Psalms of Lament pt. 1

Transcription

1 LESSON 6 OF 24 OT505 The Book of Psalms Bruce K. Waltke, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida The following lecture has been produced for the Christian University GlobalNet and is copyrighted by Christian University GlobalNet, Grand Rapids, Michigan. All audio rights are reserved worldwide. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Christian University GlobalNet. The lecturer holds exclusive publication rights to all of the intellectual material in the lecture. Bruce K. Waltke, Ph.D.: Notes: We concluded the last lecture discussing and comparing in contrasting the prayer life of the Old Testament saint with the prayer life of the New Testament saint. We said the crucial word to describe the difference between the prayer life of these two saints is to say that the New Testament saint has a better prayer life. He has a better prayer life because He has a better relationship with God, a better revelation of the grace of God and a better priesthood. With regard to his better relationship we pointed out first of all that both have the relationship of a servant to a Lord but the New Testament saint alone has the relationship of a friend. It is also true that the New Testament alone has the clear relationship of a child to a father. Only in the New Testament do we learn that the saints are begotten of God, literally born by the Spirit of God. Hence they come into an intimate personal procreative relationship of a child to a father. The significance of this of course would seem to be that the New Testament saint has a more intimate relationship with God than the Old Testament saint had. One need only to think of his relationship to his employee to his employer in contrast to his relationship to his father. We are much more selective in our requests of our employers than we are of our requests to our father. A child to his father asks his rather for most everything, every little detail of life. My children continually come to me with all their problems and wlth that which we might consider the trivia of life. So likewise we are exhorted in the New Testament to come for our daily bread, our daily needs and the little things that we have. Our relationship is much closer that of a child to his parent. We not only have a better relationship in that we are now friends and children but it is also true that we have a better revelation of the grace of God. It is not that the Old Testament saint was unaware of the grace of God, the Old Testament saint knew of God s grace for frequently the psalmist begins his petition with a prayer for God to be gracious. We will hear them as we get into 1 of 7

2 the psalms, Be gracious O Lord. But the Old Testament saint never knew the depths and width of God s grace as the New Testament saint does. By depth I mean that extent of his grace that God was willing to die for His creatures. That is a revelation not fully comprehended by the Old Testament saint - that God was willing to die for His creation. And secondly he didn t fully understand the extent, the width, the breath of God s grace, namely that He died for all men. The extent of His grace is much more universal whereas He though in much more particularistic terms than the New Testament saint. This affects, obviously, the prayer life of these saints. As a result the New Testament saint does not pray the imprecatory prayers of the Old Testament saint. The Old Testament saint prayed that God would destroy the wicked. Now we should say at the outset here that these prayers are not immoral. They are not wrong, they are not morally wrong that we should apologize for them. They are good and proper prayers for the psalmist to pray, for he is occupied with God s glory. I do not believe any New Testament saint would pray as David prayed in Psalm 58:6, as he spoke of the wicked and he said, Break their teeth O God in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions O Lord. Let them melt away like waters which run continually. When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows let them be as cut in pieces like a snail which melteth. Let everyone of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman that they may not see the sun. Here he is praying in very figurative and strong language for the overthrow and the destruction of his wicked enemies. Now he s praying for this because he is concerned with God s glory. These prayers are good, for you see the name of God is being tarnished so long as the wicked prosper upon this earth. Actually the Lord s prayer in a sense is an imprecatory prayer, when Jesus prayed, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In a certain sense he is praying for the destruction of the wicked. Remember how the Lord s prayer begins, Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Now involved in this coming of God s kingdom and the doing of God s will is that wicked and unrighteousness will be stamped out and obliterated from the face of the earth and that God s name will no longer be tarnished. Let me illustrate what I mean here. If a parent has unruly children it calls into question the parent s ability to rule. When a father has disobedient children we do not call him a good father. His name is tarnished by his children. When a government has unruly subjects it calls into question the ability of that government to rule. If in our streets we find brigandage and looting and rioting and lawlessness it calls into question the ability of our administration to rule its people. So likewise God s name is being tarnished by all of the warfare and the continual breaking of God s law upon this earth. One of the major arguments against even the existence of God is the question, If there is a God why then all this evil? God s name is being tarnished and our Lord is praying, Hallow it, let your name be set apart by the bringing in of your will upon this earth. So then we conclude that these prayers are not wrong. They are good prayers, they are holy prayers just as the law is holy and it is good. But today because we know 2 of 7

