The Righteous Cry Out, and the Lord Hears:

Reading the Psalms Privately and Corporately

Michael G. Lilienthal

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the

Master of Divinity Degree

Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary

Mankato, MN

26 March 2014

Adolph L. Harstad, M.A., Advisor

Gaylin R. Schmeling, S.T.M.

Mark E. DeGarmeaux, S.T.M.

Lilienthal 3

Table of Contents

Introduction: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs ................................................................ 5

Part One: Reading the Psalms .................................................................................................... 9

Sweeter than Honey: A Primer on Poetry ................................................................................ 15

In Our Own Tongues: A Note on Translation ........................................................................ 23

Praises, Shouts, and New Songs: Reading the Different Types of Psalms ............................... 27

1. Psalms of Thanksgiving ..................................................................................................... 28

2. Psalms of Praise ................................................................................................................. 30

3. Psalms of Petition .............................................................................................................. 33

a. Petitions for Comfort ............................................................................................ 34

b. Petitions of Complaint .......................................................................................... 36

c. Imprecatory Psalms .............................................................................................. 42

Part Two: Using the Psalms ...................................................................................................... 55

Psalms in Private Prayer .......................................................................................................... 55

Psalms in Family Devotion ...................................................................................................... 59

Psalms in Corporate Worship ................................................................................................... 62

Gleaning Church Doctrine from the Psalms ............................................................................ 66

Conclusion: I Cried to the Lord with My Voice, and He Heard Me .................................. 70

Appendix I: Select Psalms ......................................................................................................... 73

Psalm 6 ..................................................................................................................................... 73

Psalm 16 ................................................................................................................................... 77

Psalm 109 ................................................................................................................................. 82

Psalm 136 ................................................................................................................................. 88

Psalm 148 ................................................................................................................................. 95

Appendix II: Psalm Categories .............................................................................................. 100

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 101

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Introduction: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encourages his readers to “be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making

melody in your heart to the Lord,”1 and in his letter to the Colossians he says, “Let the

word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one

another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to

the Lord.”2 Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are all poetic compositions designed

specifically to be sung, and yet Paul suggests a different use for them here. The

Christians in Ephesus and Colosse were to “speak to one another” and to “teach and

admonish one another” in this musical poetry. One may almost picture a utopian sort

of culture in which people sing to one another and play divine music, lifting up each

other’s spirits and encouraging a blissful, happy life. If understood in this way,

Ephesus and Colosse might become pictures of heaven.

There is another understanding of the pronoun here in these two verses

translated “one another,” that it would be better translated “yourselves.” In this case,

rather than a community in which people sing to one another in heavenly delight, the

songs are sung more privately, to one’s own soul to encourage oneself. This provides

the image of the individual, who, in the trials and troubles, the joys and pleasures of

life, finds a blessed expression in private conversation with God. Consider the two-way

communication found in the Psalms: if prayer is man speaking to God, then that is in

1 Eph. 5:18-19 (NKJV). 2 Col. 3:16 (NKJV).

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the Psalms; if Scripture is God speaking to man, then that is found in the Psalms.

Nowhere else but in the Lord’s Prayer are both directions of such communication

encompassed in one.3

And the individual speaking and singing to God is unified with the Church at

large, for, “When we sing our psalms and our hymns in our Christian worship, all of us

sing together, and we by no means chant the instructive and the admonitory words

only to our fellow singers, nor do they chant them to us, we all say them first and

foremost to our own selves.”4

This singing, speaking, teaching, and admonishing with psalms, hymns, and

spiritual songs is therefore designed as both a corporate and a private affair. We as

Christians, as members of Christ’s body, will partake in the worship of Christ’s body,

receiving the Word God gives to all his people, and responding with all God’s people to

him in prayer. We will also, in the quiet hours when we sit alone, when we walk alone,

when we work alone, find in the Psalms a way in which we may privately speak to

God, whether it be with sorrow, rage, or joy.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the

will of God in Christ Jesus for you,”5 says Paul. Elsewhere he says: “Be anxious for

nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your

3 One also could include psalms found in Scripture outside the book of Psalms, such as the Nunc

Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32), the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), and others. 4 R. C. H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament: Colossians (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers,

1998), 177-178. Cf. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 619-620.

5 1 Thess. 5:16-18 (NKJV).

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requests be made known to God.”6 Luther, too, saw the value of calling upon God thus,

because of man’s inescapable sinfulness, “Therefore nothing is so needful as to call

upon God constantly and to din our plea into God’s ear that He would give, preserve,

and increase in us faith, and thus obedience to the Ten Commandments, and that He

would clear away everything that stands in the way and is a hindrance to our

obedience.”7 Indeed, prayer and petition and worship must have a place of extreme

importance in Christian churches, otherwise there would not be any Christian churches.

Examining, then, the purpose of the psalms in Old Testament worship, and their

importance in modern worship, the point must be raised that there is a wide gap of

3,000 years or more between modern Christian churches and Israel’s temple in

Jerusalem. C. S. Lewis found some difficulty in the distance between himself and those

who inhabited the Psalms, who were “almost shockingly alien; creatures of

unrestrained emotion, wallowing in self-pity, sobbing, cursing, screaming in exultation,

clashing uncouth weapons or dancing to the din of strange musical instruments.”8

William L. Holladay stresses “that whatever the original author or setting of the psalm,

we must visualize its context in the culture of early Israel, a culture in some ways very

distant from our own.”9 He would like modern readers to understand that they must

build bridges to cross from the early A.D. 2000s back into the 1000s B.C. While such

6 Phil. 4:6 (NKJV). 7 Martin Luther, Large Catechism, translated by F. Samuel Janzow (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing

House, 1978), 78. 8 C. S. Lewis, Christian Reflections, in The Timeless Writings of C. S. Lewis (New York: Inspirational

Press, 1981), 253. 9 William L. Holladay, The Psalms Through Three Thousand Years: Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses

(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 10.

8 Lilienthal

historical contextualizing is helpful to any student of the psalms or other biblical

writings, it should be emphasized that there are already bridges in place, and they need

only be crossed. The psalms were not meant to be left within the context of the culture

of early Israel, but transported down through the ages, through the mouths of God’s

people for millennia, sung wherever his worshipers gathered to praise him, and also

spoken whenever a brother needed encouragement, whispered whenever one of God’s

children needed a taste of something sweeter than honey. God has placed a marvelous

gift into our hands – a gift on which we may meditate day and night, a gift of green

pastures and quiet waters, a gift that leads us to sing the LORD’s praises forever. The

ink staining the pages in the center of the Bible are not dead letters, but powerful,

living, spiritual words that, privately and corporately, must be sung.

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Part One: Reading the Psalms

John Schaller tells his readers in The Book of Books that “The name [of the Bible] is

derived from the Greek word biblia, which means ‘books.’ So this name of the Bible

suggests that what we look upon as one book really consists of quite a number of single

books, written by many human authors.”10 Edgar J. Goodspeed calls it “a library.”11

There are two considerations to be had when one looks at the large one-volume

anthology of sacred books in this light. First, each book has its own characteristics and

must be evaluated separately, on its own basis. And the second is its counterpart: these

books were so collected into one volume because they interrelate, they correlate, and

they interpret one another, so that Schaller’s point is valid that “the contents of the Bible

are nevertheless so homogenous throughout that every attentive reader finds its

teachings to be altogether uniform from first to last.”12

This should suggest to us how to read the Bible. Holding one 1,100-page book in

our hands, we are inclined to read it as we would any other book: starting with page 1

and working our way sequentially to page 1,100. We ought rather to look at the book as

it was intended to be read. Each book of the Bible as its own self-contained piece of

literature is designed to be read separately. Thus one may read the Gospel of Mark

first, or the book of Isaiah. One may read the letters of Paul before the book of Genesis.

Without being irreverent, the one who approaches the Bible as a buffet, selecting any of

its books to begin with (so long as the whole canon is not dismembered), understands

10 John Schaller, The Book of Books (Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1990), 3. 11 Edgar J. Goodspeed, How to Read the Bible (London: Oxford University Press, 1948), 1. 12 Schaller, ibid.

10 Lilienthal

rightly how to read the Scriptures. And as one chooses a book, one must be aware the

nature of the book selected. Prose must not be read like poetry, and vice-versa. It is

with this rule in mind that we consider the reading of that one particular book: the book

of Psalms.

150 psalms comprise one of the only books of the Bible13 which consists entirely

of poetry, and this tells us how to read it. The writing of poetry, as distinct from that of

prose, requires a detailed attention to each word selected, so as to fit the constraints of

meter and rhythm.14 The reader, then, will also be aware of every word, every phrase,

every line. Careful examination is the only way to read poetry to its fullest extent, for it

makes an imaginative demand upon the reader, he must yield to the poet’s spell and follow him to the realm of the imagination. To refuse to do this, and to treat the poet’s flights as matter-of-fact statements would of course be disastrous in the extreme. The poetry of the Bible must be read as poetry, if it is to be read at all. This is the most familiar distinction in literature, in which poetry and prose are the basic categories, never to be confused, since they reflect different attitudes of mind.15

It may be helpful to understand that amidst the multitude of definitions of “poetry,”

many imply a connection to emotion, to emphatic expression, and to the words of the

soul. The book of Psalms is not exempt, for it “speaks of feelings of joy, awe, gratitude,

contentment, and love, and also of sorrow, guilt, hate, depression, despair, and fear.”16

13 Next to Psalms are Song of Songs, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and much of Job and

the prophetical books. 14 There is a good deal of debate as to whether Hebrew poetry is metrical or not, but if it was

originally put to music it may be said that it was put under at least similar constraints, even if it was not strictly speaking metrical.

15 Goodspeed, How to Read the Bible, 60. 16 L. Thomas Holdcroft, Psalms: The Bible’s Heartbeat (Abbotsford: CeeTeC Publishing, 2005), 1.

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John Calvin subtitled the book, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul,” stating,

“there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented

as in a mirror.”17

As the Bible is a library of books, so the book of Psalms is a library of poems. It is

itself an anthology within an anthology, containing the poetical works of numerous

individuals, and as such may be read in any order, as the need arises and the Spirit

moves. Like the Bible as a whole, the book of Psalms need not be read sequentially

from 1 to 150. We do not sing the hymns of our hymnals in such strict order, nor

should we hold the Psalms to such regulation. The true benefit of this book can be

found once one sees its variation. In the Psalms, “[e]very phase of life is pictured: joys,

sorrows, victories, defeats, wearying struggles, shameful disgraces, monotonous

ploddings, and exuberant glories. That’s why we can call the Psalms, ‘Psalms for All

Seasons.’”18 Each psalm has a specialized purpose (or several), and each is a short,

stand-alone piece.19

Even if one is not a particularly poetic-minded person, the book of Psalms

provides a way for individual Christians to have brief conversations with God.

Speaking of poetry in general, author Neil Gaiman writes, “Sometimes it’s nice to have

something short to pick up and read and put down again.”20 If there is a need for

17 John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. I, in Calvin’s Commentaries, vol. IV, Joshua,

Psalms 1-35, trans. James Anderson (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003), xxxvii. 18 David Allan Hubbard, Psalms for All Seasons (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing,

1971), 8. 19 N.B. Psalm 119 is not “short,” but it is separated into stanzas, each of which may be read

separately, so that the whole psalm becomes more manageable. 20 Neil Gaiman, Fragile Things (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), xxv.

12 Lilienthal

something short to read, for a bit of encouragement during the day, for a small breath of

fresh air, why not let that short piece be some of God’s poetry? Why not let it be a

prayer or a conversation with the Lord? God has provided us these songs that our

hearts can sing together with him, easily accessible, simple, and marvelously full of his

wonderful grace and blessings. The book of Psalms is a prayerbook, the most blessed

prayerbook a sinful man can access, because not only are they words of man to God,

but they are the very words which God has given man to speak. God, knowing every

walk of life, knowing what man might experience, and having experienced all the

suffering man might experience, has not only provided what we need, but has taught us

how to ask him for what we need, to thank him for what we have received, and to

speak freely with him.

Each of the psalms, then, may be read on an immensely personal level. And

Christians do this customarily, for consider how many have found comfort in

reminding themselves, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”21 Or consider the

immense value there is for a Christian to pray:

To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward your holy sanctuary.22

21 Ps. 23:1 (NKJV). 22 Ps. 28:1-2 (NKJV).

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Again: the book of Psalms is a prayerbook. They are poems to be read as we consider

our own situation of need and thanks before God.

But there is another perspective to hold on the whole book of Psalms. They are

words originally written and sung by David and other writers, but also, “in the Psalms

Christ speaks frequently before His assumption of the flesh.”23 This is the topic of Rev.

Steven R. Sparley’s essay, “Blessed Is the Man…Blessed Are All Who Trust in Him:

Approaching the Christological Nature of the Psalms.” Certainly it has been common

to place the psalms into five different categories (suggested by Luther): “(1) messianic

psalms which speak of Christ (for example, Ps 2, 22, 110); (2) teaching psalms which

emphasize doctrine (Ps 1, 139); (3) comfort psalms (Ps 4, 37, 91); (4) psalms of prayer

and petition (Ps 3, 137, 143); and (5) thanksgiving psalms (Ps 103, 104, 136).”24 Various

categories will be discussed later, but Sparley’s conclusion regarding the psalms is that

they “are to be understood as Messianic in their entirety.”25 In this understanding one

may find even further comfort. While a suffering Christian may be able to cry to God

with the words,

Like water I have been poured out, and all my bones pull themselves apart –

My heart is like wax: it is melted in the midst of my innards. Like pottery my strength is dried up, and my tongue sticks

to my jaws, And in the dust of death you set me,26

23 Martin Chemnitz, The Two Natures in Christ, trans. J. A. O. Preus (St. Louis: Concordia

Publishing House, 1971), 39, emphasis added. 24 John F. Brug, A Commentary on Psalms 1-72 (Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2004),

16. 25 Steven R. Sparley, “Blessed Is the Man…Blessed Are All Who Trust in Him: Approaching the

Christological Nature of the Psalms,” Lutheran Synod Quarterly 53, nos. 2-3 (2013): 194, emphasis added. 26 Ps. 22:15-16, trans. Michael G. Lilienthal.

14 Lilienthal

it must also be realized that this is the psalm which begins, “My God, My God, why

have You forsaken Me?”27 This is one of those psalms which are most undisputedly

Messianic in nature, and yet the individual Christian may also find times when its

expressions of sorrow are most pointedly appropriate. This once again emphasizes that

our sufferings are not foreign to Christ, but he, in fact, has taken the culmination of all

mankind’s suffering.

And this leads into one more perspective: as Paul puts it, “For as many of you as

were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”28 Thus Christ’s righteousness is our

righteousness, so there should be no problem for a Christian to pray such things as

“You have tested my heart; / You have visited me in the night; / You have tried me

and have found nothing,”29 or “Vindicate me, O LORD, / For I have walked in my

integrity.”30 A human being is not righteous on his own, so we may only speak these

words as we are in Christ.

These three may be viewed as steps when reading the psalms. Step one is the

perspective of the human being. Step two is the perspective of Christ. Step three

returns to the perspective of the human being, specifically the human being in Christ.

Now, steps one and three really must be one and the same, for in order to pray the

psalms (or any prayer, for that matter) at all, one must be in Christ, so really, in viewing

these three perspectives, it is itself an excellent lesson in how to pray. When we pray,

27 Ps. 22:1 (NKJV). 28 Gal. 3:27 (NKJV). 29 Ps. 17:3 (NKJV). 30 Ps. 26:1 (NKJV).

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we are by no means alone, but we pray through Christ, and as we consider this in our

prayers (as often our prayers end, “Through your Son, Jesus Christ”), we are reminded

of God’s comfort in an instant. So these three may rather be considered as a circle, or

perhaps as a coin. On one side of the coin is our human perspective, and on the other is

Christ’s. No one can pay with only half of a coin, but for the human side to be

acceptable, it must be handed to the cashier with Christ’s side as well. This is a helpful

way to understand how we ought to read the book of Psalms.

