Reading The Psalms With Jesus

Reading the Psalms with Jesus
John DelHousaye
Phoenix Seminary Press

Phoenix, Arizona
2 Contents
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Psalms 1—2 Wise Messiah
Chapter 2 Psalm 6 Prayer
Chapter 3 Psalm 8 Son of man, Meditation
Chapter 4 Psalm 16 Resurrection
Chapter 5 Psalms 22-23 Sacrificial Shepherd
Chapter 6 Psalm 31 Faith
Chapter 7 Psalm 34 Tasting
Chapter 8 Psalm 37 Inheritance
Chapter 9 Psalm 40 Darkness
Chapter 10 Psalms 42-43 Grief
Chapter 11 Psalm 45 Love
Chapter 12 Psalm 48 Jerusalem
Chapter 13 Psalm 50 Throne
Chapter 14 Psalm 69 Zeal
Chapter 15 Psalm 78 Mystery
Chapter 16 Psalm 82 Council
Chapter 17 Psalm 91 Protection
Chapter 18 Psalm 104 Signs
Chapter 19 Psalm 107 Hunger
Chapter 20 Psalm 110 Accountability
Chapter 21 Psalm 118 Temple
Chapter 22 Psalm 132 Light
Conclusion
3 Preface
Preface
Brothers and sisters, I have written a little book on the way our Lord Jesus Christ reads the
Psalms, the heart of Scripture. We love one another; our time has been incomparable. I wanted to
keep these words between us for fear that my unpolished diction should prove displeasing to the
reader. I read the manuscript, and found many errors; no doubt, many persist. Who is adequate
for such things? Yet when our Seminary requested an elective, this was the only topic I could
offer: There is nothing after the Psalter, except the face of the Beloved. With these psalms, all
people may see the universe as Temple and the fullness of the Cross. But what I’ve written is
certainly not the last word. I wrote this first draft to rekindle a very old conversation. May God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be glorified in Phoenix, Arizona, and everywhere else. Amen.
John DelHousaye
Sonoran Desert
11 May 2016
4 Introduction
Introduction
The Psalms, languaged music from God and to God, have nurtured God’s people for millennia.
The title, used by our Lord, is derived from ψαλµός (“playing strings”), the Greek translation of
the Hebrew ‫“( ִמז ְמוֹר‬stringed instruments”).1
The Psalter, another title, has been called the “hymnbook of the Second Temple.”2 The Levites,
assistants to the priests, sang them on festal days and for the daily sacrifices (1 Chron 16; Sir.
50.16-17; 1 Macc. 4.54). Presumably, they were also sung in the synagogues, but less evidence is
available.3
The Psalms are attributed to David (3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 91*, 101, 103, 104*,
108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-45), Moses (90), Solomon (72, 127), Jeduthon (39, 62, 77),
Heman (88), Ethan (89), Asaph (50, 73-83), and the sons of Korah (42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88).
With the exception of David, Moses, and Solomon, the others are Levites (1 Kgs 4:31; 1 Chron
6:31-44; 15:19; 16:5; 2 Chron 5:12; 29:30). There are also anonymous or “orphan” psalms.4
Many psalms are deeply personal, but were also recognized as Scripture. Moses, David,
Solomon, the Levites—all addressed YHWH for the people.5 (YHWH is an appropriately
inadequate transliteration of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton ‫יהוה‬, which refers to the personal God
of Ancient Israel. Instead of pronouncing the consonants, one may say ha Shem, “the name” or
Adonai, “the Lord.”)
Structure
The 150 psalms6 are organized into five “books,” which are demarcated by four benedictions
(41:13; 72:18-20; 89:52; 106:48; 145:21):7
Book 1 1-41
Book 2 42-72
1
Grogan, Psalms, 7. We also find the title in Codex Vaticanus.
2
Codex Alexandrinus ψαλτήριον = Psalter. Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 25.
3
Peter Jeffrey “Philo’s Impact on Christian Psalmody” in Psalms in Community: Jewish and Christian Textual, Liturgical, and
Artistic Traditions (Harold W. Attridge and Margot E. Fassler, eds.; Leiden: Brill, 2004), 147-88, 152.
4
Grogan, Psalms, 9.
5
Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 26.
6
The MT has 150 psalms in the Psalter. In some collections, there is a psalm or two after the 150. The OG has 151. However, the
final psalm is not numbered. Canonical for the Eastern Orthodox Church. 11QPsa : a psalm follows 151 (“151B”) First published
by James Sanders in 1963. Proves the Psalm was originally written in Hebrew and part of their collection. For commentary, see
Reymond 2011, 51-74. David’s glorification of Yahweh. Yahweh’s glorification of David. Appropriation of 1 Samuel 17. Ben
Sira 47.1-12. Reflects interest in Davidic biography. 1 Sam 9:2 The diminutive stature of David brings more glory to God, in
contrast to Saul. Yet God saw something in David’s heart—See Ant. 8.1.1.
7
Goldingay finds the arrangement “arbitrary” but pedagogically symbolic (Psalms, 23). I detect a slightly polemical edge (36-
37).
5 David
Book 3 73 - 89
Book 4 90 - 106
Book 5 107 – 150
We also find collections within the Psalter: Davidic (3-41, 51-72, 138-145), Korahite (42-49, 84-
85, 87-111), Elohistic (42-83), Asaphite (73-83), and Ascents (120-134), a celebration of
Nehemiah’s reestablishment of Jerusalem. These collections may precede the Masoretic frame.
The Psalter ends with a fivefold doxology (146-150).
The anonymous framer(s), whoever put the material into its canonical form, has contributed to
the meaning of Scripture.8
Many psalms are framed by inclusio, repetition at the beginning and end. The delimitation
creates a discourse unit, and allows meditation. R. Yohanan is remembered to have said: “Any
psalm dear to David he opened with ‫‘( אשרי‬happy is he’) and closed with ‫‘( אשרי‬happy is he’).”9
The juxtaposition of psalms, like Pss 22 and 23, may also be significant.
The basic mode of expression is bicola. Robert Lowth famously called this phenomenon
parallelism, although the language is falling out of use because no two clauses, phrases, or even
words are entirely synonymous. The second line usually furthers meaning in one of three ways:
echo, contrast, or escalation.10
For emphasis, the psalmist may expand a bicolon into a tricolon.11
The bicola build together into a strophe, a subunit, which is similar to a paragraph with a
common theme or argument.
David
King David (r. 970 – 931) and the Psalter have a special relationship: at least seventy-three are
attributed to him; with the exception of Moses, the other contributors are closely related to him
as his son or priests.
David is the most fully developed, complex personality in the Old Testament.12 In addition to the
psalms, we have something of an ancient biography that extends through three books in Scripture
8
We encounter a similar phenomenon in Mark, who organizes the anecdotal memories of Peter about Jesus. The Evangelist is
more than a mere editor, making his contribution primarily at the seams. See my Fourfold Gospel, which discusses the gains of
redaction criticism over traditional form criticism.
9
B. Berakhot 10a.
10
For a similar view, see W. H. Bellinger, Psalms: A Guide to Studying the Psalter (2nd ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Academic, 2012), 12-13.
11
Simon P. Stocks does not find intrinsic, singular meaning to the phenomenon, but does find the rhetorical feature of emphasis
in the Psalms of Ascent: The Form and Function of the Tricolon in the Psalms of Ascents: Introducing a New Paradigm for
Hebrew Poetic Line-form (Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick, 2012), 257.
6 David
and restated in a fourth.13 From a historical perspective, the literary critic Robert Alter (b. 1935)
notes:
The story of David is probably the greatest single narrative representation in antiquity of
a human life evolving by slow stages through time, shaped and altered by the pressures of
political life, public institutions, family, the impulses of body and spirit, the eventual sad
decay of the flesh.14
Andrew Bonar (1810 - 1892) draws out a theological implication: “It was for this end that God
led David the round of all human conditions, that he might catch the spirit proper to every one,
and utter it according to the truth.”15 God pushed David into the fullness of humanity.
Bernd Janowski notes seven aspects of being human in the Psalter:
The complaining human being (Ps 13),

The hostile human being (Ps 59),
The persecuted human being (Ps 7),
The sick human being (Ps 41),
The transitory human being (Ps 88),
The praising human being (Ps 30),
The gifted human being, (Ps 16),
God’s human being, the tsaddik (Ps 22).16
Few human beings escape any of these. David offers a realistic response for all.
King David is not mythological, but a historical person. A stele from Tel Dan, which can be
dated a little less than two hundred years from the biblical account, reads “The house of
David.”17 Scholars debate the relationship between the “historical David” and Scripture, as they
do with Christ, but faith is required for any position.18 Jesus and his contemporaries recognized
the King’s hand on the Psalter.19
Many psalms have inscriptions that allude to what may be called the David Story:
When he fled from Absalom his son (3:1)

Concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite (7:1)
12
So also David Wolpe, David: the Divided Heart (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2014), x.
13
1 Sam 16:1—1 Kings 2:12; 1 Chron 11:1—29:30.
14
The David Story: a translation with commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel (New York: Norton and Company, 1999), ix.
15
Christ and His Church in The Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 1978), vii.
16
Bernd Janowski, Arguing with God: A Theological Anthropology of the Psalms Translated by Armin Siedlecki Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2013.
17
George Athas, “Setting the Record Straight: What Are We Making of the Tel Dan Inscription?” Journal of Semitic Studies 51
(2006): 241-256.
18
Most scholars date these psalms to the postexilic period” Peterson, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, 91. This skepticism can be
traced back to Wilhelm Martin Lebrecht de Wette (1780 – 1849): Marttila, Collective Reinterpretation, 2. If true, James L. Mays
offers a justification for the pseudepigraphy: “In the intellectual world of Judaism, one of the most important ways of
understanding the meaning of present experience was to make sense of the contemporary by perceiving and describing it in terms
of an established tradition”: Psalms (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 105.
19
See, for example, Acts 4:25, The Dead Sea Scrolls (11QPsa), Josephus (Ant. 7.305), and Philo (Plant. 9.39).
7 David
On the day when YHWH rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the
hand of Saul (18:1)
At the dedication of the Temple (30:1)
When he changed his judgment before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went
away (34:1)
When Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba (51:1)
When Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of
Ahimelech” (52:1)
When the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?” (54:1)
When the Philistines seized him in Gath (56:1)
When he fled from Saul, in the cave (57:1)
When Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him (59:1)
When he strove with Aram-Haharaim and Aram-Zobah, and when Joab on his return
struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt (60:1)
When he was in the wilderness of Judah (63:1)
When he was in the cave (142:1)
Most of the psalms result from crisis, especially the front end of David’s life when Saul was
losing his kingdom. Walter Brueggeman (b. 1933) presents the psalms as reflecting three stages
of life: orientation, disorientation, and reorientation.20 Several assist in worldview formation.
David builds up his faith by meditating on his relationship to creation, torah or God’s revealed
will, wisdom or the art of living well, narrative or present in light of the past, and expresses trust.
Then David experiences a crisis that pushes him into a season of disorientation. If innocent, he
expresses anger, frustration, and confusion over God’s seeming absence; if guilty, a penitential
that expresses sorrow and regret.
David models what a person after God’s heart does. Despite his stature, he was not spared from
the effects and consequences of a fallen world.
Yet the King was led by the Holy Spirit from the beginning:
And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the
Spirit of YHWH rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and
went to Ramah. (1 Sam 16:13)
This allows the eventual interpretation of his psalms being inspired—that he could be a mouth
piece for the Holy Spirit and God’s people. David also played the harp. Martin Luther notes:
“The light fingers of the harpist are the emotions of the heart moving about in the words of the
psalms.”21 Inspiration posits God as the ultimate author of Scripture, but incorporates the
experience of the human writer.
According to the David Story, YHWH made a covenant with David:
20
The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg, 1984).
21
Psalm 1; Luther’s Works, 14:311 [W, V, 47].
8 Messianic Psalms
The word of YHWH came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says
YHWH: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the
day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving
about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of
Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to
shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ So
now you must say to my servant David, ‘Thus says YHWH of hosts, I took you from the
pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I
have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before
you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may
dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men will afflict them no
more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I
will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, YHWH declares to you that YHWH
will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers,
I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come from your body, and I will
establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne
of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he
commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of
men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put
away from before you. And your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever
before me. Your throne will be established forever.’” (2 Sam 7:4-16)
However, David’s house fell to the Babylonians in 586/7 B.C. This led to a national crisis that
was expressed in Lamentations. Instead of losing faith in YHWH, many Judeans began to look
forward to a Messiah.22
Messianic Psalms
The word messiah (‫ ) ָמשִׁי ַח‬occurs ten times in the Psalter.23 Jesus alludes to the final occurrence
(John 5:32-35). Some claim it refers only to God’s people, a collective sense, but we should
avoid the false dichotomy.24 The epithet was applied to Israel’s kings and most naturally refers to
a descendant, who represents his people before God. We find a fairly consistent messianism:
YHWH “is king; he has appointed an earthly vice-regent who represents his heavenly rule on
earth; the earthly vice-regent and his people travail against the rebellious of the earth.”25 The
Psalms of Solomon, which was composed around the time of Christ, ends with this hope.26
22
Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979), 516. See also William C.
Pohl, “A Messianic Reading of Psalm 89: A Canonical and Intertextual Study,” JETS 58 (2015): 507-25.
23
See 2:2; 18:51; 20:7; 28:8; 84:10; 89:39, 52; 105:15; 132:10, 17.
24
See Marko Marttila, Collective Reinterpretation in the Psalms (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006), 178.
25
Snearly, Return of the King, 1.
26
J. Schaper, Eschatology in the Greek Psalter (WUNT 2/76; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1995), 72-76. Many if not all of the
psalms were composed after Pompey’s death (29 September 48 BC), during the reign of Herod the Great (40 – 4 BC). Jesus was
born a year or so before Herod’s demise. For more discussion, see Wright, Psalms of Solomon. Mark Siefrid claims the Pharisees
published the psalms for instruction in their synagogues (1992, 113-117). In Pharisäer, Roland Deines attributes this position of
Pharisaic authorship to Schürer (74 n. 81), Bousset (122-23), and many others. H. E. Ryle and M. R. James confidently title their
work, Psalms of the Pharisees, Commonly Called the Psalms of Solomon (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891). The
9 Jesus
James Charlesworth (b. 1940) describes the 17th psalm in this collection as “the locus classicus
for belief in a Davidic Messiah.”27 The psalmist looks forward to the “Lord Christ [Messiah]”
(χριστός κύριος, 32).28 He will be a son of David, who fulfills God’s promises to his descendant
(21, 4). After ousting the Romans (22, 24-25) and corrupt Jewish leadership (17.36), retrieving
the diaspora and restoring tribal divisions (28), he will establish God’s Kingdom (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ
θεοῦ) as an independent state. He is sinless, but not necessarily divine (36). Like David, he is a
shepherd (40) imbued with “the spirit of holiness” (37).
The people (Gentiles) will also come (17.31, 34). However, the Messiah’s relationship to these
outsiders is ambiguous. He will judge them—purging “Jerusalem from gentiles” (22)—but they
will also come to Jerusalem to worship. He “will have Gentile peoples serving him under his
yoke” (30; Wright 2007, 193). Yet the psalmist claims he “will be merciful to all the Gentiles”
(34).
However, unlike the biblical psalms, God does not respond. It is speech to, but not from God.
Psalms of Solomon fell out of favor in Rabbinic Judaism, but was read by Christians. The work
is mentioned in the list at the beginning of Codex Alexandrinus, and is included in Rahlfs’s
edition of the Septuagint.29
Jewish and Christian readings of the Psalter have intersected in the last two millennia.30 Rabbinic
exegesis often retains a messianic hope, but without its partial realization in Christ.
Jesus
The New Testament presents Jesus as a “son of David” and “Lord Jesus Christ.”31 Peter claims
God made him “Lord and Christ” at his resurrection/ascension (Acts 2:36). There is continuity
and discontinuity with contemporary Messianism.
Jesus receives the Holy Spirit at his baptism. This creates a physical and spiritual bond with the
ancient King: “the Psalms disclose the mind of David in the process of becoming the mind of
Christ”;32 “Jesus becomes David and David Jesus.”33 He is the good shepherd, the man after
God’s heart, the beloved.
most extensive defense of Pharisaic authorship is provided by Winninge, 1995. See also Seifrid 1992, 111; Gathercole 2002, 63.
For a survey of positions, see J. L. Trafton, “The Psalms of Solomon in Recent Research,” JSP 12 (1994): 3-19.
27
Foreword in Wright 2007, vii.
28
χριστὸς κυρίου in Rahlfs edition is an unjustified emendation. The Greek and Syriac mss read as both nominatives
(Charlesworth 1985, 667; Wright 2007, 194).
29
However, the earliest witness dates from the fifth century: Wright, Psalms of Solomon, 13.
30
See Susan Gillingham, ed., Jewish and Christian Approaches to the Psalms: Conflict and Convergence (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2013).
31
See, for example, Matt 1:1; Acts 11:17; 15:26; 20:21; 28:31; Rom 1:7; 5:1, 11; 13:14; 15:6, 30; 16:20; 1 Cor 1:3, 7, 8, 10; 6:11;
8:6; 15:57; 2 Cor 1:2, 3; 8:9; etc.; James 1:1; 2:1; 1 Pet 1:3; Jude 4, 17, 21.
32
Sheehan, Psalms, xxv.
33
Attridge, 107.
10 Jesus
Jesus announces the imminence of God’s Kingdom (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ), but fights against
Satan, not Rome. He castigates the Jewish leadership and predicts the destruction of Herod’s
Temple (AD 70), but does not supplant them. Contemporaries were looking forward to an
especially righteous, even sinless, leader, but not the incarnation. The elevation of the Messiah
(Christ) to deity (Lord) encouraged a “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity.
Trinitarian Throne Conversations

A close reading of the appropriation of the Psalms in the New Testament reveals that Jesus is not
merely fulfilling prophecy, but is a preincarnate participant in what may be called Trinitarian
Throne Conversations. According to the Fathers, the Triune God is formally revealed at Jesus’s
baptism, but the scene echoes what the Holy Spirit conveyed in Psalm 2.
The Jesus Psalter

Jesus cites the Psalter more than any other Scripture.34 He primarily uses those attributed to
David, which reflects the King’s influence in the tradition: 6, 8, 16, 22, 23, 31, 34, 37, 40, 42, 43,
69, 91*, 104*, 110. He mentions David by name. He also appropriates psalms from Asaph (50,
78, 82), Korah (45, 48), and anonymous contributors (107, 118, 132). Since the inscriptions are
in Psalms from the Dead Sea and Septuagint (Old Greek), they would have been available to him
and presumably informed his reading. He treats psalms 78 as Torah and 118 as Scripture, which
was common belief.35
Like other Jews, Jesus appropriated the Psalter as his prayer book, but in a special way.36 It
became “his answering speech to his heavenly father,”37 but also illumined the key events and
themes of his ministry:
Incarnation (8:6; 40:8)

Baptist’s ministry (132:17)
Baptism / Anointing (2:7; 23:5; 45:7-8)
Proclaiming the Gospel (40:10)
Stilling of the Storm (107:29)
Feeding the Crowds (23:2)
Rejection (2:2; 78:2)
Betrayal (41:10)
Sorrow (6:4; 42:6, 7; 43:5)
Stripping (22:18)
Piercing (22:17)
Abandonment (22:1)
Faith (31:6)
Death / Paschal Sacrifice (69:10; 34:21)
Resurrection (16:9-11; 40:3, 14)
Ascension (8:6-7; 110:1)
34
His three “favorite” books are Psalms, Isaiah, and Deuteronomy—probably in that order.
35
Sue Gillingham, “From Liturgy to Prophecy: The Use of Psalmody in Second Temple Judaism,” CBQ 64 (2002): 488.
36
Christopher Halls, Jesus Reads The Psalms: A 100 Day Study Guide to the Old Testament Book of Psalms (U.S.A.: Xulon,
2012), 7.
37
James W. Sire, Praying the Psalms of Jesus (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2007), 13.
11 Jesus
Body as Temple (118:23)

Communion (23:5)
Parousia / Judgment (2:8-9; 6:9; 45:4; 110:1)
Beatitude (37:9, 11, 19, 22, 29, 34)
The Psalms also reveal the inner life of Jesus and therefore complement the Gospels, which
primarily relate his activity and teaching.
According to Luke, Jesus knows the Psalms as a book (scroll):
“How do they say the Christ is to be the son of David?” For David himself says in the
book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies
[under] the footstool of your feet.’ Therefore, David calls him Lord, so how is he his
son?”38
According to Peter Flint, we have Psalms scrolls from the time of Christ.39 Jesus cites or alludes
to all five books of the Psalter, which suggests he read from a complete collection.
Luke presumes the synagogue in Nazareth had an Isaiah scroll; it is reasonable to infer they had
a Torah and Psalms scroll as well. Because scrolls were very expensive, it is unlikely that Jesus
or his family, which Luke presents as poor, had their own.40
When Luke presents Jesus reading from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, it is the Septuagint
(or more accurately Old Greek). On the one hand, this may reflect historical reality: Jesus and
those present spoke Greek;41 on the other, Luke appropriates the Scripture that was available to
Theophilus, his reader. Most scholars favor the latter scenario. Luke cites the Greek translation
throughout his Gospel and Acts. This would allow his readers to imitate the Bereans—to check
his story against Scripture.
However, Jesus probably spoke Greek, unless the Syrophoenician woman, centurion, and Pilate
spoke Aramaic, which is less likely. He grew up beside Sepphoris, a major Galilean city, where
Greek would have been spoken. As an artisan, there would have been an economic incentive to
learn the lingua franca. In several places, the peculiar wording of the Greek translation of a
psalm is essential to the setting or argument. If the wording does not go back to Jesus, it would
compromise the historical accuracy of the tradition. Of course, scholars like Rudolf Bultmann
(1884 – 1976) claim the Gospels are more the product of early Christian imagination than
memories of what Jesus actually said.
38
Luke 20:41-44
39
Several Psalms scrolls from the time of Christ in Judea have been found: see Peter W. Flint, The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls
Psalms & the Book of Psalms (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 2-7.
40
See Luke 2:24. The Torah allows the poor to offer pigeons.
41
For a recent defense of this view, see G. Scott Gleaves, Did Jesus Speak Greek? The Emerging Evidence of Greek Dominance
in First-Century Palestine (Casemate, 2015), 24. The author interacts with earlier scholarship.
12 Jesus
I believe this skepticism is unnecessary. The Gospels were written before the end of the first
century, and could be checked against the living memory of Jesus. Paul carefully distinguishes
between what Jesus said and his own position in 1 Corinthians. He treats what Jesus said as
oracular and having complete authority. Although led by the Spirit and claiming to have the
mind of Christ, the apostle respected the historical particularity of Jesus’s ministry before the
cross and resurrection. And there is no evidence to suggest that he was unique. As with David,
faith is required for any position.
The Gospels presuppose that Jesus cited the Old Greek Psalter, and there is no convincing reason
to reject the claim. But they also have citations that differ from the Greek as we have it.42
Aramaic was spoken by Judeans.43 Mark records Jesus crying out the opening line of Psalm 22 in
Aramaic.44 There is no definitive evidence for an Aramaic translation of the Psalter at the time;
but if Jew only spoke that language, it seems likely that something was available.45 However,
Mark presents Jesus using Aramaic in the context of healing and exorcism, which culminated on
the cross.46 It is also possible that Jesus did his own translation, crying from the heart in his first
language. Despite the famous cry of dereliction, evidence for an Aramaic Psalter is scanty in the
Gospels.
Jesus may have read Hebrew. This was the language of disputation, and the Pharisees had
encouraged the education of children for more than a century.47 Matthew, who is not dependent
on the Greek translation for his Scripture, may align the Cry of Dereliction closer to the Hebrew.
In sum, Jesus ministered in a multi-lingual environment (Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew) where
there was not a single authoritative text or translation. In any case, when Jesus cites or alludes to
psalms in the Gospels, they are from memory; he may have translated according to the capacity
of the audience.
For this reason, we have generally included both the Hebrew (MT) and Greek (OG) versions of
the Psalms for comparison.
“My sheep hear my voice.” For millennia, disciples have heard the voice of their master in the
Psalter.
42
At present, there is no critical text for the Old Greek Psalter. Rahlfs incorporates only a few manuscripts.
43
Technically, the dialect has been called Middle or Palestinian Aramaic.
44
The chain of transmission would have been the women eyewitnesses at the cross, who informed Peter, who related the detail to
Mark.
45
The Rabbinic targums date from a later period, but may contain earlier translation and commentary. Jesus cites a line from
Isaiah that is only extant in a later targum.
46
Another scenario is the Jesus accommodates to those who speak only in Aramaic, but this does not explain the Cry of
Dereliction.
47
It is also possible that a meturgeman (“translator”) translated the Hebrew into Aramaic for Jesus, who then memorized the
psalms.
13 Jesus
Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers continued the work of the Levites. They recited “the twelve psalms”—one
for each hour of daylight. They were also voiced morning and evening. They were chanted at
work. According to tradition, they were first recited by an angel in response to fears that the
church was becoming lukewarm (Cassian, Institutes 2.5.5). Psalmody brought a person into the
angelic life. The goal was continual god-mindfulness or living in ultimate reality—what the
author of Hebrews calls faith (11:1). Chanting psalms allowed the disciple to see God, to become
God’s friend.
After cultivating quietness (hēsuchia, ἡσυχία), they would recite only a few lines at a time for
greater understanding (Cassian, Institutes 2.11.1-2).
Athanasius
Athanasius (c. 295 – d. 373), bishop of Alexandria and a champion of right belief, wrote a letter
to Marcellinus that established the Christian approach to the Psalter. Marcellinus, a deacon, had
become ill and was taking the down time for Bible study. He wanted to learn “the meaning
contained in each psalm.” Athanasius shows how the Psalter epitomizes Scripture, which is
ultimately about Christ, but may also become our language to God, reflecting “the emotions of
each soul.”48 It is like a garden with fruit for every season. Most of the letter pairs each psalm to
a specific life experience.49 The letter was highly valued; it is copied along with Psalms and
Odes in Codex Alexandrinus (c. 400 – 440).
Athanasius reverses the liturgical tradition: instead of the Psalter framing experience, the stuff of
life leads to a particular psalm. In other words, if one reads, say, Psalm 23 every morning, the
habituation tends to shape perception. But one may also turn to the Psalm to express faith after
experiencing YHWH’s provision. Unfortunately, Christians have created a false dichotomy
between habituation and spontaneity; these uses are complementary.
Cyril of Jerusalem
Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 310 – 386) provides the imaginative iconography for a Christian reading of
the Psalms. In The Procatechesis, the bishop addresses catechumens (candidates for illumination
or baptism) in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre:
Imagine (ἐννοέω) the angelic choirs, and God the Lord of all sitting, and his Only Son
sitting with him at his right hand, and the Spirit with them present, and thrones and
dominions doing service, and each man and woman among you receiving salvation. Even
now let your ears ring with the sound: long for that glorious sound, which after your
salvation, the angels will chant over you, Blessed are they whose iniquities have been
forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.50 [Ps 32:1]
48
Chs. 2, 10.
49
See chapters 14-26.
50
Lectures on the Christian Sacraments (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1986), 10. Cyril cites from the OG:
µακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνοµίαι, which is actually 31:1.
14 Jesus
He invites the subjective appropriation of an objective reality. Trinitarian Throne Conversations

are timeless before God, but eschatological (temporal) from our viewpoint. Like the author of
Hebrews, Cyril attributes some of the language to angelic mediation.
Gregory of Nyssa
The contemplative Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 – after 394) wrote a commentary, On The
Inscriptions of the Psalms.51 He saw the state of blessing, the opening word of the Psalter, as the
goal (σκοπός) of the book.52 Blessing follows virtue, but not independent of Christ (Inscr. Pss.
1.8).53 It is “participation in true being” (τῆς µετουσίας τοῦ ὄντος) or, as Jesus puts it, “abiding”
(µένω) in him.54
Gregory saw the five books of the Psalter as five stages (ἀκολουθία) of the soul in the journey
back to God:
Book 1: Separating from evil (repentance)

Book 2: Taming the passions and desire for participation in God (purgation)
Book 3: Seeing as God sees (illumination)55
Book 4: Interceding like Moses (ministry)56
Book 5: Cleaving (union).57
Most people do not advance beyond the second stage in this life, but are saved because this
journey is eternal: “the true sight of God consists in this, that the one who looks up to God never
ceases in that desire.”58 This epektasis (ἐπέκτασις) or “reaching out” is the telos of our purified
and illumined will.59 Gregory even speaks of “ecstasy” (ἔκστασις) and “intoxication” (µέθη) in
God’s presence.60
Evagrius of Pontus (346 – 399)

Evagrius is remembered to have said, “It is a great thing to pray without distraction but to chant
psalms without distraction is even greater.”61 For him, the aim was apatheia (ἀπάθεια), focusing
on God rather than idolatry and what makes for anxiety.62
51
I am indebted to the notes of Father Maximos Constas.
52
GNTIP 84.
53
This observation has been vindicated by poetic analysis. The opening monocolon stands outside of the psalm’s strophic
structure: Peterson, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, 92.
54
See Cynthia Peters Anderson, Reclaiming Participation: Christ as God’s Life for All (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress, 2014),
who integrates Eastern patristic thought with Barth.
55
That is, beginning to consider objects as God considers them—not in terms of their external appearance or social status.
56
1.58-75.
57
1.76-79.
58
The Life of Moses (trs. Abraham Malherbe and Everett Ferguson; New York: Paulist, 1978), 115 [sect. 233].
59
Jean Daniélou popularized this theory in his monograph Platonisme et théologie mystique. Essai sur la doctrine spirituelle de
saint Grégoire de Nysse (Paris: Aubier, 1944). For a recent defense of his reading, see Ovidiu Sferlea, “On the Interpretation of
the Theory of Perpetual Progress (epektasis): Taking into account the testimony of Eastern monastic tradition” (paper presented
at the international conference on “The Church Fathers and Monastic Spirituality,” Voronet, Romania, 8-13 November 2013.
60
In Canticum Canticorum 10.309; 6-310,20; citations in Sferlea, “On the Interpretation,” n. 24.
61
Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 64.
15 Jesus
Augustine of Hippo
The uniquely gifted Augustine (354 – 430) treasured the Psalter. Psalms ground and inform the
Confessions, which is generally recognized as the first autobiography.63 They are doubly
revelatory because they mirror the heart of humanity and God. They are the words of David, but
also “the message of your Holy Spirit,” sent by Jesus after his Ascension.64
As a younger preacher, he labored to isolate the voices in the Psalms, but eventually came to see
their unity. He provides the longest patristic commentary on the Psalms, Enarrationes in
Psalmos (“Conversations in the Psalms”). They began as sermons in Carthage before large
audiences. The “I” of the Psalter is the “whole Christ” (totus Christus), head and body:65
The voice of Christ and His Church was well-nigh the only voice to be heard in the
Psalms66
Everywhere diffused throughout is that man whose Head is above, and whose members
are below. We ought to recognize his voice in all the Psalms, either waking up the
psaltery or uttering the deep groan—rejoicing in hope, or heaving sighs over present
realities.67
Tertullian, another African, writes: “Almost all the Psalms are spoken in the person of Christ,
being addressed by the Son to the Father—by Christ to God.”68
Since believers are in Christ, his prayer language becomes our own.69 Reciting the Psalms with
right intention (Heb. kavanah) deepens the relationship; it imparts Christ and refreshes the
church’s mission.70 “When you pray to God in psalms,” writes Augustine in his rule, “the words
spoken by your lips should also be alive in your hearts.”71 In Confessions, he describes his own
encounter: “How I cried out to you when I read those Psalms! How they set me on fire with love
62
Jerome took issue with Evagrius’s doctrine of apatheia: “Evagrius Ponticus . . . put out a book and maxims on apatheia, which
we would call impassibility or imperturbability—when the mind is never disturbed by the vice of perturbation and, to put it
simply, is either a stone or God” (Ep. 133.3). He was condemned as a heretic by the General Council of Constantinople (553),
although his influence continued through John Cassian and others.
63
Brian Stock, Augustine the Reader: Meditation, Self-Knowledge, and the Ethics of Interpretation (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1996), 4.
64
Confessions 9.4 tr. Pine-Coffin.
65
See Joseph Carola, Augustine of Hippo: The Role of the Laity in Ecclesial Reconciliation (Rome: Pontificia Università
Gregoriana, 2005): 157-217.
66
Vix est ut in Psalmis inveniamus vocem nisi Christi et Ecclesiae. Exposition of Psalm 58.
67
Exposition on Psalm 43.
68
omnes poene (pené) Psalmi Christi personam sustinent.—Filium ad Patrem, id est Christum ad Deum verba facientem
repraesentant. This was an especially popular quote in the nineteenth century. See, for example, George Horne, A Commentary
on the Book of Psalms (James Anderson [printer]: 1822), xxv.
69
Brian Brock, Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007),
202.
70
See John DelHousaye, “Praying with Kavanah: Watching Christ from Death to Glory,” Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul
Care 2 (2009): 87-100. This is the main claim of Jason Byassee, Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with
Augustine. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007.
71
The Rule of Saint Augustine (tr. Raymond Canning; Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 13.
16 Jesus
of you! I was burning to echo them to all the world . . . this cry came from my inmost heart,
when I was alone in your presence.”72
He employs the verse-by-verse approach of the desert fathers. For Augustine, the telos of
exegesis is drawing readers into the beauty of God.73
During the siege of Hippo, dying, Augustine asked for the seven penitential psalms to be copied
and hung beside his bed to read, to weep, and to repent.74
Antiochene School
Athanasius, Gregory, and Augustine exemplify what may be called an African reading of the
Psalter, which focused on the voice of Christ. But what of the earlier voices of David and other
prophets? Whenever an important dimension of Scripture is underappreciated for too long, it is
championed. Diodore of Tarsus (d. c. 394) speaks for what came to be called the Antiochene
School: “we much prefer the historical sense to the allegorical.”75 By historical, they meant
carefully attending to language (ἀκρίβεια) and context. His disciple Theodore of Mopsuestia
wrote a youthful commentary in the asketerion.76 Instead of jumping to Christ, he notes that
David “instructs the listeners from his own situation, teaching what each person’s attitude should
be to what happens, what is the due response when living in a state of sin . . . .”77 He regularly
finds fulfillment of the Psalms in the Old Testament itself. He is unwilling to grant messianic
interpretations to texts cited as such in the New Testament (e.g., Ps 22:1), with the exception of
Psalms 2, 8, 45, and 110.78
They were anathematized at a synod of Constantinople (499), and Theodore’s writings were
condemned as Nestorian at the fifth ecumenical council there (553). Their work, however,
established a helpful dialectic. The Psalms were meaningful to God’s people before Christ. A
Christian may learn from David before turning to his descendant. Eucharius of Lyon (c. 449)
sought a middle way between typological and literal exegesis.79
Gregory the Great

Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604) would not consecrate a bishop who had not memorized the
Psalms.80
72
9.4 tr. Pine-Coffin.
73
Byassee, Praise Seeking Understanding, 100.
74
Stock, Augustine the Reader, 11, citing Possidius, Vita 31, PL 32.63.
75
Fragment 93, prologue Ps 119; cited in Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 45.
76
Commentary on Psalms 1-81 (tr. Robert C. Hill; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006). Another student John
Chrysostom preached extensively on the Psalter.
77
Commentary, xxiv.
78
Commentary, xxxi.
79
Terrien, Psalms, 3.
80
J. M. Neale, A Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.; London: Joseph Masters, 1869), 4.
17 Jesus
Thomas Aquinas
While preparing the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas underwent a vision that ended his writing.
When asked, he compared his previous words to straw. He was lecturing on the Psalms (Postilla
super Psalmos) at the time.81
The Psalter offers materia est universalis, the general material for all theology.82 In breadth, it
“contains the whole Scripture.”83 Concerning its ultimate cause, “The end purpose of this work
of Scripture is prayer.”84
Aquinas appropriates Augustine’s totus Christus. Christ is present yet hidden. He is the “true
David,” who prays to the Father.85 On Psalm 22 (21), he says,
Christ spoke these words in the person of a sinner, or of the Church . . . for the Church
and Christ are one mystical body; and for this reason, they are spoken of as one person,
and Christ transforms himself into the Church and the Church into Christ.86
This resolves in important question: How does Jesus relate to the penitential psalms if he is
without sin? The New Testament claims Jesus identified with sinners at his baptism and again on
the cross.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483-1546) views the Psalms as “a little Bible.”87 He decries their
marginalization, misinterpretation, and his overwhelming schedule that keeps him from
meditating on them.88 Lecturing on them at the University of Wittenberg contributed to his
understanding of justification through faith alone. The Seven Penitential Psalms (1517, rev.
1525) was the first book Luther prepared for publication.89
An Augustinian monk, Luther presumes totus Christus: “In the Book of Psalms,” he claims, “we
have not the life of one of the saints only, but we have the experience of Christ himself, the head
of all the saints.”90 Since Christ enters us in faith, we feel his “signs and groans” in the face of
temptation.91 The Psalms eased his lifelong struggle with depression (Anfechtungen).92
81
McDermott, Summa, xx; Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 123-25.
82
Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 125, citing from the Proemium.
83
Proemium.
84
There is presently no English translation. The citation is taken from Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 123.
85
Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 126.
86
Cited and translated in Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 126.
87
A Manual of the Book of Psalms (tr. Henry Cole; London: R. B. Seeley and W. Burnside, 1837), 5.
88
Manual, 4.
89
Jaroslav Pelikan and Danliel E. Poellot, eds., Luther’s Works (Saint Louis, Miss.: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), viv.
90
Manual, 5, emphasis added.
91
Manual, 6. Luther emphasized a union of faith over ontology: Brock, Singing the Ethos of God, 202.
92
Terrien, Psalms, 3.
18 Jesus
Luther interprets the Psalms as direct prophecies of Christ.93 The historical David knew he was
writing about the Messiah. Many find this unpersuasive, placing too great a burden on human
authorial intent.94 Sadly, the opponents become the Pharisees and the Jewish people.
John Calvin
John Calvin often chose a psalm for the Sunday afternoon sermon—the only book from the Old
Testament.95 He was reluctant to publish on the Psalter because other commentaries were
available, but was finally persuaded to keep others from publishing his lectures.
Reflection on the Psalter accompanied his theological maturation: In the first edition of the
Institutes (1536), it is rarely appropriated; in the final edition, it is quoted more than any other
book besides Romans.96 He claims, “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.”97
The reformer emphasizes the range of emotion in the Psalter, which is a mirror the soul. Reading
is cathartic, a release from “all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to
be agitated.”98 He encourages private confession: We have been given access to God “to lay
open before him our infirmities, which we would be ashamed to confess before men.”99
Calvin distinguishes David from Christ, but does not separate them. Later interpreters found this
to be too Jewish.100
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
After joining the illegal seminary of the Confessing Church, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
gave a lecture “Christ in the Psalms.”101 Meditating on the disciples’ request “teach us to pray,”
he offers a corrective to reading the psalms only for expression:
Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to
God and to speak, whether the heart is full or empty. No man can do that by himself. For
that he needs Jesus Christ.102
Jesus knows how to speak with God: “The child learns to speak because his father speaks to him.
He learns the speech of his father. So we learn to speak to God because God has spoken to us
and speaks to us.”103
93
Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 33.
94
See, for example, Tremper Longman, “The Messiah: Explorations in the Law and Writings,” in The Messiah in the New and
Old Testaments (ed. Stanley Porter; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007), 13-34, 17.
95
Greef, Writings of John Calvin, 88.
96
I am indebted to Herman Selderhuis for this observation.
97
Psalms, 1:xxxvii.
98
John Calvin, Commentary on The Book of the Psalms (tr. James Anderson; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1963), 1:xxxvii.
99
Commentary, 1:xxxviii.
100
Selderhuis, Psalms 1-72, li.
101
31 July 1935.
102
Prayer Book of the Bible, 10.
103
Prayer Book of the Bible, 11.
19 Jesus
As a Lutheran, the absence of disparaging comments about the Jews is notable.104 In Life
Together, he develops the communal dimension of the Psalter. When individuals encounter
words of rage but are not presently in that despair, they should remember “it is nevertheless the
prayer of another member of the fellowship.”105 We pray for them, as they, we hope, will pray
for us. This is the “secret of the Psalter”—namely, that Jesus is praying “through the mouth of
his church.”106 As high priest, he voices our complete human experience to the Father:
How is it possible for a man and Jesus Christ to pray the Psalter together? It is the
incarnate Son of God, who have borne every human weakness in his own flesh, who here
pours out the heart of all humanity before God and who stands in our place and prays for
us. He has known torment and pain, guilt and death more deeply than we. Therefore it is
the prayer of the human nature assumed by him which comes here before God. It is really
our prayer, but since he knows us better than we know ourselves and since he himself
was turn man for our sakes, it is also really his prayer, and it can become our prayer only
because it was his prayer.”107
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton (1915 – 1968), a Trappist monk who inspired a generation to deepen their walk
with God, summarizes the patristic tradition: “The Psalms contain in themselves all the Old and
New Testaments, the whole Mystery of Christ. In singing the Psalms each day, the Church is
therefore singing the wedding hymn of her union with God in Christ.”108 Our ultimate end is
God’s Kingdom; proximate, a pure heart.109
Summation: Three Contexts

Whether Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, the Psalter has been an essential guide for theology
and practice. All disciples love the Psalter.
With Calvin, I believe we should begin at the beginning: God came to David three thousand
years ago. This is the first context. David is the collective voice of ancient Israel. He embodies
their hope in YHWH. This allows us to read the Psalter with our Jewish friends, to learn more
about our heritage.
Jesus, the son of David, appropriates the Psalms as his prayer language. This is the second
context. Disciples rightly see Jesus as their only teacher, the ultimate interpreter of the Psalter.
We cannot accept any interpretation that contradicts our Lord. He is also the head of the church.
The Antiochene school has influenced modern biblical scholarship. John Goldingay, for
example, claims the New Testament writers and father see new meaning in the Psalms, not what
104
See his “The Jewish Problem” (1933).
105
Life Together, 46-47.
106
Life Together, 46.
107
Prayer Book of the Bible, 20-21.
108
Praying the Psalms, 9.
109
Thomas Merton, Bread in the Wilderness (New York: New Directions, 1953), 20.
20 Jesus
the Holy Spirit originally gave the authors.110 But we should be slow to limit what God intends in
Scripture. If God is the ultimate author, there will always be a surplus of meaning.
We, the body of Christ, adopt his prayer language. His speech becomes our speech. We hear the
Psalter in the mystery of our union with Christ.111 The Holy Spirit enables us to pray with the
Son to the Father as Abba. We have accepted the apostolic message of union with Christ: “I am
crucified together with Christ. Now I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”112 We share
in his person: memory, intellect, and will. “We have the mind of Christ,” Paul says. We have his
“compassions.” Like a wife, we join his family and heritage. This is the third context.
Possessing Christ’s mind does not include, from my experience, the ability to recover what Jesus
was thinking at a particular moment in his historical ministry; it’s a way of seeing the present.
The Psalter allows the Head and Body to worship together. Paul writes, “Be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering songs and singing
with your heart to the Lord, πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύµατι, λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς [ἐν]113 ψαλµοῖς καὶ
ὕµνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευµατικαῖς114, ᾄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ115 ὑµῶν τῷ κυρίῳ (Eph
5:18-19). In context, the “Lord” refers to Jesus. We are invited to see Jesus at the right hand of
the Father.
But our Lord also worships the Father with us:
I will confess you among the Nations (Gentiles).

And I will sing (ψάλλω) to your name [Rom 15:9 // Ps 17:50 LXX]
The Greek word “psalm” (ψαλµός) is related to the verb ψάλλω, which refers to singing. The
Messiah looked forward to bringing the peoples (Gentiles) into the Temple.
The author of Hebrews similarly places Jesus in the worship service:
For both he who makes holy and those who are made holy are all from one (Father).116
For this reason, he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I proclaim your name to
my brothers. In the midst of the church,117 I will praise (ὑµνέω) you [2:11-12 // Ps 21:23
OG].118
110
Psalms, 72.
111
Andrew Bonar notes: “The literal and historical sense is in the highest degree profitable . . . But our principle is, that having
once found the literal sense, the exact meaning of the terms, and the primary application of the Psalm, we are then to ask what the
Holy Spirit intended to teach in all ages by this formula”: Christ and His Church, viii.
112
Gal 2:19-20
113
Absent in Byz.
114
The Adj may modify ᾠδαῖς or, according to Larkin, all three substantives, including ψαλµοῖς and ὕµνοις (2009, 126). The
other terms are masculine. Faced with the diversity, Paul may have adopted the genre of nearest. However, the parallel in Col
suggests stereotypical language. “Spiritual songs” is more appropriate.
115
Means (Larkin 2009, 126).
116
(Father) = NRSV. Some believe, however, that one refers to a common humanity. The ESV retains the ambiguity with “one
source.”
117
Church or “assembly”: The psalmist originally praised God in the Temple.
118
Ps 22:22 MT. The crucified yet resurrected Messiah calls his brothers and sisters to worship with him.
21 Quadriga (Pardes)
The verb translated “praise” (ὑµνέω) is a cognate of “hymn” (ὕµνος) another expression for the
Psalms. Jesus is the perfect high priest, the only mediator between humanity and God. He is
compassionate towards us and righteous before the Father. He is our brother.
Imprecatory Psalms
Something should be said about the imprecatory psalms, which petition God to harm one’s
enemies.119 Many find these words difficult to integrate into their prayer, especially because
Jesus requires disciples to love their enemies.
Imprecatory psalms address injustice. They give language to the abused.120 They “are words of
giving over as much as they are words of crying out.”121 Daniel Nehrbass writes:
The worshipper is voicing his dependence upon God, rather than taking matter into his
own hand . . . the worshiper is adopting for herself the heart of God, grieving over the
things that grieve God, and celebrating the things that God celebrates.122
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not reject justice or castigate the desire for justice, only
taking vengeance into our hands instead of allowing God to judge at his Parousia (return). This is
especially clear in the way Jesus appropriates psalms in Matthew.
Quadriga (Pardes)
Our notes follow the Quadriga, a fourfold approach to interpreting Scripture that developed in
the Middle Ages from the monastic practice of lectio Divina (“divine reading”).123 Recognizing a
harmony with their own practice, the rabbis adopted the quadriga but called it Pardes (‫)פּ ְַרדֵּ ס‬, a
reference to the Garden of Eden.124 The Hebrew word, which is spelled only with consonants,
serves as an acronym. The “p” stands for peshat (‫שׁט‬ ָ ‫) ְפּ‬, the plain sense of words; “r”, remez (‫)רמֶז‬,
ֶ
which means “hint,” is the allegorical or typological sense; “d”, derash (‫)דְּ ַרשׁ‬, “interpreting” or
“searching,” the homiletical or moral sense;125 “s”, sod (‫ )סוֹד‬or “secret,” the innermost meaning
of Scripture, the intent of the divine author. Instead of offering a long explanation, it is best to
see these senses in action in the commentary. When I intend to explore one of them, I begin with
the letter (P,R,D,S) in bold followed by a colon.
119
See also Psalms 7, 35, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109, 137, 139.
120
Osborne, Hermeneutical Spiral, 185.
121
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, “The Theology of the Imprecatory Psalms,” in Soundings in The Theology of Psalms:
Perspectives and Methods in Contemporary Scholarship (ed. Rolf A. Jacobson; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2011), 77-92, 91.
122
Daniel Michael Nehrbass, Praying Curses: The Therapeutic and Preaching Value of the Imprecatory Psalms (Eugene, Ore.:
Pickwick, 2013), 4.
123
It continues in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. See Eugen J. Pentiuc, The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox
Tradition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 178.
124
On this approach, see Michael Fishbane’s two studies: Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1985; The Garments of Torah: Essays in Biblical Hermeneutics (U.S.A.: Indiana University Press, 1992).
125
Before then, derash was viewed as an exegetical and theological method and midrash ,a literary genre. See A. Del Agua, “Die
‘Erzählung des Evangeliums im Lichte der Derasch Methode,” Judaica 47 (1991): 140-154.
22 Texts
Texts
The Masoretic Text (MT), essentially the Leningrad Codex, has distinctive punctuation for Job,
Psalms, and Proverbs—“the accents of the three books.”126 I follow the Sof Pasuq (:) marking for
verse delimitation. For the Greek, I appropriate the semi-critical Rahlfs’s edition, Psalmi cum
Odis (pub. 1931, reprint 1979). The editio maior of the Göttingen Septuaginta is not yet
available. The Old Greek translation treats Psalm 9 and 10 as one psalm, but then divides Psalm
146 into two. This explains the alternative numbering for the OG in parentheses.
Psalms 1—2: Wise Messiah
The way a book begins is important: it’s the only part taken by readers throughout their
encounter with the text. The beginning is part of everything else.
The first and second psalms were probably joined and placed together to introduce the Psalter.127
Both psalms lack headings in the OG and MT, and are surrounded by inclusio:
Blessed is the man . . . (1:1)
. . . Blessed are all who trust in him. (2:12)
Origen (c. 185 – c. 254) saw two Hebrew manuscripts with this format.128
This encourages a juxtaposition of the psalms’ themes. Psalm 1 describes the way of a tsaddīk
(‫)צַדִּ יק‬, a “just” or “righteous one.” According to Martin Buber (1878 – 1965), the term describes
someone who is “proven” after standing a test.129 Psalm 2 presents the Messiah, a son of David
who would restore God’s Kingdom. Like digital image editing, the Messiah becomes a
tsaddīk.130 As we saw in the Psalms of Solomon, Jews expected to the Messiah to be spirit-led
and sinless.
The emphasis on messianic piety is natural after the general corruption of the Davidic line.131
Psalm 2 may evoke King Solomon (970 – 931 B.C), the last son of David to rule a united
kingdom. But “his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly
true to YHWH his God, as was the heart of David his father” (1 Kgs 11:4). The Charter of
Kingship in the Torah (Law), requires a different ruler:
When you come to the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you, and you possess it
and dwell in it and then say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around
126
They create the acronym ‫“ ֱא ֶמת‬truth”; also known as “the accents of emet.”
127
Such unions explain the different orders in the Masoretic and Old Greek text-forms. For more discussion, see Gillingham,
Journey of Two Psalms, 294-298; Snearly, Return of the King, 87-88; Watts, Psalms, 26.
128
Noted also by Justin, Tertullian, and Cyprian. See Comfort, New Testament Text, 382-383. In most witnesses, Luke writes “it
has been written in the second psalm” (Acts 13:33), but Codex Bezae (5th cent.) reads “the first” perhaps for the same reason.
129
Tales of the Hasidim: The Early Masters (tr. Olga Marx; New York: Schocken Books, 1947), 1. For the correctness of this
gloss, see the note at Ps 1:6.
130
Boda, “Declare His Glory,” 33.
131
Depending on the timing of this redaction, the similar corruption of the Hasmoneans may also inform the exigence.
23 Psalm 1
me,” you may indeed set a king over you whom YHWH your God will choose. One from
among your brothers you will set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over
you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause
the people to return to Egypt to acquire many horses, since YHWH has said to you, “You
will never return that way again.” And he must not acquire many wives for himself, lest
his heart turn away, nor acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. “And when he sits
on the throne of his kingdom, he must write for himself in a book a copy of this torah
(law), approved by the Levitical priests. And it must be with him, and he must read in it
all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear YHWH his Elohim by keeping all the
words of this torah (law) and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be
lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment,
either to the right hand or to the left, that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his
children, in Israel. (Deut 17:14-20)
Despite the righteousness of Hezekiah and Josiah, the Davidic reign of Judea ended at the Exile
(586-7 B.C.). Whoever edited these psalms looked forward to a messianic king who depends on
YHWH and reverences his torah (law).132
Psalm 1
MT
Blessed is the man who133
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of scoffers.
2
For his joy is in the torah (instruction, law) of YHWH,
and on his torah he will meditate134 day and night.
3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that will yield its fruit in its season,
and its leaf will not wither.
In all that he will do, he will prosper.
4
Not so the wicked.
For they are like chaff that wind will blow away.
5
Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment
or sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6
For YHWH knows the way of the righteous,135
but the way of the wicked will perish.
OG
132
Jamie A. Grant, The King as Exemplar: The Function of Deuteronomy’s Kingship Law in the Shaping of the Book of Psalms
(Atlanta, Ga.: SBL, 2004), 58-60.
133
Anacrusis
134
Imperfect
135
HALOT s.v. ‫צַדִּ יק‬: “of a thing which is examined and found to be in order,” “persons whose conduct will be checked and
found irreproachable.”
24 Psalm 1
1
Blessed is a man,
who did not go in (the) council of irreverent (people)
and did not stand in a way of sinners (outsiders)
and did not sit in a seat of infectious (people).136
2
Instead, his will is in the Lord’s nomos (law),
and in his nomos (law) he will meditate137 day and night.
3
And he will be like a tree planted beside an outlet of waters138
that will give its fruit in its season.
And its leaf will not fall down.
And all things—whatever he might do—will prosper.
4
Not so the irreverent, not so.
Instead, (they will be) like the motes that the wind blows
from the face of the earth.
5
Because of this, the irreverent will not rise in judgment
or sinners in (the) council of (the) righteous.
6
For (the) Lord knows (the) way of (the) righteous,
but (the) way of (the) irreverent will perish.
Translation: The Greek is a fairly literal translation of the original Hebrew as evidenced by the
MT.139 At a turning point, the translator(s) repeats a line for emphasis: “Not so the irreverent, not
so.140 Also, the wind blows motes “from the face of the earth” (ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς).141 These
rhetorical flourishes, which go further than word-for-word translation, may address the exigence
of the seeming prosperity of the “wicked” (‫שׁע‬ ָ ‫)ר‬
ָ or “irreverent” (ἀσεβής). Jews were surrounded
by the Gentiles (Nations) in Alexandria, and relations were tenuous.
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC – AD 50) uses ἀσεβής (“irreverent”) to describe the immoral
mob.142 It embodies the Epicurean life in The Wisdom of Solomon, a Jewish work published in
the same area. The unit is long, but worth citing:
But the ungodly (ἀσεβεῖς) by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a
friend, they pined away and made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to
his company. For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Short and sorrowful is
our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known
to return from Hades. For we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as
136
λοιµός may refer to a diseased person or public menace. Paul was accused of this! (Acts 24:5)
137
µελετάω describes focus, even preoccupation.
138
I.e., a spring (BDAG).
139
Gauthier, Psalms 38 and 145 of The Old Greek Version, 3.
140
The repetition is unique to the Greek, perhaps emphasizing the transition (Gillin gham, A Journey of Two Psalms, 25).
141
ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς—not in MT. See occurrences in Genesis.
142
See, for example,Opi. 1.80; Pos. 1.53; Philo may echo the Psalm: “Do you not see that Abraham was still standing in the place
of YHWH, and coming near to him said "do not then destroy the righteous with impious," [Genesis 18:23] him who is manifest
to you and well known by you, with him who flees from you and seeks to escape your notice, for he indeed is impious, but the
righteous man is one who stands before you and does not flee. For it is right indeed master that you alone should be honored”
(Leg 3:9).
25 Psalm 1
though we had never been, for the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark
kindled by the beating of our hearts; when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air. Our name will be forgotten in time, and no one
will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be
scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat. For our
allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it
is sealed up and no one turns back. Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that
exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in youth. Let us take our fill of costly
wine and perfumes, and let no flower of spring pass us by. Let us crown ourselves with
rosebuds before they wither. Let none of us fail to share in our revelry; everywhere let us
leave signs of enjoyment, because this is our portion, and this our lot. Let us oppress the
righteous poor man; let us not spare the widow or regard the gray hairs of the aged. But
let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless. "Let us lie
in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. He
professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. He became to
us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner
of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. We are considered by him as
something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous
happy, and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test
what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God's child, he will
help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with
insult and torture, so that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his
forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he
will be protected.” (1:16—2:20 NRS)
Surrounded by Pagan distraction, the translator may have felt compelled to emphasize the way of
the righteous.
Teacher
The Psalter does not open with a prayer, but a lesson. The unnamed voice may be called the
Preacher. This didactic psalm assumes the two-ways ethical tradition.143 At least for the sake of
argument, there’s no middle ground: one is either near or far from God; and each state has a
related future.
The Preacher describes a tsaddīk three ways: negatively (via negativa), positively (via positiva),
and analogously (via analogia).144
The opening tricolon (three parallel clauses) emphasizes what a tsaddīk is not. A tsaddīk is sadly
rare and therefore difficult to define, like God. The human mind is assisted by exploring what
143
Keil and Delitzsch note both the negative and positive expectations God places upon those who seek his blessing: “The man
who is characterized as blessed is first described according to the things he does not do, then (which is the chief thought of the
whole Ps.) according to what he actually does” (Psalms, 84).
144
See Carson, God Who Is There, 89; Osborne, Hermeneutical Spiral, 185. Goldingay notes the otherwise rarity of inferential
particles: Psalms, 1:42.
26 Psalm 1
God or a god-like person, a tsaddīk, is not. Essentially, he145 or she is not a friend of sinners. A
tsaddīk imitates God, not people.
The first bicolon (two parallel clauses) offers a positive description: a tsaddīk is preoccupied
with God’s torah (‫)תּוֹרה‬.
ָ Adherence to torah defined “insiders” and “outsiders” of the covenant
146
with YHWH. Contextually, sinners are dangerous to the tsaddīk because they do not value
torah, but prefer their own way. The rabbis encouraged their disciples to focus all conversation
on torah. Rabbi Hananiah ben Tradion, a martyr for torah, said:
If two sit together and no words of torah (are spoken) between them, they are a session of
scoffers, of whom it is written: Nor sit in the seat of scoffers. [Ps 1:1] But if two sit
together and the words of torah (are spoken) between them, the Shekinah (divine
presence) rests between them. (m. Abot 3.2).
The usual Christian translation “law” for torah may be too narrow without explication. Torah
broadly signifies “direction” or “instruction,”147 but may also refer specifically to the first five
books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. The books contain many laws, but they are embedded in a story that moves from
creation to the eve of entering the Promised Land. In other words, they are contextualized laws.
The shape of the Psalter, five books, is modelled on the Pentateuch.148 Based on this structure,
Gordon Wenham claims “the law that the righteous should delight in is not just the law of Moses
in the Pentateuch, but the law of David enshrined in the Psalter.”149 Jesus cites a psalm as torah.
The Psalter invites us to “read creation.”150 From this context, Jesus can say, “Look carefully into
the birds of heaven—that they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather (food) into barns,
and (yet) your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are you not worth more than they?” (Matt
6:26).151
Torah, then, may refer to any revelation, any teaching from God—what the fathers referred to as
the books of Scripture and Creation.
In Judaism, meditation (µελέτη) is a cycle of repetition. Rabbi Ben Bag Bag, possibly a disciple
of Hillel, said: “Turn it [torah] and turn it again, for everything is in it, and contemplate it, and
145
The Psalmist uses ἀνήρ, which normally describes an adult male, although the form of the makarism may allow a generic
sense. See D.
146
Even if the original Hebrew had a broader signification, the translator and intended audience probably thought of the
Pentateuch. The ambiguous relationship between text and commentary sparked debate between the Pharisees and virtually every
other religious group, including the followers of Jesus. The Mishnah (c. AD 200) claims God gave a written and oral torah to
Moses, which was passed along through the Prophets, Great Assembly, and teachers like Hillel and Shammai (Abot 1:1).
147
HALOT s.v. ‫;תּוֹרה‬
ָ Jastrow, “teaching, law,” 1657.
148
1—42, 42—72, 73—89, 90—106, 107—150. At the center of the first and fifth book are psalms celebrating the Torah: 19
and 119, respectively.
149
Psalms as Torah, 79.
150
Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: a theological commentary, 36.
151
See, for example, Psalm 50:11 and the value of a human being in Psalm 8.
27 Psalm 1
grow gray and old over it, and stir not from it, for you can have no better rule than this” (m. Abot
5.22). After hearing the Torah read and expounded in the synagogue on Sabbath or from other
encounters with Scripture, the tsaddīk is preoccupied by its meaning. He or she “turns” it or
approaches the passage from several angles.152
We also find an apophatic dimension to meditation in the Psalter: “Be silent, and know that I am
God” (Ps 46:10 [OG 45:11]). The Greek translator chose scholazō (σχολάζω) to render the first
verb, which can signify clearing the mind to offer God all our attention, as we do in polite
conversation.153
After negative and positive descriptions, the psalmist employs simile: the tsaddīk is like a tree.
The especially thick symbol invites qualification: planted beside an outlet of waters.154
Contextually, the psalmist likens Torah to a spring in contrast to the desiccated company of the
ungodly. Meditation allows for the consumption (internalization) of torah. Rashi (1040 – 1105)
plays with the ambiguous antecedent of the pronoun (“his torah”): through meditation, YHWH’s
torah may become ours.155
R: Psalm 1 also introduces the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings
(ketuvim): Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther,
Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles.156 It has the same function in the Christian Old Testament,
but for a more circumscribed section: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
The psalm also echoes the opening of Joshua, which introduces the Prophets (nevi’im) in the
Hebrew Bible:
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day
and night (‫יוֹמם ָו ַ֔ליְלָה‬
֣ ָ ‫) ְו ָה ִג֤יתָ בּ ֙וֹ‬, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is
written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good
success. (1:8 ESV)157
Before and after Christ, the Psalter was viewed as prophetic.158
In sum, the opening psalm echoes the Law and Prophets and suggests what follows is more of
the same, but in a different modality (genre, key).
152
I.e., Pardes. See the gloss in Blackman, Mishnah, 4:538.
153
BDAG.
154
The passive ambiguates the agency: Was the tree planted by a human farmer, the wind, God? Or does it matter (1 Cor 3:6)?
The missing yet implied action is “watered”; the tsaddik is nourished by Scripture meditation “even,” as D. A. Carson notes,
“when there is heat and blight”: God Who Is There, 88.
155
Gruber, Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms, 173.
156
The Christian Old Testament treats Ezra and Nehemiah as separate books and divides Chronicles into 1 and 2 Chronicles.
157
Noted, for example, by Sailhamer, Meaning of the Pentateuch, 217; Wenham, Psalms as Torah, 77-78; Wenham, Psalms as
Torah, 97-99.
158
See J. Samuel Subramanian, The Synoptic Gospels and The Psalms as Prophecy (New York: T&T Clark, 2007).
28 Psalm 1
Head
The first word of the Psalter, “blessed,” opens the Sermon on the Mount.159 Blessed (‫אַ ְ֥שׁ ֵֽרי‬,
µακάριος) is a pronouncement of divine favor.160 The recipient is the apple of God’s eye. This is
firstly Christ, but we share in the blessing as brothers and sisters. Jesus presents himself as torah
observant, the sine qua non for the biblical Messiah, but also as the fulfillment of the Law and
Prophets (Matt 5:17-18). However, there is an already but not yet tension in the Beatitudes: the
destitute and persecuted possess the Kingdom, but wait to be comforted, to inherit, to be
satisfied, to receive mercy, to see God, and to be called sons of God (Matt 5:3-12).161
The “not yet” is further unpacked in the Parables Discourse (Matt 13). Jesus alludes to Psalm 1
in two parables. The finale of the psalm occurs in The Dragnet:162
Likewise, it will be at the completion of the age: The angels will come and separate those
who are evil from the midst of those who are righteous. (Matt 13:49)
οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος· ἐξελεύσονται οἱ ἄγγελοι καὶ ἀφοριοῦσιν τοὺς
πονηροὺς ἐκ µέσου τῶν δικαίων
Because of this, the ungodly will not rise in judgment or sinners in (the) council of (the)
righteous. (Ps 1:5)
διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει οὐδὲ ἁµαρτωλοὶ ἐν βουλῇ δικαίων
The language does not overlap with the Old Greek, but the substance and context do. Matthew is
not bound to the Greek translations.163
Jesus promises ultimate accountability. The “wicked” and “righteous” will be separated. The
eschatological trajectory, anticipated by the Old Greek, is more explicit: separation will take
place “at the completion of the age” (ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος). By this time, Jews understood
time as being divided into two seasons: the present and the “age to come.” The New Testament
claims the coming age has begun in Christ’s resurrection, but that the present order of things is
still passing away. The true end will be announced by the Parousia, accompanied by angels who
will mediate the judgment promised at the end of the psalm.
The second allusion occurs in The Tenants:164
“Therefore, when the Lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
They say to him, “He will kill those wicked wickedly, and will lease out the vineyard to
other tenants, who will repay him the fruits in their seasons.” [Ps 1:3] Jesus says to
159
The allusion is likely because of the placement and Jesus’s appropriation of Psalm 37 (36 OG) in the Beatitudes.
160
BDAG s.v. µακάριος “privileged recipient of divine favor.”
161
This is clear from the vacillation between the present and future tenses in Greek.
162
The allusion is recognized by the Loci Citati Vel Allegati.
163
See, for example, George M. Soares Prabhu, The Formula Quotations in the Infancy Narrative of Matthew (Rome: E
Pontificio Instituto Biblico, 1976).
164
This is noted in Nestle-Aland’s Loci Citati Vel Allegati.
29 Psalm 1
them: “Have you not read in the Scriptures: The stone that the house-builders rejected
has turned into the head of the corner. This came about from the Lord and is marvelous
in our eyes. [Ps 118:22] Because of this I say to you: the Kingdom of God165 will be
taken away from you and will be given to a people producing the fruits of it.” [Ps 1:3]
(21:40-43)
οἵτινες ἀποδώσουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν (Matt 21:41)
ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ (1:3 OG)
‫( ֲא ֶ ֤שׁר פּ ְִרי֙וֹ׀ י ִתֵּ֬ ן ְבּע ִ֗תּוֹ‬1:3 MT)
Jesus employs gezerah sheva linking the opening psalm to 118 (OG 117). Its close relationship
with the second psalm may explain why: Psalm 2 and 118 (117) are explicitly messianic and
overlap thematically. The later psalm, according to Jesus, predicts the replacement of Herod’s
Temple with his body. The temple authorities were fruitless, which exposed them as false
Jesus predicts a great reversal: “the first will be last.”166 The wicked are not “outsiders,” but the
ultimate “insiders”—the leaders of Judaism, who control the Temple. However, their fruitless
lives reveal them as false tsaddikim. So the “lord” will give the vineyard to another “people
group” (ethnos, ἔθνος), who will make it fruitful.167 The transition happened at Jesus’s
resurrection, with the destruction of Herod’s Temple taking place in AD 70.
Body
Jesus is the head, and we are his “people group” (ethnos, ἔθνος). There is the expectation that,
unlike the temple authorities, disciples will bear fruit. Jesus says he is the vine, and we are the
branches. Without him, we can do nothing (John 15).
D: The psalmist exhorts us to 1) separate from evil, 2) meditate on higher things, and 3) become
like God, a tsaddīk. This three-stage process of formation (sanctification) came to be called the
purgative, illuminative, and unitive. This is how Christians read Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and
Song of Solomon, respectively.
Departure from ungodliness Purgative

