for those who follow them.

The Perfection of God's Word

God’s perfect revelation is described with six different terms: law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, and judgments. All four give the impression that “comprehensive emphasis that all of the words of the Lord are beneficial” (Ross, EBC, 182). Testimony is covenant language and is a retelling of God’s saving acts (HALOT). This is not a written document, like the Torah, but a testimony to what God has done for his covenant people. Precepts and commandments are the individual elements of the Torah. Precepts are the “procedures” for how the Law works (פִּקּוּדִים, only in the plural in the Hebrew Bible, exclusively in the Psalms, 21x in Psalm 119).

Describing God’s Word

Each of these six descriptions of the perfection of God’s word are adjectival phrases to highlight the reliability of God’s revelation.

  • Perfect or blameless is a word (תָּמִים) which refers to the perfection of sacrificial animals: they are to be without fault (Exod 12:5, for example). It can have the sense of complete, there is nothing left out of the Law or nothing which is incomplete.
  • Sure (nifel participle of אמן) has the sense of enduring or permanent. A thing which is enduring is reliable, always there at all times in the sense of being faithful and reliable. The word is translated “steadfast” in some of the Psalms.
  • Upright or straight (יָשָׁר) is a common word used to describe something which is morally correct (a straight path, for example), or a person who is living a morally correct life. The phrase “upright in heart” is used in the Psalms frequently.
  • Pure is a rare word in the Hebrew Bible (בַּר II), although it is used in Ps 24:4, a person with a pure heart may ascend the holy hill of the Lord.
  • The fear of the Lord is “clean,” a word which refers to ceremonial cleanliness (טָהוֹר)
  • The Hebrew word for “true” (אֱמֶת) is common, but covers far more than the English word. Something which is faithful and trustworthy is true, perhaps the analogy of an arrow which hits its target, the “aim was true.” The word is frequently associated with God’s character. Psalm 31:5, for example, describes God as a “faithful God.”

Encountering God’s Word

Following this portrait of the perfection of God’s word, God’s revelation is described by six phrases. The first four are the results of an encounter with the word of the Lord; the final two are further characteristic of God’s revelation. Syntactically, these are all participles with an object.

  • Reviving the soul. The verb can be refresh, restore, etc. (the common שׁוב in the hifel). When one is aligned with the word of God properly, then ones inner person is restored to where it originally belonged.
  • Making wise the simple. The simple are in experienced people who do not know how to get through life. God’s word can give them the categories of thought that help them to understand how to live life to the fullest.
  • Making the heart rejoice. The heart is a person’s inner being, what they are at their inner core. God’s word provides and enlivening of the soul, a strange happiness despite circumstances.
  • Enlightening the eyes. The ESV follows many modern commentators who take the verb often translated as “warned” as cognate to “illuminate,” this is probably correct, since in the context the sun has been mentioned. The word of God shed light on everything, and light exposes things which are hidden. To read tiny writing, you need light at just the right angle to make out the letters. So to the word of God brings to light aspects of our lives which need to be addressed, but also shed light on how to live out a godly life.
  • Enduring forever. That God’s word endures forever is repeated often in the Bible, Jesus said not even the smallest mark or letter will pass away. But what does an eternally enduring word of God mean? Like the general revelation of creation, God’s propositional truth claims are always true. For example, God declares he exists in creation, and in the special revelation of the Bible God reveals creation is good and humans have become estranged from God because of sin. This is true and that truth will endure forever (science will not prove humans are not in rebellion against God, for example).
  • They are entirely righteous. There is nothing about God’s special revelation which is not just and fair.

Even though creation is constantly pouring forth speech, it is not enough to fully reveal God. It is only through the special revelation of God’s word one can fully encounter God.

 

Psalm 19:1-6 – The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

The first half of Psalm 19 is a meditation on Genesis 1 explaining how the heavens declare the glory of God.The second half of the psalm focuses on the perfection of God’s Word (19:7-11).

Night Sky with Stars

Heavens and sky refer to all of creation. The “heavens” is the atmosphere in this case, and the skies are the firmament from Gen 1:7 (רָקִיעַ). In the worldview of the Ancient Near east, the “vault of heaven” was a kind of “beaten metal plate” on which the sun, moon, and stars moved. The Psalmist uses this commonly understood description of the world and argues it reveals something important about God.