Sweeter than Honey: A Primer on Poetry

There comes with the genre of poetry a certain amount of weight. The reader will not

here be over-encumbered with a list of the varying definitions of “poetry,” but it will

rather suffice to say that, to some extent, poetry is expected to be carried by a type of

elevated diction. To differentiate between poetry and prose, the simplest rule is that

poetry will speak in verse with distinction. Now, this is a rather dry definition, and it

seems to exclude the prose-poem and perhaps much poetry from the modernist and

postmodernist influences, but the concern here is not with what poetry excludes.

Rather the purpose is to find that poetry is distinct from other forms of literature and

speech.

In its distinct position, poetry has different rules from those of prose. Many

types of poetry are restricted by meter and verse and rhyme structure. One example is

the Shakespearean sonnet, expected to be fourteen lines of iambic pentameter with a

rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Besides these scientific laws of poetry (by

16 Lilienthal

“scientific” is meant those which can be measured objectively), poetry is also expected

to carry with it a beauty or dignity of language, as poetic language is inspected more

intimately than the language of prose. Excellent turns of phrase (while avoiding

clichés) are all-important in poetry. In addition to and in connection with the dignified

language of poetry are various poetic devices. Things like alliteration (the repetition of

a consonant sound in words that are in close proximity), onomatopoeia (words whose

sounds resemble or recreate the sounds they define), metaphor (a word or phrase

applied to a different thing than it denotes without using comparison between the two),

and other devices are all frequently used in poetry.

In Hebrew poetry, rhyme is not a concern, nor is meter (although several have

attempted to prove the metric nature of the psalms). It is, however, written in verse (for

it was originally intended to be sung) and utilizes many poetic devices. The most

important of the poetic devices in Hebrew – indeed, that which defines Hebrew poetry

distinctly – is parallelism. H. C. Leupold describes this “distinctive mark of Hebrew

poetry” in this way: “Two statements are yoked together, rarely even three. These

statements may stand in various relations to one another…. The parallelism may be a)

synonymous, which involves that the second statement says much the same as the first.

Or it may be b) synthetic, which involves that the second statement adds to the first and

goes beyond it. Third it may be c) antithetic, which involves that a contrast to the initial

statement is offered by the second.”31 This is an overview – an admitted

31 H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1969), 14.

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oversimplification – of what parallelism means, but it is easy to understand it when one

sees examples.

Psalm 2:1 reads, “Why do the nations rage, / And the people plot a vain

thing?”32 This is an example of synonymous parallelism. “The nations” and “the

people” are parallel, as are “rage” and “plot.”

Synthetic parallelism is more complicated, in which “the second portion

advances the thought of the first in some way. Two ideas together make up one greater

idea.”33 An example is in Psalm 7:

Save me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me, Lest they tear me like a lion, Rending me in pieces while there is none to deliver.34

The second portion of these verses, “Lest they tear me like a lion, / Rending me in

pieces while there is none to deliver,” is where the synthetic parallelism is found. The

threat of the enemies is expanded as not only a tearing like a lion and a rending in

pieces, but it is while there is none to deliver. This form of parallelism may also be

found in a question-and-answer structure, or in further descriptions in relative clauses.

Synthetic parallelism is perhaps the most versatile of the types of parallelism.

Antithetic parallelism is again simpler, in that it is the opposite of synonymous

parallelism. In this style, the statement in the second part is the opposite – the antithesis

– of the first. See, for example, the end of Psalm 1: “For the LORD knows the way of the

32 Ps. 2:1 (NKJV). 33 Brug, Psalms 1-72, 53. 34 Ps. 7:1-2 (NKJV).

18 Lilienthal

righteous, / But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”35 This parallelism demonstrates a

contradistinction between two things: the way of the ungodly and the way of the

righteous.

It is useful to understand the differences among these types of parallelism.

Besides occasionally clarifying some of the more difficult verses, having a knowledge of

parallelism gives the reader clues on how to appreciate the Psalms more fully. For one

thing, it is one of the few poetic devices that can be translated wholly from one

language to the other with little difficulty, unlike meter or rhyme. Also, with attention

to parallelism, the reader can slow down and ponder what is meant to be emphasized,

keying in on the main thoughts of the Psalms.

There are countless other literary devices to consider in the study of the Psalms;

one more of those devices is that of imagery.

Imagery is just what the name suggests: the creation of vivid imagined

landscapes or pictures by the use of language. At the same time, however, imagery is

more broad, so that it encompasses all five senses, and thus a truly imagistic poem will

allow the reader to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste the poetic subject. Truly valuable

poetry, too, will employ imagery to the fullest extent, because, as one definition puts it,

poetry is “a kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does

ordinary language…to bring us a sense and a perception of life, to widen and sharpen

35 Ps. 1:6 (NKJV).

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our contacts with existence.”36 This emphasizes a purpose of poetry found on the plane

of experience, sharing in something outside our own personal experiences, and another

definition broadens that even further: “poetry fills a need – a fundamental need – for

beauty, for the satisfying of the aesthetic sense in man.”37 When man hears or reads a

poem, the language within that poem has been specially crafted to spark his

imagination, evoke an emotional response, and conjure images in his mind. Imagery,

therefore, is a powerful poetic device. God created physical human beings with five

senses through which we experience the material world, and with an aesthetic sense, a

drive to find beauty. Imagery in poetry uses clever arrangements of words to craft a

world for readers to experience. In the psalms this manifests itself in images of sorrow,

warfare, beauty. Our emotions find outlets in poetry, and in the psalms in particular

they find a godly outlet.

The initial effect of the device of imagery is to conjure a picture in the reader’s

mind. This, then, has a few subsequent effects. Literary theorists René Wellek and

Austin Warren state, “Imagery is a topic which belongs both to psychology and to

literary study. In psychology, the word ‘image’ means a mental reproduction, a

memory, of a past sensational or perceptual experience, not necessarily visual.”38 In the

area of psychology, then, images have a basis in life, in things to which a person can

relate. Memory takes a leading role. This means that imagery is something to which a

36 Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry, 8th ed. (Fort

Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1992), 3-4. 37 James R. Kreuzer, Elements of Poetry (New York: Macmillan Company, 1955), 2. 38 René Wellek and Austin Warren, Theory of Literature (New York: Harcourt, Brace and

Company, 1949), 191.

20 Lilienthal

person can relate; they bring up memories which bring up emotions, and the

stimulation of these emotions “is one of the major pleasurable elements in the total

experience of reading poetry.”39 Thus, an ultimate effect of imagery is to make the

experience of reading poetry pleasurable. And this result of pleasure is included in the

act of imagery in immersing readers into the poem. By being relatable, the poem

automatically involves memories in the reader’s mind, and these memories will become

intertwined with memories of and relating to the poem. This makes the poem easier to

memorize, and any lessons that may come with it as well. Perhaps the average

American man will not be able to directly relate to a statement such as, “The LORD is my

shepherd,” since this imagery is specific to the culture of Israel in which it originated,

but it may be tied closely with pictures of our grandmothers, who have framed cloths

embroidered with the Good Shepherd, and we will never forget the emotions that are

attached to the images.

Imagery serves the whole poem, and in no poem is imagery out of place, because

that is how human beings experience the world, and different emotions move different

people in different ways:

There are those who will be moved by little besides calm argument, stern logic, severe demonstration; there are those who will be aroused only by the lofty appeals of eloquence; there are those who will be most influenced by the voice of persuasion; there are those who will be awakened from dangerous slumbers only by the denunciations of wrath;

39 Kreuzer, Elements of Poetry, 116-117.

Lilienthal 21

there are those in whose minds pure and joyful and holy emotions will be best excited by poetry.40

Much more could be said about imagery, but let it at least serve the reader in this way:

allow it to fully immerse you in its meaning, and allow the images (of all five senses) to

embody themselves in your imagination, for in this way, the power of the psalm’s

message is carried to greater, more useful, and more enjoyable extents. The psalms are

not validated by human emotion, but human emotion is provided an appropriate

channel by the psalms.

There is a general opinion in many secular and – unfortunate though it is –

spiritual circles, that the poetry one finds in the book of Psalms is dry, unfeeling, and

bland. The psalms are perceived as speaking only about God and his almighty power

and creative work, and people wonder what that has to do with their lives outside the

church. How can any person in the 21st century get into verses, for example, like, “In

Judah God is known; / His name is great in Israel”41? It is unfortunately the case that

many people can read the psalms and come away only with impressions of old, musty,

irrelevant words speaking of a God who is distant and inaccessible. What is overlooked

by this view is that the psalms are in fact at their core a nerve center of communication

between God and man – God is not inaccessible in the psalms but palpable. True, this

God is an almighty figure in the poetry, but rather than allow that to alienate, the pious

reader of the psalms will focus instead on the words:

40 Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Psalms, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,

1987), xlvi. 41 Ps. 76:1 (NKJV).

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He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.42

This might of God is in the hands of the ones who speak the psalms. This ought not be

taken lightly. And the almighty power of God is not the only thing described in the

psalms. Consider, too, their humanity:

For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my skin.43

See then that the psalms are fundamentally both human and divine, on several levels,

which once more emphasizes their Christocentric nature. Jesus is God to give his

almighty aid to weak mankind, and Jesus is man to take on the responsibility of man to

fulfill his righteousness: “Where David Himself failed, the blessed Man of the very first

words of the Psalter did not; and He would supply the righteousness David lacked, and

so enable everyone who meditates on the psalms to see him- or herself in David.”44 See

then how the poetry itself serves the focus to be made on Christ. The high praise of the

almighty God is connected with the pains, sorrows, and joys of lowly man. This poetry

42 Ps. 18:16-19 (NKJV). 43 Ps. 102:3-5 (NKJV). 44 Sparley, “Blessed Is the Man,” 161.

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is the greatest poetry on earth, because this poetry is that which depicts the relationship

between man and God – a relationship of which all men are a part – and especially the

fulfillment of that relationship in Christ. Man in all his imperfection is contained in this

poetry, and is brought next to God’s glory. Who can help but sing these songs? They

already truly are what Luther sought to create in writing hymns “to give the

young…something to wean them away from love ballads and carnal songs and to teach

them something of value in their place, thus combining the good with the pleasing, as is

proper for youth.”45 These songs are God’s songs, and they are our songs.

In Our Own Tongues: A Note on Translation

If one is to read any portion of the Bible, the book of Psalms or otherwise, it is assumed

that what he reads he will understand. This is one of the subjects of the history of the

Reformation: that Luther sought to put into the hands of the laypeople the very words

of Scripture. Because of the fact that there are so few Christians who may fluently read

the Scriptures in their original languages, and “that the Scriptures alone are the source

and standard for Christian doctrine and practice and that every Christian is responsible

for knowing and applying the Scriptures, it is not surprising that Luther and his

colleagues produced and promoted Bibles in the language of the people.”46 It follows

that translation is necessary.

45 Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 53, translated by Paul Zeller Strodach et al., edited by Ulrich

S. Leupold (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979), 316. 46 Cameron A. MacKenzie, “Battling over Bibles: Episodes in the History of Translating the

Scriptures,” Lutheran Synod Quarterly 53, no. 1 (2013): 16.

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The act of translation poses some difficulty in the realm of poetry. Now, it has

already been pointed out that the characteristic device in the poetry of the psalms is one

that is well suited to translation, i.e. parallelism. Nevertheless, expressions in the

Hebrew verse – idioms, turns of phrase, and highly poetic word choice – are at great

risk of being lost when translated into English. Given the gravity of translating sacred

texts from their original languages, it is not surprising to discover the traditional

Muslim belief on the translation of the Qur’an: “The Qur’an cannot be translated,” they

say, and while it may be rendered in other languages, “the result is not the Glorious

Qur’an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and

ecstasy.”47 Notice the great respect held for the Islamic sacred text. Christians, likewise,

ought to have high regard for their Bible, and yet few Christians know their sacred text

except in translation. But Christians may receive the Holy Scriptures in translation

because of the very nature of our theology, and of God’s grace.

Without going too far into the debates of translation theory, especially as

specifically regards the translation of Scripture, it may be pointed out that Christians

have always translated the Bible – even beginning with the Jews in 250 B.C. with the

creation of the Greek rendering of the Old Testament in the Septuagint – because the

words of Scripture are intended for people to read, to hear, to learn, and to be edified

by. This was also the aim and purpose of Luther: “He wanted a Bible in the language of

the people so that they might learn from it all about Christ as their Savior from sin.

47 Mohammad M. Pickthall, “Translator’s Forward,” The Glorious Qur’an (Des Plaines: Library of

Islam, 1994), iii.

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That was its purpose. That was its goal.”48 There is therefore a seeming conflict – one

may preserve the purity of Scripture at the cost of the understanding of the people in

general, or one may give people that clear understanding but at the cost of Scripture’s

integrity.

This is the challenging task of the translator. We will adamantly declare that

Scripture must be translated into the languages of its audience, because Scripture is

centrally the Gospel message which God intends as “good tidings of great joy which

will be to all people.”49 The first great public evangelism action serves as an example of

this, when the disciples “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with

other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem

Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred,

the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak

in his own language.”50 It is not a message that men must climb to God to retrieve, but

it is one that God freely gives, in the language and context of mankind. Let it stand,

then, that Scripture must be translated.

It follows next to decide what translation one will read. In selecting a Bible

translation, there are a number of articles to consider. The choice in translation is a

highly personal one. For this reason, familiarity in translation often approaches the top

of the list. Whatever translation one used in Sunday School or Confirmation class, and

from which one memorized several passages, is often a good choice for use in adult life

48 MacKenzie, “Battling over Bibles,” 25. 49 Luke 2:10 (NKJV). 50 Acts 2:4-6 (NKJV).

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– the verses and language are familiar and therefore easier to absorb. On the other

hand, there may be something to be said for unfamiliarity, in that the novelty of the

language may result in more attention given to the poetry. In all comparisons between

translations, attention to detail should be given. As the psalms are poetry, the

translation ought to demonstrate good poetic quality in English. This, again, requires a

relatively subjective analysis. Likewise, the translation ought to be true to the original,

and not false in any doctrines it presents – for such inaccuracy would not be a true

translation. To determine the accuracy of a translation certainly requires the expertise

of one who knows the original languages. For this reason, laymen often must rely upon

the testimony of pastors and translators. If therefore a church uses a certain translation,

it may safely be assumed to be correct in doctrine and translation. Laypeople are to be

encouraged to ask questions of their pastor about translations and the original

languages. This can only lead to stronger appreciation and understanding of the

Scriptures.

While it cannot be dogmatically stated that one translation is exclusively better

than another, since to a large extent it comes down to preference, my preferences lean

toward the New King James Version because, firstly, it is a long-attested translation;51

secondly, it is the translation from which I memorized several Bible verses in Sunday

School and Confirmation class, and therefore is very familiar; and finally, the poetry in

the New King James Version carries an elevated, reverent tone comparable to that of the

51 And it is largely based on a translation (King James Version) that has been used by the church

for centuries.

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King James Version – which I almost prefer simply for the poetic quality. This is my

reasoning for my preference in translation, but all that I can advocate is an informed,

deliberate analysis of one’s choice, hoping that, whichever version is selected, it will

edify.

Praises, Shouts, and New Songs: Reading the Different Types of Psalms

Many of the poems in the book of Psalms are classified by various terms in their

headings, such as “psalm,” “song,” “prayer,” “maskil” which usually is understood to

describe a teaching or meditation psalm, and the uncertain “miktam.” It is believed that

many of these designations indicate either the type of music that was to accompany the

poetry, or else the occasions for which the psalm was intended. While these categories

may appeal to the Hebrew scholar, they are of only passing interest to the reader who

merely wants to understand what the poetry of God has to say. For this reason the

psalms have been categorized in other, presumably more relevant ways.

Before dividing the psalms into categories, we must point out that all of the

psalms are exceptional combinations of prayer and Scripture – each a unique two-way

communication between God and man. So long as the reader understands this nature

of the psalms, these poems may all be read correctly. The further classifications aid in

this understanding, as will be seen. When one understands what is meant by the labels

assigned to the different classes of psalms, he will know better how to pray the psalms,

and how God speaks to him in those psalms.

