Tag Archives: Psalms

Psalm 147 The Praise of God’s People

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Ripples (or Capillary Waves) in Water By Roger McLassus, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=513043

Psalm 147

1 Praise the LORD!
 How good it is to sing praises to our God,
 for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
 he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
 and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
 he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord and abundant in power;
 his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
 he casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
 make melody to our God on the lyre.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
 prepares rain for the earth,
 makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the animals their food
 and to the young ravens when they cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse
 nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner,
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
 in those who hope in his steadfast love.

12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem!
 Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
 he blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders;
 he fills you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
 his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
 he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down hail like crumbs—
 who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word and melts them;
 he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
 his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
 they do not know his ordinances.
 Praise the LORD!

Bolded words have notes on translation below.

In the final five ‘Hallelujah’ psalms the praise of God radiates outwards. The previous psalm began with the praise of an individual, and now the praise moves to Jerusalem and Israel. From the prayer of the faithful person in Psalm 146 to the song of the faithful people in Psalm 147 the praise of God expands. Yet, even within this psalm there is a hint to the continuing expansion of God’s praise to come.

The psalm is composed of three stanzas, each with combine to call the people of Jerusalem to praise the LORD. The first stanza (vv. 1-6) begins the call to praise and lists several reasons for the praise of God. The initial verse points back to the gracious character of God but in the second and third verse we move to the gracious actions of God on behalf of the community of Israel. Many interpreters view the language of ‘gathering the outcasts of Israel’ placing this poem within a post-exilic time when the people are returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. The language of the psalm is similar to the language of Isaiah 40-66 and other post-exilic prophets and the brokenhearted whose wound are bound may be those who have endured the exile. Yet the vision of the psalmist moves from the people to the cosmos as the creator God numbers and names the stars. The God who lifts up the downtrodden and brings justice to curb the actions of the wicked is the same God who oversees the heavens and the earth.

The creation imagery continues in the second stanza (vv. 7-11). The people can sing with thanksgiving for the way God oversees the provision for all of the earth. The proper weather allows for the plants and animals to flourish, and the cries of the young raven are heard just as Israel’s cries for help. Throughout the last two psalms the weakness of humanity has been contrasted with the strength of God. Here as the strength of the horse or the speed of the human runner is not what God seeks, but those who place their fear and hope in him instead of their own strength, military strength,[1] or the strength of any beast of the earth.

In the third stanza all of Jerusalem is called to join in the Hallelujah. Israel was never a major military power, and especially if this psalm comes from a post-exilic context the people were unable to defend themselves against the empires of the day. It is the LORD that strengthens their defenses and protects their children. Just as God provides for the grass of the field and the ravens of the air, God provides the wheat for the people of Israel. God is in the commanding position of God’s word going out to the earth and accomplishing rapidly that what it intends to do. In language that resonates with God’s answer from the whirlwind in Job 38 we see the weather as a visible sign of God’s incredible power. Wind in verse eighteen is the Hebrew ruach which can also mean breath or spirit, and while wind is likely the primary meaning intended in this verse of weather-related imagery, God’s spirit also goes forth into the earth. Yet God’s power over the width and breadth of creation becomes known specifically in God’s revelation to Israel. The entire creation may witness the actions of God, but Israel has the words of God given in their specific revelation of the law. Israel occupies a special place in God’s world because they are the bearers of the word and law of God. They praise the LORD for their unique insight into the power, character, and will of God.

J. Clinton McCann, Jr. elegantly point to the belief underlying this psalm and many other psalms when he states:

At the heart of the biblical faith is the astounding claim that the power that has strewn the stars into their courses (v. 4) is the same power that—or better who—“heals all the brokenhearted” (v.3), “lifts up the downtrodden” (v.6), and declares an intelligible, personal, life-giving word to Israel (vv. 19-20). In short, our trust—indeed, our hope—is that the power behind the universe has a personal face that is turned toward us in “steadfast love” (v.11b). (NIB IV:1269)

As a part of the people of God, we claim insight into the character of God, God’s actions in the world, and God’s will for our lives, our society, and ultimately the ordering of the entire world. Praise enters the space of wonder that the God who creates the heavens and the earth responds to the need of the faithful people. Yet our cries and the cries of the raven are both heard by God. Here the people of God are called to praise the LORD, but in the coming psalms our songs join the symphony of creation in praising the LORD.

[1] Horses are primarily thought of as a military asset owned by the king rather than something a normal person would own for transportation or farm labor in the bible.

Psalm 146 The Praiseworthy God

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King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst

Psalm 146

1 Praise the LORD!
 Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
 I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
 in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
 on that very day their plans perish.

5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
 whose hope is in the LORD their God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
 the sea, and all that is in them;
 who keeps faith forever;
 7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
 who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
 the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the strangers;
 he upholds the orphan and the widow,
 but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever,
 your God, O Zion, for all generations.
 Praise the LORD!

Bolded words have comments on translation below.

The psalter closes with five psalms that begin and end with the familiar Hebrew word Hallelujah (NRSVue Praise the LORD!). These final five psalms form a closing note of praise on this songbook of the faithful people. Throughout the experiences of the individual authors in various times, the underlying belief in the praiseworthiness of the LORD the God of the people has remained present. The questions of faith, the laments and heartbreaks, of the psalms all await God’s answer and resolution but even in the darkest moments the LORD is the one who the psalmists cry out to. Now as we move towards the conclusion of the psalter these final psalms send us out praising the LORD with all our being[1] for the duration of one’s entire life.