3 more of God s grace, the depths of that grace and the breadth of that grace we now know that God is involved in saving these wicked. He is long suffering toward the wicked during this age of grace. As Peter put it in II Peter 3: 9, The Lord is not slack concerning His promises as some men count slackness but he is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish. And today because we have such a clearer view of the grace of God and the motives of God and the desire of God we do not pray for the destruction of the wicked. We are praying for the salvation of the wicked. And with both our Lord and with the first martyr of the church, Stephen, we pray, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Hence we pray differently because we have a better revelation of God than the Old Testament saint had. We pray differently not only because we have a better relationship and a better revelation but we also pray differently because we have a better priesthood. Of course this is the argument of the book of Hebrews. Whereas the Old Testament saint had a mediator, a priest who was subject to death and was contaminated with sin, we have a priest who lives forever and totally apart from sin and because we have such a high priest and such a mediator we come with greater boldness and confidence to this throne of grace that we might find help and succor in our time of need. So much then regarding the relationship of the prayer life of the Old Testament saint with the prayer life of the New Testament saint. Now before we go into an analysis of individual lament psalms I would want to set forth the basic motifs that one should look for in the lament psalms. The best discussion and the best analysis of lament psalms is that done by Claus Westermann in his excellent work, The Praises of God in the Psalms, John Knox Press, 1965, pages 64 and following. Westermann points out that in the lament psalms there are typically or normally five motifs. We should look for the address, that is the direct turning to God, crying out to God, calling upon his name with an introductory cry for help and/or of turning to God. The lament psalms are characterized by their address. They normally begin, 0 Lord, 0 Shepherd of Israel and similar terminology. The psalmist in his need will turn immediately to God for help. And then frequently the lament psalm has an introductory petition and lament and it s extremely helpful in analyzing this type of psalm to keep this introductory petition and lament distinct from the petition proper and the lament proper. Now I am not going to go into great detail here because we will be seeing this in detail as we break apart the various psalms. After the address commonly we will find a lament. We should keep in mind that the psalms are not stereotyped. Sometimes you will find a confession of trust before the lament for example but we should look for these motifs. A second motif to look for is the lament. In either a brief or extended fashion the psalmist describes his lamentable state and frequently this section has three subjects. He will speak, Thou O God, how long will you go on ignoring me. And then he, second subject not only, Thou hast forgotten me but I am in this deplorable lamentable situation. And thirdly, the third subject he will look to is his foes or his enemies who are all around him. 3 of 7

4 A third motif is the confession of trust. Many psalms in fact have such an extended section pertaining to the confidence of the psalmist that it is sometimes difficult to decide whether the psalm should be classified as a lament or as a song of trust. Toward the end of these lectures I will give a sermon on Psalm 139 which is essentially a psalm of confidence but it s not solely confidence such as Psalm 91 or Psalm 27 or Psalm 23 because it will have a petition section at the end of it. But a third motif found in the lament psalms is that of an expression of the psalmist s trust and confidence in God. A fourth motif to look for is that of petition. Frequently two petitions are present. This is both true in the petition proper and also in the introductory petition. There is a petition for God to be favorable to the psalmist. The psalmist will say, Look upon me, pay attention to me. Give your ear to me. And then not only will he ask God to be favorable but he will ask God to intervene on his behalf. Common verbs are save me, deliver me, bring me out, rescue me. And frequently one will find a reason for God to intervene. The psalmist in these petitions, both the introductory petition and in the petition proper will seek to motivate God to act Oh his behalf and we ll point these out as we get into the psalms. Finally there is either a vow of praise or the psalmist will break into acknowledgment for that which God has done. If it concludes with a vow of priase the mood is still one of petition. The mood has not really shifted, it is only now he says God when you answer me then I will pay vows to you. The psalmist then in this kind of psalm, and we will see some, does not assume the petition has been granted but he offers vows if God will answer. And normally he includes the content of his vows. That is, he presents the praise he will offer if God will answer him. We must not think here that the psalmist is engaging in crass bargaining with God. He is not saying 0 God if you will do this for me, then I will do this for you and I will pay you back and it=s a motivation in that sense. No, the spirit of the vow is simply this. God, when you answer my prayer it is only right that I acknowledge what you have done for me. It is the basic theology of these psalms, and we ll see this quite clearly when we work with Psalm 40, that it is a sin not to acknowledge what God has done for you. One of the motivating factors in the petition psalms that we will see is this that God, if you do not answer me there will be no acknowledgment, there will be no praise offered in the temple regarding your greatness. The grave is silent, there is no praise and God, if you do answer me then I will acknowledge what you have done and your name will be magnified. This was all to the interest of God, to His glory, that His name would be magnified, that it would be demonstrated in this darkened earth that there is a living God, alive in behalf of His people. Other psalms do not end with a vow of praise but they go immediately into what Westermann calls the declarative praise or I would call acknowledgment. The whole mood changes in this sort of a psalm. It s an abrupt change from one of petition to one of acknowledgment that God is active in his behalf. The psalmist is so confident that God will 4 of 7