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Several different styles of categorization have been proposed by theologians –

Luther’s having been noted previously (i.e. messianic, teaching, comfort, prayer and

petition, and thanksgiving). Of course, some of these categories cross over and blend in

several psalms. These categories, too, seem primarily beneficial for a dogmatic

understanding of the psalms. Strictly dogmatic study of the psalms is not our central

theme here, but it will be touched later on. Chiefly our concern is with a devotional

reading of the psalms. Therefore the styles of Luther will be simplified for our

purposes. Under the umbrella understanding of the two-way communication between

God and man, the psalms may be divided into the devotional themes of thanksgiving,

praise, and petition, the last of which may be subdivided into petitions for comfort,

petitions of complaint, and the imprecatory psalms.

1. Psalms of Thanksgiving

What comprises the reading of a psalm of thanksgiving ought to be fairly self-

explanatory. The oft-repeated phrase which begins Psalm 136 is characteristic of such

thanksgiving: “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; / For his mercy is forever!”52

The core of a psalm of thanksgiving is the soul’s overflowing gratitude to God for his

abundant blessings.

An aside must be brought in here, as regards another important poetic device,

known as apostrophe, which is the device of addressing one who is absent or a thing

which is personified. Very often in the psalms the soul of the psalmist is addressed,

52 Ps. 136:1, trans. Michael G. Lilienthal.

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sometimes by name, e.g. “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”53, and sometimes

without explicit statement, e.g. “Do not fret because of evildoers, / Nor be envious of

the workers of iniquity.”54 Very often such apostrophe to the soul is mixed with a

general apostrophe to the reader of the psalm, to people in general, or to believers (see

the whole of Psalm 49). What should be marked, then, is the difference when the psalm

is speaking to God, and when it is speaking to the soul of a man. Psalms are prayers.

How, then, can they address one other than God? This question ought not to be

troubling. When one prays “O give thanks to the Lord,” grammatically he is

commanding someone – himself or otherwise – to worship God. Indeed he addresses

himself, but he still prays to God. More apostrophe will be considered in other psalms

and psalm types, but let it serve to aid our understanding of how to pray – when it is

said that “we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself

makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered,” comfort should be

drawn.55 Many Christians are familiar with the experience of needing to pray but not

knowing what to say; in situations like this it is common for the Christian to begin

speaking to himself – to ask himself questions and to encourage himself. The comfort is

found in this: that these silent ponderings and musings to oneself are heard by God and

understood by his Spirit.

In thanksgiving, then, we may pray to God with such poetic encouragement to

our souls, to those around us, to the nations, to nature and the world. When we observe

53 Ps. 42:5 (NKJV). 54 Ps. 37:1 (NKJV). 55 Rom. 8:26 (NKJV).

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the blessings given us by God, we overflow with thanks and must bid even the stones

to thank God with us. And this brings us to another thought about the uses of the

thanksgiving psalms: usually when thanks are given, it is assumed that one knows

what one is giving thanks for. This is a misleading assumption. When children are

given gifts, their appreciation for some may be obvious, but often – when given an

outfit or a picture or something “less fun” – they must be told to thank the giver of the

gift, whether or not they understand what it is they are supposed to be thankful for. By

practicing this thankfulness, children learn to truly see the gifts they are given (e.g. the

love behind the physical gifts) and to grow in true thankfulness. Even if one doesn’t

currently feel that God’s “wondrous works declare that [His] name is near,” still he can

say, “We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!”56 Therefore there is benefit in

praying the psalms of thanksgiving whether or not one feels particularly thankful.

In the appendix we will examine in particular Psalm 136, to which the New King

James Version affixes the heading, “Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy.”

2. Psalms of Praise

This category of psalms is so closely related to the previous that we almost would

rather not divide the two. Perhaps the only difference between them is one of tone: in a

psalm of thanksgiving the speaker is quiet and peaceful, whereas in a psalm of praise,

the words come across in shouts and mighty noise: “Let heaven and earth praise Him, /

56 Ps. 75:1 (NKJV).

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The seas and everything that moves in them.”57 One can see the skies roiling and the

seas crashing in praise of the Lord.58

As with the psalms of thanksgiving, one may praise God without previously

feeling in himself the motivation to praise God with such overflowing emotion. Praise,

indeed, is something that ought to be practiced. C. S. Lewis realized “that all enjoyment

spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of

boring others is deliberately brought in to check it.”59 Praise for what we love is a thing

natural to humanity, and so praise in the psalms focuses that capacity towards its right

object.

C. S. Lewis’s writings on praise are interesting on this point. He begins a chapter

on the subject by remembering, “When I first began to draw near to belief in God and

even for some time after it had been given to me, I found a stumbling block in the

demand so clamorously made by all religious people that we should ‘praise’ God; still

more in the suggestion that God Himself demanded it.”60 It was appalling to Lewis that

the almighty God could be afflicted by selfish pride and need to be told how good and

great he is. This, however, should not be a stumbling block to us. More of what Lewis

has to say on the topic of praise clears up the issue:

I did not see that it is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men. It is not of course the only way.61 But for many people at many times

57 Ps. 69:34 (NKJV). 58 Notice again that this is a sort of apostrophe. 59 C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, in The Beloved Works of C.S. Lewis (New York: Inspirational

Press, 1996), 179. 60 Ibid., 177. 61 N.B. that God communicates his presence to us in these Psalms insofar as they are his Word.

32 Lilienthal

the ‘fair beauty of the Lord’ is revealed chiefly or only while they worship Him together. Even in Judaism the essence of the sacrifice was not really that men gave bulls and goats to God, but that by their so doing God gave Himself to men; in the central act of our own worship of course this is far clearer – there it is manifestly, even physically, God who gives and we who receive.62

This then demonstrates once more the two-way communication we must see always at

the forefront in the psalms: we send praise to God, it is true, and yet in that praise, God

comes to us. When God’s voice comes through in the psalms, “Whoever offers praise

glorifies Me; / And to him who orders his conduct aright / I will show the salvation of

God,”63 to some this sounds conditional, like a bargain God is making which requires

some work on the part of man. In reality, it is exactly like the phrase elsewhere in the

same psalm quoted above: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; / I will deliver you and

you shall glorify Me.”64 This is not God demanding something, but offering it. He

builds a bridge, and invites mankind to cross it, promising that he, too, shall cross it.

Praise is a powerful thing, then: not only does it give God glory for all his

providence, but it realizes that providence in a concrete way. Praising God as he asks

us to cross the bridge he built for us into the very glory we praise. In the psalms of

praise, the words “continually carry the reader into the immediate presence of God.

They do not refer to Him in the abstract. God is not a God of the distance to the

psalmist.”65

62 Ibid., 178. 63 Ps. 50:23 (NKJV). 64 Ps. 50:15 (NKJV). 65 Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms, 28.

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The power of the psalms of praise is apparent, too, in that they are the cause of

one of the few words carried directly into English from Hebrew: the word “Hallelujah,”

which means “Praise the Lord,” found not only throughout several worship services,

but also two dozen times in the psalms. In reading the psalms, then, as well as in

worship service, do not allow the shouts of “Hallelujah” to fall unheeded. Know the

beauty to be found in the word, and know what it truly means to praise the Lord.

In the appendix, particular examination will be made of Psalm 148, to which the

New King James Version affixes the heading, “Praise to the LORD from Creation.”

3. Psalms of Petition

Of the three categories addressed here, that of the psalms of petition encompasses the

largest percentage of the psalms.66 After all, most prayer in general is comprised of

requests to God. In the psalms these petitions vary over a range of things including

requests for comfort or other bodily or spiritual need, requests for aid or for righting

wrongs, and requests for justice or for, occasionally, a curse on one’s enemies. This last

is the type commonly called the imprecatory psalms, and a great deal of controversy

has surrounded them. Each of these types of petition will be addressed in what follows,

acknowledging that these subcategories may not be comprehensive in scope.67

66 See Appendix II. 67 It must be acknowledged, too, that these subcategories are general in their span, and that

perhaps more specific petitions may also be contained in the psalms, and also that several of these subcategories will cross over within one psalm. We will not thoroughly evaluate all the various petitions in the book of Psalms, but it should be known that whatever request one may have for God, there is a way to speak that petition to be found in the psalms.

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a. Petitions for Comfort

Perhaps one of the most useful types of psalm, and one of the most versatile, the

petitions for comfort may be prayed when one is brought low, when trouble surrounds,

when difficulty raises its head. Again, though, like psalms of praise and thanksgiving,

practice makes perfect, and there is no time that praying a psalm for comfort is

inappropriate.

Consider the familiar weight of the phrase, “Make haste, O God, to deliver me! /

Make haste to help me, O LORD!”68 These words are particularly sweet when one is

burdened by great need and sorrow, but repeated expression of them does no harm to

their sweetness. One may speak these words even when no need is apparent, but also

as a remembrance, as Luther says: “The best way to lift the mind up to God is to

acknowledge and ponder past blessings. The setting forth of past blessings is the

guarantee of future ones, and gifts received in the past offer the confidence of receiving

them.”69 The psalms in this way serve in a Gospel capacity. In praying for mercy and

comfort, we know that God has already given it to us. This is the nature of the two-way

communication of the psalms. We can petition God for all that we already know he has

promised us, and in that way it is the same as God reminding us of what he has

promised us.

The great value of studying the psalms of comfort is found in that,

as calling upon God is one of the principal means of securing our safety, and as a better and more unerring rule for

68 Ps. 70:1 (NKJV). 69 LW 10:45.

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guiding us in this exercise cannot be found elsewhere than in The Psalms, it follows, that in proportion to the proficiency which a man shall have attained in understanding them, will be his knowledge of the most important part of celestial doctrine.70

This statement expresses exactly that these psalms may encourage us because they are

the most certain guide we have in coming to God for comfort.

Now, in studying the psalms of comfort, one may soon notice that some of those

ascribed as such do not in fact seem to be addressed to God, but are really more

descriptive. Case in point is Psalm 23, a wonderfully comforting picture of the Good

Shepherd who cares for the psalmist. Nowhere in that psalm is a direct petition to the

almighty made, and yet we class it as a petition of comfort. This is due, primarily, to

the allowance of the poetic device of apostrophe. Again, the Spirit intercedes in

groanings that cannot be uttered, understanding the expressions of our heart and

speaking the words we lack. When a Christian recites the twenty-third Psalm, he

simultaneously recalls God’s mercies and petitions God to continue them, as in all the

psalms of petition. He may be addressing the description to himself, or to an

unidentified reader or hearer, but God certainly hears the psalm. Thus beautiful

pictures become beautiful prayers.

The psalms of comfort are some of the most straightforward prayers to be found,

and there is no occasion in life in which a Christian will not find such a psalm

applicable and appropriate. It will be of great value to him to learn how to pray these

most blessed songs. As the epitome of this type of psalm, in the appendix we will

70 Calvin, xxxvii.

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examine Psalm 16, which the New King James Version entitles, “The Hope of the Faithful,

and the Messiah’s Victory.”

b. Petitions of Complaint

This category of psalm petition as well as the following (petitions of imprecation) are

some of the most difficult for Christians in our era – and in fact in all eras – to

comprehend. In each case there are many who see these types of psalms as primitive,

barbaric, and an affront to Christian charity. While it is true that these psalms may be

understood and used incorrectly and thus brought into a sinful context, we believe that,

as the whole of Scripture is God’s inspired and inerrant Word, so, too, these psalms are

correct and righteous and have a right use. Hence we will examine just what that use is

for both the complaint psalms and the imprecatory psalms, each in their time and place.

C. S. Lewis, whereas he has a great deal to contribute in the way of aiding

modern man in finding value in the Christian religion, falls far short of this in his

analyses of the psalms. Nevertheless, he does raise interesting questions which must be

on the minds of most if not all Christians when it comes to the complaints and

imprecations. Of these psalms he says, “In some of the Psalms the spirit of hatred

which strikes us in the face is like the heat from a furnace mouth. In others the same

spirit ceases to be frightful only by becoming (to a modern mind) almost comic in its

naïveté.”71 Particularly in the complaints this hatred seems to be leveled against God.

God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly,

71 Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 142.

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And show partiality to the wicked?72

This is a hefty accusation for a lowly man to level against the almighty God. What right

does he think he has? This certainly seems to be that comic naïveté of which Lewis

accuses the primitive psalm-writers. In some way it is easy to accuse these writers of

unjustness and even blasphemy. Nevertheless we share the wish of another writer in

saying, “It is our hope that this investigation also may be of some help for those who

struggle with these kinds of questions themselves in their lives. May the psalmists’

prayer become their prayer.”73 The question then becomes how one may piously pray

such seemingly impious prayers.

The situation of those who wrote the complaint psalms is summarized “in five

points:

1. What has happened to them is done by God (Ps. 39:10). 2. According to his self-revelation, God has done what he would do when

provoked to anger. 3. According to his self-revelation and covenant, he would be provoked to anger by

sin and unfaithfulness. 4. This time this reason [that the writer has sinned against God] does not apply. 5. Yahweh is good, just, and rich in steadfast love and faithfulness.”74

The complaint psalms, then, are an appeal to God to uphold his just standards, and to

loose his wrath only on those who deserve it, not on the one who is innocent.

This, in turn, raises new questions. Is the complaining psalmist really innocent,

as he seems to assume he is? Indeed, if their prayer is to be our prayer, we must ask

ourselves: Are we innocent, and do we have the right to confront God in such a way?

72 Ps. 82:1-2 (NKJV). 73 Ingvar Fløysvik, When God Becomes My Enemy: The Theology of the Complaint Psalms (St. Louis:

Concordia Academic Press, 1997), 15. 74 Ibid., 159.

38 Lilienthal

Lewis finds here a “spiritual danger [that] leads into that typically Jewish prison of self-

righteousness which Our Lord so often terribly rebuked,” and he “think[s] it is

important to make a distinction: between the conviction that one is in the right and the

conviction that one is ‘righteous’ [sic] is a good man. Since none of us is righteous, the

second conviction is always a delusion.”75 We maintain, however, that it is not

“always” a delusion, but there is a situation, a very specific situation, in which one may

be considered truly, fully “righteous.”

Recall the coin illustration in how to read the psalms: for the human perspective

to be acceptable in prayer, the Christ perspective must also be offered. Sinful man,

therefore, may pray from the perspective of the righteous man insofar as he is in Christ.

One may perhaps object that even the Christian man must repent – he must seek

forgiveness for his sins. This, however, is not the point in the complaint psalms.

According to the fourth of the five points listed above, God was not in this case

provoked to anger by sin or unfaithfulness.76 Even if this were the case, “If I am guilty,

why does God not forgive me? If I am not guilty, why does he not bring my misery to

an end and thus demonstrate my innocence to my enemies?”77 Rather, the case is like

that of Jacob when he wrestled with the Lord and said, “I will not let You go unless You

75 Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 141. 76 “In most of the complaint psalms sin is not mentioned. In Psalm 44 the people profess not to

have given Yahweh any reason for his wrath: ‘All this came over us even though we had not forgotten you nor been unfaithful to your covenant’ (v. 18); ‘Though we were loyal to you, you still crushed us (vv. 19-23). We should not take this to be a profession of total sinlessness. But, according to the covenant Yahweh had made with his people, they could see no reason why God should reject them and deal with them in wrath” (Fløysvik, When God Becomes My Enemy, 153).

77 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1970), 48.

Lilienthal 39

bless me!”78 One may see an extreme boldness in Jacob’s demand. Even still God

granted this request, because his promise covered this man. We, as Christians, are

covered in God’s Gospel promise, including his promise to hear us and to protect us

and to see us as dressed in his Son’s holy robes. We then may confidently demand that

he judge us as righteous.

When man faces suffering, “Because it happens with God’s will, indeed because

God knows it completely and knows it better than we ourselves, only God himself can

help. But therefore also must all our questions again and again assault God himself.”79

This is the most valuable thing to remember with regard to the petitions of complaint.