Psalm 146 moves from praising the LORD with all one’s being and days to the antithesis: trusting in rulers and human beings. Human leaders are necessary throughout society. Yet there is a tendency that continues in society to make leaders a source of ultimate trust. I am writing these words on the day of a midterm election in the United States where leaders and parties have attempted to portray themselves as trustworthy and their opponents as wicked. In this psalm the contrast is between the reliable and unending governance of God and “the transient incompetence of human governors.” (Mays, 1994, p. 440) Many religious leaders throughout history have stated that whatever we place our trust in is our god. Martin Luther, for example, in his Large Catechism framed it this way:

A “god” is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need. Therefore, to have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in that one with your whole heart. As I have often said, it is the trust and faith of the heart alone that make both God and an idol. If your faith and your trust are right, then your God is the true one. Conversely, where your trust is false and wrong, there you do not have the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God. Anything on which your heart relies and depends, I say, that is really your God. (Luther, 2000, p. 386)

The psalm quickly turns from the foolish path of trusting in princes and mortals to the wise path of those whose help and hope is the God of Jacob. The Hebrew ‘asre (NRSVue happy) is a very common word in wisdom literature contrasting the wise path that leads to happiness/contentment/blessedness with the foolish path that leads to ruin. Those who trust in mortal perish, those whose hope is in God prosper.

The psalm then focuses on who this trustworthy God is and the character of God. The LORD is the creator of the heavens, the earth, the seas, and all that inhabits all these domains. This God who is the creator of all is a God who keeps faith forever. Many of the actions of keeping faith involve God’s care for the vulnerable: providing the justice for the oppressed, food to the hungry, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, lifting up those who are bowed down, watching over the strangers, and upholding the orphan and widow. This LORD of justice loves the righteous but brings the wicked to ruin (a traditional wisdom literature contrast). In contrast to the transient incompetence of human rulers, the LORD of justice who cares for the vulnerable will reign forever. This creator of heaven and earth, sea and all who fill them is worthy or praise, and the psalmist ends as they began: Hallelujah (Praise the LORD).

[1] The Hebrew nephesh translated ‘soul’ by the NRSVue does not have the sense of ‘soul’ as something separate from bodily existence that is characteristic of Greek thought. The Hebrew idea is something closer to the essence of life.

Psalm 145 Poetry in Praise of the LORD

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Saint Augustin By Philippe de Champaigne - Los Angeles County Museum of Art: online database: entry 171584, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8481227
Saint Augustin by Philippe de Champaigne – Los Angeles County Museum of Art: online database: entry 171584, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8481227

Psalm 145

Praise. Of David.

1 I will extol you, my God and King,
 and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
 and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;
 his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall extol your works to another
 and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 They will recount the glorious splendor of your majesty,
 and on your wondrous works I will meditate.
6 They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
 and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
 and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
 and his compassion is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
 and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
 and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds
 and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
 and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
 and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling
 and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
 and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand,
 satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways
 and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
 to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
 he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
 but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
 and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

This is the final psalm in the psalter attributed to David, and the only Davidic psalm which declares in its superscription that it is a psalm of praise. I’ve often said that attempting to adequately praise God takes us to the edge of our ability to utilize our language and one of the things poetry does is it can help us expand our language. Psalm 145 does this by utilizing the acrostic form. An acrostic poem, which utilizes the letters of the alphabet sequentially, is a poetic way of designating completion but structurally the poem does a couple other unique things. The psalm begins and ends with blessing the divine name of God, forming a pair of bookends that contains the acrostic words of praise within. Within the Masoretic Text, the Hebrew text that most translations work from, the nun line (‘n’ sound in Hebrew) is missing although it appears in most English translations as verse 13b and is included in the Qumran and other ancient documents. Barnabas Linders suggests that the elimination of the nun line is intentional with verses 10-13 being the center of the poem focusing on the kingship of God. In these verses 11-13 the Hebrew words for king (melek) and kingdom (malkut) occur four times in three verses, and it may be coincidental (since it corresponds with the order of the Hebrew alphabet) but reading from thirteen up to eleven the three letters are mlk which form both king and kingdom in Hebrew.[1] If this is the psalmist’s intent the negation of the nun line would help call attention to this. (NIB IV: 1258-1259).

Sometimes acrostic psalms can jump around topically to keep within the demands of the form, but Psalm 145 from beginning to end focuses relentlessly on utilizing its words to praise God’s name forever and ever. The poem moves smoothly from the opening act of blessing into the action to the declaration of God’s acts by the people paired with the solitary meditation and praise of the psalmist. The psalmist’s words composed for this psalm were likely intended to be utilized in a larger space of communal worship where the individual and the community can together wonder aloud about the greatness and righteousness of the LORD.

Verse eight echoes the familiar self-declaration of God in Exodus 34:6, but then pairs this with the description of God as good and compassionate. As mentioned above, verses 10-13 which focus on the kingship and kingdom of God may be intended to be read as the heart of the poem capturing the idea that the version of the Lord’s Prayer that many Christians utilize closes with, “the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours. Forever and ever.”[2]The psalm continues by praising God’s acts of supporting those who are falling and lifting up those who are bowed down. The LORD is the one that every living thing looks to for provision and God reliably opens God’s hands to provide for the desires of all the creatures of the earth. The LORD is just and kind and near for those who call upon their God. As the psalm moves towards its closing it moves into the language of wisdom literature where God fulfills the desire of those who fear the LORD, delivering them when they cry out and watching over those who love the LORD but destroying the wicked. The psalm began with a solitary voice blessing the name of the LORD and closes with all flesh blessing the holy name of God forever and ever. Using both form and words it attempts to complete a blessing of the God who is king.

