Our Psalms (Psalm 110)
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The book of Psalms is divided into 5 smaller books. Each of those books has within it smaller collections of poems either because of who wrote them, or their theme, or when they were written. Psalms is a collection of collections of collections, and each of these poems, we believe, are inspired by the Holy Spirit who gave that message to the people who put it down on paper.
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Book 1 contains 41 poems.
It begins:
Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
The Final chapter of Book One begins:
41:1 Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the day of trouble.
Book One is bracketed with ideas of how good it is to live with wisdom, and to care for people just like YHWH God does for us.
It ends with a doxology—a song of praise:
41:13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
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Book 2 contains 31 poems.
It begins:
42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
The final chapter of Book Two begins:
72:1 Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
Book Two is bracketed with the writer asking God to show up, first for provision, for survival, then for empowerment.
It ends with a doxology—a song of praise:
72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
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Book 3 contains 17 poems.
It begins:
73:1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
The final chapter of Book Three begins:
89:1 I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
Book Three is bracketed with a reminder to us to remind each other of God's faithfulness, care, and promises kept.
It ends with a doxology—a song of praise:
89:52 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen.
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Book 4 contains 17 poems.
It begins:
90: A prayer of Moses the man of God. 1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.
The final chapter of Book Four begins:
106:1 Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
Book Four is bracketed with celebration of God's timeless power and eternal nature: “From everlasting to everlasting You are.”
It ends with a doxology—a song of praise:
106:48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!”
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Book 5 contains 44 poems, primarily focussed on the worship and prayer that we share when we gather. Within Book Five are several easily identified smaller collections:
- Psalms 113-118 are called ‘The Hallel:’ The Praise. These Psalms were (and are today) sung on Passover nights, by families gathered in their homes, around tables filled with food. In rooms filled with soft light from oil lamps, filled with the memory of the day when they walked out of Egypt, to live free for the first time in generations. Grandparents, grandchildren singing together.
- Psalms 120-134 are called Songs of Ascent. They were sung during days of pilgrimage, by believers travelling to Jerusalem for festivals of faith, celebrating freedom, or harvest. Celebrating forgiveness, or the Kingship of Yahweh God.
- Psalms 146-150 are the grand finale of the whole book. The other four Books each end with a doxology; this section is all doxology. All 5 of these psalms begin and end with, “Hallelujah! Praise Yahweh God!”
Book 5 begins:
107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so...
The final chapter of Book Five begins:
150:1 Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
Book Five is bracketed with a call to every living being, to the entire nation, to speak the Name and the Goodness of God.
50:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Hallelujah!
Why do we still need these songs today?
First, because they are scripture. As Christians, we place great respect and great weight on the words that are in this book. They were given to us by the Holy Spirit, written out of human hearts and human imagination. They were gathered, preserved, and set apart as sacred by believers. Who knows how much other writing was done at the same time, but these ones had something special.
Poetry is art. It’s not instruction, teaching us how to. It's not like telling a story in a mystery novel. Poetry is art, and art is human. But this poetry speaks both, at the same time, with the voice of humanity and the voice of the divine. We need these poems because God gave us these poems.
A second reason is that on a personal level, they provide us with vocabulary for our conversation with God. When I'm looking for a greeting card—a birthday card for my husband—I sort of know what I want to say, but don't know exactly how. So I look through the racks of cards until I finally find the one. Scripture gives us vocabulary for conversation with God.
Third, the Psalms also give us permission to acknowledge our own darkness. There's some difficult language in the Psalms. There are places where the writers are brutally honest. They say things like, “God! This is what I wish you would do to my enemies!” “God! This is how bad I feel right now about that thing that I did!” In the Psalms, when we encounter that ugly kind of language—those confessions of personal guilt, those anger moments, those demands for justice—when we read those things in someone else's voice, it gives us the opportunity to recognize the darkness in ourselves and to step back from the edge. To remind ourselves that, yes, God will work justice. That is not my responsibility. Yes, God will forgive me. It's not my responsibility to beat myself up until I feel better.
Poetry is art. Art holds up a mirror. Sometimes that mirror is straight on and in your face. High def, so you can't miss a wart or a wrinkle, and you know exactly what you look like.
Sometimes that mirror is on a bit of an angle. To give you the experience of seeing something you might not have seen before. To see around a corner you didn't even know was there. To see from a perspective you had not considered. When we read or listen to the Psalms, the Holy Spirit is holding that mirror. This is why we say that scripture is ‘living.’ These words are alive because it is the Holy Spirit within them, working with the Spirit within us, to change us, to challenge us. To make us seek for an answer to the question that Jesus asked so long ago: who do you say I am? What are you going to do about it?
Finally, the Psalms provide us with theology—God-talk—for understanding better who God is, what He's done, what He's like, what He's not like, what He's going to do. And very often in the Psalms (recognized in both the Jewish tradition and the Christian tradition) we see hints that point us toward Messiah.
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