When we suffer, who else can we complain to? Who else will hear us? There may be

counselors, friends, or perhaps pastors who will listen to the troubles and sufferings of

one’s life, but these ultimately can do nothing to relieve the pain. Only one knows all

our suffering, one who in fact experienced all our suffering – the same only one who

has the power to remove that suffering. To whom else should we go? Those who pray

the complaint psalms, far from being disrespectful to God, instead “turn from the God

of their experience[, the God who causes and delights in suffering,] to the God of their

belief and assume that God does care about their distress, that he will hear their

prayers, and that he is rich in steadfast love.”80

One of the most difficult questions mankind faces is the question of why evil is

allowed to exist in the world. Three statements are posed, and some maintain that all

78 Gen. 32:26 (NKJV). 79 Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, 47. 80 Fløysvik, When God Becomes My Enemy, 158.

40 Lilienthal

three cannot coexist, but at least one must be false: 1) God is almighty; 2) God is good;

3) evil exists. If God is almighty and good, how can he allow evil to be present? This is

ultimately the question that faces Job, to which that book ultimately gives no answer

except that we ought simply to trust in God:

I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without

knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.81

When we see such prayers as the complaint psalms, we might do well to also keep in

mind God’s warning to Job:

Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?82

We would do well to curb our pride, to avoid claiming that our righteousness is greater

than God’s. These are the warnings we may glean from the book of Job. Nevertheless,

these psalms are just as much the inspired, inerrant Word of God.

The reconciliation comes down to Law and Gospel. According to the former,

God has every right to be wrathful against us, to punish us, to take away from us

whatever he wills. And yet, according to the latter, which covers us in the healing balm

of Christ’s redemptive work, we are untouchable by a wrathful judgment, but are as

pure as God’s own Son.

81 Job 42:2-3 (NKJV). 82 Job 40:8-9 (NKJV).

Lilienthal 41

God does not do evil. God does not deal unjustly. And yet the complaint

psalmists demand that God stop dealing unjustly and working evil. This seems to be

blasphemy, but it is not. Instead, the one who experiences this suffering is righteously

turning to God, seeking that God will relieve him of that torment: “He sets out to do

battle against God for God. The wrathful God is confronted countless times with his

promise, his previous blessings, the honor of his name among men.”83 The difference

between the righteousness in the psalmist’s address and the complaints of Job in which

he is “not righteous” is a thin one.84 It is stated by Elihu in his reprimanding of Job:

Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry out for help because of the arm of the mighty. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty regard it.85

The difference comes down to one of attitude. Job had denied God, like so many other

prideful, evil men, railing against the heavens for the unjustness of fate. The complaint

psalmist turns to God and complains of his righteousness not because of anything in

himself, but because of God’s own promise. He still holds to the Gospel. That is the

correct mindset.

83 Bonhoefffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, 48. 84 Job 33:12 (NKJV). 85 Job 35:9-13 (NKJV), emphasis added.

42 Lilienthal

As a particular of this sort of psalm, the appendix will examine Psalm 6,

interestingly entitled by the New King James Version, “A Prayer of Faith in Time of

Distress.”

c. Imprecatory Psalms

C. S. Lewis warns about this category of psalms, “The hatred is there – festering,

gloating, undisguised – and also we should be wicked if we in any way condoned or

approved it, or (worse still) used it to justify similar passions in ourselves.”86 To him,

praying a curse upon one’s enemies is something no Christian should ever be caught

endeavoring to do. It is indeed difficult for a Christian to reconcile Christ’s command

to “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and

pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” with a prayer concerning

one’s enemy that

When he is judged, let him come out guilty, and let his prayer be sin!

Let his days be few, and let another take his office! Let his children be orphans and his wife a widow! Let his children continually wander and beg, and let them

ask for bread from their ruins!87

Few are those who can read such a psalm without an initial reaction of disgust,

“especially…today when a non-judgemental God is what many people envision when

they think of ‘God’.”88

86 Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 143. 87 Matt. 5: 44 (NKJV); Ps. 109:7-10, trans. Michael G. Lilienthal. 88 Jody A. Rinas, “The Imprecatory Psalms: God’s Enemies and Our Prayers in Christ,” Lutheran

Theological Review, Vol. 22, edited by Edward G. Kettner and Thomas M. Winger (St. Catharines: Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, 2010), 76.

Lilienthal 43

The conflict, then, is this: such prayers of cursing against our neighbors seem to

be contradictory to the Christian spirit; and yet we hold that Scripture, the book of

Psalms included, is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and in the specific case of the

Psalms they are not only God’s Word for mankind, but mankind’s prayers to God. Can

we, then, pray such psalms? If so, in what situations and circumstances may we pray

them, and how far may such curses be taken?

Under the Christological perspective of the Psalms, Luther has made the

statement regarding the psalm cited above (109): “David composed this psalm about

Christ, who speaks the entire psalm in the first person against Judas, His betrayer, and

against Judaism as a whole, describing their ultimate fate.”89 Taken in this sense, the

imprecatory psalms receive a salve in our minds. They are not “the unrestrained

vindictiveness” of a human being who, even though he is sinful, “has no qualms,

scruples, or reservations; no shame,” who “gives hatred free rein—encourages and

spurs it on—in a sort of ghastly innocence…offer[ing] these feelings, just as they are, to

God, never doubting that they will be acceptable.”90 If Christ is the speaker in such

psalms, there is no doubt that what he says is justified, because he is sinless and

nevertheless has been condemned and persecuted by men. Lewis indeed hits it on the

head, that “[w]hat makes our blood run cold, even more than the unrestrained

vindictiveness, is the writer’s untroubled conscience.”91 Unjustified self-righteousness

is hateful. Certainly God does not hear the prayers of such folk, which we know from

89 LW 14:257. 90 Lewis, Christian Reflections, 256. 91 Ibid.

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the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, “for everyone who exalts himself will

be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”92

Given the clouds of debate that have encompassed this topic throughout the

centuries, we may certainly admit that the solution is not an easy one. Accordingly,

several approaches will be considered. Already we have seen that taking the

perspective of Christ’s persecution and innocence is beneficial. Indeed, this may be the

best approach, in that it repeats the all-inclusive two-sided coin approach of the psalms:

we may pray the psalms insofar as we are in Christ. In our innocence, therefore, as

beings clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we may curse the enemies of Christ and of

ourselves. We share not only in Christ’s righteousness, but in his enemies as well

(“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake”).93 We will return again to this

perspective.

Another take is C. S. Lewis’s favorite. Although he sees danger in these psalms,

even going so far as to say, “I do not mean that God hears and will grant such prayers

as the psalmist uttered. They are wicked. He condemns them. All resentment is sin,”94

he nevertheless attests, “And if we still believe that all Holy Scripture is ‘written for our

learning’ or that the age-old use of the Psalms in Christian worship was not entirely

contrary to the will of God, and if we remember that Our Lord’s mind and language

were clearly steeped in the Psalter, we shall prefer, if possible, to make some use of

92 Luke 18:14 (NKJV). 93 Matt. 10:22 (NKJV). 94 Lewis, Christian Reflections, 257.

Lilienthal 45

them.”95 Lewis, taking the assumption that the cursing prayers are indeed sinful, first

of all states that Christians ought not to pray them, but to understand what has

happened to such a one who would pray them, and to take for ourselves instead the

perspective of the one who is cursed by such psalms. The psalmist has been wronged,

Lewis assumes, with no provocation. The imprecatory psalms, then, are “the natural

result of injuring a human being.”96 If the wronged man is provoked to hatred, and “if

he dies spiritually because of his hatred for me, how do I, who provoked that hatred,

stand?”97 Lewis then would have us view such an imprecatory psalm as “a portrait:

under it should be written ‘This is what you make of a man by ill-treating him.’”98 The

imprecatory psalms, for Lewis, are cautionary tales. We must not ill-treat our fellow

man; we must not provoke him to hatred, for in doing so we lead him and ourselves

into sin and condemnation. In this way Lewis has found a way to reconcile the cursings

of the psalms and the Golden Rule of Christ. However, what he has failed to reconcile

is the full doctrine of the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture. Certainly there is

value to be found in Lewis’s perspective, but in such there is no room to understand the

Psalms as the inspired Word of God; rather they are merely wicked words stemming

from a solely human perspective, which God necessarily condemns.99 Therefore

Lewis’s perspective is insufficient, although preferable to simply leaving the

95 Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 143. 96 Ibid., 144. 97 Ibid. 98 Lewis, Christian Reflections, 256. 99 To this objection, one may posit that the sinful, selfish poem of Lamech in Genesis 4:23-24 is

just such an inspired work of God, posed in the context of a cautionary tale. We respond that the context in that example is clearly stated, while the Psalms in their book are collected into a context of prayers – the “Old Testament hymn-book” – meant to be used in devotional life.

46 Lilienthal

imprecatory psalms out and condemning them. However, it is the same opinion which

leads to the belief that “[e]xpressions such as are found in [the imprecatory psalms] are

excluded for Christians, unless one’s notion of the identification of one’s ‘enemies’ is

drastically transformed,” and that therefore “[w]e may tentatively conclude that in

Christian worship we are occasionally justified in omitting certain sequences in the

Psalms.”100

L. Thomas Holdcroft summarizes several other perspectives on the imprecatory

psalms (although not subscribing to them all himself), and we will consider a few:

Most imprecations are suggestions rather than demanding prescriptions. They are essentially a call that God would intervene to implement justice on earth. Not to expect God to enforce justice is to consider Him a mere disinterested spectator.101

In this perspective, the specific curses have become general and, in the poetic sense, lost

a great deal of weight. One may argue that phrases like “O daughter of Babylon…

Happy the one who takes and dashes / Your little ones against the rock!”102 are

hyperbole, but there is a better way of looking at it, which we will come to. The value

of the cited position, however, is that the focus is not on the self-righteous human being

who feels himself wronged, but on the enemies of God who must, by God’s natural

justice, be punished.

Other perspectives on the imprecatory psalms cited by Holdcroft are: “They

represent imperfect human desires rather than divine love and grace[, they] accord with

100 Holladay, Psalms Through Three Thousand Years, 312-313. 101 Holdcroft, Psalms: The Bible’s Heartbeat, 61. 102 Ps. 137:8-9 (NKJV).

Lilienthal 47

outlooks and practices of pre-Christian cultures[, and they] reflect standards under the

Law rather than those of the New Testament.”103 These are in harmony with Lewis’s

perspective noted above: the humanity, not the divinity, of Scripture is emphasized,

and it is believed that these poetic writings come from a time when God’s will and plan

had not been revealed, and the Christian God was something unheard of. Now, we

must certainly concur that God kept some things hidden during the Old Testament

period, but we must also declare and agree that the Old Testament indeed carries the

Gospel message as does the New, albeit in a veiled state. These perspectives, then, are

as unsatisfactory as that of C. S. Lewis.

Other thoughts on the imprecatory psalms – that they are wholly hyperbole and

not meant to be real expressions of anger and hatred, that they are wholly designed to

prevent a human sense of self-righteousness, or that they are directed solely against

spiritual enemies (sin, Satan, et al.) – are all likewise inadequate. Perhaps each

perspective is partially true in certain situations, but none cited is consistently complete

in itself. The weight of these psalms must not be underestimated. To avoid the

consternation and difficulty for many Christians experienced throughout the ages, it is

the responsibility of pastors to teach and all Christians to learn the proper use of these

difficult prayers.

There is a common expression, that “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” A

beneficial statement on this expression comes from an introduction to the Christological

emphasis of the Old Testament:

103 Holdcroft, Ibid.

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And in this connection one must not hesitate to underscore how un-Biblical spiritualisms and sentimentalizations of the Gospel have complicated the problem for many marginal Christians. One thinks of the ‘God hates sin, but loves the sinner’ Manichaeanism, intended, no doubt, to articulate God’s universal offer of forgiveness, but, if pursued consistently, implying falsely that there really is an abstract ‘evil’ apart from embodiment in evil people, as though God really saves or damns only ‘souls,’ not people, as though God is really satisfied with mere good behavior and does not want the whole being, etc. Possibly even more serious is the ‘other Gospel’ which seems not to know that the ‘wrath of God’ is structurally just as prominent and indispensable a part of New Testament theology as of Old, and that the cross is a maximal expression of God’s wrath upon evil people (beginning with His own Son) just as much as it is of His love. Indeed, there is no warrant in these psalms for human vengeance, individual or corporate, least of all in the name of religion, as, no doubt, there always have been those who misconstrued these pericopes. Vengeance is God’s alone, of course (Rom. 12:19), but wickedness that refuses to be forgiven can only be destroyed, and in so far as the Christ who took all of God’s vengeance upon Himself dwells in us, we not only can but must join Him in both prayer and labor for the final ‘judgment,’ which will at once spell extirpation of all evil and final triumph of the original, paradisiacal order.104

Return to the perspective introduced by Luther above, that the specific

imprecations of Psalm 109 were the curses directed against Judas from Jesus Christ.

This is not all mere intellectual speculation on the part of Luther, but in the book of Acts

the apostle Peter cites this particular psalm: “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be

fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas….

104 Horace D. Hummel, The Word Becoming Flesh: An Introduction to the Origin, Purpose, and

Meaning of the Old Testament (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1979), 434-435.

Lilienthal 49

For it is written in the Book of Psalms…‘Let another take his office.’”105 This is a citation

of Psalm 109:8, and after this reference the apostles elected a new member to take the

place of Judas, the lost twelfth. Since Scripture plainly understands it to refer to Judas,

we cannot piously disagree, for we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. But

even here Luther sees the main problem of imprecation: even if Christ pronounced

these curses, and he has the divine right to do so, as he was a man, he was to live as a

perfect man, and therefore we are advised to imitate him in all we do; therefore, Luther

asks, “Why does Christ pronounce such terrible curses when in Matt. 5:44 He prohibits

cursing and He Himself did not curse on the cross, as St. Peter says (1 Peter 2:23), but

prayed for those who cursed and slandered Him (Luke 23:34)?”106 Perhaps it is here

appropriate to point out that Christ is not the only pious man to whom we look for

example that laid a curse on other human beings. See also, e.g., Paul in his first letter to

the Corinthians: “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed,”107

and in his letter to the Galatians: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any

other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”108 To be

accursed in the sight of holy men or in the sight of God is equivalent to locking the

doors of heaven, condemning and damning that person. Such harshness, it seems, does

not blend well with the love and tolerance commanded elsewhere in Scripture. “In

brief,” Luther says, “the answer is: Love does not curse or take vengeance, but faith

105 Acts 1:16, 20 (NKJV). 106 LW 14:257. 107 1 Cor. 16:22 (NKJV). 108 Gal. 1:8 (NKJV).

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does.”109 Another way of putting this, as one author says, is “While Christians extend

to their enemies love, they are in faith urged to call on the Lord who defends them

from false teachers, workers of iniquity, and bloodthirsty men. The church may not

take up sword and shield, but she can pray. Then the Lord works to convert or

confound the enemy as He sees fit.”110

There are two ways of looking at this distinction. In the latter passage, it seems

to indicate that words are allowed, but actions are not. While this is not the cited

author’s intent, it is certainly a misconception. Luther rather points out, “To

understand this, you must distinguish between God and man, between persons and

issues. Where God and issues are involved, there is neither patience nor blessing but

only zeal, wrath, vengeance, and cursing.”111 In short, man may not curse on his own

account – for Lewis is right in assuming that the cursing man is no more righteous than

the one he curses – but he may, and must, curse the heathen on account of the Word

and doctrines of God. Heresy must not be allowed to stand, but must be crushed; this is

God’s demand. This is the reason we pray, e.g., “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done;

Deliver us from evil.” These petitions involve the request that God break and destroy

the plans of the enemy, that he fight and defend his people against the evil ones. If

God’s kingdom is to come, no other kingdom may be allowed to stand in opposition to

it. A kingdom does not coexist within a realm with other kingdoms. If God’s will is to

be done, any will contrary to it must be ended. If we are to be delivered from evil,

109 LW 14: 257-258. 110 Rinas, “The Imprecatory Psalms,” 85. 111 LW 14:258.

Lilienthal 51

firstly this implies that there is evil from which we must be delivered, and secondly this

must involve war. If one may pray the Lord’s Prayer, no less may he pray the psalms.

