The Structure of the Book of Psalms and Its Message 2

In the previous issue, I looked at the way the book of Psalms has been put together. There are obvious signs of editing in the sense of a deliberate arrangement. So far so good. But is there a message implied? And if so, which one? This is a far more difficult question because the answer is not explicit and ready to be observed.

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It reminds me of my bookshelves. If you’d look at them, you’d probably notice that books by the same author tend to be grouped together. Books dealing with the same subject area tend to be grouped together. I follow neither of these two principles consistently.

One reason is practical: some books have to be placed elsewhere because of their size. Is there anything more behind the way I have arranged the books in our home? Yes. I keep most reference works in the office because that is where I use them. Our cooking books are within easy reach of the kitchen. But most importantly: the books in the living room are easily accessible to anyone staying with us and include most of the books that might be of interest to guests, especially those books that are helpful for personal growth.

It is an imperfect illustration that an arrangement may imply a message or purpose. What is this message in the book of Psalms? I proceed with considerable caution. Any message surmised from an arrangement of items is far from certain, and there is a lot of room for debate and disagreement. Besides, I have only just begun to read the book of Psalms this way, as more than a mere collection. Nevertheless, it would be a shame to miss out on this level of meaning. So what are options?

Parallels to the Torah?

As noticed, Psalms consists of five books, as does the Torah. The parallel is likely deliberate. Beyond this, might these books each contain additional parallels to match the corresponding book of the Torah?

I don’t think so. The parallels quickly turn spurious, especially for Book 1 and Genesis; they do not match. The five-fold division of Psalms most likely does parallel the five books of the Torah but only in a general sense.

An Eschatological (Prophetic) Programme or Scheme?

David Mitchell (1997) argues at length that there is an eschatological programme in the Psalms: it shows the end, how God will bring his purpose for Israel and the world to completion. Mitchell’s scheme is an elaborate one and runs parallel to what we find in the prophetic books, especially Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. It includes elements such as the ingathering and restoration of Israel, an attack by the nations, and their conversion.

I think Mitchell takes it too far but there is an obvious prophetic element in the book of Psalms. Early Christian interpreters often read the book prophetically, as pointing forward to Christ in many psalms, not only the obviously messianic ones. As we will see, the Jews at the time of Jesus tended to read Psalms this way as well.

The royal emphasis in the book (compiled in its final version long after the monarchy had come to an end), the strategic placement of messianic Psalms, and the cluster of enthronement psalms (Ps. 93, 95-99) in which Yahweh becomes king of all the earth add a distinct future-oriented drive or direction to the book. After all, why all this attention for David, if his reign is merely a thing of the past? The Final Hallel (Ps. 146-150) fits in as well: the praise of God by everything that has breath is the ultimate purpose of creation (cf. Rev. 5:13).

In a more recent study of Book 5, Michael Snearly concurs. His analysis of the final book of Psalms is also detailed and likewise too speculative for me. But I do acknowledge the general point: “I contend that there is a purposeful arrangement of psalm groups in Book V that signals a renewed hope in the royal/Davidic promises” (Snearly 2013: 210). After all, as both Snearly (2013: 213) and Mitchell (1997: 78-79) point out, in Book 5, the Davidic king is back – in full force (e.g. Psalm 110, 132, 144).

A Message Based on and Centred around the Davidic Covenant

The reconstructions of Gerald Wilson (1985) and John Walton (1991) make too little of the prophetic and forward-looking thrust of the book. However, they both place the Davidic promise and covenant (see 2 Samuel 7) in the centre – rightly, in my opinion, because surely it is foundational to Psalms and therefore the proper point of departure. I will discuss their view and then revisit Mitchell.

Walton compares Psalms to a cantata: a musical composition for one or more voices sung with instrumental accompaniment (think Bach; or think oratorio, as in Handel’s Messiah, which also ‘recycles’ Scripture).

The hypothesis that I have developed views the Psalms as a cantata around the theme of the Davidic covenant. The cantata analogy is helpful for it carries with it the idea that many of the pieces may not have been composed specifically for the cantata. Rather, compositions created for other reasons at other times have been woven together into a secondary framework in order to address a particular subject. (Walton 1991: 24)

Take the Songs of Ascent (Ps. 120-134), for instance. Originally, they were most likely songs of pilgrimage, sung by the Israelites on their way to the temple in Jerusalem. By their placement in Psalms, they acquire a new or additional meaning as the hopeful songs of God’s people on their way from the present age in which they suffer oppression to the new era in which God rules from Zion (which in the NT is relocated to heaven although it will eventually come down to earth).

