The Flow of the Psalms

Discovering Their Structure and Theology

O. Palmer Robertson

• Publisher: P Publishing
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781629951348
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

An investigation by O. Palmer Robertson that uncovers the mystery of the arrangement and structure of the Psalms and shows that there is a redemptive flow through its five books.

1

Introduction

More often than not, people perceive the book of Psalms as a random collection of individual poems on a variety of topics. With this assumed framework for reading, it is understandable that little awareness exists in terms of a comprehension of the book’s total message, its specific emphases, or any flow of the book’s structure and theology from beginning to end.

The difficulty of grasping some structural order in the Psalter is by no means a modern problem. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, after setting forth a commentary on the Psalms condensed to over six hundred pages, opens his treatment of Psalm 150 with the following acknowledgment:

Although the arrangement of the Psalms, which seems to me to contain the secret of a mighty mystery, hath not yet been revealed unto me, yet, by the fact that they in all amount to one hundred and fifty, they suggest somewhat even to us, who have not as yet pierced with the eye of our mind the depth of their entire arrangement, whereon we may without being over-bold, so far as God giveth, be able to speak.2

Augustine proceeds to speak extensively of the significance of 150 as the number of the Psalms, of the difficulty of understanding the division into five books when there is actually only one book, and of the significance of the three groups of fifty psalms each that advance from penitence (Ps. 50) to mercy and judgment (Ps. 100) to praise (Ps. 150).

In the middle of the nineteenth century, one insightful commentator who treasured the revelations of God in the book of Psalms anticipated more recent discussions. This particular author was fully aware of the challenge of a comprehensive understanding of the book of Psalms. He provides an honest summary of the problem by describing the book of Psalms as

the most miscellaneous of the sacred books, containing a hundred and fifty compositions, each complete in itself, and varying in length, from two sentences (Ps. 117) to a hundred and seventy-six (Ps. 119), as well as in subject, style, and tone, the work of many authors, and of different ages; so that a superficial reader might be tempted to regard it as a random or fortuitous collection of unconnected and incongruous materials.3

Rejecting various efforts to reconstruct the psalms in some order that might provide greater coherence to the Psalter, this author suggests that studying the order in which the book presents itself will prove to be the most productive approach. Even if all the elements that link one portion of the book to another might not be immediately apparent, enough clues are evident to supply some overall awareness of the genius of the book’s structure. As a matter of fact, the more a person studies the total message of the Psalms, the more convinced he becomes that a greater number of interconnections in structure and theology exist in the book than will ever be fully uncovered.

The authors of a recent commentary on the Psalms describe their approach to the Psalter, explaining in the process why their introduction to the whole book is being reserved until the third volume dealing with Psalms 1–50 has been completed:

Because we do not regard the Psalter, as some other commentators have, as nothing but a “storage cabinet” for individual psalms, but rather as a successively developed, but nevertheless compositionally structured entity whose form gives an additional dimension of meaning to each individual psalm, the “introduction” can be meaningfully composed only when we have analyzed all the individual psalms.4

Taking into account the structure of the Psalter makes two significant contributions to the interpretive process: (1) it has the potential of uncovering internal connections among the various psalms; and (2) it provides additional light to each individual psalm on the basis of this internal structuring. Both these elements have the potential of uncovering the richer meaning of the Psalter as a whole as well as with respect to its various parts.5

Obviously, it is impossible to know exactly how the final form of the Psalter came together. Yet we can be fairly certain of some things. Essentially all evidence points to the fact that David composed a great number of the psalms in about 1000 b.c. We know from their content that some psalms were composed as much as five hundred years later, since they describe responses to Israel’s exile and restoration (Pss. 137, 126). We know that at least one earlier arrangement of the psalms was made before the final form of the Psalter, as indicated by the postscript of Psalm 72. This concluding notation of the psalm says, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended” (Ps. 72:20), and yet the Psalter contains a number of psalms attributed to David after Psalm 72. We know that an editor or editors arranged the collection of 150 psalms into five “books” of significantly uneven size, with forty-one psalms in Book I (Pss. 1–41), thirty-one psalms in Book II (Pss. 42–72), seventeen psalms in Book III (Pss. 73–89), seventeen psalms in Book IV (Pss. 90–106), and forty-four psalms in Book V (Pss. 107–150). We also know that someone selected and distributed certain Davidic psalms into four major groupings across the five books, and quite likely chose at some points to leave earlier groupings intact.6 Further, we know that some person or persons put together the entirety of the book as we now observe it.7

So who was this final editor/author/organizer or group of editors who constructed the final form of the Psalter? How did he or they do this work? We cannot know with certainty the answer to these questions. But to make this procedure more concrete, let us imagine that this person was someone like Ezra the scribe. If not Ezra, it could well have been some person or group of persons similar to Ezra.