Meditation on God’s torah Illuminative
Becoming a tsaddik (union with Christ) Unitive
This process may also be called the way to happiness, the subjective side of blessedness. God is
happy, and desires the same for us. As Aquinas notes, happiness is a complete and self-sufficient
good, like ripe fruit, a necessary telos for human life and flourishing. The purgative stage
empowers our free will; the illuminative reveals false or ephemeral happiness; and the unitive
offers a taste of true joy. For this God gave the torah-observant Messiah.
165
A departure from Matthew’s preferred “Kingdom of the heavens.”
166
Allen Verhey, The Great Reversal: Ethics and The New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1986).
167
Rashi sees a reference to the resurrection: Gruber, Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms, 173.
30 Psalm 2
A tsaddīk chooses intimate relationships carefully. Like the Jews in Alexandria, disciples are
surrounded by Pagans. But sinners should not be avoided because of prejudice or contempt.
Indeed, we exist for them. Jesus did not come for tsaddikim, but sinners. But we cannot
fellowship in their sin (1 Pet 4:1-6), or allow them to distract us from God’s Kingdom.
Continual nourishment on God’s Word leads to growth.168 François de Sales (1567 - 1622)
compares biblical meditation to the imitation of bees who never leave a flower as long as they
can extract any honey from it.169
S: YHWH is a good teacher, who knows his students, the tsaddīkim, and provides whatever is
necessary for their success.
Psalm 2
MT
Why are the people groups restless170
and the people meditate emptily?171
2
Kings of the earth resist
and rulers collude
against YHWH and against his Messiah:
3
“Let us burst their bonds and cast away their cords from us.”
4
He who sits in the heavens172 laughs;
Adonai holds them in derision.
5
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury:
Father
6
“And I have installed [anointed]173 my King on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
Son
7
I will recount the decree:
YHWH said to me,
“You are my son;
today I begot174 you.
8
Ask me, and I will make the people groups your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
168
Grogan, Psalms, 43.
169
Devout Life 2.5.
170
HALOT s.v. ‫רגשׁ‬.
171
HALOT suggests “plot” with the accusative for ‫( הגה‬Ps 38:13; Prov 24:2). But the same verb occurs at 1:2.
172
Juxtaposition with “earth.”
173
The regular meaning of the Qal stem of ‫ נסך‬is “pouring out” (HALOT), which corresponds to the anointing of the Messiah.
174
‫ילד‬
31 Psalm 2
9
You will175 break them with a rod of iron
and smash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10
Now therefore, kings, be wise;
be warned, rulers of the earth.
11
Serve YHWH with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
OG
Father176
1
Why did the people groups [ethnos] become arrogant,177
and the peoples meditate on vain things?178
2
The kings of the earth stood up,
and the rulers gathered themselves together
against the Lord and against his Christ.
[Pause]179
3
“Let us break through their bonds,
and cast away their yoke from us.”
4
He that dwells in the heavens will laugh out loud180 at them—
the Lord will mock them.
5
Then he will speak to them in his anger
and will trouble them in his fury.
Son
6
“But I have been appointed king by him
on Zion, his holy mountain,
7
declaring the ordinance of the Lord.
The Lord said to me, ‘you are my Son;
today, I have begotten you.181
175
Or “may” (permissive)
176
According to Luke’s exegesis; see below.
177
Aorist for Hebrew Perfect.
178
The same verb µελετάω occurs at Ps 1:2.
179
διάψαλµα. Apparently, there was a ‫ סלה‬in the ms. (L&S). Presumably, it invited a pause from the lector.
180
Future for Hebrew Imperfect. ἐκγελάω
181
Perfect for Hebrew Perfect. The translator(s) has been using the aorist for the perfect up to this point. Contextually and
semantically, however, the stative aspect makes sense.
32 Psalm 2
8
Ask me, and I will give you the people groups as your inheritance
and the ends of the earth as your possession.
9
You will182 shepherd [rule]183 them with a rod of iron:
as a potter’s vessel, you will smash them to pieces.’”184
Exhortation
10
So now, kings, understand:185
be instructed [disciplined]—all who judge the earth.
11
Serve the Lord with fear
and rejoice in him with trembling.
12
Accept instruction [discipline],
lest the Lord become angry
and you perish from the righteous way186
when his wrath is suddenly kindled.
Blessed are all who trust in him.
Translation: The translation is literal. However, there is a significant difference with the MT
that affects dramatis personae. The OG is monological; the MT, dialogical: YHWH and Messiah
are conversing.187 The Hebrew, as we have it at v. 6, reads
‫ ַו ֲאנִי נ ַ ָ֣סכְתִּ י ַמל ִ ְ֑כּי‬,֭
And I have installed [anointed] my King
The OG reads
ἐγὼ δὲ κατεστάθην βασιλεὺς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ,
But I have been made king by him
Either YHWH (MT) or Messiah (OG) is speaking. This leads to either “my” or “his holy
mountain.” Differences continue in the subsequent clause: “declaring the ordinance of YHWH”
(MT); “I will recount the decree” (OG).
There is also a significant difference in the final stanza. The MT (v. 12) reads
‫ָל־חוֹסֵי בֽוֹ‬
֥ ‫שׁ ֵ֗רי כּ‬
ְ ‫נַשְּׁקוּ־ ַ֡בר פֶּן־יֶא ֱַנ֤ף׀ ו ְ֬ת ֹאבְדוּ דֶ֗ ֶרְך כִּ ֽי־יִב ַ ְ֣ער ִכּמ ַ ְ֣עט ַא ֑פּוֹ ַ֜א‬
Christians typically translate something like:
182
Possibly, an imperatival future (“you shall shepherd”).
183
ποιµαίνω takes on a positive meaning in early Christian usage.
184
Asyndeton differs from the Hebrew.
185
καὶ νῦν has an inferential force (e.g., Gen 4:11; 31:29).
186
See 1:6.
187
Aquila H. I. Lee, From Messiah To Preexistent Son (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock, 2005), 244.
33 Psalm 2
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Noting the uncertainty of the Hebrew, JPS reads “pay homage in good faith.”
The OG supports this reading:
δράξασθε παιδείας µήποτε ὀργισθῇ κύριος καὶ ἀπολεῖσθε ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας ὅταν ἐκκαυθῇ
ἐν τάχει ὁ θυµὸς αὐτοῦ µακάριοι πάντες οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ
Accept instruction [discipline], lest the Lord become angry and you perish from the
righteous way when his wrath is suddenly kindled.
However, this may be a mistranslation. The verb ‫ נשׁק‬regularly signifies kissing someone with an
object (e.g., Gen 33:4; 1 Sam 20:41). Samuel kisses Saul after his consecration (1 Sam 10:1),
which seems to be a fitting context: kings should show respect for the office of God’s anointed.
‫ בַּר‬is the regular form for “son” in Aramaic, but we also find the spelling in the MT (Prov 31:2).
Perhaps ‫ בַּר‬is a slight transcription error (or updating).188 With the earlier occurrence (v. 7), the
nun is tucked behind a pronominal suffix. However, it may also be an intentional Aramaism.
Contextually, the psalmist addresses kings outside of Israel.189
Finally, there is the different wording at v. 9.
OG: You will shepherd [rule] them with a rod of iron
MT: You will break them with a rod of iron
The translator saw ‫ תרעם‬and related it to ‫“( רעה‬to shepherd”); the Masoretes, ‫“( רעע‬to break”).
Both readings are grammatical, although the latter is a stronger fit with the parallelism.190 But
Jesus sanctions the shepherd reading (Rev 2:27).
P: There are echoes of Psalm 1 at the beginning and end: The tsaddik meditates (‫ )הגה‬on God’s
torah (1:2); the peoples, “emptily”; YHWH knows “the way of the righteous” (1:4), but defiant
kings risk perishing from it (2:12). As we noted, Psalm 2 ends with a beatitude (makarism),
forming inclusio. But for the first time, we hear God’s speech to us.
The psalm may be halved into two unequal stanzas:
2:1-3 Rebellion
2:4-12 Response
188
The MT suggests a transcription error with the original wording being “With trembling kiss his feet.” This is unnecessarily
complicated. It’s simply the difference between a nun and resh, a common ambiguity.
189
Ross, Psalms, 198.
190
Ross, Psalms, 198.
34 Psalm 2
This royal psalm responds to “rebellion against YHWH’s universal kingship, expressed on earth
through his anointed.”191 Political unrest often follows transitions in power, especially when
there’s a perceived weakness.192
The language may have originated from a coronation (enthronement) of a Davidic king.193 The
anointed hears a divine locution: “You are my son.” On the one hand, YHWH adopts the king,
bestowing mediated authority from heaven. On the other, especially in canonical context, the
would be king is recognized as a tsaddīk or godlike. The king is not identical to YHWH, but
“shares the nature of the father.”194
David
Luke presumes David is the mouthpiece of the second Psalm (Acts 4:25). This may be due to any
number of reasons: the general association of the King with the Psalter, his name being in the
inscription of Luke’s manuscript, inspiration, or the wording of the psalm.195 The divine speech
echoes the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:1-17).196 Through the prophet Nathan, YHWH addresses
David: “I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son” (v. 14). The immediate context
looks to Solomon, but he and most of his descendants disappoint. Tremper Longman notes the
“grandiose” language that does not naturally evoke any historical moment when Israel ruled the
Nations.197 Calvin notes, “David prophesied concerning Christ . . . he knew his own kingdom to
be merely a shadow,” a “type.”198 By the time of Jesus, Psalm 2 was read messianically.199
Head
According to Luke, David was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but God the Father is the ultimate
speaker of Psalm 2 (Acts 4:25). Along with other Scriptures, the Father echoes the psalm at
Jesus’s baptism and transfiguration:200
And it came about in those days (that) Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was
baptized into the Jordan by John. And rising out of the water, suddenly he saw the
heavens tearing apart and the Spirit descending like a dove into him. And there was a
191
Watts, Psalms, 26.
192
Rebellion broke out in Galilee after Herod the Great’s death; the one culminating in the Temple’s destruction began similarly.
After Nero’s death, there were three emperors in a single year.
193
The scholarly majority (following Gunkel and Mowinckel) sees a Davidic enthronement Sitz im Leben, although other settings
are proposed, like a pre-holy war ceremony. See the literature cited in Lee, From Messiah, 241-242. The divine utterance is
reminiscent of ancient Near East coronation liturgies. In Karnak, the Egyptian god Amon-Rê said to Queen Hat-shep-sut: “My
darling daughter, I am thy dear father: I confirm thy position as ruler of the two kingdoms; I have written for thee thy protocol.”
194
Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 2011), 1:208 n. 25.
195
He is also aware of its order (Acts 13:33). The Old Greek assigns more psalms to David than the Masoretic text.
196
Longman, “The Messiah,” 17. This was probably recognized in the Dead Sea Scrolls through gezerah sheva.
197
Longman, “The Messiah,” 18. On the contrary, Calvin finds the setting suitable to David’s life.
198
Commentary, 1:11.
199
Longman, “The Messiah,”, 20.
200
W. Davies and D. Allison conclude: “The first line of our text is from or has been influenced by Ps. 2:7 (LXX?) while the next
two lines are derived from a non-LXX version of Isa. 42:1”: The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. 3 vols. (International
Critical Commentary; Great Britain: T&T Clark, 1988, 1991, 1997), 1:338.See also Stanton, Jesus and Gospel, 43; Rick Watts,
“The Psalms in Mark’s Gospel,” in The Psalms in the New Testament (Steve Moyise and Maarten J.S. Menken, eds.; New York:
T&T Clark, 2004), 25-46, 25. As Davies and Allison note, Psalm 2 is not the only intertext: The Father also echoes the Akeda
and possibly Isaiah’s suffering servant (42:1), so that Jesus unites suffering and humility with power and glory: Everett Ferguson,
Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009),
123; Stephen P. Ahearne-Kroll, “Psalms in the New Testament,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms (William P. Brown, ed.;
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 269-280, 274.
35 Psalm 2
voice from the heavens: “You are my beloved son. In you I am appeased.”201 [Ps 2:7]
(Mark 1:9-11)
υἱός µου εἶ σύ (Ps 2:7)

σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός µου (Mark 1:11)
Mark is probably the earliest Gospel; the others extend his presentation. The psalm may
foreground the subsequent conflict over God’s Kingdom: Jesus is tempted by Satan (1:12-13);
after John’s arrest, Jesus announces the imminence of God’s Kingdom and calls the people to
repentance and faith (1:14-20); Peter and the others are called to an “eschatological holy war,”
and his first sign is exorcism (1:21-28).202
If the meaning of Jesus’s baptism was a private experience, presumably shared it with his
disciples, especially since would instruct them to baptize others in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
We find this conflict at the center of Revelation:
And the Dragon stood before the woman, who was about to give birth, that, when she
gave birth, he might devour her child. [Gen 3:15] And she gave birth to a son, a male,
who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. [Ps 2:9] And her child was caught up to
God and to his throne. [Acts 2:33-36] (12:4b-5)
Matthew extends Mark with a birth narrative that emphasizes Herod the Great’s opposition to the
son of David, of which the temple authorities participated.
Luke applies Psalm 2 to the opposition from Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, and Pilate,
the prefect of Rome:
Now after being released, they went to their own and announced what the head priests
and elders said to them. Now those who heard203 raised a voice in union to God, and said:
“You are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in
them,204 [the One who through the Holy Spirit from the mouth of our father, David, your
child,205 said]206: Why did the peoples rage, and the people pursue empty things? The
201
Or “pleased.” The Akeda or “Binding of Isaac,” one of the most horrific, inexplicable moments in salvation history, is
repeated and completed with God’s own Son. Yet the fulfillment is darker: the beloved is slaughtered. God is saying: “Because
of you, sons of Abraham, I did not spare my Son.” In light of this context, I translate eudokeō “appeased,” not “pleased” (KJV,
ESV). In the Septuagint, the verb describes God’s gracious acceptance of sacrifice: TDNT 2:738-39; see, for example, Lev 7:18;
Ps 50:18 [MT 51:16]; Sir. 31:23. This may be correlated with The Lamb of God saying (John 1:28-31).It may not be accidental
that the verb shares the same prefix as euangelion (“good news” or “gospel”).
202
Suzanne Watts Henderson, Christology and Discipleship in The Gospel of Mark (SNTSMS 135; London / New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2006), 108; Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (ABC
27; New York: Doubleday & Company, 2000), 183, citing Judg 6:34; 1 Sam 11:6-7.
203
D adds “and knew the work of God.”
204
This is a persistent motif in Scripture (2 Kgs 19:15; Isa 37:16; Neh 9:6; Exod 20:11; Ps 146:6). It is difficult to determine the
precise citation.
205
Or “servant.” Luke probably intends a contrast with “father.”
36 Psalm 2
kings of the earth stood together, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the
Lord and against his Christ. [Ps 2:1 OG] For truly they were gathered in this city against
your holy child, Jesus, who was anointed (as Messiah), both Herod [Antipas] and Pontius
Pilate, along with the peoples and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and plan
predestined to happen. And now, Lord, watch over their threats and give to your slaves
(the empowerment) to speak your word boldly, while stretching out (your) hand to heal
and (so that) signs and wonders might take place through the name of your holy child,
Jesus.” (Acts 4:23-30)
Antipas and Pilate represent two people groups—Judeans (Jews) and Romans, respectively. As
with interpretations of Psalm 1, the New Testament offers what may be called a “sectarian”
reading of Ancient Israelite Scripture: Of particular significance is the nuance between “people
groups” (Gentiles) and the “people,” depicted here as Israel (v. 27). What may have begun its life
as nearly synonymous parallelism is now an indictment of both Gentiles and Judeans.
Medieval interpreters signified the rebellious as Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish leaders, who
crucified Jesus.207
The rebellion’s apex, described in the first part of the Psalm 2 (vv. 1-3), happened at the cross.
The fullness of God’s Response, the second (vv. 4-12), will take place at the Parousia. In the
meantime, the church prays for refuge to complete her mission (vv. 29-30). The Father’s
response is remarkable:
After they prayed, the place on which they were gathered was shaken; and they were all
filled by the Holy Spirit and were speaking the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)
As Paul later explains in a sermon, the second part of Psalm 2 has already begun its fulfillment—
when Jesus began to reign as God’s co-regent (Acts 13:33). Luke is the only Evangelist who
depicts Jesus’s Ascension. The author of Hebrews (probably Luke) draws the same inference
(1:4-5).
Paul opens Romans with an allusion to the Davidic Covenant fulfilled in the “Son”
who was born 208 from a descendant 209 of David [2 Sam 7:12 OG]210
206
Most Byzantine manuscripts omit the agency of the Holy Spirit: ὁ διὰ στόµατος ∆αυὶδ παιδός σου εἰπών, “the One through
the mouth of David, your servant [child], who said.” The Alexandrian witnesses read ὁ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν διὰ πνεύµατος ἁγίου
στόµατος ∆αυὶδ παιδός σου εἰπών, the One who through the mouth of our father, David, your servant [child], through the Holy
Spirit said.” Metzger records dissatisfaction with the Alexandrian reading, but the committee considered it “closer” to the original
(Textual Commentary, 323). The reference to the Holy Spirit also occurs in the shorter reading of D (“the One who spoke by your
Holy Spirit through the mouth of David, your servant [child].” The earlier reading is more difficult, but not impossible. God the
Father speaks simultaneously through the Holy Spirit and the mouth of David (Comfort, Commentary, 280-281).
207
Sujin Pak, The Judaizing Calvin: Sixteenth-Century Debates over the Messianic Psalms (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2010), 14-15.
208
Who was born (tou genomenou): The Greek does not normally refer to birth, and may suggest Jesus’s birth took place
without human fatherhood (see Gal 4:4; Witherington 2004, 32).
209
Lit. a “seed.”
37 Psalm 2
according to the flesh,

who was appointed Son of God in power [Ps 2:7]
according to the Spirit of Holiness [Isa 63:10]
Aquila Lee notes: “At his baptism, Jesus’ self-consciousness of divine sonship received the final
confirmation (Mk 1:11), while the prophecy about his divine sonship (Ps 2:7) was fully
demonstrated through the resurrection.”211
Later, he writes:
So you212 will say: “The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” Very well.
Because of unbelief, they were broken off. But you stand because of faith. Do not
meditate on arrogant (things), but be afraid! [Ps 2:1] For if God did not spare the natural
branches, nor will he spare you.213 Behold, then, the kindness and severity of God:
severity toward those who have fallen, but the kindness of God214 toward you, if you
remain in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. (Rom 11:19-22)
In context, Paul has been discussing the general rejection of Jesus as Messiah among Jewish
communities. There were probably more Gentile followers of Jesus in Rome after Claudius
banished Jews from the city because of disturbances over a certain “Chrestus.” What happened
in Jerusalem, as narrated by Luke, came to pass in Rome: division over Jesus’s identity.
Body
To the prophet John the resurrected Lord says:
And the one who conquers and keeps my works until the end, I will give him authority
over the Nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod—like ceramic pots
smashed, as I also have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the
morning star. The one who has ears must listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
(Rev 2:26-27)
To this point, the New Testament has emphasized the partial fulfillment of Psalm 2 in Jesus’s
death, resurrection, and ascension. Here, Jesus applies the promises to the whole community at
his Parousia. He promises a shared destiny: if we, the body of Christ, are willing to suffer with
210
This is probably the earliest confession of Jesus’s Davidic ancestry in the NT, repeated in 2 Tim 2:8. Matthew emphasizes the
Davidic ancestry of Joseph, but insists Jesus was begotten by the Holy Spirit. In this case, the descendant of David is Mary. Paul
regularly follows the Jesus Tradition eventually published in Luke, who focuses on Mary in the birth narrative. She too is from
Nazareth, which appears to have been resettled by descendants of David from Bethlehem. Presumably, her father was Davidic.
The preposition ek can describe birth from a woman (Matt 1:3, 5, 6). Decisive is Paul’s γενόµενον ἐκ γυναικός “born from a
woman” in Galatians (4:4).
211
From Messiah, 251.
212
I.e., a Gentile.
213
As throughout the section, Paul is speaking of Christian assemblies.
214
The Majority text and a few other witnesses omit of God.
38 Psalm 2
him, the head, the glory of his resurrection and ascension will be ours as well. This is a natural
interpretation of the original Psalm, which moves from an individual to community.215
The complete fulfillment of the psalm is depicted in the Seventh Trumpet Judgment:
Then the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in the heaven, saying: “The
kingdom of the world (is now the kingdom) of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will
reign forever and ever.” [Ps 2:2 OG] And the twenty-four elders, [the] ones who sit
before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give
thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your
great power and begun to reign. The people groups raged, but your wrath came and the
season for those who are dead to be judged, and to give the reward to your slaves—to the
prophets and to the holy ones—and to those who fear your name—both small and great—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” [Ps 2:1, 5, 12] (Rev 11:15-18)
There are no longer two kingdoms and justice is realized. The “great voice” and “elders” mark
the moment.
D: We, the body, are united to Christ, the head, in faith and baptism. The Holy Spirit allows us to
pray “abba” with the Son to the Father. We are adopted into God’s family and become citizens of
God’s Kingdom.216 Luther saw this psalm as being prophetically fulfilled in Christ, but saw the
Kingdom as spiritual.217 Rulers on earth, like the princes in Germany, enjoyed a mediated
authority.
But sadly negative responses to God’s Kingdom persist. How should the Christian respond?
Luther’s theology was tested by the peasants’ uprising (1525). At first sympathetic, he turned
against them after the rebellion became violent:
Christians do not fight for themselves with sword and musket, but with the cross and with
suffering, just as Christ, our leader, does not bear a sword, but hangs on the cross. Your
victory, therefore, does not consist in conquering and reigning, or in the use of force, but
in defeat and weakness . . .218
In Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants, Luther claimed those who died
assisting the princes would be martyrs, while each peasant who perished would become “an
eternal firebrand of hell.”219
215
Peterson, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, 92.
216
Ferguson, Baptism, 123.
217
Manual, 18; Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 33.
218
Luther’s Works, 46:32-33. Cited in Atherstone, Reformation, 47.
219
Luther’s Works, 46: 50-53. Cited in Atherstone, Reformation, 47.
39 Psalm 2
Luther applied Psalm 2 to the Jewish people, seeing the “bonds” (v.3) as reference to the
Torah.220 He was initially kind toward the Jews, but towards the end of his life he became
hostile:221
Let me give you my honest advice.
First, their synagogues or churches should be set on fire, and whatever does not burn
should be covered or spread over with dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder
or stone of it. And this ought to be done for the honor of God and of Christianity in order
that God may see that we are Christians, and that we have not wittingly tolerated or
approved of such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of His Son and His Christians....
Secondly, their homes would likewise be broken down and destroyed. For they
perpetuate the same things there that they do in their synagogues. For this reason they
ought to be put under one roof or in a stable, like Gypsies, in order that they may realize
that they are not masters in our land, as they boast, but miserable captives, as they
complain of us incessantly before God with bitter wailing.
Thirdly, they should be deprived of their prayer books and Talmuds in which such
idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught.
Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden, under threat of death, to teach any more....
Fifthly, passport and traveling privileges should be absolutely forbidden to the Jews. For
they have no business in the rural districts since they are not nobles, nor officials, nor
merchants, nor the like. Let them stay at home.
Sixthly, they ought to be stopped from usury. All their cash and valuables of silver and
gold ought to be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping. For this reason, as we
said before, everything that they possess they stole and robbed from us through their
usury, for they have no other means of support....
Seventhly, let the young and strong Jews and Jewesses be given the flail, the ax, the hoe,
the spade, the distaff, and spindle, and let them earn their bread by the sweat of their
noses as is enjoined upon Adam’s children. For it is not proper that they should want us
cursed Goyyim to work in the sweat of our brow and that they, pious crew, idle away
their days at the fireside in laziness, feasting, and display.... We ought to drive the
rascally lazy bones out of our system.
If, however, we are afraid that they might harm us personally, or our wives, children,
servants, cattle, etc., when they serve us or work for us...then let us apply the same
220
Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 35.
221
When Luther was a youth (about 10), Sephardic Jews had been expelled from Spain (1492), the same year Christopher
Columbus landed in the Americas.
40 Psalm 6: Mercy Me
cleverness [expulsion] as the other nations...and....drive them out of the country for all
time.... To sum up, dear princes and nobles who have Jews in your domains, if this advice
of mine does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this
insufferable devilish burden—the Jews. (On the Jews and Their Lies 1543, in Luther’s
Works 137-306, esp. 268-72).
This tract was appropriated by the Nazis for their propaganda.222 Calvin also includes the Jews
among the rebellious nations. He makes the logical deduction: “all who do not submit
themselves to the authority of Christ make war against God.”223
What can be said? When the New Testament appropriates Psalm 2, it does not recommend
violence. Rather, Jesus, Luke, Paul, and the authors of Hebrews and Revelation counsel humility,
trust, and perseverance until the Parousia. Concerning the Jewish people, Paul exhorts Gentile
believers to show Christ to them. The Sermon on the Mount requires disciples to wait on the
judgment of the Lord.
S: In the Psalter, YHWH is first presented as the giver of torah (1:2). YHWH is relational.
Indeed, torah and relationship are interrelated: we know (and are known by) God by meditating
on and following his torah. In Psalm 2, YHWH is the giver of Messiah. He remains present
through the Davidic king.224 The New Testament unites these gifts: Jesus Christ is the final
interpreter of torah; he is the telos of torah; he is torah.
They are gifts, but like what a king gives another to initiate peace; to reject them is to dishonor
the giver and prolong the war. Eventually, YHWH will hold people accountable to torah and
messiah.225 According to the New Testament, this will take places at the Parousia.
Psalm 2 offers the first anthropomorphism in the Psalter: YHWH laughs. We should treat such
language as more than metaphor, but less than literal. On the one hand, God is interpersonal.
Wrath warms his love. As person, God feels, although not exactly like we do. On the other, if we
absolutize the language, it risks making God look petty.
Lord, is it too small to claim your derision and wrath towards the violent? Surely, this is
condescension for our benefit, but also revelatory of your commitment to a just universe.
Psalm 6: Mercy Me
MT
To the choir director,226 with stringed instruments, according to the eighth,227 a psalm by David
222
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America repudiated these remarks. See Edward
Kessler and Neil Wenborn, eds. A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations (Cambridge: University Press, 2005), 280-281. I am
grateful to Mitch Miller for this observation.
223
Commentary, 1:12.
224
Gillingham, A Journey of Two Psalms, 8.
225
Both psalms are eschatological.
226
Heb. uncertain. “Music-director” or “choir master” are suggested.
2
YHWH, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
3
Be gracious to me, YHWH, for I am languishing;
heal me, YHWH, for my bones are troubled.
4
And my soul also is greatly troubled.
And you, YHWH—how long?
5
Turn, YHWH, deliver my life (soul);
save me for the sake of your steadfast love (chesed).
6
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
7
I am weary
with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
8
My eye wastes away because of provocation;228
it grows weak because of all my foes.
9
Depart from me—all you workers of evil [injustice],
for YHWH heard the sound of my weeping.
10
YHWH heard my plea;229 YHWH will accept my prayer.
11
All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they will turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
OG
For the end,230 among the hymns for the eighth,

a Psalm by David
2
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline (educate) me in your wrath.231
3
Mercy me, Lord, because I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled.
4
And my soul is very troubled. [John 12:27]
And you, Lord, how long?
5
Return, Lord, deliver my soul:
Save me because of your mercy.
6
For in death no one remembers you232:
227
Heb. uncertain.
228
The common translation “grief” for ‫ ַ֫כּעַס‬falls short semantically and contextually.
229
Perfective aspect; subsequent verbs are imperfective.
230
Obscure meaning. The Hebrew was probably uncertain at the time.
231
The verbs are called “prohibitive subjunctives” and are equivalent to the imperative mood (Wallace, Grammar, 469).
Who in Hades233 will profess234 you?

7
I am wearied with my groaning.
I will wash my bed every night;
I will water my couch with tears.
8
My eye is troubled from anger;
I am worn out because of all my enemies.
9
“Depart from me—all who work lawlessness!”
For the Lord heard235 the voice of my weeping;
10
The Lord heard my request;
The Lord received my prayer.236
11
“May all my enemies be put to shame
and become very troubled:
May they be turned back and
grievously put to shame quickly.”237
Translation: The Greek is a literal translation of the original Hebrew because of its conformity
to the MT. The meaning of the title, however, appears to have been already lost.
P: Although classified as the first of seven penitential psalms, at least since the time of Pope
Innocent (1160 – 1216), contrition is a minor theme.238 The opening may function as litotes,
leading with the opposite to emphasize the positive—be gracious and restorative!—and there is
no confession of sin (contrast with Psalm 51).239 The psalm is closer to a lament.240
David
This is the first explicit Psalm of David in our collection. It is his speech to God. But as the
people’s King and God’s son (Ps 2), David also mediates between YHWH and Israel. He speaks
for the ill and oppressed. The only tricolon, a point of emphasis, expresses wearied grief (v. 7).
God is distant; enemies, near. He cannot sleep.
The ancient Israelites held the body and soul together in their anthropology, so that descriptions
of suffering are often psychosomatic: “my bones are troubled, and my soul is very troubled.”241
232
Or “is mindful of you.”
233
‫שְׁאוֹל‬, ᾅδης, place of the dead
234
ἐξοµολογέω, confess
235
εἰσακούω – “to listen, with implication of heeding and responding,” common in LXX (BDAG).
236
The aorist is a departure from the Hebrew.
237
Petitions are in the optative mood.
238
See Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143.
239
Waltke and others, however, see an implication of guilt (Psalms, 52).
240
Rebekah Eklund, Jesus Wept: The Significance of Jesus’ Laments in the New Testament (N.Y.: Bloomsbury T&T Clark,
2015), 36-37; Waltke et al., Psalms, 52. The psalm is part of the evening cycle (4, 6), and may be contrasted with a dawn
perspective (3, 5): Waltke et al., Psalms, 52.
241
Some view bones and soul as synonymous, but this collapses the bicolon and is outdated: see, for example, Edward R.
Dalglish, Psalm Fifty-One in Light of Ancient Near Eastern Patternism. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962), 143. However, he does
demonstrate the broader semantic range of bones in the OT.
David’s fear of sheol may be more about having to leave God’s house than a Thanatopsis.242 The
opponents may assume David suffers because of divine displeasure.243
Yet there is a sudden transition to praise: “Depart from me, all who work lawlessness.” Has God
acted—an event offstage—or is David believing and hoping?
R: By implication, David’s enemies are confident, healthy, and strong. Their “provocation” (‫) ַ֫כּעַס‬
is like Peninnah toward Hannah:
And her rival used to provoke [‫ ]כעס‬her grievously to irritate her, because YHWH had
closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of
YHWH, she used to provoke her. So Hannah wept and would not eat. (1 Sam 1:6-7)
Head
Jesus appropriates the suffering and victory of Psalm 6. Facing an unjust death, he cries, “my
psuchē has become troubled” (John 12:27).244 But he modulates the request. Whatever
intervention might look like for David, it would have to come before death: “in Sheol who will
give you praise?” But instead of appealing for immediate intervention, John remembers him
adding, “And what can I say? Father, save me from this hour! Rather, for this I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28).
Jesus makes an ancient appeal for divine intervention, but according to YHWH’s will.245 Jesus is
not asking for God to take away his cup; unlike David, he has a greater option beyond death. But
like his earthly descendant, Jesus trusts God’s imminent vindication: “And I, when I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (v. 32).
However, by citing a psalm, a speech to God, we are not surprised by the subsequent locution:
Then a voice came from heaven: “I glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:28)
Jesus also cites the critical turn in the psalm in two different contexts:
Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens,
but the one who does the will of my Father in the heavens. Many will say to me on that
day, ‘Lord, Lord! By your name did we not prophesy? And by your name did we not cast
out demons? And by your name did we not do many powerful (things)?’ And then I will
confess to them: ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, the ones who work lawlessness’.”
[Ps 6:8 (9 OG)] (Matt 7:21-23)
And he was passing through cities and villages, teaching and making his way toward
Jerusalem. Now someone said to him: “Lord, are there few who are saved?” Now he said
to them: “Fight to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter,
242
Grogan, Psalms, 50.
243
Declaissé-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner, Psalms, 105.
244
See also Matt 26:38 par.; Heb 5:7.
245
See Pss 25:11; 31:3; 79:9; 109:21; 143:11; Jer 14:7, 21.
and they will not be strong enough. When once the householder is raised, and he closes
the door, you also will begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying: ‘Lord, open
up for us.’ And answering, he will say to you: ‘I do not know where you come from.’
Then you will begin to say: ‘We ate in your presence, and we drank; and you taught us in
the broad streets.’ And he will say, responding to you: ‘I do not know where you come
from. Depart from me all workers of unrighteousness.’ [Ps 6:9] There the weeping and
the gnashing of teeth will be, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
Prophets in the kingdom of God, while you are being cast out. And men will come from
the East and West and from the North and South. And they will recline in the Kingdom of
God. And behold, some who are last will be first. And there are some who are first who
will be last.’” (Luke 13:22-30)
In Matthew, Jesus contrasts “the one who does the will of my Father” with “the ones who work
lawlessness.” The singular and plural may be significant: few are willing to take the narrow path.
The righteous often feel isolated. In Luke, “the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” reverse the
lament, where vexation is returned upon the unrighteous.
In both cases, Jesus interprets the reversal eschatologically. Escalation continues: David may
have asked only for rescue, whereas now the lawless will not enter the Kingdom. The original
psalm mentions “Hades” (sheol) as a place of separation from God—something David fears.
Now it’s a judgment for the unrighteous.
Body
As his Body, we share Christ’s destiny. We pray in light of his resurrection, so that faith does not
require intervention before death. The resurrection is God’s answer to all these prayers. All is
well because all will be well.
D: David expresses no tension between appealing for personal mercy and asking YHWH to
judge his enemies. This has troubled Christian interpreters. How do we recite this psalm while
loving our enemies? Jesus offers this teaching in the context of eschatological judgment. We
love by releasing vengeance to God.
The causation for the unfortunate state is withheld, inviting mirror reading. Luther, not
surprisingly, sees an internal struggle between law and grace.246 David’s original words were
pastoral; the New Testament invites us to identify with the Lord’s suffering in righteousness.
S: David addresses YHWH by name eight times. The strain in their relationship actually betrays
intimacy. The king appeals to chesed, which is translated “mercy.” Mercy potentially transforms
anger and judgments to grace and restoration. God responds to reason and passion;247 he hears
and accepts prayer.
246
Manual, 29.
247
Waltke et al., Psalms, 54.
45 Psalm 8: Jewel of Creation
Psalm 8: Jewel of Creation
MT
For the choir director, for the Gittit,248 a psalm by David
2
YHWH, our Lord,
how wonderful is your name in all the earth,
who set your glory above the heavens!249 [Gen 1:1]
3
From the mouth of children, even nursing infants,
you established strength250 because of your foes,
to destroy the enemy and one who avenges.251
4
When I consider your heavens, a work of your fingers,
(the) moon and stars that you ordained, [Gen 1:16]
5
what is a human being252 that you are mindful of him,
even (the) son of man [Adam] that you visit253 him?
6
And (yet)254 you made him a little lower than Elohim,
and crowned him with glory and majesty!
7
You caused him to rule over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet—
8
all flocks and cattle and indeed (all) the beasts of the field,
9
birds of the heavens and fish of the sea—
whatever passes through the paths of the seas. [Gen 1:20-30]
YHWH, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
OG
1
For the end, concerning the wine-presses,255 a Psalm by David.
2
Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
For your magnificence is exalted above the heavens.

3
From the mouth of children, even those who nurse,
you restored praise256 because of your foes
to destroy enemy and avenger.257
4
For I will see the heavens as the works of your fingers—
moon and stars that you founded.
248
Meaning of ‫ ַעֽל־ ַהגִּתִּ֗ ית‬is uncertain—possibly an instrument or key (HALOT).
249
JPS marks the Hebrew of the clause uncertain.
250
HALOT s.v. ‫ע ֹז‬. A narrow semantic range.
251
JPS marks the Hebrew of the entire verse uncertain.
252
‫אֱנוֹשׁ‬
253
‫פקד‬
254
The adversative is not immediately clear, a vav capable of several meanings.
255
The fathers treated the ambiguity with allegory.
256
BDAG s.v. αἶνος. Narrow semantic range. According to Hatch and Redpath, this is the only instance of translating ‫ ע ֹז‬this way.
257
The awkwardness probably reflects difficulties in the Hebrew.
5
What is a human being (ἄνθρωπος), that you are mindful of him?
or son of man (υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου), that you care for (or visit) him?
6
You lowered him for a while below the angels;
with glory and honor, you crowned him.
7
And you set him over the works of your hands.
You put all things under his feet:
8
Sheep and all oxen,
and indeed also the cattle of the field;
9
the birds of the sky (heaven) and the fish of the sea—
what passes through the paths of the sea.
10
Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
Translation: In Hebrew, the psalm is addressed to “YHWH, our Adonai” (‫ְהו֤ה ֲאד ֵֹ֗נינוּ‬ ָ ‫)י‬. The
verbal distinction is lost in the Greek with both words translated as “Lord” (κύριος). Another
smoothing out is ‫ אֱנ֥ וֹשׁ‬and ‫ בֶן־ ָ֜אדָ֗ ם‬as ἄνθρωπος and υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, respectively.
The uncertain ‫ ַעֽל־ ַהגִּתִּ֗ ית‬is rendered ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν, “concerning the winepresses,” a phrase that
invited allegory.258 Presumably, the original meaning was lost by the translator’s time.
“Strength” (‫ )ע ֹז‬is uniquely interpreted as “praise” (αἶνος). Elohim ( ‫ֱֹלהים‬ ֑ ִ ‫ ) ֵמא‬is understood as
259
referring to angels (παρ᾽ ἀγγέλους). ‫ חסר‬in the piel means “to be devoid” (HALOT).260
David
This is the Psalter’s first praise hymn, although just before David says:
I will give to YHWH the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the
name of YHWH, the Most High. (7:17)
And the following psalm opens:
I will give thanks to YHWH with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful
deeds. (9:1)
So the King does in Psalm 8 what he promises around it.261 He gives the people language for
thanksgiving. The psalm begins and ends with an observation: “Lord, our Lord, how wonderful
is your name in all the earth!” The inclusio expresses “wonder” (‫ ַאדִּ יר‬, θαυµαστός), a word that
was generally used to describe a deity, but also close associations like a name (ὄνοµα)—one’s
reputation and work.262
Two rhetorical questions center the psalm:
258
Jerome follows the Greek: pro torcularibus.
259
It is isomorphic with the Hebrew, but not necessarily isosemantic: Gauthier, Psalms 38 and 145 of The Old Greek Version, 4.
260
Glosses that include “made” (NAS, NIV, ESV) convey the wrong sense.
261
Mays, Preaching and Teaching The Psalms, 38.
262
BDAG s.v. θαυµαστός; Kraus, Psalms, 1:180.
What is a human being, that you are mindful of him?

or the son of man, that you care (or visit) him?
The King James Version (1611) famously reads “What is man?” The question invites humility,
but David also finds honor in the imago Dei—that all human beings, sons of Adam, are created
in God’s image (Gen 1:26). In the Ancient Near East, it was assumed that a king imaged the
divine, but David democratizes the honor.
In this conviction, the moon and stars are not disorienting to David, but calming. True to the
creation story, they enlighten his time and place.
R: David is like the Queen of Sheba, who heard “the name of Solomon” (τὸ ὄνοµα Σαλωµων)
and came to interrogate him. But when she
had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the
seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers,
and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of YHWH, there was no more breath
in her. And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your
words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own
eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity
surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who
continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!” (1 Kgs 10:4-8)
David meditates on creation, the beginning of the Torah.263 There are a cluster of echoes from
the creation story. Unlike neighboring accounts, Israelite Scripture elevates humanity as God’s
image (‫ ֶצלֶם אֱֹלהִים‬, εἰκών θεοῦ, imago Dei). This is often interpreted as people having intrinsic
worth or divine attributes (ontology), like reason. Scripture emphasizes role and relationality.
God created man and woman to “rule” his creation, like a king who delegates authority (Gen
1:26).264 Human beings are created to work and rest. The verb “to work” () relates
humanity to God, who works six days before resting on the seventh. And “God saw everything
that he had made, and Look: it was very good” (Gen 1:31). David responded to the prompt—
“Look!”: “I will recount all of your wonderful deeds,” and was given what became Psalm 8.
Head
Jesus refers to himself as “the son of man” more than any other title, although it probably was
not heard as messianic in the first century.265 Apparently, he wanted a fresh perspective on his
ministry. This observation has invited reflection and debate.266 A review of the Gospels shows
263
Some refer to it as a “creation psalm” (Jacobson, “The Faithfulness” in Soundings, 118). For more discussion, see Grogan,
Psalms, 350.
264
The verb can signify oppression (e.g., Num 24:19; Ps 72:8; Sir. 44:3), but this sense does not fit the idyllic context. Indeed, we
could argue that oppressive authority results from the Fall (3:16). On the other hand, authority is not inimical to God’s will. The
authority is a consequence of being created in God’s image.
265
Matt 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41; 16:13, 27, 28; 17:9, 12, 22; 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44;
25:31; 26:2, 24, 45, 64. The Gospels uniquely add an article to the epithet, which emphasizes identity: Hurtado, Lord Jesus
Christ, 290-293.
266
See Delbert Royce Burkett, The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2000).
that he uses “son of man” to describe his humble and exalted status.267 The latter may be seen in
his appropriation of Daniel:
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds [Dan 7:13] with great power and
glory. And then he will send out the messengers [or angels] and will gather together his
elect from the four winds—from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of
heaven.” (Mark 13:26-27)
However, both senses occur in Psalm 8. The Hebrew ben adam may be translated “son of
Adam,” which fits within the appropriation of the creation story.
Jesus cites Psalm 8 in The Triumphal Entry:
And the blind and the lame come to him in the Temple, and he was healing them. But
after the head priests and the scribes saw the marvelous things that he did and the
children (παῖς) crying out in the Temple and saying, “Hosanna268 to the son of David,”
they became angry. [Ps 118:25] And they said to him, “Do you hear what they are
saying?” But Jesus says to them: “Yes, have you not read: from the mouth of small
children (νήπιος), even those yet to be weaned, you restored praise.” [Matt 21:14-16; Ps
8:3]
The citation is from the Old Greek as we have it:
ἐκ στόµατος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον (Ps 8:3 OG)