5 answer his prayer in these psalms that he offers up the acknowledgment he will offer in the temple when the petition has been granted in reality. One may wonder sometimes as you read these psalms, how can we account for the sudden change of mood, this sudden burst of praise, of shlfting from one of lament and now into one of total confidence. Some have suggested such as Begrich that perhaps the priest or prophet has interrupted the psalmist and said, your prayer has been granted. There is some indication for that. For example in Psalm 51 David cries out, Cause me to hear joy and gladness. I understand David to be praying in this specific type of lament psalm really a lament over sin and a petition for forgiveness. He is praying that God will pronounce him clean through the lips of the priest. Read the psalm in that light and many of the expressions there will make sense. We have analogy to this that this actually did occur in the case of Hannah when she was pouring out her complaint and her desire along with her vows before God in requesting a son and in the midst of her prayer Eli said, Your petition has been granted and immediately she got up and washed and changed her clothing, and went home. The same thing is true here that perhaps a priest or a prophet has assured the psalmist that his petition has been granted. Another explanation is that by faith the psalmist knows intuitively that his prayer has been heard. He bases it upon some covenant promise for example. Westermann concludes during the praying of these psalms no miracle has occured but something else has occurred. God has heard and inclined Himself to the one praying. God has had mercy on him. Now it is important to recognize again and to re emphasize this is the basic scheme that is looked for and addressed with an introductory cry for help and a turning to God. Look for a lament, look for the confession of trust, look for the petition, look for either a vow of praise or a declarative praise, but remember this is never stereotyped. The possibility of variations are unusually numerous. Now let us turn our attention to some lament psalms and see these motifs in operation. The first psalm I would call your attention to is David s last psalm recorded in the Psalter, Psalm 142. And in this case I will be working out of the Revised Standard Version because I believe in this particular psalm, it is a better translation and I won t have to be working quite so hard in changing tenses and changing the text and so forth as I might do if I were working with the King James. We read in the superscription that this is a maschíl, that is it is a contemplative poem by David and we re told that he was in the cave. That is, he was out there in the wilderness of Judah either in the cave of Adullum or the cave of Engedi. And I would say here we are told the historical setting and one ought to put himself in that historical setting and see David s desperate plight. He was in this cave when he was fleeing from Saul as you will recall. Picture that topography. Picture that terrain that you find there. It is a series of mountains, desolate, barren, arid mountain tops, and you go down suddenly in the steep decline from the high hills of Judah right on down into the Dead 5 of 7