Psalm 145 has been a much-loved psalm throughout history. In the Rabbinic tradition of the Talmud Psalm 145, like the shema, (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) was to be repeated three times a day and doing this would assure one a place in the world to come. In the Dead Sea Scrolls there is a version with the refrain, “Blessed is the LORD and blessed is his name forever” likely intended for a call and response use within worship. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 990) Many Jewish and Christian leaders have viewed praise as the ultimate purpose of humanity, and Psalm 145 is a shining example of a poet and leader stretching their language to attempt to fulfill their purpose. As St. Augustine would later write in his famous Confessions, “you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

[1] Most Hebrew words are based around three consonants (vowels are added later in Hebrew).

[2] In most modern translations of Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11: 2-4, where the Lord’s Prayer occurs, this closing is omitted. These words are in several ancient manuscripts, but not the oldest versions of Matthew and Luke and are normally present as a footnote in translations. Yet, this version is still utilized in many traditions.

Psalm 144 Trusting God in Conflict, Yearning for God’s Blessing in Peace

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Matteo Rosselli, 1620, The Triumphant David, Galleria Palatina, Florence.

Psalm 144

Of David. 

1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
  who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,
 2 my rock and my fortress,
  my stronghold and my deliverer,
 my shield, in whom I take refuge,
  who subdues the peoples under me.

3 O LORD, what are humans that you regard them,
  or mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;
  their days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
  touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
  send out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
  set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
  from the hand of foreigners,
 8 whose mouths speak lies
  and whose right hands are false.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
  upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
 10 the one who gives victory to kings,
  who rescues his servant David.
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
  and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
 whose mouths speak lies,
  and whose right hands are false.

12 May our sons in their youth
  be like plants full grown,
 our daughters like corner pillars,
  cut for the building of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled
  with produce of every kind;
 may our sheep increase by thousands,
  by tens of thousands in our fields,
  14 and may our cattle be heavy with young.
 May there be no breach in the walls, no exile,
  and no cry of distress in our streets.

15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
  happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

Bolded words have comments on translation below.

My first memory of Psalm 144 was reading it be used as a prayer by Robert E. Lee in Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels and later in the movie adaptation of the book Gettysburg. After reading these words I suspected they were a psalm and so I pulled out my bible and searched for the words and went on to read the entire psalm. This was many years before I was called to ministry and I found the opening words of the psalm a comforting phrase during my time as an officer in the U. S. Army. Many years later I would utilize this psalm during the funeral of my grandfather, Walter Clarkson, who had retired from the Army. Yet this psalm is never utilized in the Sunday readings in the Revised Common Lectionary which is why it took its quotation in a work of historical fiction for me to initially discover it.

My educated guess as to the reason this psalm is omitted from the lectionary is its opening line where the LORD prepares the speaker, David in the attribution, for combat. A reader in the United States in the twenty first century may be able to view conflict as a distant thing, but in the world of King David and throughout the story of Israel, military conflict was a frequent reality. As N.T. Wright comments in The New Testament and the People of God:

The land of Israel is a small country…But it has an importance out of all proportion to its size. Empires have fought over it. Every forty-four years out of the last four thousand, on average, an army has marched through it, whether to conquer it, to rescue it from someone else, to use it as a neutral battleground on which to fight a different enemy, or to take advantage of its natural route for getting somewhere else to fight there instead. (Wright, 1992, p. 3)

Israel was never an empire with a massive army. The Deuteronomy 17:16 prohibits the king from going down to Egypt to acquire the horses and chariots that which many armies in the region utilized. The leaders and soldiers of Israel were expected to depend on the LORD rather than either the newest technology or the size of their army. David was a warrior king, and these initial verses make sense within the story of his life shaped by frequent moments of combat.

Psalm 144 echoes the language of several other psalms. Nancy deClaissé-Walford has a helpful summary of the echoes:

It contains echoes of a number of other psalms in the Psalter, including Pss. 8:4 in 144:3; 39: 5-6 in v. 4; 33:2 and 3 in v. 9; and 33:12 in v. 15. But most prevalent in Psalm 144 are connections to Psalm 18, another royal psalm: 18:1, 2, 34, 46, 47 to 144: 1, 2; 18:9 to v.5; 18:14 to v. 6; 18:16, 44, 45 to vv. 7, 11; and Psalm 18’s superscription to v. 10. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 984)

Many commentaries treat Psalm 144 as a collection of sayings taken from other psalms and stitched together to create a psalm for a new situation. Although it is possible that Psalm 144 was composed in this way I find it likely that the commonalities in language are reflective of the language used in worship, giving vocabulary and structure to their prayers. Both Psalm 18 and 144 are attributed to David and the commonalities may also be due to a common authorship.

Because of the similarities between Psalm 144 and Psalm 18 the NRSVue harmonizes verse two, unnecessarily in my opinion, with 18:2. This obscures the Hebrew of 144:2 which states “my hesed (steadfast love) and my fortress.” The hesed of God is a critical idea in Hebrew and although the LORD is called the rock in the previous verse, the introduction of steadfast love here makes sense within the context. God’s steadfast love and deliverance are placed alongside God’s functioning as a safe space (tower/fortress, shield, refuge) for the psalmist.

Verse three transitions to a place of wondering about God’s regard for the psalmist. The language echoes the wonder of Psalm 8:4, but the words for humans (Hebrew ‘adam) and mortals (Hebrew ben ‘enos) are both singular. “What is a man (person) that you care for them, a son of man (human) that you think of them?” They are hebel[1] (NRSVue ‘breath). Hebel is one of the favorite words of Ecclesiastes meaning breath, wind, vapor, mist. It is an evanescent word translated ‘vanity’ in Ecclesiastes. The individual human may be as temporary as the wind or mist or may pass like a shadow. Yet, God still takes notice of them and prepares them for the conflicts they must face.