ἐκ στόµατος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον (Matt 21:16)
The idiosyncratic translation “praise” (αἶνος) for “strength” (‫ )ע ֹז‬is integral to the psalm’s
appropriation.
The citation is immediately followed by “because of your foes to destroy enemy and avenger.”
The “head priests and the scribes” are cast into this role. They had corrupted God’s house, but
God “restored praise” from outsiders. Jesus has come in the way of humility, mounted on a
donkey.
After the resurrection, Paul recognizes the ascension of their King. He describes the Father as
working
in Christ, raising him from (those who are) dead and seating him at his right (hand) in the
heavenly places, far above every ruler and authority and power and dominion and every
name which is named—not only in this age, but also in the one coming. And he put all
things into submission under his feet, [Ps 8:7] and appointed him (as) head, who is above
267
Burkett, The Son of Man Debate, 3-5. They presume the “son of man” is the “son of God”: see the important work of Seyoon
Kim, “The ‘Son of Man’” as the Son of God (WUNT 30; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1983).
268
A Greek transliteration of the Aramaic: “Save, [we pray]!”
everything, to the church, who is his body—the fullness from the one who is filling for
himself all things in every respect. (Eph 1:20-23)
Paul cites the same line to Corinthians (1 Cor 15:27), and uses the Scripture to describe Jesus’s
victory after the Parousia. Jesus has already ascended to the right hand of the Father. The Father
has already subjected all things to Christ, but all things will be explicitly subjected at his return.
The author of Hebrews makes a similar point:
For he did not subject to angels the coming (inhabited) world, concerning which we are
speaking, but someone testified somewhere, 269 saying: What is man that you remember
him, or the son of man that you care about him? You made him for a while lower than the
angels. With glory and honor you crowned him. You set all things under his feet. [Ps 8:5-
7 OG] For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. (1:5-
8a)
The Old Greek’s decision to render ‫ אֱֹלהִים‬as ἀγγέλους “angels” is essential to the context in
which Jesus is presented as their superior. The author goes on to admit:
But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him, although we see him who was
made for a little while lower than the angels—that is, Jesus, who because of the suffering
of death, was crowned with glory and honor, that by God’s grace he might taste death for
everyone.270 (1:8b-9).
Irenaeus (d. c. 195) draws the implications together:
When he [Jesus] was incarnate and made man, he recapitulated [or summed up] in
himself the long line of the human race, procuring for us salvation thus summarily, so
that what we had lost in Adam—the being in the image and likeness of God—we might
regain in Christ Jesus. (Against Heresies 3.18)
This is why the Lord declares himself to be the Son of Man because he recapitulates
[sums up] in himself the original man who was the source from which sprang the race
fashioned after woman; that as through the conquest of man our race went down to death,
so through the victory of man we might ascend to life. (21.1)
Luther saw this psalm as prophetic, referring to Christ’s passion, resurrection, and dominion over
all creatures.271
269
The author apparently had no interest in the Davidic stage of the psalm. But see Heb 4:7.
270
There is a remarkable textual variant here: “apart from God he might taste death on behalf of all.” The Greek words for grace
and without are very similar. But this is probably an example of changing the wording for theological bias—that God cannot
undergo change: see Comfort, New Testament Text, 697.
271
Manual, 33.
In sum, Jesus uses the term “son of man” to express solidarity with humanity, especially our
mortality and suffering, and redignifies the race through his destruction of sin and death.
Body
Paul immediately links Jesus as head to his body, the church, in the above citation. The author of
Hebrews presents Jesus as our high priest, who represents us before the Father. Those who are in
Christ represent God on earth, yearning for the return of Paradise.
D: The psalm addresses the perception of smallness: Who has not looked up on a starry, starry
night and not felt the vastness of the universe?272 We are tiny specks of conscious energy. Who
has not felt powerless like a child? Yet God made humans beings to rule over “the heavens and
earth.” He bestowed us with “glory and majesty.”273
Our sin made us small, but Jesus took our sin and died in our place: “the son of man did not
come to be served, but to serve and to give up his life (as) a ransom in exchange for many”
(Mark 10:45).274 He also took away our shame, and gave us his glory.
D: Wonder is fullest in the union of God’s two books, Scripture and Creation. “Given infinite
time, a monkey with a typewriter,” I was told, “would eventually type the works of
Shakespeare.” The Bible offers a richer theology that is more plausible: human beings hold a
special place in the universe. With oversized brains and a penchant for language, we alone can
respond to God’s prompt: “Look!” (Gen 1:31). Earth is perfectly placed. Most of the universe is
too cold for life, too far from the warmth of a star; other parts, like Mercury and Venus, too close
and too hot.275
Seeing Creation with Scripture, a diptych, “shapes content” and “suggests interpretations and
feelings.”276 Philo notes that the Genesis account was not a collection of mythical fictions, “but
modes of making ideas visible” (Op. 157 [LC 1:124-34]). Wonder “embraces surprise, enjoys the
excess and alteration which generate it, is constitutively open to the rewriting of the past as well
as the future, the making of new worlds.”277 The moon and stars are no longer disorienting.
Christ, the image of the invisible God, who reveals the transfigurative potential of the cosmos, is
the hinge. Rest restores this wonder.
What is man? According to the creation story, we consist of dirt and God’s breath:
Yahweh Elohim formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and the man became a nepeš. (Gen 2:7)
272
I remember, long ago, being given an award for something and walking outside at night and feeling that it was almost
worthless.
273
The Hebrew is difficult, but many agree with Gunkel: God “performs his great deeds through apparently insufficient means,
so that his power may be revealed all the more plainly”: cited in Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 181.
274
A ransom (Heb. kapor) is something paid in exchange for a life, typically someone who has been kidnapped (see Prov 13:8)
or charged with a serious crime (Exod 20:30).
275
Hermann, God, Science, and Humility, 38.
276
Pacal Lefévre, “Mise En Scène and Framing: Visual Storytelling in Lone Wolf and Cub,” 71-83.
277
Mary Baine Campbell, Wonder and Science: Imagining Worlds in Early Modern Europe (U.S.A.: Cornell University Press,
1999), 3.
51 Psalm 16 (15 OG)
We are spiritual dirt (psychosomatic unities), but formed into clay jars. The Hebrew word for
“male human being,” adam (‫)אָדָ ם‬, shares the same root with “ground” (‫) ֲאדָ מָה‬. God formed man;
in context, God gave us hands with opposable thumbs to cut channels for irrigation, cast seed,
cut the harvest, and separate the chaff from the head of grain; genitalia, for males and females to
consummate their attraction and populate the earth (Gen 1:28; 2:23-24).
But what of God’s breath? Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972) gave a series of lectures at Stanford
University entitled, Who is Man?278 He intentionally revolted from “What”:
As a thing man is explicable; as a person he is both a mystery and a surprise. As a thing

he is finite; as a person he is inexhaustible.279
S: Via Negativa: God is wholly other, experienced through wonder.
Via Analogia: Yet God is a person and can be spoken with. The psalm’s direct address (second
person) is rare.280 In Christ, the last Adam, God is no longer invisible. David sees the work of
God’s fingers (3), hands and feet (6) probably in a metaphorical sense (anthropomorphism). Yet
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. In the Gospels, we can watch his fingers, hands, and
feet.281 Ironically, “son of man” has never been an article of belief.
Psalm 16 (15 OG)
MT
A Miktam282 of David
Watch283 me, El, for in you I take refuge.284

2
I say to YHWH, “You are my Lord;
I have no goodness285 apart from you.”
3
As for the holy ones in the land,286
they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4
The sorrows of those who run after another god will multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
5
YHWH is my chosen portion287 and my cup;
278
Stanford, Ca.: Stanford University Press, 1965 [lectures given in 1963].
279
Who is Man, 28.
280
Kraus, Psalms, 1:179-80.
281
See, for example, Mark 7:33; John 8:6.
282
‫ ִמכ ְָתּ֥ם‬, “inscription” (OG)
283
Or “preserve” (ESV)
284
Or “seek refuge.”
285
Happiness, prosperity, welfare.
286
Or “in the earth”; Jewish interpretation reads this as a reference to burial.
52 Psalm 16 (15 OG)
you hold my lot.

6
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7
I bless YHWH who gives me counsel;
in the night also my kidneys instruct me.
8
I have set YHWH always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9
So my heart is glad, and my glory288 rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10
For you will not abandon my soul (nephesh) to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
11
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
OG
A stele inscription by David289
Guard me, Lord, because I hoped in you.

2
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord
because you have no need of my goods.”
3
As for the holy ones who are in his land (earth)—
he made marvelous all his desires among them.
4
Their weaknesses were multiplied;
after these things, they were quick;
I will not assemble their assemblies from bloods290
or remember their names through my lips.
5
(The) Lord is the portion of my inheritance
and of my cup.
“You are the one who restores to me my inheritance.”
6
Boundary lines dropped for me in the best spots.
For, indeed, my inheritance to me is most excellent.
7
I will bless the Lord who makes me understand;
Now until night my kidneys instructed me.
8
I was always seeing the Lord before me291
287
The OG interprets the difficult phrase as “inheritance.”
288
‫כָּבוֹד‬: ESV “whole being”
289
στηλογραφία τῷ ∆αυιδ.
290
NETS “because of spilled blood.”
291
προωρώµην τὸν κύριον ἐνώπιόν µου. The imperfect tense conveys imperfective aspect, which is reinforced by the adverbial
“always.” The middle voice is typical for actions of perception. προοράω in the middle means “to have before one’s eyes”
(BDAG).
53 Psalm 16 (15 OG)
because he is at my right (hand) that I might not be shaken.

9
For this (reason), my heart was happy,
and my tongue rejoiced;
Now still even my flesh will encamp in hope
10
because you will not abandon my psuchē to Hades
or give your devout over to see decay.
11
You made known to me ways of life.
You will fill me with gladness with your face;
at your right (hand) are pleasures292 forever.
Translation: There are significant differences between the Greek and Hebrew:
MT: “I have no goodness apart from you”

OG: “because you have no need of my goods” (v. 2)
MT: “they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight”

OG: “he made marvelous all his desires among them” (v. 3)
MT: “The sorrows of those who run after another god will multiply; their drink offerings of
blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips”
OG: “Their weaknesses were multiplied; after these things, they were quick; I will not assemble
their assemblies from bloods or remember their names through my lips” (v. 4). Verses 3 and 4
are textually problematic.
Perhaps the translator avoids associating kavod with human nature:
So my heart is glad, and my glory (kavod) rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For this (reason), my heart was happy, and my tongue rejoiced; now still even my flesh
will encamp in hope
However, the finale, the portion cited in the New Testament (see below), is similar.
David
P: The psalm may be divided in a confession of trust (v. 1) and exposition of that theme.293 It is
explicitly didactic (like Ps 1). It consists of five strophes: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-11. The first
establishes the theme of trust. Refuge in the Temple is a motif in the opening book of the
Psalter.294 The second strophe (vv. 3-4) is especially difficult. On the one hand, the first line may
have David claim friendship with the pious as a consequence of his intimacy with God. On the
other, he may refer to the righteous dead, a popular Jewish interpretation. The third strophe
292
L&S s.v. τερπνότης.
293
Mays, Psalms, 86.
294
5, 7, 11, 15: Brueggemann and Bellinger, Psalms, 85.
54 Psalm 16 (15 OG)
speaks of inheritance, but with an emphasis on YHWH himself being the treasure. The fourth
strophe models the devout life—continual meditation and with YHWH. The final strophe comes
full circle, re-emphasizing deliverance.
The Fathers generally only heard the voice of Christ in the Psalm.295 Augustine emphasizes
Christ as teacher, who models piety. But Diodore of Tarsus claims David prophesies firstly about
Hezekiah and then Christ. Although David was often in peril, the exigence of idolatry (vv. 3-4) is
more relevant to his descendant:
He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he
broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people
of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).5 He trusted in YHWH, the
God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor
among those who were before him. (2 Kings 18:4-5)
Theodore of Mopsuestia continues this reading, emphasizing the communal voice of the King.
There is room for such partial fulfillments.
Head
Jesus does not cite this psalm in the Gospels, but Peter and Paul hear at least the finale as his
speech to the Father in Acts. At Pentecost, Peter says:
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man commended to you by God
with power and wonder and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you
yourselves know, this one, who was handed over according to the determined plan and
foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hand of the lawless—concerning
whom God raised up, having loosed the birth pains of death because it was impossible for
him to be held by it. For David says concerning him: I was always seeing YHWH before
my face because he is at my right hand that I might not be shaken. For this (reason), my
heart was gladdened and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover, my flesh will nest in hope
because you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your holy one see corruption. You
made known to me the ways of life. You will fill me with gladness with your face. [Ps
16:8-11]296 (2:22-28)
Peter interprets the language as David writing about Christ, particularly his resurrection.297 He
then offers this interpretation:
Brothers, it is right to speak boldly to you about the patriarch David because he also died
and was buried; and his tomb is with us until this day. Therefore, being a prophet and
knowing that with an oath God swore to him from the fruit of his loins to set upon his
295
Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 308.
296
Face or “presence” forms an inclusio around this cited unit.
297
Limburg, Psalms, 48.
55 Psalm 16 (15 OG)
throne, seeing beforehand he spoke about the resurrection of Christ, so that he was not
abandoned to Hades or saw corruption. This Jesus God resurrected about whom we are
all witnesses. So being exalted to the right hand of God and receiving from the Father the
promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this that you also see and hear. For David did
not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: YHWH said to my Lord: sit at my right
(hand) until I put your enemies (under) the footstool of your feet. [Ps 110:1]298 So the
whole house of Israel must know for certain that God made him both Lord and Christ—
this Jesus whom you crucified.” (2:29-36)
Peter recontextualizes the language in light of Jesus’s resurrection and ascension. David seems
content to be saved from immediate peril, and is not necessarily referring to a resurrection from
Sheol. Indeed, his eschatology makes this unlikely (2 Sam 12:23).299
From the context, Luke implies Jesus gave Peter and the other apostles this interpretation after
his resurrection (Luke 24:44-45). This may simply be a fresh interpretation, but there is evidence
that Jews had been reading Psalm 16 with resurrection and messianic hope.300
Peter subjects the language to logic: if David refers to the resurrection, an assumed, communal
truth for the sake of argument, he must speak for someone else because of his nearby tomb. This
correlates with the Davidic Covenant.
Paul echoes Peter’s point in a sermon at Pisidion Antioch:
Now (proof) that he raised him from those who are dead—no longer about to return to
corruption he has spoken this way: I will give you the holy things and the faithful things
of David. [Isa 55:3] [35] Therefore, he also says in another (Scripture): I will not give
your holy one over to see corruption. [Ps 16:10] [36] For David, after serving God’s will
for his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers; and he saw corruption.
[37] But concerning whom God raised, he did not see corruption. (13;34-37)
The two Scriptures are linked by gezerah sheva, the linking words being “will give” and “holy.”
Collectively, for Paul, they signify the fulfillment of the David Covenant.
With this apostolic interpretation, we may look more closely at the language of the citation:
For David says concerning him: I was always seeing the Lord before my face because he
is at my right hand that I might not be shaken. For this (reason), my heart was gladdened
298
Another example of gezerah sheva. The Psalm is numbered 109 in some Greek translations. This exegesis begins with Jesus,
who distinguishes the Messiah from David’s son (Mark 12:35-37a pars.).
299
But we cannot be certain of this. What may be called a hyper literal reading was common at the time. If we take the words by
themselves, David could be referring to the experience of resurrection. Perhaps the language came from night instruction, a
dream or vision.
300
Midr. Ps 16.10-11 [on 16:9-10]; b. B. Bat. 17a [on 16:4]. Cited in Craig A. Evans and James A. Sanders, Luke as Scripture:
The Function of Sacred Tradition in Luke-Acts (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock, 2001) who conclude: “Luke’s interpretation is
therefore in essential agreement with Jewish interpretation,” 189. Although Rabbinic literature is from a later period, it is often
dependent on earlier tradition.
56 Psalm 16 (15 OG)
and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover, my flesh will nest in hope because you will not
abandon my soul to Hades or let your holy one see corruption. You made known to me
the ways of life. You will fill me with gladness with your face.
“Face” forms an inclusio around the citation. This is the Son’s speech to the Father, the
antecedent of “you.” The words depict Christ’s faith in the resurrection and Ascension. Like
other citations, the cry complements, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” The
Old Greek uses the same verb translated “abandoned” (ἐγκαταλείπω) for both psalms. Jesus
claimed he would suffer and die, but also be resurrected. He also warned his disciples not to fear
those who destroy the body, but God who could destroy body and psuchē (self, life, soul).
The language disallows a merely spiritual resurrection. Under normal conditions, a corpse begins
to “decay” after the third day. The resurrection involved the rescue of Jesus’s psuchē from
Hades, the place of no return, and the transfiguration (metamorphosis) of his body. It involves
the entire person, body and psuchē, because it’s the renewal of creation.
Body
Jesus or the church may have taken the community’s first name from this psalm—“the Way.”301
This path leads from death into life. The body is a constituent of the human being according to
the creation story.302 But after death, the body will disappear:
Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim

Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again,
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up
Thine individual being, shalt thou go
To mix for ever with the elements,
To be a brother to the insensible rock
And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
Turns with his share, and treads upon.303
But in Christ decomposition was arrested. The Christian tradition has attempted to preserve the
integrity of corpses. There was some concern in Rhode Island over the tree root that ate Roger
Williams (c. 1603 – 1683), which, in turn, produced apples eaten by others. But Roger is part of
Christ’s Body, which did not undergo corruption.
D: The author of Hebrews defines faith as “the being304 of things hoped for, the awareness305 of
things not seen” (11:1). James Mays notes: “The psalm teaches that trust is not merely a warm
feeling or a passing impulse in a time of trouble; it is a structure of acts and experiences that
open one’s consciousness to the LORD as the supreme reality of life.”306
301
Limburg, Psalms, 48-49.
302
See the remez at Psalm 8.
303
William Cullen Bryant, Thanatopsis.
304
Or subjectively “assurance” (1:3; 3:14).
305
Or “conviction” or “proof.”
306
Psalms, 86.
57 Psalm 22 (21 OG)
S: God is a place of refuge, joy. God does not abandon us, and is nightly counseling us through
conscience. Unlike idols, God is worthy of undivided focus.
Psalm 22 (21 OG)
MT
To the choir director: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm by David.
My El,307 my El, why have you left308 me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2
My Elohim, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not shamed.309
6
But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by mankind
and despised by the people.
7
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me;
they wag their heads;
8
“He trusts in YHWH;
let him deliver him;
let him rescue him,
for he delights in him!”310
9
Yet you are who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11
Be not far from me, for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.
12
Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
307
A common name for God in Scripture (HALOT s.v. ‫)אל‬.
308
HALOT s.v. ‫עזב‬: leave, let go, abandon.
309
HALOT s.v. ‫בושׁ‬.
310
Chiasm
58 Psalm 22 (21 OG)
14
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—311
17
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19
But you, YHWH, do not be far off!
You, my help, come quickly to my aid!
20
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
21
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22
I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23
You who fear the YHWH, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!312
24
For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard when he cried to him.
25
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him will praise YHWH!
May your hearts live forever!
27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the YHWH,
and all the families of the nations will worship before you.
28
For kingship belongs to YHWH,
and he rules over the nations.
29
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him will bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30
Posterity will serve him;
311
Or “as a lion, my hands and my feet.” ‫ א ֲִרי‬is lion. However, the letters may also reflect the root ‫כאר‬. If so, it is Piel infinitive
with a pronominal suffix (1st per. sg.), meaning “to pierce.” This is the reading of the Old Greek.
312
Chiasm
59 Psalm 22 (21 OG)
it will be told of YHWH to the coming generation;

31
they will come and proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
OG
For the end, on behalf of the help of the dawn

A Psalm by David
2
God, my God, attend to me: Why did you forsake me?313
Far away from my salvation are the words of my trespasses.
3
My God, I will cry by day and you do not listen,
and night and not for my folly.
4
But you, the praise of Israel,
reside in a holy place.
5
On you, our fathers hoped;
they hoped, and you delivered them.
6
To you they cried, and they were saved;
on you they hoped, and were not ashamed.
7
But I am a worm and not a human being,
a reproach of humanity and despised by people.
8
All who saw me mocked me;
they talked with the lips; they moved the head:
9
“He hoped on the Lord;
let him rescue him;
let him save him because he wants him,314
10
because you are the one who drew me from the womb,
my hope from the breasts of my mother.
11
On you I was cast from (my) mother,
from the womb of my mother you are my God.
12
Do not keep away from me,
because affliction is near,
because there is not helper.
13
Many bull calves encircled me;
fat bulls surrounded me;
14
they opened their mouths at me,
like a lion that raves and roars.
15
Like water I was poured out,
and all my bones were scattered;
my heart became like wax
melting within my chest.
16
My strength was dried up like a potsherd,
313
ἐγκαταλείπω, to separate connection with someone or someth., forsake, abandon, desert (BDAG).
314
Or “wills it.”
60 Psalm 22 (21 OG)
and my tongue has been joined to my throat,

and to the dust of death you dragged me down
17
because many dogs encircled me,
an assembly (synagogue) of evildoers surrounded me.
They gouged315 my hands and feet.
18
I counted all my bones,
but they took note and observed me.
19
They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
20
But you, Lord, do not put my help far away!
Attend to my help!
21
Deliver my psuchē from the sword,
and from a dog’s hand (claw) my only316 (psuchē).
22
Save me from a lion’s mouth,
and my lowliness from the horns of unicorns!317
23
I will tell of your name to my brothers;
In the middle of assembly (church), I will sing a hymn to you:
24
“The ones who fear YHWH praise him!
All the seed of Jacob glorify him!
All the seed of Israel must fear him!”
25
For he did not despise or scorn the petition of the destitute,
nor did he turn his face from me,
and when I cried to him he listened to me.
26
From you is my praise in the great assembly (church).
I will repay my vows before those who fear him.
27
The poor will eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek him will praise the Lord;
their hearts will live forever and ever.
28
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord.
And all the families of the Gentiles will worship before you,
29
because the Kingdom is the Lord’s,
and he himself is master over the Nations
30
All the fat ones of the earth ate and worshipped;
All who descend into the earth will fall down before him.
And my soul lives for him,
31
and my seed will serve him;
the coming generation will be announced to the Lord,
32
and they will announce his righteousness
to a people to be born, because the Lord acted.
P: This psalm is often classified a lament, but the language is more complex. It begins a
structure that incorporates the 23rd and 24th psalms:
315
BDAG s.v. ὀρύσσω, “make a hole in something.”
316
The adjective is feminine, suggesting ellipsis.
317
NETS “unicorns,” literally “one-horned.”
61 Psalm 22 (21 OG)
Lament (22:1-2)
Trust (22:3-5)
Lament (22:6-8)
Trust (22:9-10)
Petition (22:11)
Lament (22:12-18)
Petition (22:19-21)
Trust (Ps 23)
Praise (Ps 24)318
David
The Midrash Tehillim describes the psalm as a young David’s response to a wild ox attack while
shepherding.319God sent a lion to help. David offers a crisis liturgy, which moves through three
stages: lament (or expression), trust, and petition. The King feels distant from God, although he
gradually moves from El, the most transcendent name for God, to YHWH, the most
interpersonal.
Head
Psalm 22 is heavily cited in the New Testament and Fathers for its foreshadowing of the Passion.
Not surprisingly, the rabbis generally do not treat it as messianic.320 Jesus famously cites the
opening line, the “Cry of dereliction”:
And when it became the sixth hour, darkness came upon all the land until the ninth hour.
And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted with a great cry: “Elöi elöi lema sabachthani,”
which is translated, “My God, my God, why did you forsake me?” [Ps 22:1, Aramaic]
(Mark 15:33-34)
Mark records an Aramaic form of the saying. Presumably, this is Jesus’s ipsissima verba.
However, in the other occurrences, Jesus is either raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead or
casting out a demon—both of which are apropos to this final assault on Satan.
This is the final abandonment: Jesus has been rejected by his family, clan, community, temple,
and disciples. He is now godforsaken. He is divorced Israel in Exile.321 For Mark, they are
Jesus’s last words.
The citation does not occur in John or Luke, but does in a slightly different form in Matthew:
318
Flint, Miller, et al., Book of Psalms, 147.
319
Flint, Miller, et al., Book of Psalms, 147.
320
Rivka Ulmer, “Psalm 22 in Pesiqta Rabbati: The Suffering of the Jewish Messiah and Jesus,” in The Jewish Jesus: Revelation,
Reflection, Reclamation (Zev Garber, ed.; West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 2011), 106-130, 106. He suggests
Pesiqta Rabbati is a reaction to Christianity.
321
See John DelHousaye, “Jesus and the Meaning of Marriage: A Close Reading of Mark 10:1-12,” The Journal for Biblical
Manhood and Womanhood 21 (2016): 80-89.
62 Psalm 22 (21 OG)
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. Now
about the ninth hour Jesus shouted with a great cry, saying: “Eli, Eli, lema
sabachthani,322 which is (translated), “My God, my God, why did you forsake me?” [Ps
22:1, Hebrew] (Matt 27:45-46)
Some claim the language is Hebrew, but the transliteration into Greek is very similar.
Christ’s dread in the Garden has become realized, although psychological interpretations are
incomplete.323 Jesus is expressing, but also trusting and petitioning.324 We find this variant in
Luke’s presentation immediately before a citation from the psalm:
[“Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they are doing.”]325 Now while
dividing his clothing, they were casting lots. [Ps 22:18] (Luke 23:34)
Matthew expresses the element of trust:
Then they crucify two terrorists with him—one on (his) right and one on (his) left. Now
those passing-by were mocking him, shaking their heads [40] and saying: “He who
destroys the Temple and rebuilds (it) in three days—save yourself! If you are the son of
God, come down from the cross!”326 In the same way also the head priests are mocking
(him), along with the scribes and elders. They were saying: “He saved others. He cannot
save himself. He is King of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross, and we will
believe in him. He has trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he wants. [Ps 22:8]
(Matt 27:38-43)
All Four Gospels cite verse 18 as external validation of Jesus’s interpretation:
And they bring him to a place (called) Golgotha, which is translated “Place of the
Skull.”327 And they were offering him wine mixed with myrrh. But he did not receive it.
And they are crucifying him, and they divide his garments, casting a lot for them [Ps
22:18] [to see] who would take up what. (Mark 15:22-24 // Matt 27:33-35 // Luke 23:33-
35 // John 19:23-24)
322
Matthew adapts Mark’s spelling of the Aramaic of the Psalm into Hebrew, which also strengthens the connection with Elijah
in the subsequent verse.
323
Lane, Mark, 573; Rob Lister, God is Impassible and Impassioned:Toward a Theology of Divine Emotion (Wheaton, Ill.:
Crossway, 2013), 265.
324
Citing the first words was a way of referring to the entire text: Mays, Psalms, 105. Some challenge this view, preferring an
atomistic reading of the Cry of Dereliction. But the many allusions in Mark suggest otherwise: see Holly J. Carey, Jesus’ Cry
From the Cross: Towards a First-Century Understanding of the Intertextual Relationship between Psalm 22 and the Narrative of
Mark’s Gospel (New York: T&T Clark, 2009). See also Creach, Psalms, 87.
325
Although lacking in some important manuscripts, we find the theme of pardonable ignorance in Acts (3:17; 7:60; 13:27;
17:30). If not original, it may be a floating agraphon.
326
If you are the son of God: Perhaps Satan is speaking through the crowd (see Matt 4:3).
327
Presumably, the epithet is descriptive of a raised area that looked like a scroll. The traditional site is within the expanded city
wall in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
63 Psalm 23 (22 OG)
Body
The author of Hebrews draws out the solidarity with humanity that Jesus, our high priest,
expressed on the cross, which led to his resurrection and participation in corporate worship:
For both he who makes holy and those who are made holy328 are all from one (Father).329
For this reason, he is not ashamed to call them brothers, [12] saying: I proclaim your
name to my brothers. In the midst of the church,330 I will praise you [Ps 21:23 OG].331
[13] And again: I will be satisfied332 in him [Isa 8:17; 12:2 OG]. And again: Look—I and
the children God has given me [Isa 8:18 OG]. (Heb 2:11-13)
As Augustine notes, he “took on the speech of our infirmity.”333 Athanasius claims he “suffered
all this not on his own account but for us.”334 Cyril of Alexandria teaches: “for the sake of all he
tasted death.”335 And Gregory of Nazianzus: “he was in his own person representing us. For we
were the forsaken and the despised.”336
S: Ambrose insists that Jesus cries from his human nature, not as God.337 But I believe the Son
and Holy Spirit cry as God with us to the Father.
Psalm 23 (22 OG)
MT
A Psalm by David
YHWH as Shepherd
YHWH is my shepherding one;338 I will not want.

2
In pastures of grass, he makes me lie down;
beside waters of rest, he leads me.
3
My nephesh he refreshes.
He leads me into the (established) paths of righteousness because of his name.339
4
Indeed, if I walk in the valley of death-like shadows, I will not fear evil
328
This is an important corrective to Luther’s iustus et peccator simul.
329
(Father) = NRSV. Some believe, however, that one refers to a common humanity. The ESV retains the ambiguity with “one
source.”
330
Church or “assembly”: The psalmist originally praised God in the Temple.
331
Ps 22:22 MT. The crucified yet resurrected Messiah calls his brothers and sisters to worship with him.
332
NRSV: “I will put my trust.”
333
Letter 140, To Honoratus 5.
334
On The Interpretation of The Psalms 7.
335
Letter 17.11.
336
On The Son, Theological Oration 4(30).5.
337
On The Christian Faith 2.7.56.
338
Hebrew participle, or “my feeder.”
339
‫ ְב ַמ ְע ְגּ ֵלי־ ֗֜ ֶצדֶ ק‬or “wagon track”
64 Psalm 23 (22 OG)
because you are with me;

your rod and your staff they comfort me.
YHWH as Host
5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup is well-filled.
6
Surely goodness and lovingkindness (chesed) will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in YHWH’s house for length of days.340
OG
Psalm by David
(The) Lord shepherds341 me, and nothing will lack (for) me. [Mark 10:21]
2
In a verdant place, there he settled me;342 [Mark 6:39]
by restful water, he nourished343 me;
3
my psuchē he restored (visited).344
He led me into paths of righteousness because of his name.
4
For even if I go amidst death’s shadow, I will not fear evil (things),
because you are with me;
your rod and your staff they comforted me.
5
You prepared a table before me over against those who afflict me;
you anointed my head with oil,
and your cup was supremely intoxicating345 [John 2:10]
6
And your mercy will pursue me all the days of my life,
and my dwelling in the house of (the) Lord is for length of days.
Translation: The Greek appears to be a literal rendering of the Hebrew. “Goodness and
lovingkindness” are conflated into “mercy” (ἔλεός). The intoxicating potential of a “well-filled”
cup may be indelicately expressed, but is interpretively sound.
P: This psalm has been especially popular. It was a favorite among Renaissance poets because of
its pastoral links with Classical literature.346 Shepherds often describe the accuracy of the psalm
340
“Goodness” and “love” are “angelic helpers”: Eaton, Psalms, 124.
341
The liquid verb may be accented as a future: “will shepherd.” However, the present tense fits the context of YHWH’s
immediate presence (v. 4).
342
χλόη, Semitic genitive (description, adjectival), first plant growth in Spring; κατασκηνόω “cause to dwell,” with the
implication of rest and protection (Mark 4:32 // Matt 13:32)
343
Or “reared” (BDAG s.v. ἐκτρέφω).
344
With the accusative (transitive), in the dramatists, ἐπιστρέφω signifies turning one’s attention to, paying regard to, being intent
on (Sophocles, Phil., 599). In philosophy, it signifies returning to the ground of being or to oneself (Plotinus, Enn. 5.1, 1; 2, 1; 6,
7, 16). See TDNT 7:723.
345
τὸ ποτήριόν σου µεθύσκον ὡς κράτιστον (NETS)
346
Hannibal Hamlin, Psalm Culture and Early Modern English Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 147-
8.
65 Psalm 23 (22 OG)
from their experience.347 It is a masterpiece of economic expression, but rewards deeper

reflection.
Psalm 23 may be read as a response to the previous.348 Eaton notes: “To enter fully into the
peace of 23, the pilgrim must first make the daunting journey through 22, through that place
where the lonely representative suffers to the uttermost, holds true, and obtains victory; having
stood with him in that awesome place, the pilgrim will know the joy of the homecoming.”349
Formally, there is only testimony and trust.350 David celebrates YHWH’s provision and
presence. Psalm 23 has two parts: YHWH as shepherd (vv. 1-4) and host (vv. 5-6). The images
cohere in YHWH as a king who provides hospitality and protection. David is sheep and guest. At
the psalm’s center, a Semitic way of conveying emphasis, is a joyful confession: For you are
with me.351
David
For those familiar with David’s story in Scripture, this centerpiece is not surprising. Over and
over again, those who know the king say, “YHWH is with him.”352 Being human, they discern
God’s presence in his victories, but David also found God in suffering.
David is first introduced to us as a shepherd. The youngest of Jesse’s sons, he was not even
brought before Samuel for consideration, but was “keeping the sheep.”353 But as he became a
shepherd of Israel, according to the divine will, the king also came to see YHWH as his
shepherd.354
David sees a time in spring around noon when shepherds walk and water their flocks: Green
grass, calm waters, and a sunny day. Normally, kings went out to battle in spring; David became
lazy and succumbed to lust with Bathsheba. But David is writing about a third option—between
worldly affairs and vacation.
The scene suddenly darkens: the sun is gone (v. 4), and David is surrounded by death. But
something remarkable happens with the king’s language. Up to this point, he has been referring
to YHWH in the third person, but now he addresses God directly: “you are with me.”355 Prayer is
theology in the second person. We feast on God’s Word and return his promises in faith.
Now the shepherd is protector. The staff was used to assist struggling sheep up a hill or dark
path (Jer 2:6). The rod, a short wooden club, warded off carnivores. Before killing Philistines,
347
See the opening of Kenneth E. Bailey, The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to The New Testament
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2014).
348
Eaton attributes this insight to Delitzsch: Psalms, 123. Some see a close relationship between Psalms 22, 23, and 24.
349
Psalms, 124.
350
Eaton, Psalms, 123.
351
Limburg counts twenty-six words in either direction (not counting the title) (Psalms, 73).
352
For the refrain, see 1 Sam 16:18; 18:14; 2 Sam 5:10. YHWH also speaks to David throughout his campaign.
353
1 Sam 16:11. See also 16:19; 17:15.
354
2 Sam 5:2. Generally, the theme of YHWH as shepherd in Scripture is applied to national destiny.
355
66 Psalm 23 (22 OG)
David had clubbed lions and bears (1 Sam 17:34-36). Despite suffering for his sin, the king was
extremely fortunate in life. Goliath and Saul, the tallest most powerful men in the land, could not
kill him. By YHWH’s mercy, not even his terrible sins killed him.
Another scene shift and we are at a banquet where YHWH is host. Perhaps David thought of his
kindness toward Mephibosheth, who was brought to him physically broken, but was given an
inheritance and a permanent place at his table.356 He remembers his anointing when “the Spirit
of YHWH rushed upon” him “from that day forward.”357 David always had enemies—
foreigners, neighbors, even his own sons—but YWHW delivered him to old age. The cup is a
festive motif (see Ps 16:5).
The meditation leads David to yearn for the house of the (Lord). He wanted to build YHWH a
suitable dwelling, a temple, but instead was promised a descendant who would do that.
Head
Jesus, the son of David, echoes Psalm 23 throughout his ministry. The king’s words become his
own. He is “anointed” and filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. He is nourished and
protected by God, often departing the action to be alone with his Father in prayer.358 Even on the
cross he entrusts his soul to the Father.
Like David, he also becomes a shepherd of God’s people, but without sin. He is the “good
shepherd,” who makes thousands lie down in green pastures and feeds them bread and fish.359 He
prepares a table of bread and wine before his enemies. Unlike David, he sacrifices his “soul”
(psuchē) for the sheep, dying in their place, that they might live forever in God’s house.360 To
those who are like “sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus says, “Come to me . . . and you will find
rest for your souls,” because he is Immanuel, “God with us.”
D: As the body of Christ, the words of our head may become our own. Psalm 23 is always a
good word, but especially when we feel powerless and lost. This is not a psalm about self-help,
but trust. The same God who demonstrated his faithfulness three thousand years ago in the life of
David and two thousand years ago in Christ is with us today. God is faithful, and there is never a
time when he is not shepherding us.
“He restoreth my soul,” the King James says. For a long time, I avoided vacations because they
made me sad. Apparently, this is a common problem—“vacation depression”—and may explain
why fewer and fewer Americans take time away from their jobs. I would stuff my body with
food and candy, but felt empty.
356
2 Sam 9:1-13.
357
1 Sam 16:13.
358
For spiritual nourishment, see Matt 4:4 par.; John 4:34.
359
McCann, Introduction, 135.
360
John 10:1-18; 14:1-4. See also Heb 13:20-21.
67 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
When I was a child, my dad would often speak at family camps during the summer and I was
forced to go along. I remember being dumfounded that people chose this experience over, say,
Disneyland. I couldn’t wait to grow up and take real vacations. But, as I said, they quickly lost
their allure. What I didn’t realize is that my soul was starving. We live in a culture that feeds the
body, but starves the soul.
If this is not always apparent, we can look back on our life and see the shepherd’s hand.
God has also given us undershepherds, pastors. The Father shepherds the Son, who shepherds the
apostles, who passed the responsibility on to elders and pastors, who are to shepherd the people
(John 21:16; 1 Pet 5:1-4). Pastors shepherd as they are shepherded by Christ.
Western shepherds typically drive their sheep, often with a sheep dog. But their Near Eastern
counterparts lead their flocks by calling them to follow him.361
But we can also ask ourselves, am I good sheep and guest? According to Jesus, a good sheep
listens for the voice of the shepherd and follows. A good guest dresses appropriately—that is,
showing honor and gratitude.
Jesus has prepared a table before us. We have been anointed by the Holy Spirit, who leads as we
follow. YHWH is our shepherd; we shall not want because we are with the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit forever. Amen.
S: Shepherds do not take vacations; the sheep would be killed or lost. Fortunately, God does not
require time off. He is eternally present, wise, and resourceful.
The good shepherd feeds and guides. He knows where to find pastures and pools.362 He is alert.
Here is another Father and Son conversation: “the psalm has fullest depth when related to Christ
and his Father.”363
Psalm 31 (30 OG)
MT
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
In you, YHWH, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2
Incline your ear to me;
Quickly save me!
361
Andreas J. Köstenberger, John (BECNT; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2004), 301.
362
Eaton, Psalms, 123.
363
Eaton, Psalms, 124.
68 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!
3
For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;
4
you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
5
Into your hand I entrust my spirit;364
you have redeemed me, YHWH, faithful El.365
6
I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in YHWH.366
7
I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have known the distress of my soul,
8
and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.
9
Be gracious to me, YHWH, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
10
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
11
Because of all my adversaries
I have become a reproach,
especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12
I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13
For I hear the whispering of many
—terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
14
But I trust in you, YHWH;
I say, “You are my Elohim.”
15
My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies
and from my persecutors!
16
Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!
17
YHWH, let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon you;
364
The meaning of the Hebrew verb ‫“( ָפּקַד‬entrust”) is disputed (HALOT). In the hiphil, it may signify entrusting with an official
duty. The Greek translator found an approximate verb, παρατίθηµι, which could signify entrusting for safe keeping: Tob. 1.14;
4.1, 20; 1 Macc. 9.35; see BDAG.
365
The adjective (‫ ) ֱא ֶמת‬plays off “entrust.”
366
The verb (‫ )בּטַח‬signifies trust or “to cause to rely on” (HALOT).
69 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go silently to Sheol.
18
Let the lying lips be mute,
which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.
19
Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
20
In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
21
Blessed be YHWH,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
22
I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
23
Love YHWH, all you his saints!
YHWH preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage—
all you who wait upon YHWH!
OG
For the end, a Psalm by David [of ecstasy]367
Plea
2
On you, Lord, I hoped;
let me never be ashamed;
by your righteousness [justice], deliver me,
even take me!368
3
Incline your ear to me;
be quick to take me.
Become for me a protector-God369
and for a house of refuge, to save me,
4
because you are my strength and my refuge;
and because of your name, you will guide and maintain [nourish] me.
5
You will lead me out of this trap, which they hid against me,
because you are my protector.
6
Into your hands, I will entrust my spirit.
Thanksgiving
367
NETS omits.
368
ἐξαίρω
369
ὑπερασπιστής “protector” (NETS).
70 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
You redeemed me, Lord, God of faithfulness (trustworthiness).370