The heavens both “declare” and “proclaim.”

How do the heavens declare the glory of God? These common verbs refer to speech acts, although “declare” can have the sense of making a formal record, often a written record.  Usually this word has the sense of a pronouncement of some important information, even a “report.” It is the verb, for example, used for the report from the twelve spies in Numbers. Both verbs are participles, emphasizing the ongoing nature of this testimony: the heavens are continually declaring God’s glory. Coupled with the “day and night” of verse two, the writer is clear this revelation is constant and ongoing.

“Pouring forth speech” is a vivid metaphor of rapid speech. The verb (נבע) refers to “bubbling” or “gushing” water. Think of the way an excited five-year old tries to relate a story, words gush from the kid as fast as they can talk (usually one long sentence you can’t follow anyway!) Creation is a constant flow of information about God.

The content of all this constant speech a revelation of knowledge.

This knowledge certainly contains facts, but there is more to it than a series of propositions since biblical knowledge leads to proper response to God. In Prov 9:10, for example, parallels the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom of God with knowledge of the Holy One.

This testimony goes out to the whole world even though there is no speech (19:3-4). In theological terms, this Psalm is talking about creation as general revelation from God. Humans can know some things about God from observing nature, his existence and power, for example. By analogy, there are universal symbols virtually every culture knows and understands (poison is a skull and crossbones, for example). You may not know what the poison is in the bottle, but anything with that symbol is understood as dangerous, especially if there are red letters and exclamation points.

This revelation is so clear there is no one who can escape God’s self-revelation, he is like the sun in the sky, a bridegroom proudly going up from a wedding or a warrior charging into battle. “Just as the sun dominates the daytime sky, so too does Torah dominate human life” (Craigie, Psalms 1-50; WBC, 184). This is similar to Paul’s point in Romans 1:18-25. God clearly reveals his existence and some of his attributes in order to draw people to himself, but humans suppress this knowledge and worship created things rather than the creator.

If God reveals himself so clearly in creation, why do people twist or reject that revelation?

Psalm 1:4-5 – Defining the “Righteous”

Wandering SheepPsalm 1:4-5 says the wicked will not “stand in the judgment” or “in the congregation of the righteous.” These two descriptions indicate the wicked will be expelled from the people of God. Standing in judgment puts this psalm in an eschatological context.

To stand in the “congregation of the righteous” refers to defining God’s people. The “assembly” (עֵדָה) refers a gather of anything into a large group. Very often it refers to the people of Israel (Exod 12:6, for example). Modified with “righteous” it refers to people assembled to worship God (Psalm 111:1, for example). There can be no wicked in the assembly of the Lord (Psalm 25, for example).

The righteous are the people of God, the tzadik (צַדִּיק). The word can refer to an innocent person, but also to a person who is a devout follower of God. Ezekiel 18:5-9 provides a description of the righteous person:

Ezekiel 18:5–9 (ESV) “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— 6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

This description is important since it includes some of the behaviors we normally associate with Law-keeping Jews (no idolatry or defiling a neighbor’s wife, walk in the statutes of the Lord), but the majority of the characteristics of the righteous person are social justice issues: they do not oppress the poor economically and they care for the hungry.

Modern Christians have misunderstood the Law to be a list of rituals which someone made people right with God, but the righteous person is the one who responds proper to God by caring for people who cannot care for themselves, the poor, widows, orphans and resident aliens.

In contrast to the way of the righteous, the way of the wicked will perish. The verb the writer uses here is not death, but rather “to become lost” (אבד). Psalm 119:176 uses the word to describe someone who is no longer following the commands of the Lord, he is like a “lost sheep that has gone astray.” A lost sheep will probably die, this is true, but the emphasis is on someone who has drifted from the path of righteousness by walking in the counsel of the wicked, standing int eh way of the sinner, or sitting in the seat of the scoffer (1:1).

Rarely does someone wake up one morning and announce they are recanting their faith (although that might happen). Usually there is a slow process of wandering away from the Word of God, slight, easy steps most people do not even notice. It is not until the final judgment that they will realize how far they have drifted from the Word of the Lord.

Psalm 1:2-3 – “Like a Tree”

[NB:  I am teaching through some of the wisdom Psalms this summer at Rush Creek, so I thought I would use some of this material here.]