Many of the themes in verses five to eight are similar to the language in Psalm 18, but here the psalmist is asking for the LORD to act where in Psalm 18 they are recounting how God acted. As the individual prepares for an upcoming conflict, they ask for God to act in powerful ways: making the mountains smoke and lightning flash (like God’s appearance at Sinai). They ask their God who is their rock, stronghold, and fortress to deliver them from a perilous situation described metaphorically as a rising flood. Yet, the threat in the moment of this psalm’s composition appears to be an external enemy, foreigners/aliens (Hebrew bene-nakar in verses 7 and 11), who are unreliable. Perhaps a treaty has been violated, or some other deceptions have placed the psalmist in a situation where they must fight this foe. If the psalm comes from King David, his reign was full of conflicts.

In response to the LORD’s anticipated action on behalf of the leader and the people the psalmist promises a new song to God. God’s deliverance of the king will be the inspiration of this new song of praise. The “evil sword” (NRSVue ‘cruel sword’) is an expression only found in this psalm. The sword has been used as a figure of speech for the words of the wicked in other psalms.[2] (Mays, 1994, p. 436) Yet, the language of this psalm seems to fit with the preparation for real and not metaphorical conflict. The impact of armed conflict on an individual, an army, and a people can be devastating and I read this psalm as asking for deliverance from the harm that the enemy’s weapons can inflict.

The psalm turns from the concerns of war to the longing for the prosperity of peace. The psalmist’s immediate concern may be God preparing them for the upcoming fight but they long to think about sons and daughters, the harvest of the field and the produce of the flocks. Verse fourteen likely speaks of the delivery of livestock without complications rather than a breech in the walls of the city (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 988) but the overall sense of the verse is clear. A time when children can grow in peace, harvests are plentiful, animals are productive, and no one cries in distress. They prepare for war as they long for times of peace.

The psalm began with one word for blessing (Hebrew baruk) and the final verse now ends with another word for blessed (NRSVue ‘happy, Hebrew ‘asre). (Bellinger, 2014, p. 599) The Hebrew ‘asre[3] is frequently used in the psalms and wisdom literature and here the psalm ends with two statements beginning with ‘asre. Happy/blessed/content are the people on whom such blessings fall is linked with happy/blessed/content are the people whose God is the LORD. The psalmist proclaims that those who trust the LORD in the times of conflict will experience the blessing of the LORD in times of peace. Ultimately the psalm is one of trust that the LORD will both deliver and provide: be the rock, fortress, stronghold, and deliverer for the psalmist in their time of need and the one who gives the blessing of children, harvests, and flocks. They bless the LORD and they anticipate they will also experience blessing/happiness/contentment because they have trusted the LORD as their God.

[1] Sometimes written as hevel. In Hebrew the ‘b’ and ‘v’ sound are the same consonant. For more on this term see my comments on Ecclesiastes 1.

[2] Psalm 57:4; 64:3.

[3] The Hebrew ‘asre is translated as markarios in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. This is the same Greek term used at the beginning of the Sermon of the Mount for ‘blessed’ in Matthew 5: 1-12.

Psalm 143 Seeking a Gracious God to Deliver

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St. Paul Writing His Epistles probably by Valentin de Boulogne (1618-1620)

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
 give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
 answer me in your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
 for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued me,
 crushing my life to the ground,
 making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
 my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
 I think about all your deeds;
 I meditate on the works of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
 my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.  Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD;
 my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
 or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
 for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
 for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;
 I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will,
 for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
 on a level path.

11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life.
 In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
12 In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
 and destroy all my adversaries,
 for I am your servant.

The paradox of this psalm is that the speaker comes from a stance of submissiveness in need of God’s gracious deliverance while having enough trust in the relationship with their God to address God in a demanding way. The psalmist asks for God to: Hear, give ear, answer (1) do not enter into judgment (2), do not hide your face, let me hear, teach (7-8), save (9), teach, let your spirit lead (10), preserve, bring me out (11) cut off, and destroy (12). Yet the tone of the psalm for all these petitions comes from the position of one not asking for God’s action based on their worthiness or merit, but instead as one seeking a gracious God who will act decisively on behalf of God’s servant.

The psalm begins with an appeal to two of God’s characteristics: faithfulness (‘emet) and righteousness (tzedakah) and ends with an appeal to God’s righteousness and steadfast love (hesed). Righteousness is key to the movement of the psalm as the psalmist appeals twice to God’s righteousness but declares their own inability to be righteous before God. The idea that no person is righteous before God echo some of the declarations of Job and Ecclesiastes.[1] Job and his dialogue partners who seek a reason for Job’s suffering circle around this idea of the inability of a person to stand before God and the book ends with Job in humility answering God that he cannot stand before God. Ecclesiastes seeks meaning in the emptiness the teacher feels at his accomplishments and realizes that his actions eventually bring them into judgment before God. Now this servant of God in their unworthiness asks for God to forgo judgment based on worthiness and respond to their desperate need in grace.

The servant’s position is one of weakness. As in the previous psalm they are hunted, but in this psalm they have been captured and oppressed. The language is that of being near death: life crushed into the ground, sitting in darkness like the dead, a fainting spirit and an appalled heart at their inability to resist their persecutors actions. In this vulnerable state they remember[2] times past when God acted and they thirst for God like a parched land for rain. If in this moment of metaphors of being near death or being parched like the desert if God hides God’s face the speaker will be like the dead who descend to the Pit. Their spirit/breath[3] is failing and the long to hear of God’s steadfast love (hesed) in the morning that can bring their deliverance. They lift up their whole being (NRSV soul, Hebrew nephesh) to God requiring God’s instruction that they may walk in God’s way.