7
You hated those who persist in empty vanities,
but I hoped on YHWH.
8
I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy
because you gazed upon my humility [distress]371;
you saved my soul [life]372 from distresses;
9
And you did not shut me up into the hands of the enemy;
you set my feet in a wide place.
Extended Plea
10
Mercy me, Lord, because I am afflicted;
my eye is troubled with indignation,
my soul and my belly,
11
because my life is spent with grief
and my years with groanings.
My strength became weakened through poverty,
and my bones became troubled.373
12
I became a reproach among all my enemies,
but exceedingly so to my neighbors,
and a fear to my acquaintances;
they who saw me lacking fled from me.
13
I was forgotten like a dead man, out of mind.
I became like a broken vessel,374
14
because I heard the slander of many who live around here;
when they were gathered together against me,
they took counsel to take my life [soul].375
15
But I hoped in you, Lord;
I said, “You are my God.
16
My (life) seasons are in your hands;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies
and from them that persecute me.
17
Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your mercy.”
18
Lord, let me not be ashamed, for I called upon you;
let the ungodly be ashamed, and be brought down to Hades.
19
Let the deceitful lips become dumb that speak iniquity
against the righteous, with pride and scorn.
370
The Hebrew is ‫אל אֱמֶ ֽת‬.
ֵ֣
371
ταπείνωσις, a reversal of fortune
372
ψυχή
373
A similar line occurs at 6:3.
374
See 2 Cor 4:7
375
See John 11:53
71 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
20
How abundant is the multitude of your kindness, Lord,
which you laid up for them that fear you!
You wrought it out for them that hope on you
in the presence of the sons of men.
21
You will hide them in the secret of your presence from the vexation of people;
You will screen them in a tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.
22
Blessed is the Lord because he magnified his mercy in a fortified city.
23
But I said in my ecstasy,376
“I am cast out from the sight of your eyes.”
So you heard, Lord, the voice of my supplication
when I cried out to you.
Exhortation
24
Love the Lord, all you his saints,
Because the Lord looks for faithfulness (trustworthiness)
and renders [judgment] to them that deal very proudly.
25
Act like a man, and let your heart [mind] be strengthened—
all who hope upon Lord.
Psalm 31 is eclectic: lamentation, thanksgiving, possibly even ecstasy contribute to its form.377
The final stanza, an exhortation that may presuppose a liturgical setting, is framed by inclusio:
“all you his saints . . . all who hope upon YHWH.”
David
David expresses “pain that involves the entire person,” and yet lovingly trusts and hopes in
God.378 His situation is vague, which may have been pastorally intentional. When does a king
know poverty? But as representative and leader for God’s people, the language is appropriate,
even necessary. What good king is ignorant of poverty?
David moves from a crisis involving shame (v. 2) and possibly physical harm to weariness of
life: “my life is spent with grief and my years with groanings.” This sounds like older David. He
describes alienation that comes from depression and weakness from poverty.
R: Writing long after Moses, David describes a personal exodus (v. 6).379 The rabbis claim that
God’s central redeeming act was to be recapitulated in each life of God’s people, but this raises a
question: Why a messiah?380
376
NETS prefers “alarm.”
377
ἔκστασις, which occurs in some inscriptions, also occurs in the psalm (v. 23). The word describes standing outside oneself
because of an intensely emotional and/or spiritual experience.
378
379
Subramanian, Synoptic Gospels, 87.
380
Rowan Williams summarizes the doctrine: “The event of Jesus remakes humanity, by its enactment of archetypal human
situations in such a way as to direct them Godward”: The Wound of Knowledge: Christian Spirituality from the New Testament to
Saint John of the Cross (Cambridge, Mass.: Cowley Publications, 1990), 39. He notes the Pauline connection.
72 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
Head
For Matthew, Jesus as Messiah involves recapitulating Israel’s salvation history. In his opening,
he retells the Exodus story as fulfilled (actualized) in Jesus: “out of Egypt I called my son” (1:15,
citing Hos 11:1).381
John appropriates the psalm for the same motif, but also to explain the hostility of the religious
leaders:
Now he did not say this by himself. But instead being the high priest that year he
[Caiaphas] prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation
only, but rather that the children of God, who have been scattered, may be gathered into
one [group]. So from that day, they took counsel in order to kill him.382 [Ps 31:13 (OG
30:14)] (John 11:51-53)
The language of gathering into one group may echo Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which had
been dispatched to the region a decade or two earlier. For both apostles, Jesus repeats and
completes the story (history) of not just Israel, but humanity after the Fall. All are “scattered”
from the Garden of Eden.
Luke offers a special detail in his version of the Transfiguration:
Two men, who were Moses and Elijah, were speaking with him, who, having been seen
in glory were speaking about his exodus (ἔξοδος), which he was about to fulfill in
Jerusalem. (9:30-31)
Anna, the prophetess who follows Simeon, relates the infant Jesus to “the redemption of
Jerusalem” (2:38). This is to fulfill the Law (Moses) and Prophets (Elijah), as Jesus would
explain to his disciples after the resurrection.
In Luke, Jesus cites this psalm as his final word: 383
“Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” (31:6)384
‫וּח֥י‬
ִ ‫( ְבּי ָדְ ָ֘ך אַפ ִ ְ֪קיד ֫ר‬31:6)
εἰς χεῖράς σου παραθήσοµαι τὸ πνεῦµά µου (30:6)
πάτερ, εἰς χεῖράς σου παρατίθεµαι τὸ πνεῦµά µου. (Luke 23:46)
381
See Joel Kennedy, The Recapitulation of Israel: Use of Israel’s History in Matthew 1:1—4:11 (WUNT 257; Germany: Mohr
Siebeck, 2008). For this reason, Herod seems to be channeling Pharaoh’s murderous intent (Matt 3:16, alluding to Exod 1:16).
Like Moses, Jesus is protected and spends time in Egypt.
382
ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνης οὖν τῆς ἡµέρας ἐβουλεύσαντο ἵνα ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτόν.
383
Redaction critics maintain Luke corrected the cry of dereliction we find in Mark and Matthew: Susan R. Garrett, The
Temptations of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1998), 130. But this is a shallow reading of Psalm 22
(21), which culminates in faith.
384
A similar line terminates Psalm 2. Awkwardly, there are three versifications in the textual tradition. The citation is 31:5 in
most English Bibles, 30:6 in the OG, and 31:6 in MT.
73 Psalm 31 (30 OG)
Jesus may change the future tense (“I will entrust”) to the present (“I entrust” or “am entrusting”)
as a fulfillment of prophecy. (Luke carefully follows the LXX and presumably would have been
sensitive to the difference.) As we saw in Psalm 22, trust is part of the crisis liturgy.
The citation expresses his “unshakable trust in God as Father.”385 Luke has emphasized Jesus’s
innocence.386
God the Father responds to the faithfulness of the Son by being faithful himself—raising the Son
from the dead (Acts 2:32). This exodus leads up to Paradise, God’s presence. Jesus is resurrected
and ascends beside Jerusalem.
Body
In the late twentieth century, spilling into the twenty-first, there was much discussion over the
relationship between the faith of Jesus and his followers. The New Testament requires personal
faith for salvation, but this faith apparently originates in Jesus himself, which is why mature
Christians look, see, and act like Christ. Solidarity in the king’s devotion to his god is an ancient
truism.387
Stephen echoes the psalm at his death—one of several links with the Passion (Acts 7:59). Now
the faith statement is directed toward “Lord Jesus.”
When Francis heard the locution from the cross in the church of San Damiano, “go and repair my
house, which, as you see, is all being destroyed,” and began to obey, his father attempted to
hinder him. So Francis hid himself in a pit and, with tears, prayed for God to “deliver him from
the hands of those who were persecuting his soul” (Ps 31:16; Major Legend, ch. 2). He later
embraced persecution as a way of drawing closer to YHWH: “he would rather hear himself
blamed than praised” (Ps 31:14; Major Legend, ch. 6).
John Huss (d. 1415) ascended the stake reciting this psalm.388 Luther writes: “this Psalm is the
general and continual cry of Christ and his members, groaning and sighing under the cross and
varied afflictions. For the Church is a congregation of afflicted, poor, and tried persons.”389
D: If God is our refuge, we are all refugees.390 The Christian life is a journey between Egypt and
the Promised Land, between the cross and glorification.
S: David opens by appealing to God’s righteousness or justice (‫צְדָ קָה‬, δικαιοσύνη). The Hebrew,
when applied to a person, may signify equitableness, which fits the context: David wants God to
intervene because he is innocent and the oppressor guilty.391
385
Subramanian, 88.
386
Luke 23:4, 14-15; Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14. The psalm may have influenced Luke’s redaction of Mark, having the centurion
declare “this man was righteous” (23:47): J. Samuel Subramanian, The Synoptic Gospels and The Psalms as Prophecy (New
York: T&T Clark, 2007), 87.
387
388
Terrien, Psalms, 3.
389
Manual, 86.
390
Adeyemo, Africa Bible Commentary, 643.
74 Psalm 34 (33 OG)
Psalm 34 (33 OG)
MT
By David, when he changed his judgment before Abimelech,
so that he drove him out, and he walked away.
I will bless YHWH at all times;

his praise will continually be in my mouth.
2
My soul (nephesh) makes its boast in YHWH;
let the humble392 hear and hurray.393
3
Magnify YHWH with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4
I sought YHWH, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5
Those who look to him will shine,394
and their faces will never be ashamed.
6
This humble395 man cried, and YHWH heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7
The messenger396 of YHWH encamps around those who fear him,
and delivers them.
8
Taste397 and see that YHWH is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9
Fear YHWH, his saints!
For those who fear him have no lack!
10
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek YHWH lack no good thing.
11
Come, sons, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of YHWH.
12
What man is there who desires life and loves many days,
that he may see good?
13
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15
The eyes of YHWH are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16
The face of YHWH is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17
When the righteous cry for help, YHWH hears
391
HALOT s.v. ‫צְדָ קָה‬
392
Or “poor” ( ‫) ֲענ ִָו֣ים‬.
393
Similar verbs: ‫שׁמ ְ֖עוּ‬ ְ ִ ‫ י‬and ‫ ְויִשְׂמָ ֽחוּ‬.
394
‫נהר‬: see Isa 60:5; Jer 31:12.
395
Or “poor” ( ‫) ָע ִנ֣י‬. The ESV is inconsistent (see v. 2).
396
Or “angel” ( ‫) ַמ ְלאְַך‬.
397
HALOT offers three glosses for ‫טעם‬: 1 testing the flavor of dishes—taste; 2 savoring food—eat; and 3 perceiving by
experiencing. This passage is assigned to the latter.
75 Psalm 34 (33 OG)
and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18
YHWH is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but YHWH delivers him out of them all.
20
He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21
Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22
YHWH redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
OG
1
By David, when he changed his face before Abimelech; and he let him go, and he departed.
2
I will bless the Lord in every season;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
3
In the Lord, my soul will be praised.398
Let the humble (πραΰς) hear and rejoice.
4
Magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
5
I sought the Lord, and he listened to me
and delivered me from all my wanderings.
6
Draw near to him and be enlightened
and your faces will not be ashamed!
7
This destitute one (πτωχός) cried, [Matt 5:3]
and the Lord listened to him
and saved him from all his afflictions.
8
An angel of the Lord will encamp around them
that fear him and will deliver them. [Matt 1:20; 2:13, 19]
9
Taste and see that the Lord is kind. [1 Pet 2:3]
Blessed is the man who hopes in him!
10
Fear THE LORD, his holy ones,
for there is no want to those who fear him.
11
The rich have become destitute and hungry,
but they who seek THE LORD will not want any good thing.399
Pause.
12
Come, children, hear me:
I will teach you the fear of the Lord. [Matt 11:28-30]
398
Perhaps the middle is intended.
399
The contrast is signaled by δέ.
76 Psalm 34 (33 OG)
13
What person is there who desires life
and loves to see good days?
14
Stop your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking guile.
15
seek peace and pursue it.400
16
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous [‫צדִּ יק‬, δίκαιος],
and his ears to their prayers.
17
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, [1 Pet 3:10-12]
to destroy their memorial from the earth.
18
The righteous401 cried, and the Lord listened to them
and delivered them out of all their afflictions.
19
The Lord is near to those who have been crushed in heart
and will save the lowly in spirit (τοὺς ταπεινοὺς τῷ πνεύµατι). [Matt 5:3]
20
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
and out of all of them he will deliver them.
21
The Lord guards all their bones;
not one of them shall be broken. [Exod 12:46 // Num 9:12; John 19:31-36]
22
The death of sinners is evil,
and they who hate the righteous one will go wrong.
23
The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants,
and none of those who hope in him will go wrong.
P: In Hebrew, the Psalm is a nearly complete alphabet acrostic.402 It is pedagogical like Psalm 1.
David
The inscription describes the psalm as David’s response to a certain Abimelech. According to 1
Samuel, the king’s name is Achish (21:10), but ‫ִימלְֶך‬
֑ ֶ ‫ ֲאב‬probably functions as a title “my father is
403
king.”
The opening stanza (vv. 1-11) is David’s thanksgiving for deliverance. He serves as worship
leader, moving from personal experience to exhortation. David transitions to sage in the second
stanza (vv. 12-23).
R: David seems to apply Passover language to the righteous: “The Lord guards all their bones;
not one of them will be broken, κύριος φυλάσσει πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτῶν ἓν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ
συντριβήσεται”:
“You shall not break any of its bones”
‫שׁבְּרוּ־בֽוֹ‬
ְ ִ‫ו ֶ ְ֖עצֶם ֹל֥ א ת‬
400
Chiasm
401
Previous reference article: v. 16.
402
See also Psalm 25. It lacks a line for the sixth letter vav, and there is an additional line at the end.
403
Abimelech may be a Semitic equivalent to Achish. It may be a title like Pharaoh.
77 Psalm 34 (33 OG)
καὶ ὀστοῦν οὐ συντρίψετε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ (Exod 12:46).404
James Hamilton notes, David “seems to be speaking of his own preservation as though he is a
kind of Passover lamb for those who are aligned with him.”405 The allusion allows a corporate
benefit, a “new Exodus,” a theme we encountered in Psalm 31.
Head
This, in turn, encourages a typological reading for Christ:
So the Jews, since it was the day of Preparation, so that bodies would not remain on the
crosses on the Sabbath—for that Sabbath was a high day—asked Pilate that their legs
might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the
legs of the first and the other, who was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus,
as they already saw that he was dead, did not break his legs. But rather one of the soldiers
with a spear pierced his side, and immediately blood and water came out. And the one
who has seen has witnessed, and his witness is true. And he knows that he speaks truth,
so that you might believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be
fulfilled: Not a bone of his will be broken [Ps 34:20 [33:21 OG]; Exod 12:10, 46]. (John
19:31-36)
Interpreters look to Exodus or this psalm, but this is probably a loose citation of David’s allusion
to the Pentateuch (a “reuse” of language).406
John’s citation—ὀστοῦν οὐ συντριβήσεται αὐτοῦ—is closer to the Masoretic text:
‫שׁבָּ ָֽרה‬
ְ ִ‫אַח֥ת ֵ֜מ ֵ֗הנָּה ֹל֣ א נ‬
ַ ‫ְמוֹתיו‬
֑ ָ ‫שׁ ֹמֵ ֥ר כָּל־ ַעצ‬
He keeps all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
The Old Greek, as we have it, refers to a righteous group: “YHWH will guard all their bones: not
one of them shall be broken.” The switch to the singular in Hebrew may have signaled a
messianic reading.
Christians, then, were not the first to relate the Passover lamb to a person. This reading was
presumably available to Jesus for his self-understanding. But with Christ, there’s escalation: The
lamb is sacrificed and consumed; David passes naturally.
According to Marianne Meye Thompson, the language presents
404
See Exod 12:46; see John 1:29, 35. Beale and Carson, Commentary, 503; Donald Senior, The Passion of Jesus in The Gospel
of John (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1991), 122.
405
James M. Hamilton, What is Biblical Theology; A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns (Wheaton, Ill.:
Crossway, 2014), 84.
406
the passive voice (“will be broken”) vs. the active in Exodus; a promise vs. a command; the context of the persecuted
righteous.
78 Psalm 34 (33 OG)
Jesus, not as a desperate King seeking protection from his enemies and rescue by a
seemingly absent God, but as a righteous King vindicated by God against those who
falsely accuse and pursue him.407
Body
Peter cites this psalm twice.
Therefore, after laying aside all vice and all deceit and hypocrisy and jealousy and all
slanders, like newborn babies, hunger for408 spiritual, guileless409 milk so that by it you
may grow up into410 salvation, if you tasted that the Lord is fine. [Ps 33:9 OG/34:8
MT]411 (1 Pet 2:1)
In context, the “Lord” is Jesus Christ (2:4). Peter is probably alluding to the baptism of the
readers and their experience of communion, although it may also be hearing the gospel. In any
case, Peter encourages his readers to experience the ultimate signified of David’s language: the
presence of God in Christ:
For this (reason), you were called, that you might inherit a blessing: For the one who
desires life, to love and to see good days, he must stop his tongue from evil, and his lips,
which speak guile. He must turn aside from evil and practice good. Let him seek peace,
even crave it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the just [righteous], and his ears [listen]
to their prayers-of-request. But the face of the Lord is against those who practice evil.
[Ps 34:13-17 (OG 33)] (1 Pet 3:9-12)
The Lord Jesus watches and hears the prayers of the tsaddīk.
D: A hasidik story relates the tasting verse to Yom kippur:
On the eve of the Day of Atonement, at the meal which precedes the fast, Rabbi Barukh
distributed sweets among his hasidim at his table, and said: “I love you greatly and
whatever good I see in the world, I should like to give you. Keep in mind what is said in
the psalm: “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Just taste—in the right sense of the
word—and you will see: wherever there is something good, there He is.” And he broke
into the song: “How good is our God, how fair is our lot.”412
407
“They Bear Witness to Me”: Psalms in the Passion Narrative of the Gospel of John,” in The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays on
Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays (J. Ross Wagner, C. Kavin Rowe, and A. Katherine Grieb; Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Eerdmans, 2008), 267-283, 279.
408
Hunger or “lust” for (epipotheō)—a redirection of our deepest passions and desires.
409
Guileless (adolon) contrasts with the vice “guile” (dolon) at v. 1.
410
Into (εἰς): Spatial Accusative (Wallace 1996, 369-371).
411
Fine or “kind” (chrēstos)—probably a pun on “Christ” (Christos)—is used to describe fine wine (Luke 5:39). The underlying
Hebrew is similar in meaning to the Arabic taiyib, “pure, clean, wholesome, nourishing, and pleasing to the taste” (see S.2
A.168).
412
Tr. Buber, 1:91.
79 Psalm 37 [36 OG]
The Psalm offer one of the richest teachings on prayer in the canon. The aim is being a tsaddīk
(‫צדִּ יק‬, δίκαιος), like Psalm 1. It requires right language (v. 14) and right behavior (v. 15).
S: “YHWH is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (18).
Psalm 37 [36 OG]
MT
Of David.
Do not anger yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
3
Trust in YHWH, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4
Delight yourself in YHWH,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5
Commit your way to YHWH;
trust in him, and he will act.
6
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
7
Be still before YHWH and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Do not anger yourself; it tends only to evil.
9
For the evildoers will be cut off,
but those who wait for YHWH will inherit the land.
10
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11
But the humble will inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
12
The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him,
13
but YHWH laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
14
The wicked draw the sword
and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose way is upright;
15
their sword will enter their own heart,
and their bows will be broken.
16
Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17
For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
80 Psalm 37 [36 OG]
but YHWH upholds the righteous.

18
YHWH knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19
they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20
But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of YHWH are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21
The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives;
22
for those blessed by YHWH will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be cut off.
23
The steps of a man are established by YHWH,
when he delights in his way;
24
though he fall, he will not be cast headlong,
for YHWH upholds his hand.
25
I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
26
He is ever lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27
so will you dwell forever.
28
For YHWH loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked will be cut off.
29
The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
30
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31
The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.
32
The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33
YHWH will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34
Wait for YHWH and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
36
But he passed away, and look: he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37
Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
81 Psalm 37 [36 OG]
38
But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39
The salvation of the righteous is from YHWH;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40
YHWH helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
OG
of David
1
Do not be provoked by evil-doers
or zealous towards those practicing lawlessness,
2
because like grass they will soon be withered,
and like green herbs413 they will soon fall away.
3
Hope on the Lord and practice kindness and dwell on the land,
and you will be shepherded by its wealth.
4
Take delight from the Lord,414
and he will give you the requests of your heart.
5
Reveal to the Lord your way and hope on him,
and he himself will act.
6
And he will bring forth your righteousness [justice] as a light
and your judgment as noon.
7
Submit yourself to the Lord and supplicate him.
Do not be jealous because of him that prospers in his way,
because of the man that does unlawful deeds.
8
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not be jealous so as to do evil,
9
because evil-doers will be destroyed.
But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land.
10
And yet a little while, and the sinner will not exist;
and you will seek for his place, and will never find (it).
11
But the humble will inherit the land,
and they will take delight in the abundance of peace.
12
The sinner will watch for the righteous,
and will gnash his teeth upon him.
13
But the Lord will laugh at him,
because he foresees that his day will come.
14
The sinners drew their swords;
they bent their bow
to cast down the destitute and needy one,
to slay the upright in heart.
15
Let their sword enter into their own heart,
and their bows be broken.
413
The first growth in Spring (L&S).
414
κατατρυφάω L&S
82 Psalm 37 [36 OG]
16
A little is better to the righteous
than abundant wealth of sinners.
17
For the arms of sinners will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18
The Lord knows the ways of the unblemished,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19
They will not be ashamed in an evil season;
and in days of famine they will be satisfied.
20
For the sinners will destroy themselves;
the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honored
and exalted have utterly vanished like smoke.
21
The sinner borrows and will not pay again,
but the righteous has compassion and gives.
22
For they who bless him will inherit the earth,
and they who curse him will be utterly destroyed.
23
The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord,
and he will take pleasure in his way.
24
When he falls, he shall not be ruined,
because the Lord supports his hand.
25
I was young; indeed I am now old,
but I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed seeking bread.
26
He is merciful and lends continually,
and his seed will be blessed.
27
Turn aside from evil and do good
and dwell forever,
28
because the Lord loves judgment
and will not forsake his saints;
they will be preserved forever;
the blameless will be avenged,
but the seed of the ungodly will be utterly destroyed.
29
But the righteous will inherit the land,
and they will dwell on it forever.
30
The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom,
and his tongue will speak of judgment.415
31
The law of his God is in his heart,
and his steps will not slide.
32
The sinner watches the righteous,
and seeks to kill him.
33
But the Lord will not leave him in his hands,
nor by any means condemn him when he is judged.
34
Wait on the Lord, and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit fully the land:
415
Synecdoche.
83 Psalm 37 [36 OG]
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see (it).

35
I saw the ungodly very highly exalting himself,
and lifting himself up like the cedars of Lebanon.
36
And I passed by, and behold! he was not:
and I sought him, and his place was not found.
37
Guard innocence and behold uprightness,
because there is a remnant to the peaceable man.
38
But the transgressors will be utterly destroyed together;
the remnants of the ungodly will be utterly destroyed.
39
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord;
and he is their defender in the season of affliction.
40
And the Lord will help them and deliver them;
and he will rescue them from sinners
and save them, because they hoped in him.
David
David assures the righteous and humble one that God will judge the sinner. The mode is simply
vita brevis. The reversal primarily impacts their children. The exigence appears to be land
ownership: its right inheritance is a motif (vv. 8, 11, 22, 29, 34). In agrarian economies, like the
Ancient Near East, land is wealth.
Head
The influence of the Psalter on the Beatitudes is documented. Medieval commentators used the
psalms to elucidate them.416Jesus appropriates the language for his third beatitude:
“Blessed are the humble because they shall inherit the land” (Matt 5:5).
Psalm 37:11 (36:11 in the OG) reads:
But the humble will inherit land, and will delight (themselves) in the abundance of
peace.417
Not recognizing the allusion, translations often render the beatitude globally: “they shall inherit
the earth” (KJV, NIV, ESV). Escalation is possible, although Jesus may be assuring the tsaddīk
that he will inherit a plot to get his hands dirty. Irenaeus records a saying of Jesus (agraphon),
which does not occur in the Gospels:
The blessing thus foretold undoubtedly belongs to the times of the kingdom, when the
righteous will rise from those who are dead and reign, when creation, too, renewed and
freed from bondage, will produce an abundance of food all kinds from the dew of heaven
and from the fertility of the earth, as the elders, who saw John the disciple of the Lord,
416
See, for example, Liber Manualis by Dhuoda of Septimania.
417
οἱ δὲ πραεῖς κληρονοµήσουσιν γῆν // µακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονοµήσουσιν τὴν γῆν (Matt 5:5). The Greek is a
faithful translation of the Hebrew: ‫שׁוּ־א ֶרץ‬
ָ֑ ‫ ַו ֲענ ִָו֥ים ִי ְֽיר‬.
84 Psalm 40 [39 OG]
remembered having heard from him how the Lord used to teach about those times and
say:
“Days will come, when vines will grow, each having ten thousand shoots, and on each
shoot ten thousand branches, and on each branch ten thousand twigs, and on each twig
ten thousand clusters, and in each cluster ten thousand grapes, and each grape when
crushed shall yield twenty-five measures of wine. [3] And when one of the holy ones
takes hold of a cluster, another cluster will cry out: “I am better, take me, bless the Lord
through me.” [4] Similarly, a grain of wheat will produce ten thousand heads, and every
head will have ten thousand grains, and every grain ten pounds of fine flour, white and
clean. [5] And the other fruits, seeds, and grass will produce in similar proportions, and
all the animals feeding on these fruits produced by the soil will in turn become peaceful
and harmonious toward one another, and fully subject to humankind.”
Papias, a man of the early period, who was a hearer of John and a companion of
Polycarp, bears witness to these things in writing in the fourth of his books, for there are
five books composed by him. And he goes on to say: “These things are believable to
those who believe.” “And,” he says, “when Judas the traitor did not believe and asked:
‘How, then, will such growth be accomplished by the Lord?’ the Lord said: ‘Those who
live until those times will see.’” (Against Heresies 5.33.3-4)
The prophecy marks the reversal of the curse on the land after the fall (Gen 3:17-19).
Psalm 40 [39 OG]
OG
For the end, a Psalm by David
Praise
2
I waited and waited418 for the Lord,
and he attended me
and listened to my supplication.
3
And he led me out of a pit of misery
and from miry clay,
and he stood my feet upon a rock
and guided my steps.419
4
And he cast420 into my mouth a new song,
a hymn421 to our God;
418
Cognate repetition (ὑποµένων ὑπέµεινα, “Waiting, I waited.” A literal translation of the Hebrew ‫ ) ַק ֣וֹּה ִק ִוּ֣יתִי‬intensifies the
action: Van Harn et al., Psalms for Preaching and Worship, 149. For the translation, see de Claisse et al., Psalms, 372. The Greek
verb more often signifies endurance in the NT.
419
διάβηµα
420
ἐµβάλλω, usually a forced movement (BDAG).
85 Psalm 40 [39 OG]
many will see and be afraid

and will hope on the Lord.
5
Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord,
and did not look into empty (gods) and false delusions.422
6
Lord, my God, you multiplied your wonderful works,
and in your thoughts there is none who will be likened to you;
I declared and spoke: they exceeded number.
7
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but ears you prepared for me;
whole-burnt-offering and (sacrifice) for sin you did not request.
8
Then I said, “Look: I have come;
in the roll of a scroll it has been written of me,
9
I desired to do your will, my God, and your Law
in the midst of my belly.423
10
I proclaimed the good news of righteousness
in a great church;424
Look: I will never close my lips;
Lord, you have known.425
11
I did not hide your righteousness426 in my heart;
I spoke about your truth and your salvation.
I did not hide your mercy and your truth from the great synagogue.427
Prayer
12
But you, Lord, do not remove your compassionate mercies from me;
your mercy and your truth helped me through everything.
13
For evils circled me of which there is no number.428
My acts of lawlessness took hold of me, and I could not see;
they are multiplied more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart failed me.
14
Be pleased [appeased], Lord, to deliver me;
Lord, draw near to help me.
15
Let those who seek my soul to destroy it be ashamed and confounded together;
let those who wish me evil be turned backward and put to shame.
16
Let those who say to me, “Well done, well done,” quickly receive shame for their reward.
17
Let all who seek you, Lord, exult and rejoice in you;
and let them who love your salvation say continually, “the Lord be magnified!”
421
Or “song of praise”
422
The line differs considerably from the MT: ‫ֶל־ר ָה ִ֗בים ְושׂ ֵָט֥י ָכ ָז ֽב‬
ְ֜ ‫וְ ֹֽלא־פָנָ ֥ה א‬, “and does not turn toward idols, and those who swerve
after a lie” (de Classe et al., Psalms, 373). According to them, “pride” is a dubious rendering. The OG translates καὶ οὐκ
ἐνέβλεψεν εἰς µαταιότητας καὶ µανίας ψευδεῖς. The generic µαταιότητας “empty things” refers to gods (Ps 31:7[6]/OG 30:7).
µανίας ψευδεῖς describes the effect of idolatrous worship—what today is called mental illness (see Acts 26:24).
423
BDAG s.v. κοιλία: “seat of inward life, of feelings and desires, belly.”
424
εὐηγγελισάµην δικαιοσύνην ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ µεγάλῃ. Here, “church” has the less abstract sense of “assembly.”
425
Aorist: ἔγνως.
426
This could also be the object of the previous clause (Brenton).
427
Here, “synagogue” has the less abstract sense of “assembly.”
428
κακός as a substantive neuter may signify temptations (James 1:13).
86 Psalm 40 [39 OG]
18
But I am destitute and poor; the Lord will take care of me;
You are my helper and my defender, my God: do not delay!
P: The psalm moves from thanksgiving (praise) to lament (prayer), an unusual order.429 But
moving from speech about God to addressing God is natural, or at least it should be.
David
David describes being thrown into an exhausted cistern, a common practice of internment. There
is no record of this, but the image captured his experience.430 He meditates on the theological
virtue of hope. God did not immediately deliver the king from the gloomy hole.
But then God intervenes and completely reverses the situation—death to life, shame to glory,
chaos to order, danger to safety, loneliness to fellowship. Once delivered, David cannot but
worship and proclaim the good news of God’s justice (righteousness).431 His personal
deliverance gave hope to others. Part of salvation is reintegration into community.432
R: This psalm meditates on the sacrificial regulations in the Torah: “Sacrifice (θυσία) and
offering (προσφορά) you did not desire . . . whole-burnt-offering and (sacrifice) for sin you did
not request” (7).433 θυσία signifies the act or object of offering. The same can be said for
προσφορά, which emphasizes the voluntary aspect. From ὁλοκαύτωµα is derived the English
“holocaust”; it described the complete consumption (incineration) of the sacrifice.
Head
The author of Hebrews writes:
So when he [Christ] comes into the world, he says: Sacrifice and offering you did not
desire, but you prepared a body for me. Whole burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sins
you did not desire. Then I said: “Look—in the roll of a scroll it has been written of me, I
have come to do your will, God.” [Ps 40:7-9] After saying above: Sacrifices and offerings
and whole burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sins you did not desire, nor did you take
pleasure [in them], which are offered according to the Law, then he has said: Look—I
have come to perform your will. He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
(Heb 10:5-9)
The Old Greek rendering is essential for the meaning.434
The Son addresses the Father: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire. Instead, the Father
willed the incarnation to replace outward sacrifice with the perfect offering of Jesus, our high
429
The lament portion parallels Ps 70.
430
Othmar Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms (tran.
Timothy J. Hallett; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1997), 69-72. Jeremiah suffered this way (Jer 38:1-13).
431
David internalizes Torah, but externalizes the gospel.
432
Van Harn et al., Psalms for Preaching and Worship, 147.
433
Grogan, Psalms, 350.
434
Compare with MT: “ears you have dug [opened] for me.”
87 Psalm 40 [39 OG]
priest. At the core of the citation is a union of wills (Matt 6:10; Mark 14:36). The Gospels
present Jesus as sympathetic to this prophetic critique.435
The psalm has a petition that seems to anticipate the Father’s response at Jesus’s baptism:
Be pleased [appeased], Lord, to deliver me
εὐδόκησον κύριε
And it came about in those days (that) Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was
baptized into the Jordan by John. And rising out of the water, suddenly he saw the
heavens tearing apart and the Spirit descending like a dove into him. And there was a
voice from the heavens: “You are my beloved Son. In you I am pleased [appeased].”
[Gen 22:12; Ps 2:7] (Mark 1:9-11)
ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα
Some rabbis claimed God stopped speaking directly to human beings after Malachi—“when the
Holy Spirit ceased from Israel” (t. Sot. 13.2)—but might communicate through a bat kol
(“daughter of a voice”) or “the coo of dove.” The echo declared Hillel worthy of the Shekinah or
divine presence.436 The verb eudokeō (εὐδοκέω) is often translated “pleased”; but in the
Septuagint, the action describes God’s gracious acceptance of sacrifice, as the context suggests
in Psalm 40 and Mark’s Gospel, which culminates in the Passion.437
At Jesus’s baptism, the Father may have responded also to the subsequent petition by sending the
Holy Spirit:
Lord, draw near to help me.
Perhaps Jesus was engaging this psalm before the theophany and locution, as Luke suggests:
Now this happened: when all the people had been baptized and Jesus had been baptized
and was praying (προσεύχοµαι), the heaven was opened (Luke 3:21)438
Finally, the opening line was fulfilled, for Christ, in the resurrection: he was literally rescued
from “the pit” (see also Ps 16).
Body
The crucified yet resurrected Lord says, “I proclaimed the good news of righteousness in a great
church,” a reference to his continuing presence in Christian worship.
435
See, for example, Mark 12:33.
436
Harvey Falk, Jesus the Pharisee, 43.
437
TDNT 2:738-39; see, for example, Lev 7:18; Ps 50:18 [MT 51:16]; Sir. 31:23. This may be correlated with The Lamb of God
saying (John 1:28-31).It may not be accidental that the verb shares the same prefix as euangelion (“good news” or “gospel”).
438
See Ps 38:18 OG.
88 Psalm 41 [40 OG]
D: Luther notes: “This Psalm is a prophecy, and the voice of Christ himself; where Christ
himself says, that he was heard in the midst of the agony of death. And it is also a beautiful
example and consolation for the whole church, and for all the members of Christ,—that God will
never forsake any of those that believe in him, when agonizing in the same manner, if they cry
unto him, and call upon him in the midst of the horrible pit and terrors of death.”439
Now we may address the unusual order of the psalm: thanksgiving naturally follows lament, but
David is exhorting us to have a history with God. Meditating on YHWH’s faithfulness in the past
encourages faith for the present.440
David describes a kind of mental illness, which he associates with departing from truth or reality.
We should not absolutize the causation for all mental illness, but Scripture offers an important
variable for self-care and therapeutic treatment.
The schizophrenic experience can be a terrifying journey through a world of madness no

one can understand, particularly the person traveling through it. It is a journey through a
world that is deranged, empty, and devoid of anchors to reality. You feel very much
alone. You find it easier to withdraw than cope with a reality that is incongruent with
your fantasy world. You feel tormented by distorted perceptions. You cannot distinguish
what is real from what is unreal.441
There are two kinds of mental illness, which can be distinguished for reflection but not
ontologically separated: 1) alienation from empirical reality and 2) revealed reality. The first
atrophies the outer person; the second, the inner. We must therefore consume all that God gives
for the complete person, for body and soul.
Psalm 41 [40 OG]
MT
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

In the day of trouble YHWH delivers him;
2
YHWH protects him and keeps him alive.
He is called blessed in the land:
You do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3
YHWH sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness you restore him to full health.
439
Manual, 118.
440
Van Harn et al., Psalms for Preaching and Worship, 148.
441
Janice C. Jordan, Schizophrenia Bulletin 21 (1995), n.p.
89 Psalm 41 [40 OG]
4
As for me, I said, “YHWH, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
5
My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6
And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
while his heart gathers iniquity;
when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
8
They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9
Even my man of peace in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10
But you, YHWH, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!
11
By this I know that you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
13
Blessed442 is YHWH, Elohim of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
OG
1
For the end, a Psalm by David
2
Blessed443 is the one who considers a destitute and needy (person):
The Lord will deliver him in an evil day.444
3
May the Lord preserve him and keep him alive
and bless him on the earth—
not deliver him into the hands of his enemy!
4
May the Lord help him on the bed of his suffering;
You made all his bed in his sickness.
5
I said, “Lord, mercy me;
Heal my soul because I sinned against you.”
6
My enemies spoke evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
7
And when he would come to see (me), he spoke vainly;
His heart gathered lawlessness to himself;
He would go out and speak (this way).
8
All my enemies were whispering against me,
442
HALOT s.v. “‫ברך‬.”
443
µακάριος (cf. the final line).
444
SOTM: “the days are evil.”
90 Psalm 41 [40 OG]
against me they were devising evil for me.