It is a simple fact that the Church would be wise “to acknowledge some of the

more uncomfortable realities. A great conflict is in progress. Evil people do exist.

Human beings embody wickedness and perpetrate heinous crimes…. False teaching is

perpetuated…. Such wickedness can only be destroyed,” and, we add, must be

destroyed.112 “In spite of” the desire for Christians out of love to seek good for one’s

enemies, “Christians recognize that God’s standards cannot be mocked.”113 Heresy, by

its very nature, will destroy the Church of God, denying God himself. God will not

stand to be denied, but he is “a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the

children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate [Him].”114

We call these types of psalms petitions of imprecation. This implies that we are

asking God to actually do something or give us something. Do we ask God, then, that

he “Awake to punish all the nations; / Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors,”

that he “Consume them in wrath, consume them, / That they may not be”?115 The

answer is yes. Facing the reality of heresy and dangerous evil forces, Christian faith has

a decision, “Before faith would permit the Word of God to be destroyed and heresy to

stand, it would prefer that all creatures be wiped out; for heresy deprives one of God

112 Rinas, “The Imprecatory Psalms,” 81. 113 Holdcroft, Psalms: The Bible’s Heartbeat, 61. 114 Ex. 20:5 (NKJV). 115 Ps. 59: 5, 13 (NKJV).

52 Lilienthal

Himself.”116 In order for God to remain a just God, evil must indeed be damned utterly.

It is appropriate, then, for us to ask God to carry this out, for it preserves his just order.

Recall the imperfect distinction between words and actions: it is implied that one

may speak the imprecations, so long as he does not act on them. In reality, the

distinction is finer than this, and rests on God’s own admonition through Paul:

“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written,

‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”117 Notice that in this passage it does

not say that vengeance is an evil, for if it were, God would not take vengeance. Instead,

God would have us call upon him for vengeance when it is needed, instead of taking it

ourselves.118 Recall the complaint petitions. We are not offending God when we come

to him with complaints against him, but rather honoring him by giving him the position

of the one to whom we bring our petitions. We do not need to take vengeance, for we

know God will himself. In this sense, then, the imprecatory psalms are heavy in their

message of the Law. And yet they are not without Gospel, for in the condemnation of

the enemies there is also the deliverance of the righteous. Insofar as we pray these

prayers in Christ, we are seen as the righteous ones upon whom God smiles with favor.

Evil and all who ally themselves with it will be destroyed, to the salvation of those

allied with God.

116 LW 14:258. 117 Rom. 12:19 (NKJV). 118 Our human judgments are clouded in this area, and so we do not always know when

vengeance must be taken, or when our anger is a righteous anger; the safest recourse then is to take it to God in prayer.

Lilienthal 53

When may a pious Christian pray such psalms? As stated, it would be

inappropriate to pray such for the benefit and vendetta of oneself. We may not so curse

our personal enemies. We may not pray these psalms in a self-righteous attitude,

lording a perceived personal superiority over unbelievers. What may be said of the

psalms in general is also stated particularly here:

We read or pray these psalms with a number of levels in mind. First, the psalms are the individual prayers of David, Solomon, Asaph, Moses, and others, who are in that old covenant relationship with God. Second, the psalms are the prayers of the children of Israel, prayers now bequeathed to us that we might employ them in the church, the new Israel…. This means that the psalms are prayers for the Christian, the child of God brought into the new covenant by holy Baptism…. Lastly and most importantly, these are the prayers of Christ our Lord, who Himself is Israel, the Son who is called out of Egypt…. In the church, Christians find themselves in Christ, praying with Him concerning the enemies.119

Properly, Christians pray these psalms on behalf of the Church, that the Church’s

enemies will fall and fail, that “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”120 These

are primarily the petitions of the Church Militant, at war with Satan and all his lot.

Much more may be said on the petitions of imprecation, and in particular we will

examine Psalm 109 in the appendix, but here let it be said that, as a Christian is a

redeemed child of God, clothed in Christ’s robes, and a member of the Church of Christ,

he may indeed pray these psalms in regard to those who are his personal enemies, only

insofar as they are the enemies of Christ and his truth. In the face of persecution and

119 Rinas, “The Imprecatory Psalms,” 82. 120 Matt. 16:18 (NKJV).

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trouble, indeed we are called upon as Christians to pray for our enemies and to show

love to them, but that does not preclude us from defending our God and Church with

all the most powerful weapons available to us – and the most powerful weapon given

to us by God is his mighty Word.

Lilienthal 55

Part Two: Using the Psalms

The purpose of this study has been stated to be that the Christian may find in the

psalms a way in which he may privately speak to God, that he may become aware of

several ways in which the psalms may assist him in emotional expression. God gave

emotions to mankind, and in the psalms he helps man find the correct focus and outlet

for these emotions: prayer and communication with him. God enjoins us, “Call upon

Me in the day of trouble,”121 because he wants desperately to love and provide for us.

What follows, then, is a list of particular ways in which the Christian may make use of

the psalms, in private prayer, family devotion, corporate worship, and in

understanding and gleaning church doctrine.

Psalms in Private Prayer

Perhaps the most consistent use to be made of the psalms is in one’s personal, private

prayer. It may be helpful to memorize such psalms or portions of such psalms as Psalm

23, quietly reminding oneself in difficult times, “The LORD is my shepherd; / I shall not

want.”122 I share a perception with writer Jody Rinas, “that so much of what we hear

today seems very utilitarian or pragmatic in its approach, so much so that, if we are not

‘accomplishing’ anything or not ‘achieving’ a tangible goal, we are wasting our time.”

Pragmatics and utilitarianism are not one hundred percent evil; in certain contexts they

are the best thing. But I say also with Rinas,

Yet so much study of God’s Word could simply be considered ‘tracking down leads.’ We enjoy this Scriptural

121 Ps. 50:15 (NKJV). 122 Ps. 23:1 (NKJV).

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trek as we follow the current of the river. We let God’s Word carry us; we go wherever it winds. There is something to be said for simply resting ourselves in God’s Word and speaking it aloud, that it might have its way with us.123

This is the focus of using the psalms in private prayer. It is a surrender to the peace

which passes understanding. As was shown especially in the study of the petitions of

complaint and of imprecation, the psalms are designed to concentrate our urges and

need for action entirely on God. We have problems: pray to God. We have complaints:

complain to God. We have enemies: seek aid from God. We have joy: sing to God. The

distressing fact that we are human beings incapable of perfect expression is consoled in

the psalms, for here we find God’s perfect words, and here we realize as we pray that

the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Prayer is not an

easy thing: it is not mere expression of emotion; it “does not mean simply to pour out

one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to God and to speak with him, whether the

heart is full or empty. No man can do that by himself.”124 If nothing else, private

prayer in the use of the psalms will serve as an exercise in selflessness. When we

recognize that there is absolutely nothing we can do, whether it be in the realm of

saving our souls or solving the simple problems of life, recognition of our opportunity

to turn to God and to rely on his providence leads us to stronger faith and greater

blessings. We then will benefit greatly, if only we “take it to the Lord in prayer.”

123 Rinas, “The Imprecatory Psalms,” 92-93. 124 Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, 9-10.

Lilienthal 57

In learning how to go about specifically using the psalms in personal prayer, one

must know that these poems are a dialogue – in essence if not in form – between God

and men. First one should pray them simply, letting one’s soul be guided by God’s

Word in speech to God. Then let God’s Word also provide the answer to the prayer, not

in such a way that the dialogue is closed, but in such a way that it is left open, that one

knows that God still hears him and loves him and blesses him. As always, in this

dialogue understand that the relationship with God is centered in Christ, the valuable

side of our coin, our “one Mediator between God and men.”125

When one sees that the dialogue is kept continually open, he should continually

meditate on the will, work, and words of God, in the specific psalm being prayed and

elsewhere in Scripture. One should “pay attention and think about [these words]. All

God’s words demand this. We must not skim over them and imagine we have

thoroughly understood them, like the frivolous, smug, and bored souls who, when they

hear some word of God once, consider it old hat and cast about for something new.”126

Personal prayer of the psalms, while certainly beneficial in its brevity and purity, may

be found lacking if good, right reflection is not also performed. To this end great use

may be made of devotional booklets, the People’s Bible Commentaries (specifically the

Psalms volumes written by John Brug), and other materials. The finer points of such

prayer, though, must not be lost, i.e. focus upon the text itself and the dialogue between

125 1 Tim. 2:5 (NKJV). 126 LW 14:7.

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God and man. When one prays a psalm, let him consider what God says to him, what

he says to God, and what this means for his spiritual life following.

Here again, prayer is not easy. Surely it is easy in the sense that it is Christ

mediating for us, the Holy Spirit providing us with the words we cannot ourselves

generate, and the Father granting our requests and hearing our prayers on account of

no merit of our own. But it is not easy in the sense that it is not natural to sinful man.

Man has to be taught, instructed by God in order to receive understanding in this

regard. Besides the revelation of his Word, God has instructed mankind in right prayer

in a more mundane fashion, and on account of this the psalmist writes, “It is good for

me that I have been afflicted, / That I may learn Your statutes.”127 Suffering and

affliction will tend to direct man to rely on someone else. Consider national crises such

as the attacks on September 11, 2001. People flocked to churches, recognizing that they

needed relief. When suffering comes into our lives, we turn to God, and he answers.

“Thus,” as Luther says, “punishment and adversity open the eyes…. Therefore, so that

human wisdom may not puff up and indeed kindle the heart and curdle it, human

wisdom needs to be humbled and taken captive to the obedience of Christ.”128 It is of

benefit during prayerful consideration of the psalms, then, to deem oneself afflicted, to

recognize one’s tension of spirit, and in this recognize that it is God who grants relief.

Not all prayers concern human suffering, but it is good to consider in prayer Law and

Gospel. The Christian is a sinner. He must remember this with heavy heart in his

127 Ps. 119:71 (NKJV). 128 LW 11:464.

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prayer. The Christian is also a saint. He must remember this with joy in his prayer. In

personally praying the psalms, one ought to wrestle with God for the blessings he

promises, and for the forgiveness which one does not deserve.

And ultimately, learning to pray becomes easy, for “we learn to speak to God

because God has spoken to us and speaks to us…. Repeating God’s own words after

him, we begin to pray to him. We ought to speak to God and he wants to hear us, not

in the false and confused speech of our heart, but in the clear and pure speech which

God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ…. The words which come from God become,

then, the steps on which we find our way to God.”129

Psalms in Family Devotion

The principles for using the psalms in personal prayer are also applicable in the context

of a family devotion. Simple praying of a psalm followed by a more in-depth

contemplation of its meaning, always focusing on the Law and the Gospel, is a well-

advised outline for a devotionally structured consideration of the psalms. The main

difference between the private prayer structure and the family devotion structure is that

the number of people has grown, and therefore the dialogue, to some degree, has added

additional members. While praying the psalms, therefore, a sense of unity in spirit with

fellows is fostered. While meditating on their messages, mutual learning and growth

and encouragement is enabled. This use of the psalms then becomes truly a form of

worship, so that those who study the psalms in this fashion may be confident in their

129 Bonhoeffer, Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, 11-12.

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prayers being heard as members of Christ’s body, “For where two or three are gathered

together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”130

For devotional purposes, there are several books available to aid in such study,

e.g. Reading the Psalms with Luther (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2007).131

Such resources are of inestimable value, insofar as they will instruct in right

understanding of the psalms’ meanings, aid in understanding the contexts in which the

psalms were written, and point to the uses which the Church and its members have

made of the psalms through the years. Having such a book to aid in devotional study is

second only to having a pastor or trained instructor on the psalms on hand for

questioning and direction.132

This is of course not to say that a family cannot have an edifying devotion

without such materials. The contrary is true. A useful structure may indeed be that the

family read the bare psalm as a prayer, express reflections upon the words and ask one

another questions, and remind one another of the Law and Gospel messages contained

therein, as well as the Messianic focus.

A caveat on this must be made, however, that such devotions do not leave room

for a mere individualistic interpretation. Reflections on the psalms are all well and

good, insofar as they are in accord with what God’s Word says. As soon as the

130 Matt. 18:20 (NKJV). 131 This particular devotional is valuable in its brevity and in its focus on the text of the psalms

themselves and on prayer, yet those who use such a book would be sorry to consistently leave their focus on the text of it alone, without continuing into further personal study. Brief overviews are valuable, but it is advisable to make time to extend one’s reading into deeper understanding.

132 Certainly one may use such resources in times of personal prayer as well, but the hope in the context of family devotion is that they will serve as catalysts for discussion amongst the family members.

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interpretation takes precedence over the Scriptures, the devotion has lost its focus. In

this respect, the question, “What does this mean to you?” may not always be

appropriate. Perhaps a better question would be, “In what situations may you find it

useful to pray this psalm?” In any case, the discussion should not be allowed to get off

track, but the leader of the family devotion should keep it focused on the psalm under

consideration.133

There may be times during family devotion (or personal prayer) when a certain

psalm or verse causes difficulty. In such cases, perhaps the answers given by the

various books are inadequate, or they simply don’t answer the questions at all. The

family can find a great deal of benefit in tabling the discussion in these cases, making it

clear that this by no means is a defeatist action but rather the issue will be returned to,

and allowing the leader to confer with a pastor or other trusted elder.134 It is important

for the Christian family’s spiritual growth that they discuss the psalms, not leaving

them unconsidered to their full extent. If they are allowed to be glossed over, the

interest will wane, the strength will fade, and the value of these poems will be allowed

to dissipate for that family. When difficult questions arise, the studious Christian

should allow time to meditate on them, to wrestle with them, and should seek aid from

the trusted workers God has sent for just such a purpose. It is not that the psalms

cannot be understood by laypeople, but it would be foolish for Christians to reject the

133 This is done most effectively if the leader has used the same psalm already in his personal

prayer. He then may serve as a guide for the discussion under his experience and learning, especially if he has already made use of several of the resources for understanding the meaning of the psalm.

134 More on the pastor’s role in the use of the psalms will be encompassed in the following sections.

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resources God gives them to understand his Word. There is value to be found in

instruction.

Psalms in Corporate Worship

Perhaps the most familiar context in which the psalms are used in corporate worship is

in the chanting of the psalms. Also in many of the hymns sung in our churches the

psalms are paraphrased for popular usage. “The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want” is

the most famous and favorite example of such psalm paraphrases rendered as hymns,

probably because it is a paraphrase of the most famous and favorite psalm, Psalm 23

(Hymn #371 in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary). This is certainly a great and well-

justified use of the psalms, for it encourages the Church of God to sing the hymns of

God. However, many congregants do not realize that they are singing a psalm when

one arises, and in the context of the liturgy when the psalm is to be chanted, it often

comes across as an unnecessary burden to the congregation, adding needless length to

the service, so it is easily amputated. What results is that all the psalms are considered

dusty irrelevant poems of a dead civilization, except perhaps one, Psalm 23, which is

viewed as a pretty picture of surface-level comfort, and the “danger, then…is a

sentimentalizing of the psalm, shaped by Sunday-school pictures, and, to the extent that

the psalm defines our faith, a sentimentalizing of our faith.”135 In the context of

corporate worship, therefore, the psalms are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Either they are forgotten, or they are considered pretty poems with little weight. This is

not a universal issue, nor is it in all churches as serious, but even in those congregations

135 Holladay, Psalms Through Three Thousand Years, 13.

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where the psalms are given a seat of primary importance instruction in them could

always be improved.

