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Corporate Prayer Psalms
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The corporate prayers are Psalms 9–10; 12; 14; 44; 53; 58; 60; 67; 74; 79; 80; 82; 83; 85; 89 (also a royal psalm); 90; 94; 106; 108; 137; 144 (with royal adaptations). Their literary motifs are very similar to those of the individual prayers. But instead of the “confession of trust” there is often a “reference to past saving deeds,” which recalls corporate, historical traditions. In addition, the “vow of praise” does not appear to be an essential component, as in the individual prayers.
Corporate prayers reflect national crises and draw from national traditions to form an argument to persuade God.
The corporate prayer psalms tend to be longer and contain a more sustained argument for Yahweh’s intervention, based on His earlier praiseworthy acts known from prior tradition. In some cases, the psalm juxtaposes these earlier praise traditions with the lamentable experience of the congregation, which is described as a reversal of the prior precedent of salvation (see esp. Pss 44; 89).
Individual Thanksgivings
Individual thanksgivings commemorate God’s answer to a prior individual prayer in a congregational setting
The thanksgiving psalms are Psalms 30; 32; 34; 116; 138 (see also 40:1–10; 66:13–20; 118: 5–18, 21, 28). While the psalmic hymns (tehillah) extol God’s attributes and deeds in general or summary fashion, the individual thanksgivings (todah) praise Him for a single, recent deliverance.
They generally contain these motifs.
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1. Proclamation of praise
“I exalt you, O Lord” (Ps 30:1a)
2. Introductory summary
“for you lifted me out of the depths” (Ps 30:1)
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3. Report of deliverance
a. Recounting the lament
“when you hid your face, I was dismayed” (Ps 30:6–7)
b. Recounting the petition
“To you O Lord, I called” (Ps 30:8–10, and 30:2)
c. Recounting God’s response and deliverance
“You turned my wailing into dancing” (Ps 30:11, and 30:3)
4. Renewed vow of praise
“I will give you thanks forever” (Ps 30:12)
5. Hymnic praise
“Sing to the Lord . . . for his anger lasts only a moment” (Ps 30:4–5)
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The individual thanksgivings form the flip side of the individual prayers, forming the praise vowed at the end of the prayer psalms. The “report of deliverance” is essentially a testimony and is largely a rehearsal of the earlier prayer. As these thanksgivings address a congregation (Ps 30:4; 116:14, 18–19; cf. 22:22, 25), they were likely performed in a formal, public ceremony, perhaps at the temple. In most cases, accompanying the performance of a thanksgiving psalm there would be a thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 116:17–19).
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6.3.9. Royal Psalms
The royal psalms are Pss. 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 89 (also a corporate prayer); 101 (though perhaps related to temple entry); 110; 144 (though probably a composite applied to the postexilic community) (note also 132:1–12).
Royal psalms prescribe the ideals of Davidic kingship. They underwent a prophetic reinterpretation, encouraging expectations of new David/messiah.
Although the Davidic king is central to each, these psalms do not form a literary genre per se, as they contain a variety of literary motifs and reflect a variety of social functions, such as coronations (Pss 2; 110), weddings (Ps 45), prayers before and after battles (Pss 18; 20; 21; 89), and general intercessions (Ps 72).
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While the Royal psalms come to have messianic significance in the New Testament, they were originally sung on behalf of the Davidic kings in the pre-exilic period. They reflect the prescribed ideals of the monarchy, such as a reign characterized by righteousness and justice and by victory and an extensive empire. The historical books of 1–2 Kings, however, reflect the described realities of the monarchy and tell of its ultimate failure to reach these ideals. In Psalm 89, for example, the dynastic oracle promises the king a claim to divine sonship and to supremacy over earthly kings (Ps 89:26–27), but the later lament describes the king’s miserable failure in battle (Ps 89:49).
So if the Davidic monarchy ended in failure with the Babylonian exile, why were the Royal psalms retained in the Book of Psalms, which was finalized in the postexilic period—when Judah had no king of their own under the Persian Empire? Their retention is best explained by their reinterpretation exemplified in the Prophets, who took up the language of these royal psalms and engendered the hope for a new David (e.g., Isa. 9:6–7; 11:1–5; Mic. 5:2–5a; Jer. 23:5–6; Ezek. 34:23–24; 37:24–28; Zech. 9:9–10). Thus, even before the New Testament these psalms took on prophetic significance.