In Psalm 1:2-3 the one who is actively avoiding fools delights themselves with the Law of the Lord. The Word of the Lord is the delight for the blessed person. The noun is used in the wisdom literature for things which bring you joy.  This is a remarkable description, since the most un-joyful time in a typical worship service is the Scripture reading, and perhaps the sermon itself.

Palms at Lake TuendaeMeditating on the word of the Lord is to think deeply or dwell on his word. The verb has the sense of muttering in a low voice, and is sometimes associated with reciting a text to oneself. The implication is the Word of the Lord is memorized and turned over in the mind slowly and carefully.

The content of this joyous meditation is the Law of the Lord. Most Christians cannot imagine a joyous meditation on verses from Leviticus, but the word is broad enough to refer to the whole revelation of God at that point in salvation history. It is therefore easy enough to apply this delight to the whole canon of Scripture.

This blessed person is like a tree, planted by streams of water. This metaphor is very clear and would be quite striking to people who lived in the arid world of the Middle East. Hosea 9:13 and Ezekiel 17:8-10 both use the metaphor of a palm or a vine planted near water as a metaphor for God’s care for his people Ephraim. Jeremiah 17:7-8 is a very close parallel to this Psalm:

Jeremiah 17:7–8 (ESV) “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

But there are also a number of parallels in the ANE as well. Terrien mentions a text describing king Shugli of the First Dynasty of Ur as “the Gracious Lord, a palm-tree planted near the canal …a cedar rooter near gushing waters, who gives pleasant shade” (Terrien, Psalms, 74). The parallels with the Sayings of Amenope are remarkable for both the blessed and cursed. The difference is the definition of the “blessed.” In Amenope, he is the silent man (in contrast to the heated man), in Psalm 1 the righteous are those who delight in the Word of the Lord and meditate on it daily.

Sayings of Amenope, Chapter 4: As for the heated man of a temple, He is like a tree growing in the open.  In the completion of a moment (comes) its loss of foliage, and its end is reached in the shipyards; (or) it is floated far from its place, and the flame is its burial shroud.  (But) the truly silent man holds himself apart. He is like a tree growing in a garden. It flourishes and doubles its yield; it (stands) before its lord. Its fruit is sweet; its shade is pleasant; And its end is reached in the garden.… (James Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. with Supplement (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), 422.

The “streams of water” are irrigated channels which provide water from a spring. In Psalm 46:4-5 a flow of water comes from the habitation of the Lord. Even today in the Middle East there is a need to channel water from a river or spring to a place where plants are growing.

The tree by plentiful streams of water is successful. In order to give fruit in season, a tree needs a good supply of water. Date palms, for example, need careful irrigation if they are going to grow and eventually bear fruit. Since it is always benefiting from the water, the tree does not wither. Again, this is a clear metaphor since everyone has had a plant they forgot to water and it shriveled up and died. Without constant, appropriate water supply, a plant will wither and die.

The blessed person is therefore in a place where they can prosper in the way God has designed them to be. This is not a “health and wealth,” it is simply an observation that the wise person delights in the word of the Lord and avoids situations which are dangerous.

The Psalter therefore begins by pronouncing a blessing on those who drink deeply from the Word of God and meditate on it constantly, inviting them into the book for worship.

 

Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 2 (Psalms 42-89)

Ross, Allen P. A Commentary on the Psalms. Volume 2 (42-89). Kregel Exegetical Library. Grand Rapids, Mich. Kregel, 2013. 841pp. Hb; $44.99. Link to Kregel.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to preach through sections of the Psalms. One of my ongoing frustrations is that very few useful commentaries on the Psalms exist. Either they are so brief that there is little exegetical insight, or they are overly interested in form-critical matters that do not provide much clarity for interpreting or applying the Psalms. Some commentaries are only interested in the New Testament’s use of the Psalms or in finding veiled references to Jesus in every line.

Ross, Psalms 2

Allen Ross’s contribution to the Kregel Exegetical Library is a welcome exception to this pattern. The commentary is attentive to the Hebrew text and historical contexts without sacrificing expositional comments to help a pastor or teacher present the Psalms in a contemporary context. The first volume of Allen Ross’s commentary on the Psalms was published by Kregel in 2011.  That 887-page commentary covered Psalms 1-41 with an additional 179-page introduction to the Psalms. Since the first volume contained the introduction to the Psalms and bibliography, those items are omitted from volume 2.  Reprinting the introduction in volume 2 is impossible, but someone could potentially purchase just volume 2 and miss out on that material.