The principles applied to private prayer and family devotion for the use of the

psalms can also be applied to corporate worship. The psalms may be prayed by the

congregation, delved into and expounded upon in their meaning, and to consider in

them Law and Gospel as it applies to each individual member and to the church as a

whole. One of the greatest benefits in using the psalms corporately is a key

consideration of the word “corporate.” The Church as the body of Christ (corpus

Christi) prays these psalms in Christ, as has been emphasized previously. Besides this,

the unity of each of the Church’s members is accentuated in corporate worship. This

twofold, communal benefit must not be understated; mutual edification may be found,

as in the context of family devotion. Likewise, if family devotion is truly a form of

worship surrounding the psalm, more so (by volume if not by essence) is corporate

worship. In such a situation, the people obey the enjoinder to “Praise God in His

sanctuary.”136

But the greatest gain to be had from especial emphasis on corporate use of the

psalms is a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Word (all the Scriptures in

general, the Psalms in particular). Psalms of praise and thanksgiving may easily be put

into their correct context. In the worship service place may easily be found for petitions

of comfort. As for the complaint and imprecatory psalms, they are too easily omitted in

136 Ps. 150:1 (NKJV).

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the liturgy and in any churchly context,137 because they are seen to cause offense to the

congregation who expects a God of love.138 But the corporate worship setting has the

perfect tools to counteract such offense.

Jody Rinas notices that, although “[w]e…have Luther’s encouragement to follow

the whole counsel of God,” to read the whole Psalter in the church, nevertheless we

“jettison one-third of the Psalter,” and so, “[a]gainst Luther’s advice then, we are not

observing the whole Psalter.”139 Rinas also relates the story of a Sunday School teacher

who exercised her spirit through listening to the Bible on tape: “She started with

Genesis, and listened through I Samuel. She was eager to speak about how much she

had heard. She writes to her pastor:

Wow, I have learned many things that I never knew were in the Bible! However, there are some things that I just don’t comprehend; I am so glad that I didn’t live in Old Testament times, the rituals, the bloodshed; the expectations that were placed on them were pretty overwhelming. I had a hard time listening to Judges (especially the last three chapters) and was relieved when I finally reached the mild book of Ruth!! I am beginning to think that it’s dangerous for people to read the Bible without any explanation to go along with it.”140

This perception of danger is a very real concern. It is apparent that so many people

who read the “objectionable” psalms do not understand how this can be the Word of

God, and this is the reason for their rejection. To conform to the liturgy of the church,

137 Examine the Psalms section of the ELH to see how many imprecatory psalms remain for

congregational use (pp. 174-195). 138 N.B. this omission is largely done to avoid the occurrences of misunderstanding in the

congregation. In this way this omission is wise. 139 Rinas, “The Imprecatory Psalms,” 89-90. 140 Ibid., 77.

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there is seen no time to fit in the imprecatory or complaint psalms, because if the psalms

are used they are only read or chanted as a prayer and left. There is no room for

explanation. The problem arises, though, when we encourage the people to read the

Scriptures on their own time, but leave no space in church to explain the difficult

portions. It would be much more beneficial for the church at large to incorporate time

in the services to depict the proper use of these seemingly difficult psalms, for it is the

only place many members will ever receive such instruction. This can be had in

sermons (even if only parts of the imprecatory or complaint psalms are used within a

sermon based on a different text), in Psalmodies, or in prayers. It is a marvelous

practice, although little utilized in contemporary times, to have the sermon based on

whatever pericope is appropriate for the Sunday, and also to use as introduction to the

sermon an appropriate psalm. Said psalm may be read in the position appointed for the

reading of a psalm in the service, and then briefly expounded upon in introduction to

the sermon. Obviously, all pastors will readily realize that this will not be possible with

every sermon, but if done even occasionally, most congregants will be the better edified

for it.

The point to remember in a corporate, congregational use of the psalms is that

the pastor, as a theologically trained individual, leads the body of Christ in truly

understanding the Word by correctly teaching them to pray and feeding them the Law

and the Gospel. The church is the unified body of Christ bringing praises,

thanksgiving, and petitions up to heaven throughout the worship service. We would be

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negligent if we forsook the liturgies and prayers and hymns given to us by God himself

in this endeavor.

Gleaning Church Doctrine from the Psalms

Much has been said thus far on what may be called a worshipful use of the psalms. We

move now to briefly consider a more academic use, although in this the intent is by no

means to say that the academic sphere encompassing dogma and church doctrine is

useless to the average member of the Church. On the contrary, many Christians, lay

and clerical alike, will have the curiosity to ask what the psalms teach us, what

doctrines they contain.

The question may be raised whether works that are intended as poetry may be

utilized in the way the prosaic passages of Scripture are, i.e. citing them for articles of

doctrine, taking from them truths about God and the universe. This especially becomes

pointed when one realizes the extent to which poetry carries a hyperbolic flavor and

utilizes other literary devices. For example, when in one psalm we read, “Why do You

stand afar off, O LORD?”141 it is certainly not to be understood that God literally stands

away from a person, or even that he is ignoring one of his elect. Instead, this would be

an example of hyperbole connected with anthropomorphism. Some would then also

take this principle and apply it to another psalm which says, “The LORD has said to Me,

/ ‘You are My Son, / Today I have begotten You.’”142 If this is considered hyperbole,

merely representing God’s favor on the psalmist, what becomes endangered is the

141 Ps. 10:1 (NKJV). 142 Ps. 2:7 (NKJV).

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doctrine of Jesus’ divinity and eternal generation. Jesus can no longer be said to be the

Son of God in the way we mean it.

But Paul and the writer to the Hebrews both use this passage to refer to Christ

and to indicate that he is truly God’s Son.143 If Scripture uses the psalms in this way,

certainly the Christian Church today may also use them so. A question arises regarding

prophecy, stated eloquently by our friend C. S. Lewis:

Such a doctrine [of prophecy to be gleaned from the Psalms], not without reason, arouses deep distrust in a modern mind. Because, as we know, almost anything can be read into any book if you are determined enough…. The field for self-deception, once we accept such methods of interpretation, is therefore obviously very wide. Yet I think it impossible…to abandon the method wholly when we are dealing, as Christians, with the Bible.144

Lewis’s question has more to do with the actual possibility of prophecy in a general

sense than as they fit into the psalms, and yet as he examines particular phrases and

verses he reaches the conclusion that many – if not all – of the psalms must, if they are

to reach their fullest meaning, refer to Christ, for (especially in the psalms overwhelmed

with what Lewis perceives as self-righteousness), “[a]ll these assertions were to become

true in His mouth. And if true, it was necessary they should be made…. Our Lord

therefore becomes the speaker in these passages when a Christian reads them; by right –

it would be an obscuring of the real issue if He did not.”145 Another way of stating the

same thought, although with deeper significance, is, “The psalms are to be understood

143 Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5, 5:5. 144 Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, 182. 145 Ibid., 200.

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as Messianic in their entirety.”146 Sparley here makes the point that the book of Psalms

was, in the writing of the individual psalms and in the collection of them into the order

in which they are found today, intended to be “not simply an atomistic conglomeration

of psalms defined and definable on their own terms and not in the light of each other

and the order in which they are placed in the Psalter,” but wholly and holistically

demonstrative of Christ.147

Sparley is not coming to this conclusion independently. Scholars, theologians,

and Church fathers have interpreted the psalms – partially or wholly – as Christological

in emphasis. Luther, too, saw Christ frequently in the psalms. Necessarily, then,

prophecy is contained in them. If prophecy, then also, to some degree, doctrine.

However, once more must there be a return to the original question: how, in

poetry, can any prophecy be certain in the light of such devices as hyperbole and

anthropomorphism? The simplest answer here is the traditional Lutheran axiom, Sola

Scriptura. If the Scriptures interpret a psalm in one way, then we as Christians must

adhere to that interpretation, e.g. Psalm 110 quoted in Matthew’s Gospel: “How then

does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, / “Sit at

My right hand, / Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’? If David then calls Him

‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”148 From this is brought out the doctrine of Jesus as both

God and man. If we are to find doctrines expounded upon in the psalms that are not

directly cited elsewhere in Scripture, we must tread cautiously. Always let Scripture

146 Sparley, “Blessed Is the Man,” 194. 147 Ibid. 148 Matt. 22:43-45 (NKJV).

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interpret Scripture, so that no interpretation may be made that contradicts the Word.

The psalms certainly contain doctrines for Christianity, but God providentially saw the

difficulties human beings would have with the poetic style in such use, and so all the

doctrines are explained or “backed up” by other portions of Scripture. Nothing in the

book is unclear.

Insofar as the concern here is a devotional use of the psalms and not their

doctrinal significance, little more will be said in this section. However, laymen are

advised to seek the counsel of their pastors in discovering the doctrines in the psalms,

and laymen and pastors alike are advised to be diligent in their study of the Scriptures,

“rightly dividing the word of truth.”149

149 2 Tim. 2:15 (NKJV).

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Conclusion: I Cried to the Lord with My Voice, and He Heard Me

I must proclaim with writer C. H. Spurgeon, “The delightful study of the Psalms has

yielded me boundless profit and ever-growing pleasure.”150 I can only hope that such

delight also reaches others who study the psalms. This present study is by no means

exhaustive – the authorship of the psalms, the Old Testament ritual uses of them, and

other topics could also receive extensive examination – and yet the hope is that the

psalms themselves will no longer present readers with too much mystery and

intimidation. The psalms are human; let all humans find comforting familiarity in this.

They are also divine; let Christians rejoice in this providence.

Let us return for a moment to Lewis’s statement about the psalms, that they are

“shockingly alien; creatures of unrestrained emotion, wallowing in self-pity, sobbing,

cursing, screaming in exultation, clashing uncouth weapons or dancing to the din of

strange musical instruments.”151 But they ought not to seem alien. Do not we wallow

in self-pity, sob, curse, scream in exultation, and feel unrestrained emotion? In the

psalms, rather, we find ourselves, our sinful selves, barraged by the weight of the world

and the devil and our flesh, and we also find God, who, although sometimes he may

seem our enemy, answers us. These crazed clashings and shouts are not a fault of the

psalms, but it is their task to regulate and focus such natural, human emotions to the

proper center in worship of God.

150 C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, vol. I, Psalm I to XXVI, 3rd ed. (New York: Funk &

Wagnalls, 1881), v. 151 Lewis, Christian Reflections, 253.

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Many of the psalms are attributed to King David, and, by synecdoche152 at least,

the entire book is often called “David’s Psalter.” This David is not a man so foreign to

us. A short perusal of his life will demonstrate the unlikely hero even all modern

culture loves to identify with. In Newell Dwight Hillis’s majestic exposition of the life

of David, he notices the king’s humanity:

Man’s hemispheric nature has strange exhibition in David’s life and career. O wondrous contradiction! the mingled good and bad in men! Like our planet, the soul is an orb, one-half midday, one-half midnight. In the morning the finest sensibilities are uppermost. At eventide the worst passions control. Now man sings just beside heaven’s gate, now he wallows in the mire.153

This human being wrote the psalms to be used by other human beings in the praise and

worship of their Savior. Certainly, such things may be found in the other books of the

Bible, in devotionals, in hymnals, in sermons, and in Bible studies, but the book of

Psalms carries something different. Luther also sees this difference, this significance,

and says,

There is, in my opinion, one difference of content between this book of the Bible and the others. In the other books we are taught by both precept and example what we ought to do. This book not only teaches but also gives the means and method by which we may keep the precept and follow the example. For it is not by our striving that we fulfill the Law of God or imitate Christ. But we are to pray and wish that we may fulfill it and imitate Him; when we do, we are to

152 Synecdoche is the poetic device of describing the whole of a thing by reference to only a part.

For example, “All hands on deck!” does not mean that the speaker wishes the crewmen to cut off their hands and throw them onto the deck, but the crewmen are described by one of their useful parts in this context.

153 Newell Dwight Hillis, David: The Poet and King (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1901), 28.

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praise and give thanks. And what is the Psalter but prayer and praise to God, that is, a book of hymns?154

It is then appropriate to encourage all Christians with the words of Paul, that all “be

filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all

things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”155 Read the psalms

diligently; pray them privately and with family and friends; discover the Law and the

Gospel in the psalms, and see how they lead you to a proper response of repentance

and praise; wrestle with God in these psalms, and witness his salvation. Sing the

psalms. Speak the psalms. Meditate on the psalms. Share the psalms. These words

making up God’s poetry are a gift that is “Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”156

154 LW 14:286. 155 Eph. 5:18-20 (NKJV). 156 Ps. 119:103 (NKJV).

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Appendix I: Select Psalms

Here is an exposition upon several psalms which are representative of the various

categories explained earlier. The emphasis here is devotional use – how to read these

psalms in the settings of private prayer, family devotion, and corporate worship,

throughout touching on several of the doctrines in the psalms. All the psalm

translations in this appendix are my own new translation from the original Hebrew,

and I have left the verse numbering out of the presentation in the hope of expressing the

psalms as poetry. In the references I make to the numbered verses, I refer primarily to

the Hebrew numbering, which is often different from the verse numbering in English

translations. Note also that occasional reference is made to singing these psalms in

church services or other settings. Some of these may already have been set to chanting

tones, but not all of them. It should, however, be not a difficult thing for the others to

be set to similar tones, especially for one musically inclined. If the psalm cannot be

sung, however, let it at least be read.

Psalm 6

God has certainly become something of an enemy in this psalm. The psalmist feels the

Lord’s wrath, and the heat of his anger causes his very bones to shake and rattle.

Nevertheless, an important thing is to be realized in the psalmist’s writing: David, the

writer of this poem, exemplifies what Luther advises: “In all trials and affliction man

should first of all run to God; he should realize and accept the fact that everything is

sent by God, whether it comes from the devil or from man…. In this psalm he mentions

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his trials, but first he hurries to God and accepts these trials from Him; for this is the

way to learn patience and the fear of God.”157 Luther called this psalm a penitential

psalm, having its essential purpose in the sinner coming to God in humility, in the

greatest sorrow of his soul, so that God might turn his grace to him, and with it, blessed

forgiveness.

Psalm 6:1-8

To the Chief Musician, with Stringed Instruments, on the Eighth,158 a Psalm of David O LORD, do not in your anger punish me, and do not in your wrath discipline

me. Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am fading away. Heal me, LORD, for my bones

tremble, And my soul trembles awfully. But you, LORD, how long? Turn back, O LORD; deliver my soul; save me because of your mercy, For in death nothing remembers you. In Sheol, who will give you thanks? I am weary in my groaning. I swim all the night on my bed: in my tears I melt my bed. My eyes fall out from grief. They grow old from all my enemies.

Commentary:

The psalm begins in fearful tones. Like a child who knows he has misbehaved, it seems,

David pleads that God not punish him. A heavy weight rests on the shoulders of the

psalmist, “especially heavy because [he] feels that he is being punished for his sins.”159

In deep sorrow he feels himself fading away, he cries so heavily that he swims in his

tears, and his bones and very soul shake at the fear of God’s wrath.

157 LW 14:141. 158 The “eighth” could refer to a certain style of stringing or tuning a stringed instrument, or

perhaps the lowest octave (8) able to be reached by human voices. It is powerful to think of this song sung in low tones.

159 Brug, Psalms 1-72, 159.

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Properly, the word for this deep sorrow is lament. The book of Lamentations is

full of such sorrowful poetry. And yet the psalmist is bold enough to come to God and

to request that he show mercy. Some pride and presumption also seem to be evident

when the one singing this psalm says that if God lets him be damned, he will then lose a

source of praise: “For in death nothing remembers you. In Sheol, who will give you

thanks?” Indeed, this plea seems pitiful.

It is, however, true that the dead do not praise the Lord. The hope of this psalm,

Luther says, “is by far the noblest thought which the saints have in their crosses and by

which they are also sustained.”160 The point is not that the speaker wishes to bribe God

out of his damnation, but that his focus is on praising God. He does not want to be

damned, because if he is left in the land of the dead, he will be separated from his God,

unable to sing his praises.

The aim of this psalm, then, is to turn God’s enmity to blessing. The singer of

course knows that all that God does will be for his ultimate good, but such suffering is

hard to bear. Righteously, then, rather than forsaking God and trying to fix his troubles

himself, he turns to God in prayer.

Psalm 6:9-11

Turn away from me, all workers of vanity! for the LORD has heard the voice of my crying.

The LORD has heard my prayer: the LORD has received my petition. All my enemies will be ashamed and tremble terribly. They will turn back; they

will be instantly ashamed.

160 LW 14:143.

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Commentary:

And his prayer is heard.

