Old Testament Theology by R. W. L. Moberly

Author:R. W. L. Moberly [Moberly, R. W. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL006210, REL006090, Bible (Old Testament—Theology)
ISBN: 9781441243096
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-10-30T04:00:00+00:00

7

Faith and Perplexity*

Down through the ages, the most read and most used part of Israel’s scriptures, on the part of Jews and Christians alike, has been the Psalter. In the book of Psalms countless people have discovered and learned the language of prayer. They have made the words their own, and they have used these words when other words have failed. No attempt to hear some of the representative voices of the Old Testament would be complete without at least some attention to the Psalms.

The Hebrew name for the Psalter is Tehillim (Praises). Many psalms articulate praise and thanksgiving, and this is the note on which the Psalter ends, with a run of psalms that all end with halĕlū-yāh, “Praise the LORD.” To praise, to express wonder and joy and gratitude for life and its blessings, and to direct this to the one who gives it all, is fundamental within the life of faith.

Nevertheless, the single most common type of psalm is not the praise but the lament. In recent years much attention has been directed to psalms of lament, not least from a renewed appreciation of the spiritual and psychological importance of honesty in facing the many difficulties and perplexities that can be part of the life of faith, and of giving expression to this in prayer and worship. In line with this, I will consider here Psalms 44 and 89, which are broadly two psalms of lament, though a distinctive kind of lament.

A Reading of Psalm 44

This psalm is conventionally recognized as a psalm of communal lament; indeed it is the first such in the sequence of the Psalter.1 Its date is uncertain, and any decision about date and origin depends on which context one might infer from the words of the psalm itself. I will suggest, however, that the nature of the psalm is such that, whenever it was written, its interpretation resists being closely attached to any one historical context, for its purpose is to address a recurrent issue within the life of God’s people.

The psalm is in four parts (vv. 1–8, 9–16, 17–22, 23–26),2 or perhaps five if one divides verses 1–8 into two sections (but nothing of substance hangs on this possible subdivision). Despite the differences in content and tone between the parts, it is important to read them in relation to the whole if the psalm is to be understood.

Although much contemporary scholarship is open to unitive readings of biblical texts, it is worthwhile not to forget that a former generation of scholars tended to read differently. For example, in T. K. Cheyne’s 1904 commentary, Psalm 44 is divided into two separate texts. One (vv. 1–8 of the canonical text) was “probably the preface to a lost historical psalm” and so ends with an editorial “conclusion lost.” The other (vv. 9–26 of the canonical text) was “a prayer of the innocent martyr-nation,” which is prefaced by an editorial “some stanzas lost.”3 As ever, interpretive judgments are integral to the process of reading, and

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