So let us imagine our “Ezra” or some grouping of individuals similar to Ezra in the exilic and/or postexilic period of Israel’s redemptive history as the final organizer(s) and editor(s) of the Psalter.8 We know some things about Ezra. Like Paul his New Testament counterpart, he was a scribe of the law. Ezra is described as a priest and a teacher “well versed in the Law of Moses, . . . a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel” (Ezra 7:6, 11). He was a man who had “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). By Law or Torah is not meant merely the five books of Moses. Even these books must not be perceived as codifications designed to dictate every thought and action of the pious. Law or Torah was an elastic word that could include history, prophecy, poetry, and wisdom. This person, whoever he was, must have loved the whole of the Torah of the Lord, including the Psalms.

So our imagined “Ezra” first appears during the exile in Babylon. He might have been taken into exile as a young man with the first captives, like Daniel and Ezekiel. Or he might have been born in exile. But by the divine appointment of his life course, he stands among the celebrated scholars of God’s Word in his day. He might even have authored some of the sacred writings, such as the books of Chronicles. Some years later, he appears among the leaders of Israel’s worship who return to the Land of Promise.

Now into his hands, or the hands of a person or people like him, is placed the responsibility of ordering services for seeking God’s face in worship among the Judean exiles in Babylon, and later in Judea after the return from exile. At his disposal is the collection or collections of psalms that have been handed down to him. For four to five hundred years, from the days of David in about 1000 b.c. to the events of Israel’s tragic exile and meager restoration in around 586 and 536 to 515 b.c., these precious psalms have led God’s people through every imaginable experience.

His task may be compared to that of a modern-day friend of a bride who has been asked to arrange the flowers for a wedding ceremony. It will be a large gathering. A thousand people might be in attendance. So will the person responsible for this artistic presentation in behalf of his close friend thoughtlessly arrange his collection of flowers into a shapeless mass, place them into a commonplace clay pot, and be done with the job? Of course not. His floral arrangement must be carefully crafted to enhance the beauty of every lily, rose, and iris.

In a similar way, the final editor (or editors) of the Psalter would have been quite deliberate in the arrangement of the assembled treasury of psalms. Very likely he (or they) would have accepted some arrangements that traditional usage had already established. But then he/they would have been quite deliberate in the placement of every psalm and grouping of psalms.

In considering the present arrangement of the Psalter, we see that a large grouping of psalms known to be David’s has been positioned in the forefront of the collection. This grouping reflects the confrontation of David with numerous and varied enemies as he seeks to establish his messianic kingship (Book I, Psalms 1–41). Next our editor presents psalms declaring the victories of the Lord over the nations, while also depicting communications with the nations that climax in the prospect of a worldwide reign of David’s son Solomon (Book II, Psalms 42–72). Then he offers a realistic picture of the conflict with the mighty “horns” of foreign powers that ultimately ends with the devastation of his people and the casting of Messiah’s crown to the dust (Book III, Psalms 73–89). In response to this tragic note, he situates the stately psalm of Moses as a pivotal centerpiece of the Psalter. This majestic psalm thus serves as his introduction to the fourth book of the Psalms that leads God’s people into a more mature perspective on the coming of the kingdom (Book IV, Psalms 90–106):

Lord, you have been our dwellingplace through all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Ps. 90:1–2)

Having affirmed the Lord’s dominion across the ages, he then places together a grouping of psalms that chant a favored refrain: “Yahweh Malak” (“The Lord is King”) (Pss. 93, 96, 97, 99). In his final book, he calls for expressions of thanks and praise that serve as his climactic theme (Book V, Pss. 107–150). In recognition of the ongoing significance of David’s role as ...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Editor’s Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Analytical Outline
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Basic Structural Elements in the Psalms
• 3. The Redemptive-Historical Framework of the Psalms
• 4. The Flow of the Book
• 5. Book I (Psalms 1–41): Confrontation
• 6. Book II (Psalms 42–72): Communication
• 7. Book III (Psalms 73–89): Devastation
• 8. Book IV (Psalms 90–106): Maturation
• 9. Book V (Psalms 107–150): Consummation
• 10. Concluding Observations
• Select Bibliography
• Index of Scripture
• Index of Subjects and Names
• Diagrams