Enemies are spoken of in these latter verses, and it is unclear what these enemies

have done, but apparently they are the direct cause of the sufferings the speaker is

experiencing, for which he feels he must come to God. When we pray this psalm, we

do not necessarily need to have human enemies we must face, but they might be our

personal demons, our sins, the world in which we live. Whatever our enemies, what

are they to a God who hears our petitions? They are ashamed and turn away.

After such pain and suffering in the first part of this psalm – such extreme

emotional agony as though the speaker were already in hell – these last verses are the

perfect comfort. God, the almighty Lord of all, hears the prayer and rescues the

psalmist. This ought to remind us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”161

Reading this Psalm in Various Settings:

This is one of the sweetest psalms to read quietly in solitude. The tears of one’s sorrow

must be allowed to flow, realizing one’s sin and God’s anger. Then the sweetness of the

second part will be that much more powerful. This is the exchange between Law and

Gospel. When one experiences the Law in all its horror, the Gospel is the perfect salve.

No part of this psalm ought to be left out in one’s private prayers. Allow yourself to

wrestle horribly with God in this psalm, feeling the rattling of your bones. And then

that shaking of fear will change to ecstasy and joy at the glorious promise that God has

heard your prayers.

161 Rom. 8:31 (NKJV).

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There is a place for laughter and shouts of joy and praise in worship, but this

psalm may not fall in that category. In family devotions this psalm should be read

solemnly, preferably solely by the father leading the devotion. In his emotional

inflections while reading this psalm he can do his family good, letting them hear how

deeply sinful man has fallen under the gaze of God, but then how joyful man may be in

the favor of God.

Perhaps the Lenten season is the most appropriate for the use of this psalm in

corporate worship. Yet this is not exclusively so. In any service with a penitential

theme this psalm is fitting. And like the setting of the family devotion, in corporate

worship one voice is the best way to express this psalm, whether a cantor or the pastor.

Low, sad tones are best, if possible, and the congregation should be pointed to the

sorrow of the Law and the sweet taste of the Gospel throughout. This psalm runs the

spectrum of human emotions, and this must not be censored.

Psalm 16

This psalm serves as an example of the many psalms of comfort. From the very first

words the desire for God’s help and care are evident. For this reason this psalm is

considered precious. Not only does the petitioner seek blessing from God, but he also

realizes the blessings he already has received in the form of inheritance and instruction

– much in the metaphor of an inheritance of beautiful land. In reading this psalm,

consider the blessings God has already given, and be confident therefore that God will

continue to grant such blessings and comfort.

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Psalm 16:1-4

A Precious Psalm of David Keep me, O God, for I have sought safety in you! O soul, you have said to the

LORD, ‘You are my Lord, My good is nothing beside you.’ The saints, those who are in the land, and the nobles: All my delight is in them! The pains of those who hurry after another god will multiply; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not take their names

on my lips. Commentary:

The Hebrew designation of this psalm, translated here “precious psalm,” is miktam, a

word difficult to translate on all accounts. However, the majority of translators

considering this word sees that it seems to refer to precious metals, gems, or jewels.

Therefore, the reader, too, ought to hold this psalm as precious and valuable as he

would a piece of expensive jewelry, or, even better, an heirloom.

The request at the beginning of this psalm, that God keep the speaker, is a hope

for safety, protection, and comfort. But what reason does God have that he should

grant such a request? What proof does the speaker give that he deserves God’s

protection? His faith is the only voucher allowing him to approach the Lord. Since he

seeks his help from God, since he acknowledges the Lord as his Lord, God will help

him. For this reason, too, the petitioner delights in God’s saints, in the others who have

the same faith as he, but he rejects those who worship false gods.

To some extent, these verses may seem to speak of some sort of self-

righteousness: the speaker has been holy, seeking God with right faith, and the others in

his camp are likewise holy, but all those others are less and evil, and so they must be

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avoided. This is not vain boasting, however, but the righteousness comes from God:

the “saints” are those who have been made holy by God’s power and Word. Because

God has given them saving faith, they may in that faith come to God with their

requests. Those who hurry after others, who do not have the saving faith, will only

come to suffering, and it is a good thing for the faithful to avoid their offerings and their

practices. To do so, to give offerings to false gods, is like adultery, cheating on one’s

spouse. In this psalm we proclaim to God that we have been faithful to him, and as his

faithful bride, we may take the benefit of his protection.

Psalm 16:5-11

The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup: you are holding my lot. Borderlines have fallen to me in beautiful places: yes, a fair inheritance is mine! I will bless the LORD who counsels me: yes, nightly my heart corrects me. I have kept the LORD in my sight continually; because he is at my right hand I

will not be shaken! Therefore my heart has been glad, and my glory has rejoiced: yes, my flesh lies

down in security, For you will not forsake my soul to Sheol, you will not give your beloved one to

see the pit. You will teach me the path of life. An abundance of joys is in your presence. Pleasant things are in your right hand

forever. Commentary:

God is sufficient for our hearts. What need have we for the help of other gods? God’s

help is enough, as Augustine says:

What better than God can be given to me? God loveth me, God loveth thee. Behold, he hath set it before thee: ask what thou wilt. If the Emperor were to say to thee, Ask what thou wilt: what office of tribune or of count wilt thou receive? then what wouldest thou demand both to be received by

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thyself and to be given to others? Well, when God saith, Ask what thou wilt; what wilt thou demand?162

The psalmist counts his blessings in these verses. He realizes all that God has

given him, and is therefore confident that he may ask this God whatever he needs, and

in the end, he is able to rest in the security and protection he has sought. God will not

allow his soul to be damned to Sheol, to the pits of hell and the land of the dead.

Salvation is secure. This is because he is one of God’s “beloved,” or a “pious one.”

Because God loves the psalmist, he is made holy and allowed to do the good works

which God demands. He can boast that he does good works, therefore, because he is

holy in the robes of Christ.

And the future is even more bright: ahead are the paths of life, abundance of

joys, and pleasant things at the right hand of God. In all this, “the words of this psalm

apply first of all to Christ.”163 The psalm depicts “the confidence which sustained

Christ as he faced his death on the cross…. Jesus commended his spirit into his Father’s

hands, and his body rested safely in the grave for three days. God did not abandon him

in the grave [Sheol].”164 Since Christ was perfect in all this, we in his name may also

pray this psalm and be seen equally perfect in God’s sight, so that he will answer this

petition for comfort and protection, leading us into life of eternal joy.

Reading this Psalm in Various Settings:

As one prays this psalm privately, he should hold it as he would a precious gem,

keeping in his mind throughout the life, death, and resurrection of Christ as it is

162 Qtd. in Neale & Littledale, Commentary on the Psalms, vol. I, Psalm I to Psalm XXXVIII, 207. 163 Brug, Psalms 1-72, 227. 164 Ibid.

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prophetically depicted in this psalm. Know, then, that because of this Christ the man of

faith may also pray this with confidence: because of Christ, God will comfort even us.

Pray this psalm when in stressful times or discomfort. Pray it when sick or burdened.

Pray it also in times of joy to keep that joy always praising God for the blessings he

gives. Then, say Amen at the end of the psalm, knowing fully that rest is sure and

secure in God’s hands.

With one’s family this psalm may be prayed quietly under the leadership of the

father. Let the children all hear the words and contemplate them as their father reads it

aloud. It would also be highly appropriate and beneficial for the devotional leader to

point out Christ’s life in the psalm, to show how we as baptized children of God are

clothed in this life of Christ, and it is for this reason that God gives us such great

blessings and inheritance. Questions about Jesus’ life before the reading of the psalm

may be appropriately asked of the children to keep minds properly focused.

In corporate worship the church may sing this psalm in unison or responsively,

or perhaps hear it chanted by a cantor, pastor, or choir. Great benefit will be had if the

pastor explains how this psalm connects to the life of Christ and therefore also to all

Christians. It must be emphasized as a psalm of confident request as a result of joy at

blessings already received. Let the gates of heaven be held visibly before the eyes of the

congregation as they pray this psalm.

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Psalm 109

Anger is the chief emotion of this powerful song. It has caused a great deal of difficulty

for many readers, and yet its meaning is ultimately plain. One of God’s children, one of

his holy ones, is wrongfully accused, persecuted, hated, despised. This is no light

matter, and it should be something all Christians are able to pray. John F. Brug

considers:

It is sometimes asked why we don’t use such cursing psalms in our services. Perhaps part of the answer is that we have suffered too little to really understand the agony of the crushed and the betrayed, but perhaps there is another problem involved. It is not that the character of this psalm is too low. It is that our characters are not high enough to understand and to use such psalms. We do not have enough awe for holiness or enough dread of sin to be so distressed by sin that we would take such a vehement stand against it.165

The hate in this psalm may seem harsh to us, but God hates sin enough to condemn it to

hell. That is the power of this psalm: God’s own Word of condemnation – of locking the

gates of heaven – against unrepentant sin.

But don’t let this psalm be left in the realm of the Law. For even while God

condemns sin, he rescues the righteous. We, clothed in Christ, are those righteous, and

we are therefore those who, at the end of the psalm, have God at our right hand to save

our souls.

165 Brug, Psalms 73-150, 286.

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Psalm 109:1-5

To the Chief Musician, of David, a Psalm O God whom I praise, do not be deaf! for a wicked mouth and a deceitful mouth

they have opened against me: They have spoken with me with a lying tongue, and words of hatred surround

me, and they fight me for nothing. In exchange for my love they accuse me, but I simply pray. But they repay me evil in exchange for good, and hatred in exchange for love.

Commentary:

The psalm opens like a court case, the complainant here asking the supreme judge to

hear the case, laying all the evils that he has suffered on the table. The wicked have

lied, deceived, slandered, hated, cursed him, all for nothing. Notice that all these

offenses are offenses of the mouth. Wicked words are taken seriously by God – a lie or

slander is worthy of condemnation.

Lest any of God’s people become hasty in their praying of this psalm, notice that

the psalmist writes that evil came “in exchange for my love” and “in exchange for

good.” The righteous one who prays these words is not trigger happy with the keys

that bind the gates of heaven. It is rather to be assumed that the prescribed order in

Matthew 18:15-18 has been followed: the sin has been confronted in private, then with

witnesses, then in the church, but in all this the offender has refused to repent, therefore

he is to the one offended “like a heathen and a tax collector.”166

Also let it be known that, as the one praying this states his own goodness and

love, one who does not have these qualities is as guilty as the one being condemned.

166 Matt. 18:17 (NKJV).

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Therefore only one in Christ, only one wearing his righteous robes and being

persecuted for his name’s sake may (and ought to) call down these curses.

Psalm 109:6-20

Set a wicked one over him, and set up an accuser at his right side! When he is judged, let him come out guilty, and let his prayer be sin! Let his days be few, and let another take his office! Let his children be orphans and his wife a widow! Let his children continually wander and beg, and let them ask for bread from

their ruins! Let a creditor lay a snare for all that is his, and let strangers seize what he worked

for. Let there be no one to extend him mercy, and let there be no one to pity his

orphans! Let his descendants be cut off! In the next generation let their names be wiped

out! Let the guilt of his fathers be remembered by the LORD, and let the sin of his

mother not be wiped away! Let them be before the LORD continually, and let their memory be cut from the

earth! Because he did not remember to show mercy, but he pursued the afflicted man

and the needy and the heartbroken to kill him! But he has desired a curse – so let it come to him! and he did not show delight in

blessing – so let it be far from him! And he has worn cursing as his garment – so let it come like water into his

bowels, and like oil into his bones! Let it be like a garment for him, covering him, and a belt tied around him

forever! Let this be what is done to my accusers by the LORD, and to those who speak evil

against my soul!

Commentary:

A shopping list of condemnations is heaped upon the head of the wicked in these

verses. Let none of them be taken lightly. To have a wicked one over a person, and an

accuser at his right side, means that Satan (the Hebrew word for “accuser”), and not

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God, will have the charge of their souls. This is nothing short of damnation. God is to

forsake these men.

When the weight of that punishment is considered, the rest seem less serious, but

they all fall under the same category of condemnation. The wicked is not to live long,

and his earthly reputation will pass to another so that he is forgotten. His children and

wife will likewise be punished for his sake. All his family – ancestors and descendants

alike – will share in the punishment for his sin, and Brug explains the biblical principles

behind this harshness:

Those who continue in the sinful ways of their parents or ancestors will share in their condemnation. Families often share in and support the sins of individual family members. This was perhaps more obvious in the ancient Near East where multigenerational families lived and worked together. Ancient and modern inhabitants of the Near East have much more of a feeling of group solidarity and shared responsibility and much less of a feeling of individualism than modern Westerners.167

In short, the wickedness of the unrighteous drags his children and other relations down

with him. This is not overzealous condemnation on the part of the psalmist or of God,

but it is what this wicked one has earned for himself and his family.

The wicked has hardened his heart against repentance and forgiveness, therefore

the psalmist casts him off into his selfish desire: let all be aware that God treats all

sinners this way, for if one refuses to repent long enough, God will stop trying to offer

it! Therefore, to one who loves to curse, he will wear his cursing like a garment,

abandoning the righteous robes of forgiveness in Christ.

167 Brug, Psalms 73-150, 282-283.

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Psalm 109:21-31

But you, O LORD, the Lord, deal with me for the sake of your name: Because of the goodness of your mercy deliver me! For I am afflicted and needy

and my heart he has pierced within me! Like a shadow as it extends I go away – I am shaken off like a locust. My knees stagger from fasting, and my flesh has lost its weight. And I myself have become contemptible to them: they see me, they shake their

heads. Help me, O LORD, my God! Save me according to your mercy! And let them know that this is your hand: you, O LORD, have done it! They may curse, but you will bless; they rose up, but they will be ashamed, and

your servant will rejoice. My accusers will wear disgrace, and their shame will cover them like a cloak. I will thank the LORD greatly with my mouth, and in the midst of many I will

praise him! For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save his soul from those who

condemn him.

Commentary:

The hope of the psalmist in this case does not stop with the condemnation of the

wicked: God’s justice also demands that he cares for the afflicted. This demonstrates

the nature of salvation, as it is pictured by the illustration of the sheep and the goats.

The righteous are saved when the unrighteous are condemned.

Therefore this psalm weaves together cursing with pleas for help. These are

inextricably linked. If the evil one, the accuser, is to be condemned, this means that the

one he is accusing will be saved. And the opposite is true: if one is saved, the one from

whom he is saved will be condemned. And the result is, “They may curse, but you will

bless; they rose up, but they will be ashamed, and your servant will rejoice.” Therefore

while the evil ones stand apart from God, wearing their cloaks of cursing, the one saved

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stands with God at his right hand, protecting him and caring for him. Because of his

everlasting justice and mercy, may God be praised!

Reading this Psalm in Various Settings:

In all settings the reader must be careful to avoid the haughty self-righteousness of

which these psalms are so often accused. In prayer, then, one must keep his eyes, as

always, on Jesus. He must acknowledge his willingness to suffer all things for Christ,

knowing that Christ has suffered all things for him. But even Jesus demonstrated a

righteous anger when the things of God were at stake. Pray this prayer in the mind of

Christ, then, cursing only the unrepentant enemies of God. The enemies of one’s person

are of no consequence, but God is not mocked.

It is of utmost importance that the father lead his family in this proper

understanding in the context of a family devotion. Children who have had no

instruction in this matter may easily fall into the error of personal vengeance in these

words. Therefore instruction must be given. Keep such a prayer as this psalm in its

proper context as it relates to Christian love and charity. But fathers and mothers must

not be shy about teaching their children about the true enemies of the Church: Satan

and his lot are tirelessly waging war against the souls of God, and so even the young

souls must be equipped to fight back. It is best, therefore, if the father leads the

devotion with proper instruction, and reads this psalm himself aloud, teaching the

children as he goes along.

In the church, too, this psalm may be prayed, perhaps in unison after the pastor

has described the nature of the church’s enemies. Such psalms as this are perhaps best

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suited for a Church Militant Sunday, or something similar. In the rest of the service it

would be appropriate for the pastor to make the congregation aware of the distinctions

between faith and love as Luther describes it, and to aid them in discovering when an

enemy is to be shown mercy, and when condemnation. Throughout it, too, the proper

distinction between Law and Gospel must not be left wanting.

