Introduction
Charles Dickens wrote in his 1859 book, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ a famous opening line, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This sentiment is expressed throughout the book of the Psalms. The main reason the Psalms are dear to God’s people is they live in reality alongside us as a truthful, loving, encouraging Word from God in all we experience in life.
As Paul Tripp wrote, “The Psalms are in the Bible to keep us honest. Biblical faith isn’t presented as being comfortable, pleasant, and easy. Rather, the more you examine the shocking honesty of the Psalms, the more you see how messy, chaotic, and question-riddled the life of faith actually is.”1
The Psalter has an apt Psalm which provides an accurate lens to properly view each circumstance of life. The Psalms are used by God to orient us time and time again to Himself who is the First Mover, the Causal Cause, the One who is sovereign over all life and who uses unique joys and sufferings in each of our lives to strengthen and maintain us in our faith in Jesus Christ all the way to glory.
While not telling us everything we ought to do amid them, they sit with us in our grief or they rejoice with us. Reading the Psalms reveals to us the varied realities we may face throughout life and leads us to praise God in everything.
The Challenge
As a teenager, I tried for a long time to get a general idea of the flow of the Psalms and found that it was an impossible mission. I certainly saw it as a good and godly aim, however, not seeing the forest for the trees, I ended my initial attempts in failure. Perhaps you have had the same experience in your attempts to have a good grasp on the Psalms?
The Macro: The Overall Picture Painted by the Psalms
To make sense of and understand the book of Psalms, we need to have an awareness of the overall structure of the book, otherwise we will miss its total message.
While one overall book, the 150 Psalms are divided into five books within the one book, and intentionally so. This is highlighted for us in O. Palmer Robertson’s book, ‘The Flow of the Psalms,’2 to whom I am deeply indebted for my understanding of the Psalms.
The design is wonderful when you see how the Psalms are divided into 5 sub-books:
– Book I (Psalms 1-41): Confrontation
– Book II (Psalms 42-72):
Communication
– Book III (Psalms 73-89): Devastation
– Book IV (Psalms 90-106): Maturation
– Book V (Psalms 107-150):
Consummation
a. Who designed the Psalms like this and for what purpose?
The order of the Book of Psalms in these five sub-books occurred over many years. There are several different authors whose Psalms, or poems, circulated amongst the Israelites in smaller collections prior to being collated. It was over hundreds of years, through the work of anonymous post-exilic Jewish editors (redactors), that the Psalms were organised into the five books we have today. The Psalms are not placed in chronological order, but instead, by placing similar Psalms together in each book, they are woven together to help smooth their flow.
Just so we are clear, the rearranging of the Psalms in the Bible does nothing to alter the fact that they are divinely inspired and properly belong in our Bibles as the very Word of God to us.
Robertson explains how the law in Psalm 1 and messianic message in Psalm 2 provide us with the basic major themes developed throughout the Psalter. So while each of the five books within the Psalter have individual emphases, they all develop an interconnected and unified story.
b. The Five Sub-Books of the Psalms
Book I’s (1-41) emphasis is King David trying to establish God’s Kingdom of righteousness and peace while being confronted by many enemies.
Book II (42-72) shows a significant change in that the Psalmist refers to God by His more general name of ‘Elohim,’ rather than God’s covenant name of ‘Yahweh’ that he used in Book I. The significance of this, is it indicates a change has occurred in their relationship with God. So, God communicates with Israel and the surrounding nations, calling them to obedience and faithful repentance for sin.
This then leads us to Book III (73-89) revealing the coming devastation where God will judge His people for their lack of faith and repentance.
Then in Book IV (90-106) you gain an awareness of a restoration of the relationship between God and His people again. The Psalmist once again uses ‘Yahweh,’ the covenant name for God. This covenant name for God is closely connected in these Psalms to the Hebrew word for ‘king,’ and highlights to Israel that following God’s judgement on their sin, God will restore His Kingdom. King David tried and failed, but God as King will not fail. Our faithful covenant God will bring His Kingdom into this world and firmly establish it. Earthly kings may fail, but God as King will not fail.
Book V (107-150) then gives us a taste of the completion of God’s redemptive Kingdom work. The Psalter concludes with five beautiful Psalms, Psalms 146-150 which sing praise of Hallelu-YAH! Praise to the covenant God of Israel for accomplishing the establishment of His Kingdom on Earth, which points forward to certain consummation of that Kingdom in the future! As New Testament Christians, we know that Jesus Christ is the divine King of God’s people who has established God’s Kingdom on Earth. In this Kingdom millenium, even as we still suffer the effects of sin and Satan, we can certainly know God’s gracious rule in our lives as we look forward to the day when His and our enemies are fully done away with. In the meantime, God’s victory on our behalf through King Jesus won, we can exclaim the Psalms of praise in song to God for His grace and goodness to us.
So, what is the total message of the Psalms in a nutshell? An earthly King over God’s people is not sufficient to inaugurate and maintain His Kingdom through to completion. Only God can do that! All must turn to God in faith and trust in Him alone!