The clues we use to reconstruct the intended message are largely indirect and implicit. Not surprisingly, therefore, the reconstructions put forward by Wilson and Walton differ somewhat from each other. Walton’s overall thematic structure looks like this:

I. Introduction (1-2)

Theme: Vindication of the Righteous; Theocratic Sponsorship of the Israelite (Davidic) King

II. Book 1 (3-41)

Theme: David’s Conflict with Saul

III. Book 2 (42-72)

Theme: David’s Reign

IV. Book 3 (73-89)

Theme: Assyrian Crisis [I am not sure if the crisis is necessarily this specific]

V. Book 4 (90-106)

Theme: Introspection about Destruction of Temple and Exile

VI. Book 5 (107-145)

Theme: Praise/Reflection on Return and New Era

VII. Conclusion (146-150)

Theme: Praise relating to Themes of Psalter (Walton 1995: 24)

Psalm 89

Before I continue with Walton and Wilson, I need to explaint the importance of Psalm 89. In Part 1 of our study of the Psalter, we noticed that Book 1-3 form a unit ending with the pivotal Psalm 89: “The notion that the story line of the Psalter hinges on Psalm 89 is approaching a consensus among editorial critics” (Snearly 2013: 211). Great expectations based on David and God’s promise to him have, it appears, come to nothing.

Wilson points out that Psalm 89 (written long after David) addresses a severe crisis. The Davidic covenant appears to have failed:

At the conclusion of the third book, immediately preceding the break observed separating the earlier and later books [that is, Book 1-3 and Book 4-5], the impression left is one of a covenant remembered, but a covenant failed. The Davidic covenant introduced in Ps 2 has come to nothing and the combination of three books concludes with the anguished cry of the Davidic descendants. (Wilson 1985: 213; emphasis in original)

But surely this “anguished cry” that asks, “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?” (Ps. 89:49 ESV) will be answered. And this takes us to Book 4-5.

Book 4 and 5

It is especially on Book 4 that Walton and Wilson differ. For Walton, Book 4 is about the crisis and exile that resulted from this failure. Wilson presents a more positive assessment:

In my opinion, Pss 90-106 function as the editorial “center” of the final form of the Hebrew Psalter. As such this grouping stands as the “answer” to the problem posed in Ps 89 as to the apparent failure of the Davidic covenant with which Books One-Three are primarily concerned. Briefly summarized the answer given is: (1) YHWH is king; (2) He has been our “refuge” in the past, long before the monarchy existed (i.e., in the Mosaic period); (3) He will continue to be our refuge now that the monarchy is gone; (4) Blessed are they that trust in him! (Wilson 1985: 215)h

For Book 4 and 5, Wilson offers a more detailed explanation for the placement of many psalms, but it gets too speculative for my taste (Walton’s explanation for individual psalms is even more doubtful). Besides, Wilson has little or no place for a new Davidic king, an unlikely omission.

Still, there are great insights here, such as the observation that Book 4 ends with a prayer:

This prayer is answered by Psalm 107, a psalm that celebrates the ingathering of God’s people from exile and diaspora (Wilson 1985: 219f; it is worth noting that there is a serious break here, between Psalm 106 and 107, since Book 4 ends and Book 5 begins, yet at the same time there is a strong and obvious connection, suggesting careful design and arrangement).

Likewise worth noting is the following observation (Wilson 1985: 220-224). Book 5 includes two groups of Davidic psalms: Psalm 108-110 and Psalm 138-145. They are a surprise, this late in the book – more psalms ascribed to David! They form an inclusio, an enclosure, at the centre of which stands Psalm 119 with its celebration of Torah, in some ways a counterpart to Psalm 1. Psalm 119 is the programme; it is followed by Psalm 120-134, which show the appropriate response or attitude: to trust, wait, and hope.

David Is Both the Past and the Future of Israel

At this point, I return to David Mitchell. He is quite strong in his criticism of both Wilson’s and Walton’s constructed message for largely leaving out eschatology and a future Davidic king (Mitchell 1997: 78-82). Again, if David were merely a thing of the past, why give him so much space?

The sprinkling of messianic psalms not just at the seams but already throughout Book 1 (Ps. 20, 21, 45) suggests there is an eschatological message implied throughout. The historical David is a pattern for a future ‘David’. Psalms tells David’s (and in part, especially in Book 3, Israel’s) story to reiterate and uphold the Davidic covenant and promise. David’s experience establishes and feeds the expectation Israel should have for its future: God will do it again, through a future Son of David.