9
They denounced a wicked word against me:
“Now that he lies, shall he not rise up again?”
10
For even the man of my peace in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, lifted up (his) heel against me.
11
But you, Lord, mercy me and raise me up,
and I will repay them.445
12
By this I know that you have desired me,
because my enemy will never rejoice over me.
13
But you helped me because of (my) innocence
and established me before you forever.
14
Blessed446 is YHWH, God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting.
So be it, so be it.
Translation: There is a line marking the end of the first book in Septuaginta.
P: This is an individual prayer for deliverance. The psalm is bounded by an inclusio of blessing,
which focuses first on the worshipper and then YHWH and employs different verbs.447
David
This psalm expresses the pain of betrayal, the loss of friendship. The Hebrew ‫ְלוֹמי‬
ִ֙ ‫ ִ ֤אישׁ שׁ‬is
variously translated: “bosom” (NRSV), “close” (ESV), or “familiar friend” (NKJV). Instead of
taking or attempting vengeance, David petitions YHWH.
Head
Jesus applies the psalm to Judas Iscariot:
If you know these things, you are blessed (µακάριοί) if you do them. [Ps 41:1] I do not
speak of all of you. I know the ones I chose, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled: The
one who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me. [Ps 41:9] From now on I am
telling you before it happens, that when it does happen, you may believe that I am. Amen,
amen, I say to you: the one who receives whomever I send receives me, and he who
receives me receives him who sent me.” [Ps 40:13] (John 13:17-20)
To betray someone after sharing his table, a sign of friendship, was especially abhorrent. John
emphasizes this by implying that Judas occupied a place of honor before departing into the night.
445
‫ שׁלם‬is ambiguous, referring to making peace or “pay back” (HALOT). Samuel Terrien favors the former: “Would the lover of
God ask for a return to health in order to avenge himself on his adversaries and return evil for evil? Or could it be that he would
hope to reestablish with his enemies a relation of reciprocal peace?”: Psalms, 346. But ἀνταποδίδωµι has a retributive sense. This
can be seen in the NT citations (Rom 12:49; Heb 10:30) of Deut 32:25. Retributive justice is a motif in the Psalter.
446
εὐλογητóς.
447
See the opening and closing lines of Psalm 1 and 2.
91 Psalms 42-43 [OG 41-42]—Yearning
The distinctive verb translated “eats” (τρώγω) evokes the earlier invitation to consume his flesh
(6:54). Jesus is not simply sharing bread, but his life. In the Passover meal (sedar), the
unleavened bread (matza) represents enslavement and freedom.
Origen argues from the citation that Judas was originally good, but became corrupted.448 In any
case, Psalm 41 may provide some Jesus’s emotional response to the betrayal.
Body
The psalm ends with Jesus’s distinctive “Amen, amen,” which looks forward to the inclusion of
other believers. By receiving the apostolic witness, the Body receives the Son and Father (John
14:23). In horrific contrast, Judas receives Satan (13:27).
Psalms 42-43 [OG 41-42]—Yearning
OG
For the end, a Psalm for understanding, by the sons of Korah

2
As the deer longs449 for the streams (πηγή) of water,
so my soul longs for you, God.
3
My soul thirsted for the living God.
When will I come and appear before the face of God?
4
My tears have been bread to me day and night
while they450 daily say to me, “Where is your God?”
5
I remembered these things and poured out my soul in me,
because I will go to the place of your wondrous tabernacle,
to the house of God,
with a voice of exultation and thanksgiving
and of the sound of those who keep festival.
6
Why are you deeply grieved, soul?
and why do you trouble me?
Hope in God; for I will give thanks to him,
the salvation of my face, my God.
7
My soul became troubled within me:
For this (reason), I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
and of the Ermonites, from the little hill.
8
Deep calls deep at the voice of your conduits:
all your billows and your waves passed through me.
9
By day the Lord will command his mercy;
448
Cane, The Place of Judas, 91. He cites from Origen’s Commentary on John 32.159.
449
“to have a strong desire for someth., with implication of need, long for, desire”: BDAG s.v. ἐπιποθέω
450
Indefinite subject
by night, a song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.
10
I will say to God, “You are my helper:451
Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go about sad, while my enemy oppresses?”
11
While my bones were breaking,
they that afflicted me reproached me;
while they said to me daily, “Where is your God?”
12
Why are you very sad, soul?
Hope in God because I will give thanks to him,
P: The sons of Korah or Korahites were temple singers in the monarchic period.
Psalm 43
OG
A Psalm by David
Judge me, God,

and plead my cause against an ungodly nation:
deliver me from an unjust and crafty man.
2
For you, God, are my strength:
why do you reject me?
And why do I go about depressed
while my enemy oppresses?
3
Send forth your light and your truth.
They led me and brought me to your holy mountain
and to your tabernacles.
4
And I will go in to the altar of God,
to God who gladdens my youth:
I will give thanks to you on the harp,
God, my God.
5
Why are you deeply grieved, soul?
Hope in God because I will give thanks to him,
P: These were originally one lament psalm.452 They open the second book of the Psalter, which
records the lowest point in Israel’s relationship with God:
451
ἀντιλήπτωρ, protector
452
James Limburg, Psalms (Louisville, Ky.: Westminister John Knox, 2000), 142. Psalm 43 lacks a heading in MT; see also note
in the Hebrew.
You have rejected us and disgraced us . . .

You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.
You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face . . .
All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant. (Ps 44:9-17 ESV)
The raw emotion is angry, even accusatory. In this case, YHWH did not fulfill the promises of
the opening Psalm. The language opens a crisis of faith. The psalmist feels sad, which is equated
with a feeling of being abandoned by God. He is relatively far from Jerusalem. He addresses his
own soul, but with the aim of making a deep connection with God.
R: Habakkuk echoes the opening line (3:17-19).
Head
Jesus cites the refrain, which divides the psalms into three subunits.
And they go into a place, which is named Gethsemane. And he says to his disciples: “Sit
here until I have prayed.” And he brings along Peter and Jacob and John with him. And
he began to be overwhelmed and deeply troubled.453 And he says to them: “My soul is
deeply grieved . . . to death! Remain here, and watch!” (Mark 14:32-34 // Matt 26-36-38):
περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή µου ἕως θανάτου454
Jesus not only bore our sin, but felt the basis for our complaint.
Body
Bonaventure finds an answer to the opening desire in Jesus’s chest, “a pleasant and sacred place
of rest.”455
D: Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, who lost nine of her nineteen children
before reaching adulthood, writes: “Help me, O Lord, to make a true use of all disappointments
and calamities in this life, in such a way they may unite my heart more closely with you. Cause
them to separate my affections from worldly things and inspire my soul with more vigor in the
pursuit of true happiness.” Detachment (not indifference) is essential for the Christian journey,
which incorporates loss and suffering.
453
The initial verb (ekthambeomai) describes an intensely emotion state of despair or bewilderment (BDAG). The subsequent
verb makes the state even more intense.
454
The Evangelists offer the same wording for the citation. The noun περίλυπός occurs only twice in the psalms (41:6; 42:5).
455
Tree of Life 16, tr. Cousins, 139.
94 Psalm 45 [44 OG]
Jesus offers a genuine path to detachment—one that does not sidestep the reality of trauma. What
of a mother, who, instead of praying like Susanna, cries, “I hate you”? Expression has its own
integrity and is part of the sequence of faith and petition as one moves from disorientation to
reorientation.
Psalm 45 [44 OG]
MT
For the choir director,456 according to lilies,457 a maskil458 by the sons of Korah, a love song
Poet Opens
2
My heart is aroused
with a good message;
I address my works to the King;
my tongue, a pen
of a ready459 scribe.460
Praises the Groom

3
You are the most beautiful of the sons of men [adam];
grace461 is poured on your lips.462
So Elohim blessed you forever.
4
Gird your sword on your thigh, mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
5
In your majesty
ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness463 and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome works!
6
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the nations fall under you.
7
Your throne, Elohim, is forever and ever;
a rod of uprightness is the rod of your kingdom.
8
You loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
456
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. See the inscription at Psalm 6.
457
Uncertain meaning.
458
Uncertain meaning; the Greek reads εἰς σύνεσιν “for insight” or “meditation”
459
Or “skilled”
460
Asyndetic tricolon
461
Charm, favor, elegance
462
The king’s lips may be the source or object of the action.
463
Uncertain meaning
95 Psalm 45 [44 OG]
So Elohim, your Elohim anointed you with the oil of joy464

beyond your friends;
9
Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.
Praises the Bride

10
Daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
11
Hear, daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father’s house,
12
and the king will desire465 your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
13
The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
the richest of the people.
14
All glorious is the princess in her chamber,
with robes interwoven with gold.
15
In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
with her virgin friends following behind her.
16
With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
17
In place of your fathers will be your sons;
you will make them princes in all the earth.
Poet Closes
18
I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations.
So nations will praise [confess]466 you forever and ever.
OG
1
For the end, on behalf of alternations,467 by the sons of Korah, a song on behalf of the beloved
for insight
2
My heart gushed468 a good word:
I declare my works469 before the king;
my tongue, a pen of a fast-writing470 scribe.471
3
You are more beautiful472 than the sons of men;
464
‫שָׂשׂוֹן‬
465
Crave for, lust after. The hithpael may have an intensive meaning.
466
‫ידה‬
467
L&S s.v. ἀλλοιόω—to make different, to change, alter.
468
L&S s.v. ἐξερεύγοµαι—Pass., of rivers, to empty themselves, Hdt.
469
In this case, the stanzas before us.
470
L&S s.v. ὀξυγράφος—writing fast.
471
ὀξυγράφος, fast writing (L&S)
472
Two adjectives for emphasis: ὡραῖος κάλλει. The second is normally spelled with a single lambda in the NT.
96 Psalm 45 [44 OG]
grace was poured out on473 your lips.

Because of this, God blessed you forever.
4
Strap your broad sword on your thigh, Mighty One, [Rev 19:15-16]
with your youthful bloom474 and your beauty.
5
And bend (your bow)475 and prosper476 and reign
because of truth and meekness and righteousness (justice)477;
and your right hand will guide you wonderfully.
6
Your arrows are sharpened, Mighty One.
Nations will fall under you
in the heart of the king’s enemies.
7
Your throne, God, is forever and ever:
a staff of uprightness is the staff of your reign.
8
You loved righteousness (justice) and hated lawlessness.
Because of this, God, your God, anointed (ἔχρισέν) you with the oil of joy478
beyond your partners [partakers].479 [Heb 1:8]
9
Myrrh and myrrh oil480 and cassia481 are (wafting) from your garments.
From the citadels of ivory of which they delighted you.
10
daughters of kings in your honor.
The queen stood by at your right hand, clothed in vesture wrought with gold,
arrayed in diverse colors.
11
Hear, daughter, and see and incline your ear.
And forget also your people and your father’s house.
12
For the king desired (ἐπεθύµησεν) your beauty,
because he is your Lord.
13
And the daughters of Tyre will adore [worship] him with gifts;482
the rich of the people of the land will supplicate before483 your face.
14
All her glory is of the daughter of the king within,
robed in golden fringed garments,
embroidered.
15
Virgins will be brought to the king after her;
her neighbors will be brought to you.
16
They will be brought with gladness and exultation;
they will be led into the king’s temple (ναός).
17
In the place of your fathers, sons are born to you;
473
Or by (instrumental dative).
474
ὡραιότης
475
L&S s.v. ἐντείνω—to stretch a bow tight, i. e. string it for shooting
476
L&S s.v. κατευοδόω.
477
L&S s.v. δικαιοσύνη.
478
BDAG s.v. “ἀγαλλίασις” = ‫שׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן‬ֶ i.e. the oil w. which people anointed themselves at festivals).
479
BDAG offers both senses: s.v. µέτοχος.
480
L&S s.v. στακτή, “oil of myrrh”
481
L&S s.v. κασία, “an Arabian spice like cinnamon, but of inferior quality”
482
See magi in Matt
483
L&S s.v. λιτανεύω, “to pray, entreat, esp. for protection.”
97 Psalm 45 [44 OG]
You will make them rulers over all the earth.

18
They will remember [mention] your name from generation to generation.
Because of this, the nations will confess you
forever and forever and ever.
P: This is the only wedding or “love song” ( ‫ִיד ֹת‬ ֣ ִ in the Psalter.484 The rare Hebrew ‫ י ְדִ ידוֹת‬is
ֽ ‫)שׁיר יְד‬
translated ᾠδὴ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ, “a song for the beloved.”485 The setting is the King’s
wedding day, which ends in erotic consummation and the promise of children.
It is comprised of an authorial inclusio and two units that celebrate the groom and bride
respectively:
Poet Opens (v. 2)

Praises the Groom (vv. 3-9)
Praises the Bride (vv. 10-17)
Poet Concludes (v. 18)486
The first unit echoes the victory language of Psalm 2. The anointing makes the King an
intermediary. He represents God in rule, the people in prayer. The central concern of the King,
warrior and groom, is growing and maintaining his kingdom; the bride, loyalty and progeny.487
He is especially close to God (Elohim), sharing his attributes. The second unit incorporates more
of the senses: smelling and hearing.
R: On the one hand, scholars find the psalm to be out of place in the canon. The princess is to
leave her father’s house in keeping with the first commandment in Genesis, although this creates
a tension with Esther.488 The praise and trust in a king also stands in tension with
Deuteronomy.489
On the other, Psalm 45 anticipates Song of Solomon.490 They echo one another, and the
messianism of this psalm (see below) illumined the ultimate meaning of the Song.491
Head
The targum interprets Psalm 45 messianically: “Your beauty, King Messiah, is greater than that
of the sons of man.”492
484
Nancy R. Bowen, “A Fairy Tale Wedding? A Feminist Intertextual Reading of Psalm 45,” in A God So Near: Essays on Old
Testament Theology in Honor or Patrick D. Miller (Brent A. Strawn and Nancy R. Bowen, eds.; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns,
2003), 53-72, 53.
485
See ‫“ י ָדִ יד‬beloved” (Isa 5:1).
486
Adapted from Declaissé-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner, Psalms, 417.
487
Bowen, “A Fairy Tale Wedding,” 56.
488
Noted by Brooke Lemmons Deale, “Divine Queenship and Psalm 45” (Ph.D. diss., Brite Divinity School, 2007), 165.
489
Noted by Brueggemann and Bellinger, Psalms, 213.
490
So Jonathan Edwards: Barshinger, Edwards and the Psalms, 179-180.
491
Jocelyn McWhirter, The Bridegroom Messiah and the People of God: Marriage in the Fourth Gospels (Society for New
Testament Studies Monograph Series 13; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
98 Psalm 45 [44 OG]
Jesus does not cite the psalm, unless his observation about lilies is a subtle allusion. But its
language is echoed throughout John, which presents Jesus as groom, an emphasis we also find in
Paul’s letters.493
The author of Hebrews writes:
Towards the Son [they say]: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, [And the] staff of
justice, [the] staff of your kingdom. You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. For
this (reason) God, your God anointed you with the oil of gladness above your
companions. [Ps 44:7 OG]494 (1:8-9)
Translations typically add to the Greek of verse eight, assuming the Father speaks (ESV “he
says”), but there is no introductory verb to the citation. Instead, the context suggests the angels
respond to the Father’s distinction between them and the Son. This is especially clear in the line
“your God anointed you,” referring to the Son’s role as messiah, which literally describes the
smearing oil. In fulfillment of Psalm 2, Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit at his Baptism.495
Body
Luther lectured on Psalm 45 from August to November in 1532. Georg Rörer passed his notes to
Veit Dietrich who prepared them for publication, although the Reformer was reluctant lacking
time for editing and revision.496
Luther interpreted this psalm as an allegory of Christ, the groom, and the church, his bride: “the
church has everything which belongs to Christ . . . so that whatever belongs to the church
belongs to Christ and whatever belongs to Christ belongs to the church.”497 He finds the alien
righteousness of Christ: “internally I am beautiful by an alien adornment.”498
Worship is entirely adoration of the King.499 It is the continual renewal of the mind concerning
the person of Christ and promise of grace.500 “Not only has the divine worship ceased, but the
temple and Jerusalem have been destroyed, and the Jews have been dispersed throughout the
492
See Declaissé-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner, Psalms, 416; Irving Jacobs, The Midrashic Process: Tradition and
Interpretation in Rabbinic Judaism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 98. The Aramaic is given in Evans, Jesus
and His Contemporaries, 176.
493
Günter Reim, “Jesus as God in the Fourth Gospel: The Old Testament Background,” NTS 30 (1984): 158-160; McWhirter,
Bridegroom Messiah, 106-122.
494
The Father anointed (ekrisen) Jesus through the Holy Spirit for ministry at his baptism. In context, the companions
(metachous) could be the angels, thereby, emphasizing their subordinate role. But it may also refer to the fact that among all
Jesus’ contemporaries, including John the Baptist, the Father chose only one to accomplish his salvation. According to John,
when the Baptist witnessed the anointing of Jesus by the Holy Spirit he began to subordinate his own ministry (John 1:33-34;
3:27-36).
495
See also Justin Martyr, Dialogue 38.3; 56.14; 63.4-6; 86.3.
496
Nathan Montover, Luther’s Revolution: The Political Dimensions of Martin Luther’s Universal Priesthood (Cambridge:
James Clarke and Co., 2011), 59. For the lectures, see LW 12.vii-viii.
497
LW 12:260. Tapert and Lehmann, eds.; Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 34.
498
LW 12:279.
499
Montover, Luther’s Revolution, 60.
500
Whiting, Luther in English, 131.
99 Psalm 45 [44 OG]
entire world—and justly.”501 In a Good Friday sermon on the Psalm, given many years before
(1518), Luther claimed our prayer should be to see Christ “with the eyes of the soul,” not
through “the eyes of those who know according to the flesh,” like Pilate.502 He gave a sermon on
Isaiah 53 the same day, emphasizing the seeming contradiction as a vision of flesh vs. spirit.503
Calvin also reads the psalm Christologically: “there can be no doubt, that under this figure the
majesty, wealth, and extent of Christ’s kingdom are described and illustrated by appropriate
terms, to teach the faithful that there is no felicity greater or more desirable than to live under the
reign of this king, and to be subject to his government.”504
D: Walter Bruegemann and William Bellinger dismiss the psalm’s relevance as a “cultural
artifact.” They are disturbed by its non-democratic, emperor worship ideology.505 However, as
they note, Jews and Christians read this psalm messianically. If the final line is to square with
reality, it must refer to Christ or a still future messiah.
The psalmist celebrates the beauty (‫ )יפה‬of the groom and bride, the attraction of goodness (‫)צדֶ ק‬
and truth (‫) ֱאמֶת‬. Plato (c. 427-347 BC) writes:
One who contemplates absolute beauty and is in constant union with it will be able to
bring forth not mere reflected images of goodness but true goodness, because one will be
in contact not with a reflection but with the truth. (Symposium; tr. Hamilton).
The King is the most beautiful. The goal of discipleship is beholding the face of the Beloved.
Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 – after 394) writes:
Hope always draws the soul from the beauty which is seen to what is beyond, always
kindles the desire for the hidden through what is constantly perceived. Therefore, the
ardent lover of beauty, although receiving what is always visible as an image of what he
desires, yet longs to be filled with the very stamp of the archetype.506
Michelangelo (1475 – 1564):
Every beauty which is seen here below by persons of perception resembles more than
anything else that celestial source from which we all are come . . . My eyes longing for
501
Michael S. Whiting, Luther in English: The Influence of His Theology of Law and Gospel On Early English Evangelicals
(1525-35) (Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick, 2010), 131.
502
Robin Maas and Gabriel O’Donnell, eds., Spiritual Traditions for the Contemporary Church (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990),
147.
503
Roland H. Bainton, ed., Martin Luther’s Easter Book (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1999), 83.
504
Tr. Anderson, 2:173.
505
Psalms, 215.
506
Life of Moses 231, trs. Malherbe and Ferguson, 114.
100 Psalm 48 [47 OG]
beautiful things together with my soul longing for salvation have no other power to
ascend to heaven than the contemplation of beautiful things.507
The only time Aquinas is recorded losing his temper is when his brothers snuck a prostitute into
his room. Chasing her from the room with a fire brand, he burnt a cross on the closed door.
The psalm has little to offer liberal democracy.
S: The poet addresses the King as God (Elohim) while distinguishing him from God (Elohim).
The language of anointing and joy makes for a Trinitarian reading.
Lord Jesus Christ, there is nothing nobler to contemplate in this short, difficult life. You are
Beauty; your words are grace; your presence, joy. We are eternally blessed in you. Amen.
Psalm 48 [47 OG]
MT
OG
A Psalm of praise for the sons of Korah on the second (day) from Sabbath
2
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain,
3
well rooted with the joy of all the earth,
the mountains of Zion, the sides of the north,
the city of the Great King.
4
God is known in her palaces
when he undertakes to help her.
5
For, behold, the kings were assembled;
they came together.
6
They saw, and so they wondered:
they were troubled, they were moved.
7
Trembling took hold of them there
as pangs of one giving birth.
8
You will break the ships of Tharsis with a vehement wind.
9
As we heard, so we saw
in the city of the Lord of powers,
in the city of our God:
God founded it forever.
Pause.
10
We thought of your mercy, God,
507
Cited in Horst de la Croix and Richard G. Tansey, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages (8th ed.; San Diego: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986), 615.
101 Psalm 48 [47 OG]
amidst your people,

11
According to your name, God,
so is also your praise
to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
12
Let mount Zion rejoice,
let the daughters of Judea exult
because of your judgments, Lord.
13
Go round about Zion and encompass her;
Tell of her towers.
14
Place your hearts into her power
and observe her palaces,
that you may tell the next generation.
15
For this is God, our God,
forever and ever.
He himself will shepherd us forever.
Sons of Korah
This “Zion song” reveals the strong association of Yahweh with Zion. With the diaspora and
rival temples in Egypt and nearby Samaria, a need emerged in the Second Temple period to
place Jerusalem at the center of the universe. J. Clinton McCann notes: “the psalmist has created
in poetic form an alternative worldview, a new reality, which for the psalmist and all the faithful
has become the deepest and most profound reality of all—God rules the world, now and
forever!”508 Ancient Israelite Scripture also highlights the city’s importance.
Head
Jesus offers a short citation:
But I say to you not to swear at all! Either by heaven because it is the throne of God or by
the earth because it is the footstool of his feet [Isa 66:1], or towards Jerusalem because it
is the city of the great king [Ps 48:2]. Nor should you swear by your head because you are
not able to make one hair white or black. But let your word be ‘yes, yes, no, no.’ Now
whatever is more than these (responses) is from what is evil.” (Matt 5:34-37)
Jerusalem connects heaven, God’s throne, to earth, his footstool. He believes God is uniquely
present in the temple (Matt 23:21). Jesus responds to the Samaritan woman with this conviction,
but promises a new context of worship that includes Jews and Samaritans (John 4:21). It is
necessary for him to suffer, die, and be resurrected at Jerusalem for this end.
Body
I have been to Jerusalem, and it’s a moving, meaningful experience. But Christ connects heaven
and earth. Our faith was not devastated when Rome destroyed the Temple in AD 70 because
508
A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1993), 150.
102 Psalm 50 [49 OG]
Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.” So, in a sense, we don’t read this psalm literally, but
prophetically—as fulfilled in Christ.
Psalm 50 [49 OG]
OG
A Psalm by Asaph
Vv. 1-6
God of gods, YHWH, spoke and called the earth

from the risings of the sun to its settings.
2
Out of Zion (comes) the excellence of his beauty.
God will come visibly.
3
Our God, and he will not be silent:
a fire will be kindled before him,
and around him a great tempest.
4
He will summon the heaven above,
and the earth to judge his people.
5
Assemble to him, his servants,
those that have engaged in a covenant with him upon sacrifices.
6
And the heavens will declare his righteousness
because God is judge.
Pause.
Vv. 7-15
7
“Hear, my people, and I will speak to you,
Israel, and I will testify to you.
I am God, your God.
8
I will not reprove you on account of your sacrifices;
Your whole-burnt-offerings are before me continually.
9
I will take no bullocks out of your house,
nor he-goats out of your flocks.
10
For all the wild beasts of the thicket are mine,
the cattle on the mountains and oxen.
11
I know all the birds of the heaven,
and the beauty of the field is with me.
12
If I should be hungry, I will never tell you:
for the world is mine and its fullness.
13
Will I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14
Offer to God the sacrifice of praise,
103 Psalm 50 [49 OG]
and pay your prayers to the Most High.509

15
And call upon me in the day of affliction;
and I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.
Pause.
Vv. 16-23
16
But to the sinner God said:
“Why do you declare my ordinances
and take up my covenant through your mouth,
17
but you hated instruction
and cast my words behind you?
18
If you saw a thief, you ran with him
and placed your portion with adulterers.
19
Your mouth multiplied wickedness,
and your tongue framed deceit.
20
You sat and were speaking against your brother
and were scandalizing your mother’s son.
21
You did these things, and I kept silent:
You thought wickedly that I would be like you;
I will reprove you and stand against your face.”
22
Now consider these things, those who forget God,
lest he seize (you), and there is no deliverer.
23
“A sacrifice of praise will glorify me,
and that is the way wherein I will show him the salvation of God.”
P: This psalm, the first to be attributed to Asaph (c. 1000 - 900 B.C.), has been associated with
the Feast of Booths, perhaps a “morning song.”510
The pauses divide the psalm into three parts.
Asaph
Like others from the author, the words are didactic, reflecting the prophetic insight that God does
not consume sacrifices, but scans the heart of the worshipper for gratitude (vv. 7-15).
Head
R: Jesus cites this psalm (v. 14) in a teaching on vows (Matt 5:33),
‫תּוֹדה ְושׁ ֵַלּ֖ם ְל ֶע ְלי֣וֹן נְדָ ֶ ֽריָך׃‬

֑ ָ ‫ֵאֹלהים‬
֣ ִ ‫ז ַ ְ֣בח ל‬
509
εὐχή “prayer” or “vow”
510
Twelve psalms are attributed to Asaph: 50, 73-83. Jesus cites or alludes to three: 50, 78, and 82.
104 Psalm 69 [68 OG] Zeal
Sacrifice to Elohim a thank offering, and repay to the Most High your vows,511
which is surprising because he has been reciting the Ten Commandments; one might expect to
hear οὐ ψευδοµαρτυρήσεις κατὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου, “you shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor” (Exod 20:16). Jesus views the Psalms as part of the Law. The psalm’s main point is
continually emphasized by Jesus.
S: God is “the perfection of beauty”
Psalm 69 [68 OG] Zeal
MT
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies.512 Of David.
Save me, Elohim!