This volume continues the exegetical method developed in the Introduction (1:169-79). First, Ross begins by “paying attention to the text.” He provides his own translation of the psalm with copious notes on textual variations, emendations, and lexical issues. Ross weighs evidence from the versions (Greek, Syriac, etc.) and does not shy away from the syntactic difficulties one encounters reading Hebrew poetry. There are notes on textual variants in the Masoretic text and alternative translations based on Hebrew syntax.  Frequently, the Greek translation appears in footnotes. For example, in Ps 69:32, the Hebrew text has a perfect verb, which Ross takes as “when they see,” while the Greek has a subjunctive, “let them see.” Ross rejects emending the Masoretic text to reflect the subjunctive in this case.

Second, following the translation, Ross comments on the composition and context of the Psalm. This section takes headers seriously if they are present and attempts in most cases to place the Psalm in the history of Israel. For Psalm 72, for example, Ross has no trouble with a Solomonic background (which he also recognizes as messianic), despite various suggestions that the psalm dates to the time of Hezekiah. These contextual decisions are usually conservative, favoring a pre-exilic date often. This section will also identify any New Testament use of the Psalm, although this later interpretation does not drive his reading of the text.

Third, after the context is set, Ross provides an exegetical outline for the psalm, beginning with a short summary (usually a single sentence). This outline is based on the English text but takes into account exegetical decisions made in the translation. There is nothing unusual about these outlines. In fact, they are excellent resources for pastoral use since they could be adapted into an exegetical sermon very easily.

Fourth, Ross comments on his translation of the Hebrew text of the psalm. Throughout the book, Hebrew appears in parenthesis without transliteration. The method is more or less verse-by-verse, although he occasionally groups verses under a single header. He interacts with a broad spectrum of scholarship, although there is a preference for more conservative writers. However, the commentary is not overly burdened with external references, making it easier to read. Most of the commentary focuses on the vocabulary of the Psalm, with special attention to the main point of the metaphors chosen. When a Psalm refers to some historical events, even in the life of Israel, the commentary attempts to use allusion to understand the text of the Psalm.

Last, the chapter ends with a short “message and application” of the Psalm. Here, Ross attempts to bridge the gap between ancient Hebrew poetry and contemporary Christian worship. These sections are not at all typological or generic. Since Ross began by “paying attention to the text” and did his exegetical work, the “message” of the Psalm is tied directly to the text. Usually, there is a single line in italics that functions as a one-sentence application for the psalm.

If there is any messianic element in the Psalm, it appears in this “message and application” section. For example, for Psalm 45, Ross develops the wedding song of a king into a reference to Jesus and his bridegroom, applying the psalm to the church today as the “bride of Christ.” He briefly mentions the use of the Psalm in Hebrews 1 (although this merits more than a line) and the potential allusion to the Psalm in Rev 19. Likewise, Ps 72, where application is made to the Messiah’s rule over all the earth, is “fulfilled in Jesus Christ when he returns to the earth at his second coming” (2:546).

I think that this commentary might be improved with an occasional excursus on various topics. For example, at Psalm 73, there is a need to explain “a Psalm of Asaph” and the possibility that Psalms 73-83 are a sub-collection that develops a unique set of themes. The same is true beginning in Psalm 84; the “Sons of Korah” merit more explanation than the brief note in the commentary. These short articles would be helpful to the reader and are not well-covered in the introduction to the commentary.

Conclusion. I used Allen Ross’s Creation and Blessing in a seminary class on the Pentateuch. I very much enjoyed the style of that book since it was intended as an exegetical guide for the pastor or teacher as they approached the text of the Bible.  Ross’s commentary on the Psalms follows a similar pattern. In some ways, this commentary is a model for reading any scripture section. Ross’s method is clear and yields fruit that will enhance any sermon or lecture on the Psalms.  This commentary would make an excellent addition to any pastor’s library.

 

Review of other commentaries in the Kregel Exegetical Commentary series:

NB: Thanks to Kregel for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.