The servant asks for God’s deliverance for the sake of God’s name and reputation and not for their own worthiness. It is God’s righteousness that can bring them out of trouble, God’s steadfast love that will cut off their enemies and destroy their adversaries. The title of servant/slave (Hebrew abad) ties the speaker to the household of God and although this is a title of servitude it also implies responsibility of the master of the house defending and protecting the entire household. Yet, this servant of God is completely dependent upon God for delivering them from the threshold of death and saving them from their oppressors. In their own weakness they can only hope and remember the gracious nature of their God.

The servant of God’s dependence upon receiving a gracious deliverance without being able to stand before God in righteousness provided a scriptural building block for the Apostle Paul’s concept of justification by faith. As Paul can state in Romans 3:20,” For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.” Paul, like the psalmist, would lean into the relationship of the individual to their God relying on grace instead of justice. Like the psalmist, Paul spoke from a position of unworthiness desperate for God’s gracious deliverance of God’s servant.

[1] Job 9:2, 32; 14:3; 15:14; 22: 2-4; 25:4; Ecclesiastes 11:9; 12: 14. See also Psalm 14:3 and 130:3.

[2] Remember (zakar) is a powerful concept in Hebrew utilized over two hundred times in the Old Testament. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 982) The thing remembered becomes the central thing to the person remembering, often the one thing they are holding onto.

[3] Hebrew ruach means breath, spirit, or wind.

Psalm 142 A Cry to God for Deliverance in a Desperate Time

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David Shows Saul How He Spared His Life (1Sam. 24:2-20) By Gustave Doré – Doré’s English Bible, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10732139

Psalm 142

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer. 

1 With my voice I cry to the Lord;
  with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
 2 I pour out my complaint before him;
  I tell my trouble before him.
 3 When my spirit is faint,
  you know my way.

 In the path where I walk,
  they have hidden a trap for me.
 4 Look on my right hand and see:
  there is no one who takes notice of me;
 no refuge remains to me;
  no one cares for me.

 5 I cry to you, O Lord;
  I say, “You are my refuge,
  my portion in the land of the living.”
 6 Listen to my cry,
  for I am brought very low.

 Save me from my persecutors,
  for they are too strong for me.
 7 Bring me out of prison,
  so that I may give thanks to your name.
 The righteous will surround me,
  for you will deal bountifully with me.

The superscription of this psalm has two possible moments in the life of David. The first is in 1 Samuel 22 when David is in the cave at Adullam. David in this portion of his story has just departed from King Achish of Gath after pretending to be mad.[1] David arrives at Adullam alone, but later is met by family and other followers there. The alternative is when he is in the wilderness of En-gedi, fleeing from Saul’s army. This is the cave where David has the opportunity to kill Saul but only cuts off a portion of his cloak because he will not strike the LORD’s anointed one (1 Samuel 23-24). This psalm in which the speaker feels oppressed and abandoned by the community of faith could fit either situation or many other situations that people of faith have encountered.

The psalmist cries to the LORD from a moment where they feel alone, overwhelmed, and trapped. The verb for “cry to” is different from “call upon” at the beginning of Psalm 141. Here the word is the Hebrew za’aq, “which conveys the idea of crying out in acute distress and seeking deliverance.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 978) The word occurs twice in this psalm (vs. 1,5) and only three other times in the psalms (22:5; 107: 13,19). Yet, as J. Clinton McCann, Jr. notes

Hebrew za’aq…it recalls the exodus (see Exodus 2:23); it is a crucial part of the pattern in the book of Judges (see Judges 3:9, 15; 6: 6-7); indeed, it became understood as a typical element in God’s dealing with God’s people. (NIB IV: 1247)

Within the story of Israel, when they groaned and cried out (za’aq) to God, God heard and remembered them. Now the psalmist taps into this belief and cries out to God that they may be heard and remembered. They speak their complaint and trouble from this hiding place in the wilderness where their spirit is faint, they trust that God knows the way to their refuge.

Much of the imagery of the poem is related to hunting with the psalmist as the prey being pursued. The pursuit of their enemies has left them vulnerable and alone. Enemies can lay traps but there is no one at the right hand to come to the aid of the psalmist. In the language of the poem there is no where left for them to flee, no refuge to seek, they are imprisoned by the pursuing enemy. They are brought low and do not have the power to deliver themselves. Their only hope is that God will be their refuge, bring them out of their imprisonment, and deliver them from their pursuers. They desire to be in a place where they can be in the company of the righteous again, rather than being isolated and surrounded by their oppressors. Yet, even in their distress they trust that their God will deliver, deal bountifully with them, release them from prison, and return them to their place among God’s faithful people.

[1] Achish was aware of David as an opponent when he served under Saul and was suspicious of David’s loyalties, so David pretended to be mad but ultimately departs for Adullam when he is not welcome in Achish’s house.

Psalm 141 Keep My Words and My Heart from Evil

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Burning incense stick and its smoke by Atan0 shared under CC-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Incense_stick.JPG#/media/File:Incense_stick.JPG

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David

1 I call upon you, O LORD come quickly to me;

  give ear to my voice when I call to you.

2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you

  and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;

  keep watch over the door of my lips.

4 Do not turn my heart to any evil,

  to busy myself with wicked deeds

 in company with those who work iniquity;

  do not let me eat of their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous strike me;

  let the faithful correct me.

 Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,

  for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds. 

6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,

  then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,

  so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;

  in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me

  and from the snares of evildoers.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

  while I alone escape.