For the waters have come up to my neck;
2
I am sinking in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
3
I am weary with my crying out;
my throat is parched;
my eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
4
More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal must I now restore?
5
Elohim, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6
Let those who hope in you,
Lord YHWH of hosts,
not be put to shame through me;
let those who seek you,
Elohim of Israel,
not be ashamed through me,
7
For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor has covered my face.
8
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother’s sons.
9
For zeal for your house has consumed me,
511
The Greek reads θῦσον τῷ θεῷ θυσίαν αἰνέσεως καὶ ἀπόδος τῷ ὑψίστῳ τὰς εὐχάς σου, “Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise
and give back the Highest your vows. Jesus uses ὅρκους instead of εὐχάς (OG), implying the appropriation of the Hebrew. The
diction may also attempt to parallel the command οὐκ ἐπιορκήσεις.
512
Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. See the inscription for Psalm 45.
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10
When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12
I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13
But as for me, my prayer is to you, YHWH.
At an acceptable time, Elohim,
in the abundance of your steadfast love
answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14
Deliver me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15
Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, YHWH,
for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy,
turn to me.
17
Hide not your face from your servant;
for I am in distress;
make haste to answer me.
18
Draw near to my soul,
redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!
19
You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20
Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21
They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22
Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23
Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24
Pour out your wrath upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25
May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26
For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27
Add to them punishment upon punishment;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, Elohim, set me on high!
30
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31
This will please the YHWH
more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32
When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek Elohim, let your hearts revive.
33
For YHWH hears the needy
and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
34
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For Elohim will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36
the offspring of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
OG
For the end, for alternate (strains)
By David
2
Save me, God, for waters came as far as my soul.
3
I was stuck513 in deep mud,514 and there is no assurance.515
I came into the depths of the sea, and a storm overwhelmed me.
4
I am weary of crying, my throat became hoarse;
my eyes failed from hoping on my God.
5
They who hate me without a cause were multiplied more than the hairs of my head:
my enemies who persecuted me unrighteously were empowered:
What I did not seize I was paying for.
6
God, you know my foolishness,
and my transgressions were not concealed from you.
7
Let not those who endure you, Lord, Lord of powers, be ashamed in me:
Let not those who seek you, God of Israel, be shamed in me.
8
For because of you I bore reproach;
shame516 covered my face.
513
ἐµπήγνυµι
514
ἰλύς
515
ὑπόστασις
9
I became strange to my brothers
and a stranger to my mother’s sons.
10
For the zeal of your house consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.
11
And I bowed down my soul with fasting,
and it was made my reproach.
12
And I put on sackcloth for my covering,
and I became a proverb to them.
13
They who sit in the gate were gossiping517 against me,
and they who drink wine were singing against me.
14
But I in my prayer (cry) to you, Lord—
A pleasing518 time, God, in the fullness of your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of your salvation!
15
Save me from the mire, so that I do not stick:
Let me be delivered from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
16
Let not the waterflood drown me,
nor let the deep swallow me up;
neither let the well shut its mouth on me.
17
Hear me, Lord, for your mercy is kind;
according to the multitude of your compassions, look upon me.
18
And turn not away your face
from your servant [child],519
because I am afflicted. Hear me quickly!
19
Attend to my soul and redeem it;
because of my enemies, deliver me.
20
For you know my reproach
and my shame and my confusion—
all that afflicts me is before you.
21
My soul waited for reproach and misery,
and I waited for one to grieve deeply520 with me, but there was none;
and for one to comfort me, but I found none.
22
They gave gall for my food
and made me drink vinegar for my thirst.
23
Let their table be before them for a snare
and for a recompense and for a stumbling-block.
24
Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see,
and bow down their back continually.
25
Pour out your wrath on them,
and let the fury of your anger take hold on them.
26
Let their habitation be made desolate
and let there be no one who dwells in their tents,
516
ἐντροπή
517
ἀδολεσχέω “to talk idly” (L&S)
518
εὐδοκία
519
παιδός
520
συλλυπέω (Mark 3:5)
27
because they persecuted him you smote
and they added to the grief of my wounds.
28
Add lawlessness to their lawlessness,
and do not let them enter into your righteousness.
29
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
and let them not be written with the righteous.
30
I am destitute and sorrowful,
but521 the salvation of your face, God, helped me.
31
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with praise;
32
and will please God more than a young calf
having horns and hoofs.
33
Let the destitute see and rejoice;
seek the Lord diligently, and your soul will live,
34
because the Lord hears the poor,
and does not despise his fettered ones.
35
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
(the) sea and all things moving in them,
36
because God will save Zion,
and the cities of Judea will be built;
and (people) will dwell there and inherit it.
37
And the seed of his servants will possess it,
and those who love his name will dwell in it.
P: Psalm 69 is a prayer of deliverance from persecution. The sufferer has been ridiculed and
abandoned because of his enthusiastic support (= zeal) for rebuilding the Temple (cf. Ezra 4:1-5,
23-24; Zech 1:16; 8:2-3). There is strong imprecatory, especially vv. 23-29.522
David
The verb “consume” evokes sacrifice.523 The second line of the verse reads: “the reproaches of
those who reproached you fell on me.” David may not have been aware of this fuller sense,
although he relates his circumstances to the Passover lamb (Ps 34). In any case, the King voices
his role as the people’s representative:
Let those who hope in you,

Lord YHWH of hosts,
not be put to shame through me;
let those who seek you,
Elohim of Israel,
not be ashamed through me,
521
Adversative use of καί.
522
See also Psalms 7, 35, 58, 59, 83, 109, 137, 139.
523
Margaret Daly Denton, “The Psalms in John’s Gospel,” in The Psalms in the New Testament (ed. Steve Moyise and Maarten
J. J. Menken; London / New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 119-138, 122.
7
For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor has covered my face.
Head
The disciples put the words of the psalmist on the lips of Jesus, who cries out in the second
person:
And the Passover of the Jews was near. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in
the Temple those selling oxen and sheep and doves and moneychangers sitting. And after
making a whip from cords, he cast everyone out of the Temple, even the sheep and the
oxen. And he poured out the coins of the moneychangers. And he overturned their tables.
And he said to those selling the doves: “Take these away from here! Stop making the
house of my Father a house of profit!” His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal524
for your house will consume me! [Ps 69:9]. (John 2:13-17)
The Old Greek reads: ὁ ζῆλος τοῦ οἴκου σου κατέφαγέν µε, “Zeal of your house consumed me.”
John may have intentionally switched to the future—“will consume me”—to anticipate the
Crucifixion.525 The verb (κατεσθίω/κατέσθω) is intensive, and may be translated “eat
ravenously” or “devour.”
This is only Psalm cited twice in John, with the second (v. 21) coming from Jesus’s lips on the
cross, fitting inclusio:
After this,526 Jesus knowing that all things have now been finished, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled, says: “I thirst.” [Ps 69:21] (19:28)
David claims: “It is for your sake that I have borne reproach” (7); “the reproaches of those who
reproach you have fallen on me” (v. 9). Thirsting and vinegar correlate with Mark and
Matthew’s presentation (15:36; 27:48).
The citations bracket Jesus’s public ministry.527 Just prior to the zeal for your house citation,
from Psalm 69, the psalmist cries: “I have become a stranger to my family and alien to my
mother’s children” (v. 8). John depicts the strain Jesus’s ministry had on his family (ch. 7).
Jesus expresses the language immediately before the cursing. Whatever he felt, Jesus entrusted
justice to the Father.
524
Zeal reflects an intense positive interest in something (BDAG). It is contagious (2 Cor 9:2). Jesus attracted zealots; one of his
own disciples, Simon, was nicknamed “the zealot” (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). We find the claim that Jews in general were zealous
for God and his Law (Rom 10:2; Acts 21:20). Zeal leads to risky behavior, and often shortens life (Sir 30:24).
525
Carson, John, 180.
526
Jesus’s clothing has just been divided, a fulfillment of Scripture (v. 24), and he has given responsibility for his mother to the
beloved disciple.
527
It is the first of five citations from Psalms that portray Jesus’s betrayal (13:18 = Ps 41:10; 15:24 = Ps 35:19), suffering (19:24
= Ps 22:18; 19:28 = Ps 69:21), and death (2:17 = Ps 69:10). This may (partially) explain why John places the Temple Cleansing
towards the beginning of his narrative, in contrast to the Synoptics.
110 Psalm 78 (77 OG)
Body
The cry Zeal for your house will consume me! takes on new meaning after the resurrection when
the disciple yearns to be with God and, in that anticipation, consumes the body of Christ.528
Those who partake of Christ will no longer thirst as he did on the cross (4:13, 14; 7:37, 38).
D: When those seeking the desert fathers sank into a swamp, they “called out in the words of
David, ‘Save me O God, for the waters have come into my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there
is no standing. Deliver me out of the mire and let me not sink” (Ps 69:1, 2, 14).529
Psalm 78 (77 OG)
OG
Discernment by Asaph530
Prologue
Attend, my people, to my nomos:531
Incline your ear to the words of my mouth.532
2
I will open my mouth in parables:
I will utter dark sayings from the beginning (ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς).
3
All that we heard and knew
and our fathers declared to us
4
were not hidden from their children to a second generation,
declaring the praises of the Lord
and his mighty acts
and his wonders that he did.
5
And he raised up a witness in Jacob
and appointed a nomos in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to make it known to their sons,
6
that another generation might know,
sons who will be born; [Deut 6:7]
and they will rise and proclaim them to their sons,
7
that they might set their hope on God
and not forget the works of God
and zealously seek his commandments,
8
that they should not be as their fathers,
a crooked and embittered533 generation,
a generation that did not guide its heart
528
Harold Attridge notes: “Ironically, as ‘bread of life,’ the vehicle of the continuing presence of God with his people, he in turn
is ‘consumed’ by his followers”: 105.
529
Ward and Russell, Lives of the Desert Fathers, 118.
530
See Eph 3:4.
531
See the commentary on Psalm 1 for this transliteration and the shortcomings of the rendering “law.”
532
Pleonasm
533
Or provoking.
111 Psalm 78 (77 OG)
and its spirit was not convinced with God.

9
The sons of Ephraim, bending and shooting the bow,
turned in the day of battle.
10
They did not guard the covenant of God,
and were unwilling to proceed in his nomos.
11
And they neglected his benefits
and his wonders that he showed them—
12
the wonders that he did before their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the plain of Tanes.
13
He divided the sea and led them through;
he stood waters like a wineskin.
14
And he guided them with a cloud by day
and all the night with a light of fire.
15
He divided534 a rock in the wilderness
and made them drink as in a great deep.
16
And he brought (ἐξήγαγεν) water out of the rock,
and he brought down waters like rivers.
17
And yet they sinned even more against him;
they provoked the Most High in a waterless place.
18
And they tempted God in their hearts,
by asking for a variety of food for their psuchai.535
19
And they spoke against God and said,
“Will God be able to prepare a table in a wilderness?
20
Forasmuch as he struck the rock and waters flowed
and torrents ran abundantly
will he be able also to give bread
or prepare a table for his people?536 [Ps 23:5]
21
Because of this, YHWH heard and was provoked;
and fire was kindled in Jacob,
and wrath went up against Israel
22
because they did not believe in God
or hope in his salvation.
23
And (yet) he commanded the clouds from above
and opened the doors of heaven
24
and rained on them manna to eat
and gave them the bread of heaven.
25
A human being ate angels’ bread;
he sent them provision to the full.
26
He removed the south wind from heaven,
and by his strength he brought in the south-west wind.
534
repetition
535
βρώµατα
536
The µή suggests a “no” to the question.
112 Psalm 78 (77 OG)
27
And he rained on them flesh like dust—
feathered birds like the sand of the seas.537
28
And they fell into the midst of their camp,
around their tents.
29
And (so) they ate and were completely filled—
he gave them their desire.
30
They were not deprived from their desire.
Yet when their food was in their mouth,
31
the wrath of God also rose up against them
and killed the wealthiest among them
and overthrew the elect of Israel.
32
In all this, they sinned more
and did not believe his miracles.
33
And their days were consumed in vanity
and their years with speed.
34
When he killed them, they were seeking him;538
and they were returning,
and were rising early in the morning to God.539
35
And they remembered that God is their helper
and the most high God is their redeemer.
36
And (yet)540 they deceived him with their mouth
and lied to him with their tongue.
37
For their heart was not right with him;
they were not trustworthy in his covenant.
38
But he is compassionate [Rom 12:1]
and will propitiate (ἱλάσκοµαι) their sins
and will not utterly destroy.541
And will increase the departure of his anger
and will not fire all his wrath.
39
And he remembered that they are flesh,
a wind that passes away and returns not.
40
How often did they provoke him in the wilderness,
anger him in a dry land.
41
Indeed, they turned back,
and tempted God,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42
They remembered not his hand,
the day in which he delivered them from the hand of the oppressor.
43
How he had performed his signs in Egypt,
and his wonders in the field of Tanes:
44
and had changed their rivers into blood;
537
Epexegetical καί
538
Imperfect tense
539
καὶ ἐπέστρεφον καὶ ὤρθριζον πρὸς τὸν θεὸν. BDAG s.v. ὀρθρίζω. The verbs are in the imperfect tense.
540
Adversative καί.
541
διαφθείρω.
113 Psalm 78 (77 OG)
and their streams, that they should not drink.

45
He sent against them the dog-fly, and it devoured them;
and the frog, and it spoiled them.
46
And he gave their fruit to the canker worm,
and their labors to the locust.
47
He killed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
48
And he gave up their cattle to hail,
and their substance to the fire.
49
He sent out against them the fury of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and affliction,
a message by evil angels.
50
He made a way for his wrath;
he spared not their souls from death,
but consigned their cattle to death;
51
and smote every first-born in the land of Egypt;
the first-fruits of their labors in the tents of Cham.
52
And he removed his people like sheep;
he led them as a flock in the wilderness. [Ps 23:1]
53
And he guided them with hope, and they did not fear;
but the sea covered their enemies.
54
And he brought them in to the mountain of his sanctuary,
this mountain which his right hand had purchased.
55
And he cast out the people from before them,
and made them to inherit by a line of inheritance,
and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56
Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God,
and kept not his testimonies.
57
And they turned back, and broke covenant,
even as also their fathers;
they became like a crooked bow.
58
And they provoked him with their high places,
and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59
God heard and did not honor (them),
and greatly despised Israel.
60
And he rejected the tabernacle of Selom,
his tent where he dwelt among men.
61
And he gave their strength into captivity,
and their beauty into the enemy’s hand.
62
And he gave his people to the sword;
and disdained his inheritance.
63
Fire devoured their young men;
and their virgins did not mourn.542
64
Their priests fell by the sword;
and their widows shall not be wept for.
65
So the Lord awaked as one out of sleep,
542
They were unable to mourn according to custom to honor their dead husbands.
114 Psalm 78 (77 OG)
as a mighty man who has been heated with wine.

66
And he struck his enemies in the privates;
he brought on them a perpetual reproach.
67
And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph,
and chose not the tribe of Ephraim;
68
but he chose the tribe of Juda,
the mount Zion that he loved.
69
And he built his sanctuary as (a place) of unicorns;543
he founded it forever on the earth.
70
He chose David also his servant,
and took him up from the flocks of sheep.
71
He took him from following the ewes great with young,
to be the shepherd of Jacob his servant,
and Israel his inheritance.
72
So he tended them in the purity of his heart,
and he guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
P: This didactic psalm, possibly a homily, reviews the central problem of Ancient Israelite
Scripture: God desires the best for his people, but they reject his love.544 The psalm may have
begun its life between the fall of the North (721/2 B.C.) and the Babylonian Exile (586/7 B.C.).
The “I” represents the community (“we”).
The discourse is the second longest in the Psalter after 119. Its length invites a prologue (vv. 1-
4).545 The body rehearses the exodus and wilderness stories (history), but not in chronological
order. The psalmist employs repetition for emphasis.
David
David, the proclaimer, is becoming the proclaimed. Howard Wallace notes, “It may be possible
that we have in Psalm 78 the first move toward David redivivus.”546
Head
Matthew cites this psalm as prophecy:
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. And he did not say anything to
them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the Prophet might be fulfilled,
saying: I will open my mouth in parables.547 I will speak of what has been hidden from
the foundation [of the world]548 [Ps 78:2]. (13:55)
543
NETS “unicorns,” literally “one-horned.”
544
Gerstenberger, Psalms, 93, 98.
545
Gerstenberger, Psalms, 93.
546
Psalms, 138.
547
It is Psalm 77 in the Old Greek.
548
Absent in Codex Vaticanus.
115 Psalm 82 [81 OG]
The first clause is identical to the Old Greek translation of the Psalm as we have it.549 But the
second clause differs considerably.550 Matthew views Asaph as a “prophet,” which may explain
his creative present in Jesus’s genealogy, like Amos, another prophet (1:7-8).
Jesus is speaking by inference, not directly in the narrative.551 His parables, if interpreted
correctly, may reveal what has been hidden from the foundation [of the world]. In context, the
“mystery of the Kingdom” is its beginning in the form of a small mustard seed or a wheat field
and the simultaneous growth of tares (poisonous weeds) before a final judgment.
Body
Disciples recognizes the value of God’s Kingdom, like a priceless pearl, before the end and
govern their lives accordingly.
D: Some brothers came to visit Abba Helle, who had not food to offer them. However, he turned
the question in this psalm into a declaration: “God is able to furnish a table in the wilderness” (v.
19). An angel, disguised as a young man, came and distributed bread and olives.552
S: God’s vulnerability is compassion—to the point of death on a cross.
Psalm 82 [81 OG]
MT
A Psalm by Asaph.
Elohim stands in the divine assembly;

Among Elohim (gods) he holds judgment:
2
“How long will you judge perversely
and show partiality to the wicked?
Selah
3
Judge the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5
They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6
I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
549
ἀνοίξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὸ στόµα µου.
550
Matt: ἐρεύξοµαι κεκρυµµένα ἀπὸ καταβολῆς [κόσµου]. OG: φθέγξοµαι προβλήµατα ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς.
551
Attridge, 103.
552
Lives of the Desert Fathers, 92.
116 Psalm 82 [81 OG]
7
nevertheless, like men (Adam)553 you will die, [Gen 3]
and fall like any prince.”
8
Arise, Elohim, judge the earth; for you will inherit all the nations!
OG
A Psalm by Asaph
God stands in the assembly of gods,

But in the middle he judges gods:
2
“How long will you judge unrighteously,
and accept the faces of sinners?”
Pause.
3
“Judge orphan and destitute:
do justice for the low and needy.
4
Rescue the needy and deliver the destitute
out of the hand of the sinner.554
5
They do not know or understand:
they journey in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth will be shaken.
6
I said, ‘You are gods and all sons of the Most High.’
7
But you die like people
and fall like one of the princes.”555
8
Arise, God, judge the earth,
because you will have an inheritance among all the Nations.
P: The psalm, largely a prophetic oracle, consists of a prologue (v. 1) and epilogue (v. 8), a
frame, and two subunits divided by a pause.556 The prologue offers a setting; the epilogue, a
closing prayer.
The setting is the divine throne (court) room. God (Elohim, Heb.; Gr. theos) is rebuking the gods
(elohim, theoi) of the Nations for not exercising justice. Elohim is especially concerned about the
weak (‫)דַּ ל‬, who are mentioned twice (vv. 3-4). The word may signify the lowly, poor, helpless,
downcast, small, marginalized, forgotten, and downcast.557 The Greek translates ‫ דַּ ל‬as πτωχός
553
The Hebrew may be translated as a proper noun (name).
554
A circumlocution for power (McCann, Psalms, 123).
555
This argues against related Elohim to human judges (so NIV).
556
For genre, see Grogan, Psalms, 146.
557
See HALOT s.v. ‫דַּ ל‬.
117 Psalm 82 [81 OG]
(“destitute”). Jesus will pronounce blessing on them (Luke 6:20) and judgement against their
oppressors (v. 24).
A crux interpretum is the identity of the gods. There are four main views:
1. Canaanite deities. In Canaanite mythology, the high god El would convene a divine
council.558 If so, this would be an example of Israelite demythologization—akin to what
happens in the creation story.
2. Angels, elsewhere called “sons of God.” Grogan dismisses this reading because of
their mortality,559 but the author of Hebrews presumes they are finite. God assigned an
angel to every nation, but kept Israel for himself (Isa 24:21; Dan 10:20-21). See also the
OG at Psalm 8.
3. Judges of Israel, “gods” because of their delegated authority (NIV)
4. The people of Israel, “the great assembly.”
Elohim is judge and perhaps executioner (vv. 6-7).560 Standing represents righting was is
wrong.561 The angel/judges are incompetent and judged.
R: There may be allusions to the creation story. Elohim creates everything, including the gods,
who are not mentioned. Adam and the woman die, at least spiritually.
Asaph
Asaph presupposes an ontological link between injustice and degradation: “All the foundations
of the earth will be shaken.” Some are quick to dismiss this as outmoded, but with the
presupposition of a mechanistic universe. We find the same link in Jesus and Paul.
Head
John 10:34-36
Jesus answered them: “Has it not been written in your Law that I say, ‘You are gods’? [Ps
82:6] If he called them gods to whom the Word of God came—and the Scripture cannot
be broken—do you say concerning whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,
‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the son of God’?
Jesus cites Psalm 82 (v. 6) as part of the Law. The Psalms, which begin the third section of the
Hebrew Bible, are linked to the Law at the beginning (1:2), and are divided into five books (1—
558
McCann, Psalms, 122.
559
Psalms, 146.
560
The NIV obscures the sense by interpreting the ‘gods’ as human judges.
561
118 Psalm 82 [81 OG]
41, 42—72, 73—89, 90—106, 107—50) like the Pentateuch.562 We find an expansive notion of
Law in the New Testament (1 Cor 14:21; Rom 3:19).
If Jesus has this in mind, he is making a qal vahomer argument—from lesser to greater: if God
calls others gods “sons,” how can it be blasphemous to call oneself God’s Son? Some interpret
you as referring to Israel;563 others, judges, which fits the immediate context.564
That may be the extent of the argument. However, despite God’s affirmation, the gods of the
nations will die like mortals (v. 7). Although this parallels the first part of Jesus’s ministry, it
falls short of the resurrection. In other words, for the disciple, Jesus may have offered a further
implication of the lesser to greater: the gods of the Gentiles (nations) will die, but God’s only
true Son will live forever, along with those who are united to him, his friends and brothers (see
1:12-13).565
The demons were defeated, according to Paul, at the cross.
Body
The Christian doctrine of theosis (deification) was nurtured by this Psalm.
Irenaeus sees a reference to the resurrection.566
D: The Psalm backs the New Testament teaching on the role of government: to protect the weak
and punish the wicked. Justice stabilizes community. Power and authority are for the helpless.
Like angels, judges mediate God’s wrath and mercy. This makes them godlike, although their
personal character often falls short. The wicked judge is a biblical motif.
In some cases, the church has been tasked with civil justice. In the United States, where church
and state are separated and citizenship is encouraged, we are to speak truth to power.567
Human injustice shakes the foundation of the earth. Wickedness touches creation.
S: Except for the frame, the psalm is all divine speech. The words reveal a God who is
committed to justice, a common standard of judgment.568
562
See Gordon J. Wenham, Psalms as Torah: Reading Biblical Song Ethically (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2012),
79-80.
563
Daniel Rathnakara Sadananda, The Johannine Exlporation of God: An Exploration into the Johannine Understanding of God
(Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2004), 128.
564
Daly-Denton, “The Psalms in John’s Gospel,” 125.
565
Dodd, Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, 271.
566
Terrien, Psalms, 2.
567
The separation language is found in a letter by Thomas Jefferson (1 Jan 1802), although the substance may be traced to Roger
Williams. The saying “speak truth to power” is attributed to the Quaker civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (1912 - 1987).
568
The language does not justify a “preference for the poor,” as some liberation theologians maintain. However, the needs of the
poor should be considered along with those of the middle class and rich. For this to happen, advocacy is required because the
poor often lack formal education and connections.
119 Psalm 91 [90 OG]
Psalm 91 [90 OG]
MT
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2
I say to YHWH, “my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”569
3
For he will deliver you from the fowler’s trap
and from the deadly pestilence (dever).570
4
He will cover you with his pinions,571
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and wall.572
5
You will not fear the terror573 of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6
nor the pestilence (dever) that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8
You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9
Because you have made YHWH your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10
no evil will be allowed to befall you,
no plague574 come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14
“Because he holds fast to me in love,575
I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
569
HALOT s.v. ‫בטח‬: feel secure, trust; extended sense, “carefree.”
570
HALOT s.v. ‫דֶּ בֶר‬: death, misfortune, plague
571
Pinion, the outer part of a bird’s wing.
572
HALOT s.v. ‫סֹח ֵָרה‬.
573
‫פחד‬: “original meaning of the verb was to shiver, tremble” (HALOT).
574
HALOT s.v. ‫נֶגַע‬: onset of illness, infestation, affliction, plague.
575
HALOT s.v. ‫חשׁק‬: with ‫“ ְבּ‬to be very attached to, to love somebody.” The verb describes a man’s sexual attraction to a
beautiful woman (Gen 34:8; Deut 21:11), but also resulting attachment (Jastrow, 511).
120 Psalm 91 [90 OG]
OG
Praise of a Song, by David
The one who dwells in the help of the Highest

will lodge in the shade of the God of heaven.576
2
He will say to the Lord, “You are my Helper577 and my refuge;
my God, I will hope in him,
3
because he will deliver me from (the) trap of hunters
and from uncertainty.”
4
He will overshadow you with his shoulders,
and you will hope under his wings.578
His truth will cover you with a shield;

5
you will not be terrified at night579
or from the arrow flying by day,
6
of a matter580 that journeys in darkness,
of a calamitous demon581 at noon-day.582
7
A thousand will fall at your side
and ten thousand at your right,
but it will not draw near to you.
8
Only with your eyes will you observe,
and you will see the recompense of sinners.
9
“For you, Lord, are my hope.”
You placed the Most High as your refuge.

10
Evils will not come upon you,
and a scourge583 will not draw near to your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways.
12
They will bear you on their hands,
lest you scrape your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the asp and basilisk,
and you will trample on the lion and serpent.
14
[God says:] “For he hoped in me,
and I will deliver him:
I will protect him because he knew my name.
576
Gnomic future
577
ἀντιλήπτωρ or “protector.” Rahlfs capitalizes as a proper noun.
578
Inclusio
579
“afraid of fear by night” – cognate repetition for emphasis
580
πρᾶγµα may refer to a “matter of concern” (BDAG).
581
Hendiadys “calamity and demon”
582
The first of three occurrences of δαιµόνιον (see also 95:5; 105:37).
583
µάστιξ, a condition of great distress, torment, suffering (BDAG).
121 Psalm 91 [90 OG]
15
He will call upon me,
and I will listen to him:
I am with him in affliction,
and I will deliver him and glorify him.
16
I will satisfy him with length of days,
and will show him my salvation.”
Translation: The OG is presumably a literal translation of the Hebrew original because of the
overlap with the MT. However, in the MT, the psalm is an “orphan,” while it is attributed to
David in the OG. Because of the ambiguity, I will abstain from the Davidic sense.
P: This is meditation on God’s presence and protection. The exigence involves military and
demonic conflict, which are often paired in the New Testament.584 The psalm is delimited by an
opening confession (v. 2) and a divine response (vv. 14-16). The narrator, who takes the role of
teacher, unpacks the confession.
Head
The devil quotes this psalm to Jesus as an unconditional promise, which is rejected for putting
God to the test (Matt 4:6 // Luke 4:10-11).
The citation mirrors the Old Greek (Ps 90) as we have it with some wording omitted in
the middle: ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε,
µήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου. (Matt 4:6) // ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ
ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε
µήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου (vv. 11-12).
Ironically, the citation is entirely appropriate, but not as the devil envisages: Jesus is being
harassed by the prince of demons, and is ultimately protected by his obedience to its actual
message. The serpent (δράκων) is a sobriquet for the devil.585
Jesus knows the promises are conditional. The Psalmist requires trust, the opposite of the Devil’s
application (vv. 2, 4), and God says, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him” (v.
14). Jesus loved (cleaved to) God more than pleasure, possessions, and power.
According to Mark, Jesus was “among the wild beasts,” and may have already meditated on the
psalm before the devil’s citation. Immediately following it, the psalmist promises: “You will
tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot” (v.
13).
Body
The first Christians saw temptation as an inevitable part of the journey. Joined to Christ, our
head, his body will be led by the Spirit into the wilderness for testing. The only way the
584
Jesus exorcises a legion of demons; Paul compares the church to a Roman wedge, whose conflict is not with flesh and blood.
The psalm ends with God’s assuring response (vv. 14-16).
585
BDAG (PsSol 2.25; Rev 12:3).
122 Psalm 104 [103 OG]
evangelists could record the Temptation Story is if Jesus told the disciples about his experience.
Presumably, he did and for a reason. Jesus says, “I have given you authority to tread upon
serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the Enemy” (Luke 10:19).
D: The temptation narrative proves that Scripture can be misinterpreted; but in this case, the
message overcame the distortion.
God offers a proximate and ultimate response to prayer. At the time, Jesus was being protected
from wild animals and the deceit of the devil. His example encouraged monks to face their fear
in the wilderness: “Christ, the Son of the living God, who is destined to destroy the great sea-
monster, will destroy you too,” said Amoun to a serpent.586
However, the devil was hoping to distract Jesus from his calling to die in our place. The
temptation that elicited the citation was an alternative path to power and Messiahship. From this
perspective, the psalm would seem contradictory to God’s will.
But God’s response may be read in light of what Christ accomplished on our behalf. Jesus died
in hope, but was delivered from death (v. 14). God will provide an ultimate answer to prayer all
at once—at the resurrection. “Length of days” (v. 16) has become eternal life. This is the end of
our faith journey as well. Until then, God promises to be with us “in affliction” (v. 15).
The offering of God’s presence allows “cleaving” (devukot). The verb ‫ חשׁק‬describes sexual
desire leading to marriage.587 God invites us to share his heart and mind. Baal Shem Tov (1700 -
1760), the founder of the Hasidic movement, said, “When I weld my spirit to God, I let my
mouth say what it will, for then all my words are bound to their root in heaven.”588
As we find in many psalms, the solution to temptation is a greater desire for God.
For many years, a mastix (µάστιξ) assailed my home. I do not know if it is one or one after
another. Objectively, it harms my wife and children, fosters anger and chaos; subjectively, it
terrifies and oppresses me. I am bringing our home into the home of God where Christ alone is
the head.
When assailed, pray: “Lord, You are my Helper and refuge; My God, I will hope in you.”
“Lord, You are our Helper and refuge; our God, we shall hope in you.”
Psalm 104 [103 OG]
OG
By David
586
Russell and Ward, Lives of the Desert Fathers, 81. Some Jews believed the Messiah would kill Leviathan, a hope appropriated
in Revelation and by the monk.
587
Qal with bet preposition (Gen 34:8; Deut 21:11).
588
Tr. Buber, 1:51.
123 Psalm 104 [103 OG]
Bless the Lord, my psuchē (soul, self, life)!
Lord, my God, you were greatly exalted.

You clothed yourself with praise589 and beauty,
2
who takes off590 light like a cloak,
who spreads out the heaven like a curtain,
3
who covers his upper chambers with waters,
who makes the clouds his chariot,
who walks on the wings of the wind.
4
who makes his angels spirits
and his ministers a flaming fire,
5
He established the earth on its secure truth;591
it will never bend.
6
The Abyss [deep], like a cloak, is his covering;
waters will stand on the hills.
7
At your rebuke they will flee;
at the voice of your thunder they will become fearful.
8
They ascend mountains and descend to plains,
to a place that you founded for them.
9
You set a boundary, which they will not pass,
nor will they turn again to cover the earth.
10
You are the One who sends forth fountains among valleys;
waters will run between the mountains.
11
They will give drink to all the beasts of the field;
the wild asses592 will take for their thirst.
12
By them will the birds of the heaven dwell;
amidst the rocks, they will give voice.
13
(The one) who waters mountains from his upper rooms—
from the fruit of your works, the earth (land) will be satisfied.
14
(The one) who makes grass to grow for the cattle,
and green herb for the service of men,
to bring bread out of the earth;
15
and wine gladdens a human heart,
to make his face cheerful with oil,
and bread strengthens a human heart.
16
The trees of the plain will be full;
the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted.
17
There, sparrows will build their nests;
and the home of the heron leads them.
18
The high mountains are a refuge for the stags,
the rock for the rabbits.
589
ἐξοµολόγησις
590
BDAG s.v. ἀναβάλλω. NETS: “wrapping yourself in light.”
591
ἀσφάλεια
592
L&S s.v. ὄναγρος.
124 Psalm 104 [103 OG]
19
He appointed the moon for seasons;
the sun knows his going down.
20
You made darkness, and it was night;
in it all the wild beasts of the forest will be abroad;
21
young lions roaring for prey—
seeking meat for themselves from God.
22
The sun arises and they will be gathered together,
and will lie down in their dens.
23
A person will go forth to his work—
to his labor until evening.
24
How great are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is filled with your creation.
25
This great and wide sea:
there are things creeping innumerable,
small animals and great.
26
There go the ships;
this dragon you made to play in593 it—
27
all wait upon you,
to give them food in due season.
28
When you give to them, they will gather;
and when you open your hand,
they will all be filled with good.
29
But when you turned away your face,
they will be troubled:
you cancel their spirit, and they will fail,
and return to their dust.
30
You will send forth your Spirit,
and they will be created;
and you will renew the face of the earth.
31
Let the glory of the Lord be forever;
The Lord will rejoice in his works—
32
he who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble;
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33
I will sing to the Lord while I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I exist.
34
Let my meditation be sweet to him,
and I will rejoice in the Lord.
35
Let the sinners fail from off the earth, and transgressors,
so that they shall be no more.
Bless the Lord, my psuchē (soul, self, life).
593
Traditionally, ἐµπαίζω has been translated “play.” NETS reads “to mock at him,” which is the usual sense (BDAG, L&S first
entry). L&S offers the secondary sense “sport in.” The same ambiguity occurs in the Hebrew ( ‫ְשׂחֶק־בּֽוֹ‬
ֽ ַ ‫)ל‬, except that “sport in”
(piel) is the more standard sense. The positive context encourages the traditional reading.
125 Psalm 107 [106 OG]
P: The psalm is sandwiched with an inward call for blessing.
David
David begins
Head
Jesus alludes to the psalm in his parable about a mustard seed: God’s Kingdom is
like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the ground, is smaller than all the seeds
which (are sown) upon the ground. And (yet), when it is sown, it grows up and becomes
greater than all garden herbs and makes large branches, so that the birds of heaven are
able to nest under its shade.” [Ps 104:12]594
The signs are everywhere, but often begin small.
Body
The inward call fans the flame. Monks sought the “angelic life.”
S: This language contributed to the medieval worldview that saw everything as symbolic, as
revelatory, as praiseworthy. God is not creation, but clothed in its beauty (Gregory of Nyssa).
God walks on the wind.
Psalm 107 [106 OG]
Alleluia
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is kind,

for his mercy is forever.
2
Let them, who have been redeemed by the Lord,
whom he redeemed from (the) enemy’s hand
3
and gathered them out of the countries,
from east and west and north and south.
4
They wandered in the wilderness in a dry land;
they found no way to a city of habitation.
5
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6
And so they cried to the Lord in their affliction,
and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7
And he guided them into a straight path,
that they might go to a city of habitation.
8
Let them give thanks to the Lord (for) his mercies
and his marvelous works to the sons of men.
9
For he satisfies the empty soul
594
For imagery of birds perching, see Dan 4:12; Ezek 17:23-24; 31:6; Psalm 103:12 LXX.
126 Psalm 107 [106 OG]
and fills the hungry with good things—

10
they who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
fettered in poverty and iron,
11
because they rebelled against the words of God
and provoked the counsel of the Most High.
12
So their heart was brought low with troubles;
they were weak and there was no helper.
13
And so they cried to the Lord in their affliction,
and he saved them out of their distresses.
14
And he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and broke their bonds asunder.
15
Let them give thanks to the Lord (for) his mercies
and his wonders to the sons of men.
16
For he broke to pieces the bronze gates
and crushed the iron bars.
17
He helped them out of the way of their iniquity;
for they were brought low because of their iniquities.
18
Their soul abhorred all meat;
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19
Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction,
and he saved them out of their distresses.
20
He sent his word, and healed them,
and delivered them out of their destructions.
21
Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies,
and his wonderful works to the children of men.
22
And let them offer to him the sacrifice of praise,
and proclaim this works with exultation.
23
They that go down to the sea in ships,
doing business in many waters;
24
these have seen the works of the Lord,
and his wonders in the deep.
25
He speaks, and the stormy wind arises,
and its waves are lifted up.
26
They go up to the heavens,
and go down to the depths;
their soul melts because of troubles.
27
They are troubled, they stagger as a drunkard,
and all their wisdom is swallowed up.
28
Then they cry to the Lord in their affliction,
and he brings them out of their distresses.
29
And he commands the storm,
and it is calmed into a gentle breeze,
and its waves are still.
30
And they are glad, because they are quiet;
and he guides them to their desired refuge.
127 Psalm 107 [106 OG]
31
Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies,
and his wonderful works to the children of men.
32
Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33
He turns rivers into a desert,
and streams of water into a dry land;
34
a fruitful land into saltiness,
for the wickedness of them that dwell in it.
35
He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
and a dry land into streams of water.
36
And there he causes the hungry to dwell,
and they establish for themselves cities of habitation.
37
And they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and they yield fruit of increase.
38
And he blesses them, and they multiply exceedingly,
and he diminishes not the number of their cattle.
39
Again they become few, and are brought low,
by the pressure of evils and pain.
40
Contempt is poured upon their princes,
and he causes them to wander in a desert and trackless land.
41
But he helps the poor out of poverty,
and makes (him) families as a flock.
42
The upright will see and rejoice;
and all iniquity will stop her mouth.
43
Who is wise, and will observe these things,
and understand the mercies of the Lord?
P: A thanksgiving over the return from exile. An “orphan psalm”
Jesus
Jesus cites
ἐκ τῶν χωρῶν συνήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσµῶν (Ps 106:3 OG)
πολλοὶ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσµῶν ἥξουσιν (Matt 8:11)
The psalm echoes Isaiah, rehearsing the justified punishments of wandering, imprisonment,
sickness, and storm at sea. But in each case the beleaguered cry out to YHWH and are saved.595
Jesus notes a tragic irony: God has ended the exile in his ministry, but the present generation is
unwilling to repent and be saved.
It also becomes an enacted parable in the Stilling of the Storm (Mark 4:35-41).
595
Michael D. Goulder, The Psalms of The Return (Book V, Psalms 107-150) (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 117-
118.
128 Psalm 110 [109 OG]
Psalm 110 [109 OG]
MT
By David, a Psalm
YHWH says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand,
until596 I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
2
Your powerful rod, YHWH, sends forth from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your strength,
in holy garments;
from the womb of dawn, the dew of your youth will be yours.597
4
YHWH swore and will not lack womb-pity:
“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”598
5
YHWH is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.599
6
He will judge among the Nations (Gentiles),
filling them with corpses,
crushing heads over the wide earth.600
7
He will drink from the wadi by the way;
therefore, he will lift up his head.
OG
By David, a Psalm
The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right (hand),
until I place your enemies as a stool under your feet.”
2
Your rod of power (the) Lord will send forth from Zion;
Indeed, rule in the midst of your enemies!
3
With you is the dominion in (the) day of your power
in the glowings of the saints (ἅγιος).601
“From a womb, before Morning-star, I begot you.”
4
The Lord swore602 and will not change:603
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
596
Or “while” (JPS). The preposition ‫ עַד‬may convey either sense. However, the Greek ἕως more clearly means “until.”
597
JPS and ESV note the difficulty of the Hebrew.
598
JPS relegates this reading to a footnote, preferring “a rightful king by My decree.” The Artscroll Mesorah Series translates
similarly. However, the Greek treats the Hebrew as a proper noun (name).
599
Consistent with the opening verse, JPS renders as a present: “He works judgment.”
600
ESV prefers “he will shatter chiefs.”
601
The article may be possessive: “your saints.”
602
I.e., “promised.”
603
BDAG s.v. µεταµέλοµαι also allows “regret,” but prefers this sense in context. I.e., “change his mind” (NETS).
129 Psalm 110 [109 OG]
5
The Lord is at your right (hand);
he dashed in pieces kings on a day of his wrath.
6
He will judge604 among the Nations (Gentiles);
he will fill up corpses;
he will crush the heads of many on the earth.
7
From a wadi by a road he will drink;
because of this, he will raise head high.
Translation: The Greek and Hebrew overlap closely except for verse three:
‫שׁ ָ ֑חר ְ֜ל ָ֗ך ַ ֣טל יַלְדֻ ֶתֽיָך׃‬