6 Sea. And what David would do when he was fleeing from Saul, he would find himself in these mountainous terrains and then he would become encircled by Saul and he would have to get up on top of one of these mountains in a cave on the side of the mountain and Saul with hls thousands of soldiers and David with his outlaws would be trapped on top of these mountains just as the Romans entrapped the Judeans at Masada on the hilltop on the top of the hill by putting a camp and a wall all around the base of the mountain. Saul could trap David on one of these mountaintops in the hill country of Judah by encircling it with his army and then gradually make thelr way up to the top of the mountain and David s plight was desperate. Now what I would normally do in the expositlon of these psalms I will seek to give you a synopsis, a summary statement concerning the contents of the psalm and then by God s grace I will seek to break it apart and analyze it. Now having given that setting David is in one of these caves and Saul is all around him, we would summarize the psalm in this fashion. Because he is utterly helpless before his enemies, there is no one else who cares for him and he cannot save himself, the psalmist, or David, must depend solely on Yahweh, the Lord for his deliverance. There is no escape, no one else is wanting to help him, he cannot help himself, he is shut up to God alone, who will become his cave, his refuge. Now having given the synopsis, let s look at the overall structure of the psalm. You will see by the addressees in the psalm that it falls into two parts. In verses 1 and 2 we have the introduction, for David is addressing the congregation. He is talking about God. You see it begins, I cry with my voice to the Lord. With my voice I make supplication to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell my trouble before him. So he s talking about God, he s not talking to God. Now then we come to verse 3 the addressee changes and verses 3 7 David is addressing God and so our psalm falls into two parts. Roman numeral 1 then if you please, the psalmist addresses the congregation is so composed that it will be for the congregation and others who will find themselves in like desperate straits with David could use the psalm. In this address to the congregation we re told, He will pour out his complaint aloud before Yahweh, verses 1 and 2. And this is really the main point of verse 1, that he will cry aloud. It s emphasized, I cry with my voice. With my voice I make supplication. And he tells us in verse 2 that he will make his complaint known to Yahweh. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell my trouble before Him. Now after that introduction we now turn to the major body of the psalm and the psalmist addresses Yahweh, verses 3-7. In verses 3 and 4 we will find the lament. In verse 5 we have a word of confidence. In verses 6 and 7, a. and b. we have the petition section and then finally in 7c we have the anticipated praise. You can see all these motifs. First of all then notice the lament in verses 3 and 4. In a word his lament is this. His foes seek to kill him and there is no one who cares. Actually, at the 6 of 7

7 beginning of verse 3, we have a slight apology for in verse 4 David is going to use a bold anthropomorphism and he s going to say to God, Look on my right hand and see my desperate situation and sort of as an apologetic, he says in verse 3, When my spirit is faint I know you know my ways. Almost all prayer is a bold anthropomorphlsm. But having said that I know you know my ways, now he pours out his lament and his lament in 3b is this. His foes have set a trap for him, metaphorical language, In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. And then in verse 4 he cries out, he says in his lament, There is no one to help me. He says to God, Look on my right hand and see. There is none who takes notice of me. No refuge remains to me. No man cares for me. Now having poured out his lament and his desperate situation that his foes have set a trap and there is no one there to help him, now he expresses his confidence in Yahweh in verse 5. I cry to thee O Lord, I say Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. And now having expressed his confidence here, his petition, in verses 6 and 7 a. and b. First of all as we said we might expect there is a petition for God to be favorable to him in verse 6 Give heed to my cry. And now he seeks to motlvate God by showing how desperate is his strait. For I am brought very low. And now his second petition asking God not only God to be favorable but now comes the petition for God to intervene. ADeliver me from my persecutors. And now the motivation again, For they are too strong for me. In a word he is petitioning God to deliver him because he cannot save himself and now notice the third petition. Bring me out of this prison. Again probably metaphorical, it s as though he were in a prison, shut in there as he is. Why? The third motivation is that I may give thanks. This is our word tôdãh, That I may give acknowledgment to your name, that I may acknowledge what you have done for me. And now here s the praise that will come. The righteous will surround me in the day when you have delivered me. For thou wilt deal bountifully with me. It s quite clear I think that the psalm had been adapted for the congregation and so that all could hear what David had done for him when he comes up to the Ark of God. He tells them how he cries out with his voice and how when God answers him they will surround, him and there will be great praise and acknowledgment to God for that which he has done. This course is a part of the curriculum offered through Christian University GlobalNet (CUGN). To learn more, visit us at All material in the preceding lecture is protected by registered international copyright and may not be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Christian University Globalnet. 7 of 7