The rich poetic imagery of the prayers of the worshipper ascending to God like the fragrant smoke of burning incense has always been a memorable aspect of this psalm. In my own practice this psalm is frequently used in evening prayer within the setting of Marty Haugen’s Holden Evening Prayer where verse two of the psalm becomes the refrain for the psalmody. Yet within the psalm there is a contrast between this slow imagery of prayers ascending like incense at the evening sacrifice and the urgent call of the psalmist for God to hear and come quickly. There are numerous verbal links with Psalm 140[1] but they are used to a different end. Psalm 140 cries out for God to deliver the psalmist from the poisonous words of violent men, but Psalm 141 calls on God to prevent the petitioner from their own heart and mouth being used for wickedness.

The psalm is linked poetically to the actions of worship: burning incense and offering a sacrifice. These words may originate during worship, or the author may view these words as a sacrifice and pleasant odor they can present before God. I appreciate the multisensory image which involves both scent and a visual image combined with the audible speaking of these words before God. If the prayer is offered at the evening sacrifice the petitioner may be hoping to partake in the holy portion of the evening sacrifice rather than the delicacies of those who work iniquity.

The psalmist called for God’s immediate action and that action is turned towards delivering them from the words and practices of the wicked. The language of the psalm is echoed in the warnings about appropriate companions scattered throughout Proverbs and many readers of this psalm believe the author has become associated with companions whose words and actions are evil. They ask God to guard their mouth and watch the door of their lips to prevent their tongue from becoming like the tongues sharp and snakes and lips with the venom of vipers in the previous psalm. Similarly, they ask God to keep their heart from evil and wicked deeds in the company of those who work iniquity. It is plausible that those the author speaks of are royalty and he may be echoing Proverbs 23:2, “Do not desire an official’s delicacies, for they are deceptive food.”

Any translation of verses five to seven of the psalm have had to smooth out the Hebrew text.[2] The NRSVue does a good job of creating a stanza that makes sense and I will follow their translation in continuing to discuss the psalm. The psalmist asks for the righteous to correct them, even striking them to discipline them. The language of anointing may indicate that the ones the psalmist speaks about are royalty and their anointing of the psalmist would be recognizing him as included in their group. Perhaps the psalmist is a prophet who has been speaking words that the princes and nobles did not want to hear, but they have attempted to entice him to join with them. Ultimately the psalmist agrees with the belief that God will not allow the wicked to prosper forever and eventually their bones will be scattered like a rock that shatters when it is cast against the ground.

They know that they are in danger of being ensnared by these wicked ones. Whether they have willingly been seduced into this position or these evil ones are attempting to trap them in words or actions, they understand that their deliverance will come from God. God can guard their mouth from words that can be used against them, turn their heart away from the acts which are contrary to God’s wisdom, or to be tempted by the delicacies that these workers of iniquity have set before them. Instead, the psalmist asks that these evil ones would fall into their own traps, ensnared in their own plots and actions. Just as Christians regularly pray “lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil” this psalmist knows the dangers of the temptations and the lure of the evil snares set for them.

The appeal of the psalm for God to guard our lips, our hearts, and ultimately our actions in an environment of temptation is a prayer that resonates for followers of every time. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually on advertising that asks us to taste the delicacies set before us. The digital world and the real world are full of traps to ensnare us in actions that we know are foolish but find enticing. The life of faith involves sending up prayers to God for words and actions that are faithful instead of wicked. We all need to be delivered from temptation. I certainly have had times where I needed divine help to restrain my tongue or to give me the strength to live according to my convictions. I have needed the correction of faithful brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. For me the psalm is a reminder that we rely on God and God’s people as we attempt to live a faithful life amid a world of temptations.

[1] Nancy deClaissé-Walford lists nine verbal connections: ““Wicked” (rasa) occurs in Pss. 140:8 and 141:4, 10; “righteousness” (sadiq) in 140:3 and 141:5; “guard, keep” (samar) in 140:4 and 141: 3, 9; “lip” (sapa) in 140:3,9 and 141:3; “malicious” (ra’) in 140: 1,2, 11 and 141:4; “LORD my Lord (YHWH’adonay) in 140:7 and 141:8; “trap” (pah) in 140:5 and 141:9; “snare” (moqes) in 140:5 and 141:9; and “lend an ear” (‘azan) in 140:6 and 141:1.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 972)

[2] Nancy deClaissé-Walford attempts to give a closer translation to the Hebrew:

5 Let the righteous strike me with hesed and reprove me;

                let my head not refuse such oil

                Indeed continually my prayer is against their maliciousness.

6 Let their judges be hurled down into the hands of the rock,

                And then they will hear my sayings, for they are pleasant.

7 Like the furrowing and breaking up of the earth,

                our bones are scattered to the mouth of Sheol. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 973)

Psalm 140 Deliver Me From the Poisonous Words of Violent Ones

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King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst

Psalm 140

To the leader. A Psalm of David. 

1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers[1];
  protect me from those who are violent,
 2 who plan evil things in their minds
  and stir up wars continually.
 3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
  and under their lips is the venom of vipers.  Selah

 4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
  protect me from the violent
  who have planned my downfall.
 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
  and with cords they have spread a net,
  along the road they have set snares for me.  Selah

 6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God;
  give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
 7 O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
  you have covered my head in the day of battle.
 8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
  do not further their evil plot.  Selah

 9 Those who surround me lift up their heads;
  let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
 10 Let burning coals fall on them!
  Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
 11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
  let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

 12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy
  and executes justice for the poor.
 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
  the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 140 is the poetic prayer of an individual asking God to deliver them from violent adversaries. The Hebrew of the poem divides into four roughly equal parts (divided by the word selah) with a closing statement of trust.[2] The first two sections use the metaphors of venomous snakes, warfare, and hunting to describe the actions of the violent ones to the God who can deliver the psalmist. The central section turns away from the violent ones to the God who delivers the psalmist in the midst of battle. The fourth section asks for God’s judgment on these evil and violent opponents before the final two verses again return to the God who maintains the cause of the needy.