Psalm 136

This psalm is a psalm of thanksgiving, entitled by the New King James Version,

“Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy.” This gives us the proper way to

understand the verses of the psalm which follow: God’s mercy is evident, and for this

we give him thanks. Note well the refrain in each verse: “For his mercy is forever!” The

purpose of this repetition is to keep God’s mercy continually before the eyes of the

singers, for only out of God’s mercy can anyone truly give him thanks. And the refrain

has the added bonus of granting musical pleasure, for “[m]ost hymns with a solid,

simple chorus become favourites with congregations, and this is sure to have been one

of the best beloved. It contains nothing but praise. It is tuned to rapture, and can only

be fully enjoyed by a devoutly grateful heart.”168 In reading this psalm, let the refrain

resonate, and raise up each particular phrase out of the gratitude for God’s eternal

mercy.

Alongside the component of the refrain, let another structural element be

noticed: this could be considered a hymn in four stanzas: the first concerning the

168 Spurgeon, Treasury of David, vol. VII, Psalm CXXV to CL, 161.

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almighty Triune God in his essential nature (1-3), the second concerning his wondrous

work of creation (4-9), the third concerning Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and

entrance into Canaan (10-22), and the fourth a closing with general thanksgiving (23-

26).

Psalm 136:1-3

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; For his mercy is forever! O give thanks to the God of gods; For his mercy is forever! O give thanks to the Lord of lords; For his mercy is forever!

Commentary:

This three-line stanza serves as an introduction to the rest of the psalm, demonstrating

exactly the one to whom this praise is lifted up. And whenever a threefold worship of

God is demonstrated in Scripture, automatically our minds will turn to the picture of

the Trinity, as, e.g.

The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you And give you peace.169

So in this psalm we praise and thank God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy

Spirit. Of God so far we have heard of his goodness, of his godhood as superior to all

other gods, and of his lordship as superior to all other lords.170 Even though these

169 Num.6:24-26 (NKJV). 170 N.B. that this does not indicate the existence of other gods, but that whatever would call itself

a god is less than the true God.

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descriptors are general, yet there is the need to thank this almighty God for his eternal

mercy.

Psalm 136:4-9

To the one who made great wonders, to him only; For his mercy is forever! To the one who made the heavens in wisdom; For his mercy is forever! To the one who spread out the earth over the waters; For his mercy is forever! To the one who made the great lights; For his mercy is forever! The sun to rule in the day; For his mercy is forever! The moon and stars to rule in the night; For his mercy is forever!

Commentary:

In the previous stanza no evidence was given as to the reason God should be thanked

and praised except for his essential superiority and omnipotence. Here, in these six

verses, we begin to see how this almighty God is relevant to mankind, for he “is the

great Thaumaturge, the unrivalled Wonderworker. None can be likened unto him, he is

alone in wonder-land, the Creator and Worker of true marvels, compared with which

all other remarkable things are as child’s play.”171

In these great wonders – worked only by God – we see no other purposes “for the

vast universe” except “to glorify God and to measure time for man on earth.”172

171 Spurgeon, Treasury of David, vol. VII, Psalm CXXV to CL, 162. Some may have noticed that in the stanza on creation there are six verses, and it may seem to

intend a reflection of the six-day creation. The only thing barring this interpretation is that each verse does not line up with each day of creation, but rather it seems to end on the fourth day. Nevertheless, if one notices these six verses, it may grant a pious focus toward the wonders of God.

172 Brug, Psalms 73-150, 441.

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Creation was a work that unified God and man. These purposes are evident here. And

in this, too, it is clear that “[t]he story of creation is a story of God’s love. He made

everything in the universe for the good of his people.”173 Since God has given us such

providential care, “O give thanks!”

Psalm 136:10-22

To the one who struck Egypt in their firstborn; For his mercy is forever! To the one who brought Israel out from among them; For his mercy is forever! In a strong hand and an outstretched arm; For his mercy is forever! To the one who divided the Red Sea in two; For his mercy is forever! And who passed Israel through it; For his mercy is forever! And who threw off Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; For his mercy is forever! To the one who led his people through the desert; For his mercy is forever! To the one who struck great kings; For his mercy is forever! And who killed noble kings; For his mercy is forever! Sihon, king of the Amorites; For his mercy is forever! And Og, king of Bashan; For his mercy is forever! And gave their land for an inheritance; For his mercy is forever! An inheritance for Israel his servant; For his mercy is forever!

Commentary:

The longest of our four “stanzas,” this one is thirteen verses of Israel’s history. One

familiar with this history in the Old Testament, spanning Exodus through Joshua, will

173 Ibid.

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not be surprised at any of these verses. Some names, however, may be unfamiliar, such

as Sihon and Og, but do not allow any undue significance to be laid on these kings; they

serve simply as examples of those who thought themselves greater than the God who

ultimately conquered them for the good of his chosen people.

Christians, we must not forget, are the new Israel, and so this history of God’s

providence is absolutely relevant to them. God “delivered, and still does deliver, His

Saints from the companionship of sinners, from the bondage of Satan.”174 This work

was done by God working in history by his almighty power, and also by God incarnate

in Jesus Christ, living the perfect life according to the Law’s command and dying the

death that we sinners deserved. Let any reflection upon Israel’s history point always to

the ultimate deliverance of Christ.

In this stanza, too, one sees evidence of those outside God’s mercy, even from the

first verse, reminding us that God “struck Egypt in their firstborn.” This points to the

imprecatory psalms, in the goodness to be found in cursing the enemies of God. For if

God is to deliver his people, this implies an oppressor from whom they must be

delivered. A Christian is certainly right to see God’s mercy in his wrath upon his

enemies; “[y]es, even to the extremity of vengeance upon a whole nation the Lord’s

mercy to his people endured. He is slow to anger, and judgment is his strange work;

but when mercy to men demands severe punishments he will not hold back his hand

174 J. M. Neale and R. F. Littledale, A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. IV, Psalm CXIX to Psalm CL,

2nd ed. (London: Joseph Masters & Co., 1999), 296.

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from the needful surgery.”175 All of this works together for the glorious inheritance of

God’s people – for Israel’s reception of the Promised Land, prefiguring the Christian’s

reception of the Heavenly Land.

Psalm 136:23-26

Who remembered us in our humility; For his mercy is forever! And who plucked us away from our enemies; For his mercy is forever! Who gives bread to all flesh; For his mercy is forever! O give thanks to the God of heaven; For his mercy is forever!

Commentary:

From almighty God, to the universal works of his creation, to the specific working of his

providence in the history of the nation of Israel we pass now into a consideration of

humbled man. This psalm passes like a funnel from what is wholly incomprehensible

to man’s meager mind into the things which hit home, namely, ourselves in lowly

states, in the persecution we suffer from our enemies, and in our need for our daily

bread. All this is given to us by the almighty God, and all his works we may see in this

psalm are for our benefit, for his mercy, his staunch and steadfast love, is forever. “This

psalm,” says Brug, “which begins with the creation of the vast reaches of the universe,

ends at the dinner table of a Christian family as they receive their daily bread.”176

Consider the vast blessing to be found in this psalm: the God of the universe has

enough love and care to give even bread to an individual human being or family.

175 Spurgeon, Treasury of David, vol. VII, Psalm CXXV to CL, 165. 176 Brug, Psalms 73-150, 444.

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“Personal mercies awake the sweetest song – ‘he remembered us.’”177 It is for this

reason that we repeat one final time in this psalm, “O give thanks to the God of heaven;

/ For his mercy is forever!”

Reading this Psalm in Various Settings:

In personal prayer, let the worshiper simply marvel at the wonders of God, and that the

God who works such wonders deigns to care for his own humble soul. Take a moment

for each verse, see what each line says, and then whisper with the psalmist, “For his

mercy is forever!”

In a family devotion, this psalm yields itself quite well to a responsive reading.

Let the father read the first part of each verse, and then the mother and the children

respond with the refrain. Young children especially may find enjoyment in being

encouraged to shout this praising phrase, but let it remain focused devotionally and

reverently.

In the area of corporate worship, the same sort of responsive reading may be

encouraged. Also Luther understands this psalm to be “the text to show priests how

they should sing and preach. Namely, they should sing and preach of God and His

wonderful deeds, that He is gracious and merciful and a true Savior.”178 Let it serve,

then, as a focus to the pastor, to always proclaim the wonders and mercies of God, and

to focus the minds of the people on the same.

177 Spurgeon, Treasury of David, vol. VII, Psalm CXXV to CL, 169. 178 Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther, 325.

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Psalm 148

The theme of this psalm is obvious, and the New King James Version calls it, “Praise to

the LORD from Creation.” What does it mean to praise? Our minds put praise solely in

the context of a worship service, when we sing praises in our hymns and liturgy.

Praise, however, is something wonderful to understand; in many ways it is similar to

boasting, to expressing pride in something.

Of course, we know that “boasting…is excluded,”179 and yet we are also told,

“He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”180 As Christians we see all this world as

loss, if only we may keep the glory of God before our eyes. In this wonder we pray this

psalm from the top of our lungs.

Psalm 148:1-6

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his legions! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all stars of light! Praise him, heavens of heavens, and waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created, And he established them to eternity, to the ages – he gave a decree and it shall

not pass away! Commentary:

The Hebrew of this psalm begins with the word familiar even in English: “Hallelujah!”

This word in recent years has made its way into secular settings, and is used as an

expression of any sort of excitement, relief, or joy. For example, if someone is waiting

for a tow truck to come and pick up his car which has just broken down on his way to

179 Rom. 3:27 (NKJV). 180 1 Cor. 1:31 (NKJV). See also Jer. 9:23-24.

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work, when he sees that truck coming over the hill after the long interval of nervous

anticipation he may be moved to sigh, “Hallelujah!” Unfortunately, few people know

anymore what this word means, except perhaps the realization that it used to be a

church-word. The fact of the matter is that this word is a specific praise to a specific

God. God’s own name is contained in this word: “Hallelu,” is the enjoinder to praise,

and “Jah” is the abbreviated form of the name of God (Yahweh). Therefore whenever

one says, “Hallelujah!” he should realize that his praise ought to be focused on God.

In these first six verses the praise comes from the glorious, unreachable parts of

God’s creation: the heavens, the heights, the angels, the legions181, sun and moon, stars,

and the spheres of the universe beyond the earth. Consider the glory to be had in these

verses, as the singer calls upon the heavenly bodies and the angels themselves to praise

God; and consider the power in the words of this psalm, for when these bodies are

called upon to praise, indeed they do! The voice of the psalmist is joined by the voices

of legions of angels, by the songs of the stars, the sun and moon, the planets! All the

glorious parts of God’s creation are called upon to praise their creator, and we can see

in this regard “three heavens: the one where the birds fly, the one where the stars are,

and the one where God dwells,” and all are to praise him.182 The reason given for God’s

worthiness of praise is his act of creation, stated here in this psalm as being by his

decree, by his Word. This we know concretely from the story of creation in Genesis,

where God spoke and it was done.

181 The word translated “legions” here is often translated “hosts” or “array.” Usually it refers to

the hosts of angels that serve God, sometimes to all the pieces of creation. Here either would be appropriate, but probably it refers to the angels.

182 Brug, Psalms 73-150, 506.

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Psalm 148:7-13a

Praise the LORD from the earth, sea monsters and all seas! Fire and hail, snow and smoke, wind of a storm doing his Word; The mountains and all hills, fruit tree and all cedars; Living things and every beast, creeping thing and winged sparrow; Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth; Youths as well as virgins, old men along with children; Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is most high!

Commentary:

From heaven now we turn down to the earth, so that praise may come from there also,

for God indeed created “the heavens and the earth.”183 But even in this more

immediate space the powerful parts of creation praise the Lord as well: sea monsters,

natural disasters and forces, mountains and trees, all creatures. Everything that shakes

creation, everything that causes the awe of mankind is owned by God and destined to

praise him. Find comfort in this! When tornadoes strike, when hurricanes, floods, fires

and other disasters come, know that these all will have their ultimate purpose in God’s

greater good.

Even kings and men are called upon to praise God. This of course does not mean

that all men will heed this call. Nevertheless, people from all walks of life – rich, poor,

male, female, young, old – all owe their duties to God. And each has his own role, and

in rightly performing that role, he praises God. “Rightfully,” says Luther, “all of

creation should be nothing but a tongue, always praising this great goodness of

God.”184

183 Gen. 1:1 (NKJV). 184 Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther, 351.

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Psalm 148:13b-14

His glory is above earth and heaven, and he has exalted the horn of his people! The praise of all his beloved ones, of the sons of Israel, a people near him:

Praise the LORD! Commentary:

The psalm closes with a description of God’s glory, and of his mighty act toward his

own people, “exalting their horn.” Metaphorically, this indicates their strength and

power which God has lifted up. On account of his powerful providence, then, all the

praise of his beloved people is directed to the right praise of the God who has done this.

Remember again, we Christians are Israel. God’s providence was worked through that

historical nation to bring about his Son’s redemptive works for all mankind, and in this

we have become sons of God – what is there more powerful? Then, fellow Christian,

“Praise the LORD!”

Reading this Psalm in Various Settings:

In an individual’s private prayer, such a psalm may seem out of place. This psalm is

not meant for quiet whispers, but for the loud proclamation of whole armies from

mountaintops! Nevertheless, it is appropriate to carry on in private prayer, for the

individual in this psalm joins his quiet praise with all the loud praise of every corner of

creation. And while one may expect that in this psalm God expects constant shouts and

claps of thunder and loud, hearty song, remember also that he was found even in “a

still small voice.”185

185 1 Kings 19:12 (NKJV).

Lilienthal 99

For family devotions, however, perhaps this song is best read in unison. Let

family members share Bibles or hold handouts of the psalm in front of them, reading all

at once to get the thunderous voice reflected in this psalm. Or, since this psalm is so

colorful in all the characters who are to praise the Lord, children may enjoy being

assigned certain verses: one may enjoy talking about the sea monsters, while one likes

the verse about fire and hail, and another the angels and legions. But let all the family

be involved in the reading of this psalm.

While a responsive reading may be encouraged for many of the psalms in

corporate worship, this psalm may be better spoken or chanted in unison. It is

picturesque, and the violent storms, the many voices of the angels, the strength of

mountains and kings may all be reflected in the united voices of the whole

congregation. Let the people see how their praise of God is joined by the praise of the

whole creation.

100 Lilienthal

Appendix II: Psalm Categories

In the following lists, one will notice that several psalms fit into multiple categories.

This is to be expected, since quite often our prayers will fit into several categories: often

we may all within one prayer thank God for the gifts he has given, ask him for new

gifts, and then praise his name. I have endeavored in this list to glean the major

emphasis of each psalm and then to fit it into its proper category.

Psalms of Thanksgiving

Psalms of Praise Petitions for Comfort

Petitions of Complaint

Imprecatory Psalms

18 8 81 119 1 62 6 1 70 30 9 84 122 2 64 13 2 71 34 19 87 126 3 67 22 3 73 41 21 89 134 4 69 35 5 74 63 22 92 135 5 71 38 7 79 75 24 93 138 15 72 42 10 83 77 27 95 139 16 73 43 11 94 78 29 96 144 17 77 44 12 101 85 30 97 145 20 84 53 14 109 92 32 98 146 23 86 60 17 110 100 33 99 147 25 88 71 23 120 105 34 100 148 26 91 74 28 129 106 36 101 149 27 102 77 35 137 107 40 103 150 31 119 79 36 140 116 44 104 34 121 80 37 118 45 105 36 123 82 49 119 47 106 37 125 85 50 122 48 107 39 130 88 52 124 57 108 40 131 89 53 126 61 110 41 132 90 55 127 62 111 42 133 94 56 128 63 112 43 137 57 133 65 113 46 139 58 136 66 114 50 140 59 139 67 115 51 141 62 145 68 116 54 142 64 75 117 57 143 68 76 118 61 144 69

Lilienthal 101

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