Encountering the Book of Psalms by C. Hassell Bullock

Author:C. Hassell Bullock [Hassell Bullock, C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Old Testament, Bible (Psalms—Criticism | interpretation | etc), REL006000, REL006090, REL006210
ISBN: 9781493414468
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-06-21T16:00:00+00:00

Table 7.3

Individual Psalms of Lament: Songs of the Sick and Anguished

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Interestingly there is only one complaint against God in this group (Ps. 17:3). The psalmist has the sense that God is looking for some reason to blame him, but, like Job, he claims his innocence. In the same vein, we note that there are no self-indictments as we find in tables 7.2 and 7.3. A personal innocence pervades these psalms. Rather, complaints against the psalmist’s enemies, of which he has plenty, are found in all of these psalms, and that is their qualifying characteristic. The solution to the problem is again found, rather surprisingly given the psalmist’s innocence, in the character of God, even though the psalmist’s personal integrity is quite important (7:8; note his oath to that effect in vv. 3–5; 11:5, 7; 57:7). Either the Lord’s mercy, his sense of justice, or his power to intervene comes into focus as the more immediate way out of the psalmist’s crisis. The psalmist’s confidence in God and his hope for a solution to his problem can be seen in the “Solution” line of table 7.4 as well as in the psalmist’s various expressions of trust in God, and also in the five instances of the vow to praise.

Perhaps it is of some significance that all except two of these psalms occur in Book 1, a book dominated by David’s conflicts with his enemies, and all of them are Davidic psalms. We should not, however, conclude that these enemies were all national, for we know from the historical books that David had many personal enemies.

Community Psalms of Lament Involving the Nations

Table 7.5 presents an analysis of the community laments, or the laments of the people. The plural pronouns and frequent references to the nation characterize these psalms. Most of these thirteen psalms focus on some national crisis. In eight of them the psalmist’s attention turns toward God, who, by his assessment, has rejected Israel or is angry with them. There are no self-indictments, while the enemies get a pretty good tongue-lashing. The national consciousness appears prominently in these psalms, particularly in the appeal to Yahweh’s work in history. Eight of the thirteen include references to the past (44:1–3; 74:2–3, 13–17; 77:5, 10–20; 80:8–11; 83:9–12; 85:1–3; 90:1; 126:1–3). The solution to the national problem is most often divine intervention like what has occurred in the past (see “Solution” line in table 7.5). But even Yahweh’s intervention is not merely a naked display of his power but a positive expression of his character. He is a God of mercy and justice.

The vow to praise is, like the language of this group of psalms, phrased in the plural, occurring in only three cases (44:8; 79:13; 80:18, with a variation in 74:21). As has been observed above, the vow to praise was basically an individual activity, but there is certainly no reason why the nation could not also pledge itself to the praise of God. Indeed, it was most appropriate.

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