The enemies are identified only as evildoers, violent, and wicked. Although the psalmist utilizes the metaphor of warfare it is likely that the enemies’ actions may be primarily verbal with the focus on the tongue and lips in the serpent imagery and the hiding of traps for a hunter. That does not mean that the threat is not ominous. The enemies may be attempting to ensnare the psalmist through their word games in court or poison their reputation. These violent ones are stirring up conflict and evil, planning the downfall and entrapment of the faithful psalmist.

God is named at the beginning of each of the first two sections, but in the central section the name of God is called out four times.[3] The LORD is the psalmists God, and then the psalmist asks their God to hear their supplications. The word translated supplications comes from the verbal root hanan which is translated “showing favor” in Psalms 111, 112, and 123 and is part of the self-description of God in Exodus 34:6. The psalmist declares their allegiance to their God and God’s description of Godself before returning to the military metaphors where God clothes them for battle and delivers them. The psalmist closes this section by appealing to God to not grant the desires of the wicked, but instead to hear the appeals of the righteous one.

In the fourth section returns to the enemies that have risen against the psalmist. This section again returns to the verbal themes with the mischief of the lips being turned against those who speak violently against the psalmist. Now the psalmist asks God to judge them with burning coals, falling into the pit. Ultimately the psalmist asks that evil would hunt down these violent, wicked ones. As with all cries to God to judge the enemy, the enemy resides in God’s hands and not the psalmist.

The psalmist closes with a note of trust which calls again on God as the one who protects the needy and poor. The psalmist trusts that their current situation where the wicked and violent successfully oppress the righteous will not last. God hears the cry of the vulnerable and defends them. God will not allow the wicked to prosper indefinitely. The psalmist looks forward to the day when they can give thanks to the LORD for the way God has delivered them from this moment of trouble.

[1] “The Hebrew word is ‘ra, most often translated as “evil.” The word “evil” in English carries an ethical, moral tone that, while appropriate for Ps. 140, is probably not as appropriate as malicious, which means, “having, shown, or cause by malice; spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful.”” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 968)

[2] Clifford Allen noted that verses 1-3 contain twenty-three Hebrew words, ending with selah; verses 4-5 contain twenty-three words, ending with selah; verses 6-8 contain twenty-four words, ending with selah; verses 9-11 contain twenty-three words with verses 12-13 as a closing statement of trust. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 967)

[3] In English translations the capitalized LORD indicates that the four letters of the divine name are behind the translation (YHWH) with vowel markings indicating it is to be spoken as Adonai (Lord). In verse seven the second Lord is the Hebrew Adonai.

Psalm 139 Asking the God who Knows and Sees Me to Respond to the Injustice on Earth

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The Nativity of Christ, Icon by Ranosonar

Psalm 139

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
 you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
 and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
 O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
 and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
 it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?
 Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
 if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
 and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
 and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
 and night wraps itself around me,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
 the night is as bright as the day,
 for darkness is as light to you.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
 you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
 Wonderful are your works;
 that I know very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
 when I was being made in secret,
 intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
 In your book were written
 all the days that were formed for me,
 when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
 How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
 I come to the end—I am still with you.

19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
 and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
20 those who speak of you maliciously
 and lift themselves up against you for evil!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
 And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
 I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
 test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me,
 and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139 is a paradox. The first eighteen verses in poetic and beautiful imagery describe the psalmists experience of being fully known by God. The language of the final six verses describes the psalmist’s reaction to the jarring reality that there are many who oppose the ways of God. Many readers of this psalm are surprised at the sudden change from the sense of wonder and awe in the first three stanzas of the psalm to the imprecatory voice of the final stanza. Most readers may be familiar with the first eighteen verses while the final six will rarely appear in the worship of most churches. Some scholars feel that these verses were later added into the beautiful and comforting message of God’s full knowledge and encompassing of the speaker, but I feel the psalm makes sense as we have received it as I will share below.

A key word in this psalm is “known/knowledge” which occurs seven times (vv. 1-2, 4, 6, 14, 23 twice) and while the seven occurrences may be random, Hebrew poetry like to utilize numerical occurrence to make a point. Seven is traditionally a number of completeness. So, in addition to the thematic complete knowledge of God it may also be structurally reinforcing this message. (NIB IV: 1235) The verbs attributed to God including “know,” “search,” and “test” often appear in imagery when God is described as a judge, and this image of God is often used when one is calling on God for intervention or help. (Mays, 1994, pp. 426-427) Throughout the psalm the psalmist wrestles with the reality that they are known, searched, and tested completely by God and yet the wicked ones who resist God’s way still endure and God is called to judge these ones who the psalmist ‘hates’ (see below).

In the first stanza God knows the psalmist’s thoughts, words, and actions completely. Whether the psalmist is coming or going, waking or sleeping, standing or sitting, God knows their path, their thoughts, and even the words that have not left their mouth. They live their life surrounded by God’s presence and comforted by God’s touch. They respond in an appropriate sense of awe and wonder that the God who created the heavens and the earth can know them. The psalm is not interested in constructing a doctrine of omnipotence and omnipresence but instead deploys its language to try to express their wonder that God knows them, comforts them, is present with them and protects them.

The second stanza continues the wonder at God’s presence throughout the creation. The most surprising line of this stanza is that the psalmist includes God’s presence in Sheol, a place in other psalms where people are cut off from God’s hand (Psalm 88). Yet, for the psalmist even this place where God had been thought absent God is present. Heaven to Sheol, from the rising sun to the farthest edges of the sea, and even in the darkest night they are seen and known by God. There is nowhere in all creation, the heavens, the earth and under the earth, where they can escape God’s spirit or God’s sight. For the psalmist this is an awe-inspiring reality but primarily in a comforting rather than an ominous sense.