ְ ‫י־ק ֹדֶ שׁ ֵמ ֶ ֣רחֶם ִמ‬
֭ ‫ַעמְָּך֣ נְדָ ב ֹת֮ בְּי֪ וֹם ֵ֫חילֶ ָ֥ך בְּ ֽהַדְ ֵר‬
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your strength, in holy garments;
from the womb of dawn, the dew of your youth will be yours.
µετὰ σοῦ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐν ἡµέρᾳ τῆς δυνάµεώς σου ἐν ταῖς λαµπρότησιν τῶν ἁγίων ἐκ γαστρὸς
πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐξεγέννησά σε
With you is the dominion in (the) day of your power in the glowings of the saints. “From
a womb, before Morning-star, I begot you.”
This is probably due to ambiguities in the Hebrew.605 In the OG, one Lord is addressing the
other. The language echoes Psalm 2, evidencing intertexuality. They share common
iconography: “rod of power” (ῥάβδον δυνάµεώς) = rode of iron (ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ, 2:9).
The MT reads yalduteyka (“your youth”), but the Greek translator read yelidtiyka (“I have
begotten you”). This reading is a better contextual fit.
David
This royal psalm may presuppose a coronation or the beginning of a holy war.606 A Davidic king
“sat on the throne of YHWH” (1 Chron 29:13). However, after Melchizedek, there was no king-
priest in Jerusalem until the Messiah.
It has two parts: 1-3 and 4-7, referring to king and priest.607 It is a response to previous lament, a
request for vindication. It consists of two oracles (vv. 1 and 4) and their implications.608
Zion (Jerusalem) is prominent. Melchizedek was king of Salem. But the Messiah’s rule extends
over all his enemies.
The author of Hebrews links Psalm 2 and 110 twice:
604
The Greek may also be read as a present.
605
Gard Granerød, Abraham and Melchizedek: Scribal Activity of Second Temple Times in Gensis 14 and Psalm 110 (Göttingen:
DeGruyter, 2010), 177.
606
Longman, “The Messiah,” 25-26.
607
Brueggemann and Bellinger, Psalms, 479.
608
130 Psalm 110 [109 OG]
In the same way, even Christ did not glorify himself to become a high priest, but he who
said to him: You are my son; today, I have begotten you—[Ps 2:7]609 just as he also says
in another [place]: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek—[Ps
110:4] who, in the days of his flesh, offered up prayers and requests with loud crying and
tears to the One who is able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his
devotion. Although being a Son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered.
And having been perfected, he became to all those who obey610 him the source of eternal
salvation, having been designated by God as a high priest according to the order of
Melchizedek. (5:5-10)
Despite opposition, the king is given the divine command, rule in the midst of your enemies.
The intensive verb suggests complete rule.
R: The psalm echoes Genesis 3:15.611 Zechariah looked forward to a priest-king (6:9-14).
Head
Psalm 110 is heavily cited in the Fathers for its messianism.612 Attributing this psalm to David,
but by the Holy Spirit, Jesus cites the opening:613
How do the scribes say that the Messiah [the Christ] is the son of David? David said by
the Holy Spirit: YHWH said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies
under your feet. (If) David calls him Lord, then how is he his son?” (Mark 12:35-37a)
Now while the Pharisees were gathered, Jesus questioned them, saying: “What do you
think about the Messiah [the Christ]? Whose son is he?” They say to him: “of David.” He
says to them: “So how does David, by the Spirit, call himself Lord, saying: YHWH said
to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet.’ So if David
calls himself Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor
did anyone from that day dare to question him anymore. (Matt 22:41-46)
Now he said to them: “How do they say the Christ [Messiah] is to be the son of David?”
For David himself says in the scroll of Psalms: YHWH said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right
hand until I put your enemies [under] the footstool of your feet.’ Therefore, David calls
him Lord, so how is he his son?” (Luke 20:41-44)
The Old Greek reads εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ µου κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν µου ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς
σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου.
609
See 1:5.
610
Note the parallelism of obedience: the Son obeys the Father despite suffering; we obey the Son despite suffering.
611
612
See Terrien, Psalms, 2.
613
Mark 12:36 // Luke 20:42-43 // Matt 22:43-44; see 1 Cor 15:25; Heb 1:3; 5:6; 7:17, 21.
131 Psalm 110 [109 OG]
εἶπεν κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ µου· κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν µου ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποκάτω
τῶν ποδῶν σου (Mark)
εἶπεν κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ µου· κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν µου ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποκάτω
τῶν ποδῶν σου (Matt)
εἶπεν κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ µου· κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν µου ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον
τῶν ποδῶν σου (Luke)
Mark and Matthew’s version only differs in one word, ὑποκάτω, which Luke replaces with the
Old Greek reading. The footstool (ὑποπόδιον, ‫ )הֲד ֹם‬is mentioned in the Old Greek and Hebrew;
Jesus may presume the word, unless he is citing an alternative translation.
The citation marks the end of Jesus’s public teaching ministry in Mark.614 It echoes the opening
florilegium, as Psalms 2 and 110 do in the canonical . The debate presupposes a messianic
interpretation for the psalm (11QMelch).615 The Messiah is greater than David, but also fulfills
God’s promises to the earlier King. Forever echoes 2 Sam 7:13-16.616 He is a warrior king and
priest.
The two parts inform Jesus’s dual ministry of atonement and exorcism. “Christ is at once the
God who liberates and the man who mediates.”617
But Jesus goes further: he seizes on the dual reference of κύριος. The Greek translator(s) adopted
the circumlocution of κύριος for ‫ יהוה‬we find in the Septuagint. Apparently, this was done to
avoid speaking the Tetragrammaton. The Masoretic text uses two different names:
‫נ ֻ ְ֤אם י ְה ָו֙ה׀ לַ ֽאד ִֹ֗ני ֵ ֥שׁב לִ ֽי ִמי ִ ֑ני עַד־ ָא ִ ֥שׁית ֜א ֹי ְ ֶ֗ביָך ה ֲ֣ד ֹם ל ְַרגְלֶ ֽיָך‬
but pronounces ‫ יהוה‬as ‫( ֲאדֹנָי‬Adonai, “Lord”). So the same ambiguity is possible from either
textual tradition, which presumably reflects what was available to Jesus.
In any case, Jesus distances himself from contemporary Davidic messianic expectation, but also
opens the discussion of his ultimate identity.
The psalm depicts the Ascension. The Father calls the crucified yet resurrected Messiah to reign
as co-regent.
Body
This is the most cited Psalm in the New Testament.
614
615
Brueggemann and Bellinger claim the Psalm is placed chronologically after the fall of the Davidic line (Ps 89) and reflect a
post-exilic situation (Psalms, 480).
616
617
Carola, Augustine, 158.
132 Psalm 118 [117 OG]
The psalm also anticipates Missio Dei. ἐξαποστέλλω describes the fulfillment of a mission in
another place (Acts 22:21; see also 7:12; 11:22). Power (δύναµις) is associated with the Holy
Spirit. The Messiah sits while “the rod of power” reconciles the Kingdom. Luke alone uses
λαµπρότης (“shining”) in the NT. Christ reigns “amidst his enemies,” an echo of Psalm 23.
Paul identifies the fruit of his mission as “saints.”
D: The psalm focuses on the judgment of enemies, which Jesus ties to his Parousia (14:62).618
Our work may be characterized as powerful shining—the shekinah. The underlying Hebrew ‫הָדָ ר‬
may describe “the soul at its highest manifestation of power” (HALOT). Its telos.
S: The author of Hebrews cites the same verse as a dialogue between God the Father and Son.
The psalm is cited or alluded to more than a dozen times.619
The Father commands the Son: “sit,” not coercively but assuredly.620 Victory is assured. He
glorifies the Son: “sit at my right hand.” The Son is silent. According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit
provides David with the language.
Psalm 118 [117 OG]
OG
Alleluia621
Praise622 the Lord because (he is) good,

because his kindness (mercy) is forever.
2
Let now the house of Israel (say), “(He is) good
because his kindness (mercy) is forever.”
3
Let now the house of Aaron (say), “(He is) good
4
Let now all who fear the Lord (say), “(He is) good
Demonstration of Kindness
5
In affliction (pressing), I called upon the Lord,
and he heard me into a broad place.623
618
Kelli S. O’Brien, The Use of Scripture in the Markan Passion Narrative (New York: Continuum / T&T Clark, 2010), 172.
619
Verse 1: 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; verse 4: 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:3, 11, 15, 17, 21; see also 2:17; 3:1; 7:8, 24-25, 28; 10:21. For its
role in the logic of Hebrews, see Jared Compton, Psalm 110 and the Logic of Hebrews (New York: Bloomsbury / T&T Clark,
2015).
620
The Father and Son relationship is revealed in Psalm 2.
621
In the OG, Psalms 110—118 have this heading.
622
BDAG s.v. ἐξοµολογέω, from the senses of confession and profession, there arose “praise, in acknowledgment of divine
beneficence and majesty” in the OG. Augustine finds this sense against confessing sins (333).
133 Psalm 118 [117 OG]
6
The Lord is my624 helper (βοηθός):
I will not fear what a human may do to me. [Heb 13:6]
7
The Lord is my helper,
and I will gaze upon625 my enemies.
8
Better to have trust in the Lord
than to have trust in a human.626
9
Better to be hoping in the Lord
than to be hoping in rulers.627
Demonstration of the Lord’s Strength

10
All the Nations (Gentiles) circled me.
And (yet)628 by the name of the Lord I defended629 them.
11
They completely circled me.630
And (yet) by the name of the Lord631 I defended them.
12
They circled me like bees to a honeycomb,
and (yet) they burst into flame like fire among thorns;
and (yet) by the name of the Lord I defended them.
13
I was thrust and sorely shaken, that I might fall,
And (yet)632 the Lord helped me.
14
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he came to me for salvation.
15
The voice of exultation and salvation is
in the tents [tabernacles] of (the) righteous.
The right (hand) of the Lord acted powerfully.
16
The right (hand) of the Lord exalted me.
The right (hand) of the Lord acted powerfully.
17
I will not die, but live
and recount the works of the Lord.
18
The Lord greatly disciplined [educated]633 me,
and (yet)634 he did not deliver me over to death.
19
Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will go into them and praise the Lord.
20
This is the gate of the Lord;
623
πλατυσµός. The language resolves θλῖψις, which in extra-Biblical Greek describes “pressing, pressure” (Aristot., Meterol. 4,
4, 383a, 13; Epicurus p. 45, 9 Us.; Ps.-Aristot., De Mundo 4, 394a, 29; Strabo, Galen; citations in BDAG).
624
Emphatic form
625
BDAG s.v. ἐφοράω.
626
The verb and infinitive are in the perfect tense, which probably encodes stative aspect. The psalmist describes a state of trust
in response to a past action.
627
The present infinitives encode imperfective aspect, which allow the depiction of a durative action.
628
Seems to be an inevitable case of the adversative καί.
629
BDAG s.v. ἀµύνοµαι, to help by coming to the aid of, help, assist, defend someone.
630
κυκλώσαντες ἐκύκλωσάν.
631
“Name of YHWH” is circumlocution for all YHWH is.
632
633
παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέν.
634
134 Psalm 118 [117 OG]
the righteous will enter by it.

21
I will praise you
because you heard me
and came to me for salvation.
22
A stone that the builders rejected—
this become the head of the corner.
23
This came from the Lord,
and it is wonderful in our eyes.
24
This is the day that the Lord made.
Let us exult and rejoice in it.
25
O Lord, save now [“hosanna”]!
O Lord, prosper (us) now!
26
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27
God is Lord, and he shined upon us;
celebrate the feast with thick (branches),
even to the horns of the altar.
28
You are my God, and I will praise you.
You are my God, and I will exalt you.
I will praise you because you heard me
and came to me for salvation.
29
Praise the Lord because he is good,
because his (kindness) mercy is forever.
P: The hallel (‫) ַהלֵּל‬, Psalms 113-118, expresses thanksgiving and joy. The psalms are recited on
special, happy occasions: the festivals of Booths (m. Sukkah 4:1, 8) and Passover (m. Pesachim
5:7), but not yom kippur. Psalm 118 actualizes the exhortation in the previous and serves as a
climax for the collection.635 Psalms 116 and 118 feature an unidentified individual, an “I” who
represents corporate Israel.”636
The psalm has three parts: an opening call to praise (vv. 1-4), with a short inclusio (29), a
rehearsal of past salvation (5-18), and an entrance (19-28).
The Psalm had eschatological, messianic significance, although Rabbinic Judaism distanced
itself from this interpretation.637 The historical background is obscure: what is the original
context of builders rejecting a cornerstone?
Hosanna (ὡσαννά), a Greek transliteration of an Aramaic (‫ )הוֹשַׁע נָא‬or Hebrew (‫שׁיעָה נָּא‬
ִ ‫ )הוֹ‬word,
literally meaning “save now!” The OG reads σῶσον δή, “save now” (v. 25). It became a
liturgical formula around Passover and the Hallel.638
635
636
637
Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3:509.
135 Psalm 118 [117 OG]
Head
Jesus makes extensive use of the psalm. The Synoptic Gospels preserve this interpretation of the
Vineyard parable:639
What will the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and will
give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture: The stone that the builders
rejected—this became the head of the corner. By the Lord this happened, and it is
marvelous in our eyes.” (Mark 12:9-11 // Matt 21:40-43 // Luke 20:15-19)
Jesus confronts the religious leaders through a question—one of his favorite strategies, which
links him to Socrates. The owner’s wrath is understandable: after the death of other loyal slaves,
his “beloved son” is killed and humiliated. He reverses the literal sense: “the leaders of Israel are
cast as opponents of God’s chosen king and thus enemies of God himself.”640 The image of a
“corner stone” brings the Temple into the parable’s field of meaning. He will go on to predict its
imminent destruction (ch. 13).
All Four Gospels evoke the psalm on Palm Sunday:
And they were throwing their cloaks on it. And he sat upon it. And many spread their
cloaks on the road; but others, tall grass, which they had cut from the fields. And those
proceeding and those following were crying out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our Father David. Hosanna in
the highest!” (Mark 11:7-10 // Matt 21:6-9 // John 12:12-15 // Luke 19:36-38)
Matthew and Luke record a similar saying:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem—she who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How
often I wanted to gather together your children, as a hen who gathers together her chicks
under her wings, and yet you did not want (this). Pay attention: your house is given up as
a wilderness to you. For I say to you: never again will you see me until you say, ‘Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’” [Ps 118:26] (Matt 23:37-39 // Luke
13:35-35)
The crowds recite this psalm in zeal and ignorance, and Jesus suggests it will be heard at his
Coming (Matt 23:39). It was the last communal word between Jesus and his disciples before
departing to Gethsemane (Matt 26:30).
Peter cites Psalm 118 in his fist letter:
638
It used absolutely at Mark 11:9 and John 12:13. Luke avoids the word.
639
He cites vv. 25-26a (Mark 11:9b-10 // Luke 13:55; 19:38 [v. 26a only] // Matt 21:9; 23:39) and vv. 22-23 (Mark 12:10-11 //
Luke 20:17 [22 only] // Matt 21:42). For extensive discussion, Andrew C. Brunson, Psalm 118 in the Gospel of John: An
Intertextual Study on the New Exodus Pattern in the Theology of John (WUNT 158; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003).
640
Andrew C. Brunson, Psalm 118 in the Gospel of John: an intertextual study on the new Exodus (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr
(Paul Siebeck), 2003), 111.
136 Psalm 118 [117 OG]
Therefore, [there is] the honor for you who believe. But for those who do not believe: The
stone, which those who build rejected—this was made into the head cornerstone [Ps
117:22 OG (118:22 MT)].641 And This stone is a stumbling block and a rock of offense
[Isa 8:14]. Those who disobey the word are stumbling into what they were also placed.
(2:7-8)
Peter elaborates on this promise of great reversal: those who are not ashamed of Christ will be
honored at his coming, while those who reject the cornerstone of God’s temple will be put to
shame. Peter, the rock, testifies to the corner-stone, Jesus Christ. The apostle employs gezerah
sheva, with the linking word being stone (Gr. lithos, λίθος). Peter offers the longest citation from
Isaiah 53 in the New Testament (2:22-25). The prophet describes a rejected, Suffering Servant.
Body
This is the most cited Psalm in the NT because it prophesies Christ’s body replacing the temple:
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (v. 22).642 Augustine exhorts
the body to voice these words to her Head.643 Indeed, there is a moment in the liturgy when
God’s people echo the revelatory name Jesus (v. 25). The verb ‫ ישׁע‬shares the same root as ‫י ֵשׁוּ ַע‬
(Jesus, “Lord, save!”). Twice, the leader speaks directly to God (25, 28).
The author of Hebrews presupposes communal worship:
[Your] way of life [must be] free from the love of money, being content with what one
has. For He has said: I will never fail you, nor will I ever abandon you [Josh 1:5], so that,
being confident, we [are able] to say: The Lord is my helper, [and] I shall not be afraid:
What will a human being to me? [Ps 118:6] (13:5-6)
Christians stand between the resurrection and Parousia. Our faith and hope is partly grounded in
what God already accomplished in Christ, but also in God’s character and promise for the future.
D: The language and context describe help in time of need. Aristotle defines kindness as
“helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the
helper himself, but for that of the person helped,” which overlaps with divine love (ἀγάπῃ
θεοῦ).644 A recent study demonstrated that kindness is transformative in the doing of it.645
YHWH deserves our trust and hope because of incomparable power. Once the devil tempted a
hungry and exhausted Abba Macarius to use his pray for food. Macarius responded, “The Lord is
my strength and my song” (v. 14).646 By the end, the psalmist speaks of “my God” (v. 28).
641
The chapter is 118 in English Bibles after the ordering of the Masoretic text.
642
Brunson, Psalm 118, 2. It is heavily appropriated by the Fathers as well. Clement of Rome describes Jesus Christ as our “high
priest,” “benefactor,” and “helper of our weaknesses” (βοηθὸν τῆς ἀσθενείας ἡµῶν, 1 Clem. 36.1).
643
Expositions of the Psalms, 334-35.
644
Rhetoric 2.7 (tr. Honeycutt).
645
Adam Philips and Barbara Taylor, On Kindness (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2009), 12.
646
Ward and Russell, Lives of the Desert Fathers, 108.
137 Psalm 132 [131 OG]
S: The opening stanza emphasizes YHWH’s kindness (mercy) as an expression of his

goodness.647 For Jesus, God is uniquely good.648 It is not accidental that God reveals kindness
through salvific action. YHWH hears and helps.
Psalm 132 [131 OG]
MT
A Song of Ascents.
Remember, YHWH, in David’s favor649

all the pains he took, [1 Chron 22:14]
2
how he swore to YHWH,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, [Gen 49:24]
3
“I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4
I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5
until I find a place for YHWH,
an abode for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar. [1 Sam 7:1-2 // 1 Chron 13:5-6]
7
“Let us enter his abode;
let us worship at his footstool!”
8
Arise, YHWH, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness;
your saints shout for joy.
10
For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your Messiah.
11
YHWH swore to David
a sure oath from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
12
If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I will teach them,
then their sons also,
to the end of time,
will sit upon your throne.” [2 Sam 7]
13
For YHWH has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14
“This is my resting place forever;
647
Good (‫טוֹב‬, ἀγαθός) and mercy (‫ ֶחסֶד‬, ἔλεος) are both repeated four times.
648
Mark 10:18 par. Noted by Augustine (334).
649
Lit. “for David” = v. 17.
138 Psalm 132 [131 OG]
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

15
I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16
Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
17
There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my Messiah.
18
His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
OG
A Song of Stairs
Lord, remember David

and all his meekness,
2
as he swore to the Lord,
vowed to the God of Jacob:
3
“If I go into the tabernacle [tent] of my house,
if I go up to the couch of my bed,650
4
if I give sleep to my eyes
and slumber to my eyelids
and rest (ἀνάπαυσις) to my temples,
5
before I find a place for the Lord,
a tabernacle [tent] for the God of Jacob!”651
6
Behold, we heard it652 in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of the wood.
7
Let us enter into his tabernacles [tents].653
Let us worship654 at the place where his feet stood.
8
“Arise, Lord, into your rest—
you and the ark of your holiness.
9
Your priests will clothe themselves with righteousness,
and your pure will rejoice
10
because of David, your servant (δοῦλος).
Do not turn away the face of your Christ.”
11
The Lord truthfully swore to David
650
The seeming redundancy results from κλίνη (“couch”) having multiple uses—such as a dining couch.
651
A complex sentence with three protases, but no apodosis.
652
The feminine pronoun may replace πραΰτης.
653
Why the switch to the plural? Are the homes together on Zion?
654
BDAG s.v. προσκυνέω (κυνέω ‘to kiss’), Freq. used to designate the custom of prostrating oneself before persons and kissing
their feet or the hem of their garment, the ground, etc.; the Persians did this in the presence of their deified king, and the Greeks
before a divinity or someth. holy.) to express in attitude or gesture one’s complete dependence on or submission to a high
authority figure, (fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully.
139 Psalm 132 [131 OG]
and will never655 annul it:

“Of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne.
12 656
If your sons will guard my covenant
and these my testimonies that I will teach them,
even their sons will sit upon your throne forever.”
13
For the Lord elected Zion;
he chose her for his own habitation;
14
“This is my place-of-rest (κατάπαυσις) forever;
here I will dwell because I chose it.
15
I will surely bless her net;657
I will satisfy her destitute with bread.
16
I will clothe her priests with salvation; [Phil 3:9]
her pure will greatly rejoice.
17
There, I will cause to spring up658 a horn659 to David:
I prepared a lamp for my Christ. [John 1:6-9]
18
His enemies I will clothe with shame (αἰσχύνη);660 [1 John 2:28]
but upon him my holiness will flourish.
Translation: The Greek presents David’s suffering as “meekness” (πραΰτης). “Mighty One of
Jacob” becomes “God of Jacob.” The translator adds “and rest (ἀνάπαυσις) to my temples” (v.
4), “in the fields of Jaar” vs. “the fields of the wood” (v. 6), and “the ark of your holiness” (v. 8).
P: This, the longest song of ascent (Pss 120—134 [119-133 OG]), offers the last occurrence of
God’s anointed (Heb. Messiah, Gr. Christ) in the Psalter. It amplifies the national hope in the
collection.661 “For David” creates inclusio (vv. 1, 17). The psalm is divided by an emphasis on
David (vv. 1-9) and his descendants (vv. 10-16).662
David
The proclaimer becomes the proclaimed. An orphan psalm, the anonymous writer asks God to
remember David, specifically his humble desire to provide him an “abode,” a place of rest.
Yet David speaks, employing anacoluthon: the lack of apodosis heightens the passion of his
commitment (pathos). Indeed, it’s rash to make vows before YHWH, but the language “reminds”
God of his vow to David.
R: The psalm admits a tension between the security of the promise and the conditionality of an
obedient son of David—one who never materialized or fully developed. He emphasizes
655
οὐ µὴ
656
Unlike the previous protases, this one is a third class condition, which moves the conditional statement further from reality.
657
Probably the sense of provision (Brenton).
658
BDAG s.v. ἐξανατέλλω, spring up with connotation of a “quick-growing plant” (see Matt 13:5; Mark 4:5).
659
BDAG s.v. κέρας, a horn, often with a political connotation of power.
660
Juxtaposition with “will clothe her priests with salvation.”
661
Allen, Psalms 101-150, 209.
662
Wilcock, Psalms, 73-150, 241-242.
140 Psalm 132 [131 OG]
conditional elements that are not explicit in 2 Samuel 7.663 The final stanza appears to be
Messianic: “I will cause to spring up a horn to David.” God will take responsibility for the
problem.
The Chronicler cites the psalm (2 Chron 6:41-42). He sees initial fulfillment in Solomon’s
dedication of the first Temple on Zion, but looks forward to its fullest realization.664
The Prophets develop the sprout image (Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).
Head
Jesus alludes to the psalm:
There is another who witnesses about me, and I know that that witness that he witnesses
about me is valid. You have sent to John, and he has witnessed to the validity. But I am
not receiving the witness from a human. Instead, I say these things that you might be
saved. That one was the brightly burning lamp;665 you were willing to rejoice for an hour
in his light.” (John 5:32-35)
The allusion evokes the prologue:
In it666 was life, and the life was the light of people. And the light in the darkness shines,
and the darkness did not overcome667 it . . . There was a human being, who has been sent
from God. His name was John. This one came for a witness, that he might witness about
the light, that all might believe through him. That one was not the light, but (came) that
he might witness about the light. (John 1:4-5, 6-8)
The Psalms of Solomon anticipate the Baptist’s ministry: “May God cleanse Israel for the blessed
day of mercy, the appointed day for the appearance of his Messiah” (18.5).
We find another allusion in 1 John:
And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he is revealed we might have
confidence and not fall away from him ashamed (αἰσχύνω) at his coming.
Καὶ νῦν, τεκνία, µένετε ἐν αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἐὰν φανερωθῇ σχῶµεν παρρησίαν καὶ µὴ
αἰσχυνθῶµεν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ. (1 John 2:28)
This appears to be an important text behind John’s new temple theology. Jesus, the son of David,
will build a place for fellowship between God and his people. This is the climactic vision in
663
664
Van Harn et al., Psalms for Preaching, 342.
665
ὁ λύχνος ὁ καιόµενος καὶ φαίνων is probably hendiadys because of the anarthrous φαίνων.
666
It or “Him.”
667
Or “comprehend”—learning about something through a process of inquiry (see BDAG for references). From this perspective,
the darkness cannot understand what it hates. Our translation emphasizes the battle between the Logos as light and Satan as
darkness. Perhaps John is making a pun, with both senses of the verb. Light is knowledge and a vivifying force.
141 Select Bibliography
Revelation, which came to be the end of the Christian Bible and is therefore a fitting end to our
study.
Body
The psalm opens as the community’s speech to God. They appeal to the Davidic Covenant with
messianic expectation. They forcefully ask God to remember (v. 1) and come (8). God responds
by reaffirming his promises to David (vv. 11-18). The psalmist hears the Father’s speech to us in
Christ: “I prepared a lamp for my Christ.” He promises a glorious future: “His enemies I will
clothe with shame; but upon him my holiness will flourish.”
S: YHWH is “God of Jacob,” the one who called Abraham into covenant life. He cares about the
poor and hungry.
Select Bibliography
Literature on the Psalter is legion. I interact with most of this secondary literature, but there is
much more for the interested reader. Works in bold are especially significant.
Ahearne-Krolle, Stephen P. The Psalms of Lament in Mark’s Passion: Jesus’ Davidic

Suffering. SNTS 142. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Allen, Leslie C. Psalms 101-150. Word Bible Commentary 21. Waco, Tex.: Word, 1983.
Attridge, Harold W. “Giving Voice to Jesus: Use of the Psalms in the New Testament.” Pages
101-112 in Psalms in Community: Jewish and Christian Textual, Liturgical, and Artistic
Traditions. Edited by Harold W. Attridge and Margot E. Fassler. Atlanta: Society of
Biblical Literature, 2003.
Augustine. Exposition of the Psalms. Edited by Boniface Ramsey. Translated by Maria

Boulding. New York: New City Press, 2000-2003.
Bellinger, W. H. Psalms: A Guide to Studying the Psalter. 2nd ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Academic, 2012.
Boda, Mark J. “‘Declare His Glory Among the Nations’: The Psalter as Missional
Collection.” Pages in Christian Mission: Old Testament Foundations and New
Testament Developments. Edited by Stanley E. Porter and Cynthia Long Westfall.
McMaster New Testament Studies. Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick, 2011.
Bonar, Andrew A. Christ and His Church in The Book of Psalms. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel,
1978.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Translated by John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper
& Row, 1954.
_______. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg, 1970.
Bowen, Nancy R. “A Fairy Tale Wedding? A Feminist Intertextual Reading of Psalm 45.”
Pages 53-72 in A God So Near: Essays on Old Testament Theology in Honor or Patrick
D. Miller. Edited by Brent A. Strawn and Nancy R. Bowen. Winona Lake, Ind.:
Eisenbrauns, 2003.
Brueggemann, Walter. The Message of the Psalms: a theological commentary. Minneapolis,

Minn.: Augsburg, 1984.
Brunson, Andrew C. Psalm 118 in the Gospel of John: An Intertextual Study on the New Exodus
Pattern in the Theology of John. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament 158. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003.
Byassee, Jason. Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine. Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007.
Carola, Joseph. Augustine of Hippo: The Role of the Laity in Ecclesial Reconciliation.
Rome: Pontificia Università Gregoriana, 2005.
Carson, D. A. The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker, 2010.
Dalglish, Edward R. Psalm Fifty-One in Light of Ancient Near Eastern Patternism. Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1962.
Daly-Denton, Margaret. David in the Fourth Gospel: The Johannine Reception of the
Psalms. AGJU 47; Leiden: Brill, 2000.
Deale, Brooke Lemmons. “Divine Queenship and Psalm 45.” Ph.D. diss. Brite Divinity School,
2007.
Declaissé-Walford, Nancy, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth Laneel Tanner, The Book of Psalms.
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Eerdmans, 2014.
de Greef, Wulfert. The Writings of John Calvin: An Introductory Guide.

Expanded edition. Translated by Lyle D. Bierma. Louisville: Westminister
John Knox, 2008.
DelHousaye, John. “Jesus and the Meaning of Marriage: A Close Reading of Mark 10:1-12.”
The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 21 (2016): 80-89.
_______. “Praying with Kavanah: Watching Christ from Death to Glory.” Journal of Spiritual
Formation & Soul Care 2 (2009): 87-100.
Eaton, John. The Psalms: A Historical and Spiritual Commentary with an

Introduction and New Translation. London: Continuum, 2005.
Endo, Yoshinodu. The Verbal Aspect of Classical Greek in the Joseph Story: An
Approach from Discourse Analysis. Studia Semitica Neelandica. Netherlands:
Van Gorcum, 1996.
Evans, Craig A. Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies. Leiden: Brill, 1995.
Gauthier, Randall X. Psalms 38 and 145 of The Old Greek Version, 3. Supplements to Vetus
Testamentum 166. Leiden: Brill, 2014.
Gillingham, Susan. A Journey of Two Psalms: The Reception of Psalms 1 and 2

in Jewish and Christian Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
________, ed., Jewish and Christian Approaches to the Psalms: Conflict and Convergence
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Grant, Jamie A. The King as Exemplar: The Function of Deuteronomy’s Kingship Law in
the Shaping of the Book of Psalms. Atlanta, Ga.: SBL, 2004.
Gregory of Nyssa. On the Inscriptions of the Psalms. Translated by Ronald Heine.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Gunkel, Herman. The Psalms: A Form-Critical Introduction. Philadelphia, Penn.: Fortress

Press, 1967 [orig. 1930]).
Halls, Christopher. Jesus Reads The Psalms: A 100 Day Study Guide to the Old Testament
Book of Psalms. U.S.A.: Xulon, 2012.
Hillary. Tractatus super Psalmum.
Howard, David M. The Structure of Psalms 93—100. Biblical and Judaic Studies 5. Winona
Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1997.
Jacobs, Irving. The Midrashic Process: Tradition and Interpretation in Rabbinic Judaism.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995
Johnston, James. The Psalms. Vol. 1: Psalms 1 to 41: Rejoice, YHWH is King. Wheaton,
Ill.: Crossway, 2015.
Limburg, James. Psalms. Louisville, Ky.: Westminister John Knox, 2000.
Longman, Tremper. Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, Ill.:

InterVarsity, 2014.
Luther, Martin. A Manual of the Book of Psalms. Translated by Henry Cole. London: R. B.
Seeley and W. Burnside, 1837.
Mays, James L. Preaching and Teaching The Psalms. Edited by Patrick D. Miller and Gene
M. Tucker. Louisville, Ky.: Westminister John Knox Press, 2006.
________. Psalms. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.
________. YHWH Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms. Louisville, Ky.:

Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
McCann, J. Clinton. A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah.
Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1993.
McWhirter, Jocelyn. The Bridegroom Messiah and the People of God: Marriage in the
Fourth Gospel. SNTSMS 138. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Merton, Thomas. Praying the Psalms. U.S.A.: Liturgical Press, 1956.
Moyise, Steve and Maarten J.S. Menken, eds. The Psalms in the New Testament. New York:
T&T Clark, 2004.
Neale, J. M. A Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 1. 2nd ed.; London: Joseph Masters, 1869.
Peterson, David L. and Kent Harold Richards. Interpreting Hebrew Poetry. Minneapolis, Minn.:
Fortress, 1992.
Pohl, William C. “A Messianic Reading of Psalm 89: A Canonical and Intertextual Study.”
Journal of The Evangelical Theological Society 58 (2015): 507-25.
Porter, Stanley E. and Cynthia Long Westfall, eds. Christian Mission: Old Testament
Foundations and New Testament Developments. McMaster New Testament Studies.
Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick, 2011.
Postell, Seth D. Adam as Israel: Genesis 1—3 as the Introduction to the Torah and Tanakh.
Cambridge: James Clarke and Co, 2012.
Rashi. Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms. Translated by Mayer I. Gruber. New York: JPS,
2004.
Ross, Allen P. A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 1, 1-41. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel,
2011.
Sheehan, Donald. The Psalms of David. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2013.
Snearly, Michael K. The Return of the King: Messianic Expectation in Book V of the Psalter.
London: Bloomsbury, 2016.
Stocks, Simon P. The Form and Function of the Tricolon in the Psalms of Ascents:
Introducing a New Paradigm for Hebrew Poetic Line-form. Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick,
2012.
Subramanian, J. Samuel. The Synoptic Gospels and The Psalms as Prophecy. New York:
T&T Clark, 2007.
Sire, James W. Praying the Psalms of Jesus. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2007.
Terrien, Samuel. The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary. Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2003.
Theodore of Mopsuestia. Commentary on Psalms 1-81. Translated by Robert C. Hill.

Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006.
Tollefson, Torstein Theodor. Activity and Participation in Late Antique and Early Christian
Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Travers, Micahel Ernest. Encountering God in the Psalms. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 2003.
Van Harn, Roger E. and Brent A. Strawn, eds. Psalms for Preaching and Worship: A
Lectionary Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009.
Wallace, Howard N. Psalms. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2009.
Wenham, Gordon J. Psalms as Torah: Reading Biblical Song Ethically. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker Academic, 2012.

Reading The Psalms With Jesus

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reading The Psalms With Jesus

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reading The Psalms With Jesus

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is the structure and organization of the Psalms?

What is the structure and organization of the Psalms?

What are some of the major themes and topics covered in the book?

What are some of the major themes and topics covered in the book?

Reading the Psalms with Jesus

Phoenix Seminary Press

The Psalter ends with a fivefold doxology (146-150).

For emphasis, the psalmist may expand a bicolon into a tricolon.11

Bernd Janowski notes seven aspects of being human in the Psalter:

The complaining human being (Ps 13),

When he fled from Absalom his son (3:1)

According to the David Story, YHWH made a covenant with David:

Trinitarian Throne Conversations

The Jesus Psalter

Incarnation (8:6; 40:8)

Body as Temple (118:23)

According to Luke, Jesus knows the Psalms as a book (scroll):

He invites the subjective appropriation of an objective reality. Trinitarian Throne Conversations

Book 1: Separating from evil (repentance)

Evagrius of Pontus (346 – 399)

Gregory the Great

Summation: Three Contexts

But our Lord also worships the Father with us:

I will confess you among the Nations (Gentiles).

The author of Hebrews similarly places Jesus in the worship service:

Psalms 1—2: Wise Messiah

Blessed is the man . . . (1:1)

. . . Blessed are all who trust in him. (2:12)

Before and after Christ, the Psalter was viewed as prophetic.158

The second allusion occurs in The Tenants:164

ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ (1:3 OG)

‫( ֲא ֶ ֤שׁר פּ ְִרי֙וֹ׀ י ִתֵּ֬ ן ְבּע ִ֗תּוֹ‬1:3 MT)

Departure from ungodliness Purgative

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Blessed are all who trust in him.

‫ ַו ֲאנִי נ ַ ָ֣סכְתִּ י ַמל ִ ְ֑כּי‬,֭

And I have installed [anointed] my King

ἐγὼ δὲ κατεστάθην βασιλεὺς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ,

But I have been made king by him

Christians typically translate something like:

The OG supports this reading:

Finally, there is the different wording at v. 9.

OG: You will shepherd [rule] them with a rod of iron

MT: You will break them with a rod of iron

The psalm may be halved into two unequal stanzas:

υἱός µου εἶ σύ (Ps 2:7)

We find this conflict at the center of Revelation:

according to the flesh,

Let me give you my honest advice.

For the end,230 among the hymns for the eighth,

Who in Hades233 will profess234 you?

Psalm 8: Jewel of Creation

For your magnificence is exalted above the heavens.

And the following psalm opens:

Two rhetorical questions center the psalm:

What is a human being, that you are mindful of him?

Jesus cites Psalm 8 in The Triumphal Entry:

The citation is from the Old Greek as we have it:

ἐκ στόµατος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον (Ps 8:3 OG)