In this way, the book of Psalms itself provides the answer to the desperate complaint in the pivotal Psalm 89 that is missing in Wilson’s storyline: the apparent failure of the Davidic monarchy cannot possibly be the final word on David and his descendants.

Confirmation from the New Testament

Reading Psalms in this light adds background to the phrase “Son of David” as used in the gospels. Many contemporaries of Jesus were indeed reading the Psalms this way, that is, eschatologically and prophetically.

True: the way the blind beggar Bartimaeus uses the phrase (Mk. 10:46-52) might conceivably be based on the messianic expectation in the prophetic books. But when Jesus uses it in his final confrontation in the temple (asking how the Messiah can be David’s son, Mk. 11:35-37), he takes his cue from Psalm 110 – and shows he understood Psalms prophetically.

A second example. Shortly before this confrontation in the temple, Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22-23, which speaks of the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone. Yet, Psalm 118 is not obviously messianic. “I” in this psalm appears to be neither David nor the Messiah. It is quite possible to read it as the words of a believer who was rescued by God out of severe need (near death).

But then why did the crowd quote from this psalm when Jesus entered Jerusalem, explicitly linking it with the coming kingdom of David: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk. 11:9-10 ESV; different from the first blessing, the second blessing is not part of the psalm).

The kingdom is not mentioned in the psalm, but for the crowd, it is implied. Psalm 118 (and many other psalms) can be read either way. It is about every believer, and it is about the Davidic Messiah. David in the book of Psalms is a type of the Messiah; the Messiah will be vindicated in his suffering, just as David was, and Psalm 118 speaks of this kind of vindication.

Back to Individual Application: Why the Righteous Will Prosper

David is therefore more than an important king from the past. He is Israel’s hope for the future (as a type of the Messiah). At the same time, David now also functions as a model for every member of God’s people: we are to identify with his struggle as documented in the book of Psalms.

In the previous issue, we looked at the close connection between Psalm 1 (the righteous individual is blessed and vindicated, and the wicked are judged) and Psalm 2 (the messianic king as the righteous one par excellence is vindicated, with the kings of the earth in the position of the wicked).

Part of the prophetic message of Psalms is that God will establish and uphold the Davidic covenant and his Messiah, in a movement from David to Messiah to eschatological restoration and victory:

The message of the editor would be one that combined individual and national elements, wisdom and eschatology. David is the quintessential example of the righteous man vindicated. He was vindicated vis-à-vis Saul, vindicated vis-à-vis Absalom, and ultimately vindicated on a national/eschatological scale in the development of the Davidic covenant. (Walton 1991: 31)

But it works in the opposite direction as well, in a movement from the vindication of the messianic king to the vindication of all the righteous (since the victory of the Messiah is the foundation for the victory and salvation of the believer). Just as both David and Jesus were vindicated, so the righteous individual may expect to be vindicated for his trust in God as well.

I repeat, therefore: David in the book of Psalms is more than an important king from the past. He is Israel’s hope for the future. And he functions as a model for every member of God’s people: we are invited to identify with his struggle as documented in Psalms so we will also share in his vindication.

That is a message indeed. It may well be that it is not found by squeezing a meaning out of the exact placement of each psalm, but rather by recognizing the larger themes and threads that run through the book of Psalms and by developing a sense for how they weave subtle connections between David, the believer, and the Messiah, as well as between the historical and the eschatological.

Attribution

David: falco <https://pixabay.com/photos/bible-image-church-church-window-4019231/> CC0

Library: Jarmoluk <https://pixabay.com/photos/library-book-reading-education-488690/> CC0

Opera: TravelCoffeeBook <https://pixabay.com/photos/opera-orchestra-music-concert-594592/> CC0

References

All Bible quotations from: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles)

Mitchell, David C. 1997. The Message of the Psalter an Eschatological Programme in the Book of Psalms (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press)

Snearly, Michael K. 2013. ‘The Return of the King: Book V as a Witness to Messianic Hope in the Psalter’, in The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul, ed. by Andrew J. Schmutzer and David M. Howard (Chicago: Moody Publishers), pp. 209-17

Walton, John. 1991. ‘Psalms: A Cantata About the Davidic Covenant’, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 34.1: 21-31

Wilson, Gerald Henry. 1985. The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, SBL Dissertation Series, 76 (Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press)

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