The third stanza turns the reflections to God’s deep involvement throughout the duration of their life. The beautiful language of God knitting the psalmist together in their mother’s womb, shaping and forming them for their life in God’s presence and protection. They wonder at their body and mind created by the hand of God and the days of their life are numbered according to God’s plan. The psalmist is less concerned with an idea or predestination than poetically describing the wonder at their life shaped by God’s hands and lived within God’s presence.

It may be a paradox, but for me the first three stanzas set up the final stanza. The psalmist looks upon God’s active presence in their own life and experience and then turns outward to the world where injustice and wickedness persist. The language does not seem to indicate that the psalmist is personally under threat or attack but instead seems to be broken-hearted by the ways in which others are treating God and God’s commandments. They are heartsick by the idolatry and injustice they see at work in the world and they call upon the God who is profoundly present throughout their life to extend that presence throughout the world and judge the wicked and those who oppose God’s ways. The language of ‘kill’ and ‘hate’ are jarring to our ears. The word translated ‘hate’ (Hebrew sane’) refers to an emotional aversion to something or someone. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 966) Throughout the psalms and wisdom literature in the bible the wicked pose a threat, leading astray others from following God’s way and threatening the peace of the society. The psalmist in their own way is calling on God for God’s will to be done on earth. The God who is present throughout the life of the psalmist and whose spirit is present throughout the world is asked to judge the earth and be as deeply involved throughout the creation as they perceive God being within their own life. Like the other psalms calling on God to judge an enemy, the enemy is committed into God’s hands. Yet the psalmist joins those throughout the generations calling upon God to establish God’s justice on earth and to heal the society from the damage done by the wicked, the bloodthirsty, those who speak maliciously, and who rise up against God.

Psalm 138 Praising the LORD With One’s Whole Heart and Being

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The Presentation of the Torah By Édouard Moyse – Own work Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41893002

Psalm 138

Of David.

1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
  before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
  and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
  for you have exalted your name and your word
  above everything.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
  you increased my strength of soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,
  for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5 They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
  for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
  but the haughty he perceives from far away.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
  you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
 you stretch out your hand,
  and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
  your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
  Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 138 utilizes themes common throughout the book of Psalms as it thanks and praises the God the psalmist follows with their whole heart. To follow the LORD with one’s whole heart is not merely a matter of belief but also behavior. The heart in Hebrew thought is not the seat of emotion but the seat of will and intention. The first stanza of the psalm begins with the heart, the seat of will and intention, and ends with the nephesh (NRSVue soul) which is the center or essence of life and being. ‘Heart’ and ‘soul’ they give thanks, sing praise, bow down, and call upon the LORD their God.

This psalm, like many portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, are not monotheistic as we conceive, but view the LORD the God of Israel as the God above all gods. In the midst of a pluralistic world where others worship other gods the psalmist sings the praise of the God above all gods. This God whose name[1] and ‘word’[2] are exalted above everything is the God worthy of thanks, praise and bowing down to. The LORD is known by the central descriptions of God’s characters: ‘steadfast love’ (hesed)[3] and faithfulness (‘emet). The LORD is a God who answers when the psalmist calls and they are strengthened in courage and ‘strength of soul’ in response.

The praise of the LORD expands from the psalmist in the first stanza to ‘all the kings of the earth’ in the second. The ‘words’ of the LORD have now spread to the nations and these mighty one join the psalmist in singing of the glory of God. Throughout the psalms there have been times when the praise of God has been echoed throughout the creation but here the emphasis is on the nations not only praising the glory and power of the LORD but also the ways of the LORD. Central to the way of the LORD is the care of the lowly who God regards. The mighty and haughty may find themselves distant from God but the lowly and vulnerable are seen and protected by God. The kings of the earth in honoring the ways of God would also turn to practices which protect the vulnerable and lowly.

Even though the psalmist appears to be delivered in the first stanza, the final stanza returns to God protecting them in the midst of trouble. Thematically this stanza is similar to Psalm 23 preserving the faithful one in the midst of trouble and delivering them from their enemies. The hand of the LORD is a central feature to these final two verses, appearing three times. The psalmist is the work of the hands of God but also asks God to stretch out the hand in protection and deliver with the right hand. The LORD fulfills God’s purposes, and the psalmist echoes the refrain of Psalm 136 ‘your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.’ J. Clinton McCann Jr. summarizes the psalm nicely when he states:

The psalmist is able to present his or her whole life to God, because the psalmist trust that it is God’s character to manifest “steadfast love” (hesed) and “faithfulness” (‘emet). (NIB IV: 1232)

The psalmist’s wholehearted and embodied thanks, praise and worship points to a future reality when all the king and nations of the earth join in the celebration of the ways of God. They entrust themselves to the God of steadfast love and faithfulness who walks with them in the midst of trouble.

[1] The name of the LORD is a central idea in Hebrew thought and lies behind the commandment on honoring God’s name and keeping it holy. The temple, for example, is ‘a house built for the name of the LORD.’ The name of the LORD can refer to the presence of God but with the understanding that all the earth cannot contain the presence of the LORD.

[2] The Hebrew term for ‘word’ throughout this psalm is not the normal debar but instead from the verbal root ‘amar. Nancy deClaissé-Walford indicates this is more of an emphasis on voicing of the word and perhaps ‘sayings’ is a more accurate translation of this less common word. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 960)

[3] For more about the hesed of God see my comments on Psalm 136.