The Micro: How to Understand Individual Psalms
Now we turn our attention to how you can read, interpret, apply and have a deeper appreciation of each individual Psalm. To do this you need to keep in mind the various types of poems contained in the Psalms. Poems of joy, lament, thanksgiving, confidence, remembrance, wisdom, or royal Psalms.
Even if you don’t like poetry, it is useful to understand something of what makes a poem a poem. As one writer states, “To appreciate a lovely poem found in the Psalms and written by a skillful Hebrew poet requires at least a basic knowledge of what makes Hebrew poetry poetry. And the more you appreciate the poetry of the Psalms, the more you will get their message. Key to interpreting the Psalms is understanding and appreciating their poetic features.”3
Hebrew poetry is literature that conveys its message by frequently using parallelism and imagery. Maybe you know your poetry and wonder, ‘Why haven’t you mentioned rhyme or meter?’
We tend to like rhyme and meter in our English poems because we grew up hearing poems like “Jack and Jill went up the hill…” So, it is important to be aware that Hebrew poetry typically does not rhyme, and if it does, as in Psalm 121:3, the rhyme is not intentional but incidental.
Let us now consider the parallelism and imagery in Hebrew poetry.
a. Parallelism
Tremper Longman said this about parallelism: “parallelism refers to the correspondence which occurs between the phrases of a poetic line” (line = a basic unit of Hebrew poetry separated by a colon).
Parallelism in Hebrew poetry means each line of the poem is closely related to the next line; one line flows into the next.
The relationship between each cola can occur in a variety of ways. Sometimes you can see the relationship between each cola grammatically or in their meaning.
Without getting too complicated, how parallelism works is defined by Futato, who said, “Parallelism is the art of saying something in both cola, or line, but with a difference added in the second colon.”
A good example of Hebrew poetic parallelism is in Psalm 29:1:
“Honour the LORD, you heavenly beings;
Honour the LORD for His glory and strength.”
The Psalmist repeating “Honour the LORD” links the two cola together while at the same time adding a difference. In the first colon the Psalmist teaches us who is to give honour to the Lord – the angels. The second colon answers the question ‘What must the angels honour the Lord for?’ Specifically, the angels are to honour the Lord for His glory and strength.
I hope you can see that Hebrew parallelism is the art of saying similar things in cola with the second colon adding something different, whether it is a small or great difference.
When you next turn to the Psalms I hope you read it slowly and try to find the difference in the second parallel line. Please do this, because if you do, it will enrich your experience of reading and hearing God speak to you through the Psalms.
b. Imagery
The next thing to notice in Hebrew poetry is the beautiful word images that are painted in each poem. A number of commentators have said, “Imagery is the most basic building block of poetry.” Leland Ryken changed that maxim a little by saying, “poetry is the language of images.”
This gives you a good sense of the importance of imagery in poetry, doesn’t it?
The reason imagery is so important in poetry in general is because words that invoke imagery engage your intellect and your emotions at the same time. In this way, the Psalms really are, as John Calvin put it, “an Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul.”
Imagery is a powerful tool in poetry because it grabs hold of your emotions, you sense their meaning before your mind grasps it.
In trying to ascertain what is being taught in the imagery of the Psalms, it is important to keep in mind that imagery in poetry is so rich that it can have multiple meanings, not just throughout the Psalms as a whole, but even within the one Psalm.
Because we are somewhat removed from the time and place of the authors and audience of these poems, the imagery does not always hit us with its intended meaning or force unless we have some understanding of the immediate context of the Psalm.
Once you understand the context of each Psalm, search for “the timeless truth” it teaches. For example, in Psalm 3, King David’s physical enemies Absalom and his fellow rebels, are not your enemies today. The timeless truth taught in Psalm 3 is: “When threatened or suffering you can have confident hope in God for deliverance.” This enables you to see links between Psalm 3 and New Testament passages. For example, 2 Corinthians 12:7. Paul is suffering some difficulty, and yet, Paul, like Israel, like us, can trust in the Lord’s will. Just like Jesus Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44). Jesus cried out in anguish at the thought of His Father forsaking Him upon the cross: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.”
As you find “the timeless truth” in the parallelism and imagery of each Psalm, then link it to New Testament passages, and on to Jesus Christ, you will recognize how He is the answer and fulfillment to each Psalm.
Conclusion
There are beautiful and meaningful patterns you can trace through the flow of the Psalms. So, do not be content to read the book of Psalms as a random collection of poems. Rather, read the entire Psalms regularly to fully benefit from them throughout your life. Doing this will help you see the Psalms’ beauty in all their God-glorifying arrangement.
Strive to utilise them more meaningfully in prayer. For the Psalms show you that, as a child of God’s grace, no matter what happens to you in life, you are never in a place where God’s grace cannot find you and minister to your need. So, whether you need comfort, encouragement, understanding, or something more, God’s Word in the Psalms will help you glorify God all the way to glory!
References:
1. Tripp, Paul. (2004). Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God. Shepherd Press.
2. Robertson, O. Palmer. (2015). The Flow of the Psalms: Discovering Their Structure and Theology. P&R Publishing.
3. Futato, Mark D. (2007). Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook. Kregel Publications.
Mr Nathaniel Rademaker is the minister in Whanganui Reformed Church.