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The New Testament then begins with the claim that “Jesus Christ” is “the son of David” (Matt 1:1) and takes a prophetic interpretation of psalms one step further. After the appearance of Jesus Christ, the Psalms were seen in a new light. Not only was He identified as “son of David” (Matt 1:1; 21:9, 15; 22:41–45), He was also “son of man” (Ps 8:4 and Heb 2:6–10), that is, He was both anointed king and supremely human. As the embodiment of the true Israel and of the Davidic persona in the psalms (see the sidebar, “David and the Psalms Superscripts”), even laments such as, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Ps 22:1, 18), can foreshadow the passion of the Lamenter par excellence (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34; and John 19:24; Matt. 27:35; Luke 23:34).
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Wisdom and Torah Psalms
Wisdom psalms echo wisdom themes (as in Proverbs). Torah psalms celebrate Pentateuchal precepts.
Wisdom psalms reflect the same wisdom tradition known from Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Rather than addressing God directly in worship, they incorporate literary forms characteristic of the wise sages and either teach wise living or probe life’s anomalies.
Psalm 37, for example, concerns the problem of the prosperity of the wicked and forms an acrostic, where the first word of each verse follows the Hebrew alphabet (as in the poem of the valiant wife closing the book of Proverbs, 31:10–31), and contains the “better than” proverbial form (cf. Ps 37:16 and Prov. 15:16; 16:8). Similarly, Psalm 49 probes the folly and fatal end of those who trust in their wealth and refers to literary forms such as the proverb and riddle. Psalm 112, another acrostic, celebrates the virtues and rewards of the righteous.
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The Torah psalms, Psalms 1, 19:7–19, and 119, uniquely refer to “the law of the Lord.” While “torah” is usually translated “law,” the word means “instruction,” and thus can include instruction of any form, such as laws, narratives, and poems. Because Psalms 19 and 119 also refer to the Lord’s “testimonies,” “precepts, “commandments,” and “judgments,” the particular torah to which they refer is the Torah of the Pentateuch. These psalms testify to a dramatic shift in Israel’s faith: from the liturgies and rituals of the temple as the primary locus of devotion in the pre-exilic period to written Torah in the postexilic period.
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The Theology and Spirituality of the Psalms
It may be no accident that the Book of Psalms appears in the center of the Christian Bible. The Psalms express the heart and soul of the conversation that takes place between God and His people. Its popularity through the millennia lies in its human words that articulate our innermost joys, aspirations, and fears and in its prophetic words in which God Himself assures us and unmasks our pretensions.
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The psalms were human poems hammered out over generations of experience with God. As such they “mirror” their theology.
The Psalms are not merely ancient liturgies and literature for the curious. As Scripture, the Psalms disclose God. This is ironic because, unlike Mosaic Torah and the Prophets, the Psalms are primarily human words addressed to God. Yet as prayers and praises to God hammered out over generations of experience with God, they reflect what Israel found to be appropriate and effective speech to God. In this respect, they are not a “lens” focused on God, as the Prophets represent, rather they are a “mirror” reflecting the character of God.
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For example, time and again the psalms refer to “the face of God” (24:6; 27:4, 8; 105:4) and petition Him to “incline your ear” (17:6; 102:2) and to “see my affliction” (9:13; cf. 33:18). These claims are remarkable—especially considering they could have been misconstrued in the cultural context of ancient Israel. Among Israel’s neighbors “the face of God” was understood to have its literal counterpart in the face of a divine statue or idol. So the biblical Psalms, at the risk of people misinterpreting “God’s face” and thus violating the Bible’s repeated prohibition against images, nonetheless insist on using this metaphor to portray God as a living, interacting person.
For another example we should observe the lament or prayer psalms. Their laments attempt to move God to pity and their petitions implore Him to intervene. Together these motifs testify to the belief that God can be persuaded. Thus, indirectly, the Psalms makes a profound statement on the sovereign condescension of God, whereby He chooses to open Himself to human influence.
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In addition to being a source for theology, the Psalms urge God’s people to engage those beliefs in worship. For the Christian the Psalms are not only Scripture; they are also a hymnbook. The Apostle Paul enjoins believers to “address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16).
The Israelites sought a royal audience at Yahweh's palace and brought him tribute with their hymnic praises and ritual sacrifices.
The Psalms should not only inform beliefs about God, humans, and the world; they should also shape worship. The lament psalms invite God’s people into a world where they may “pour out” their “heart before him” (cf. Ps 62:8)—in terms that authentically disclose the heart, even if those laments are not always “theologically correct” (e.g., compare Ps 22:1 and 22:24). And the liturgies of temple entry and the hymns invite God’s people into the palace to have an audience with the cosmic King (Pss 24; 95).
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As the prophet Hosea enjoins the people of Israel, “Take with you words and return to the Lord” (Hos 14:2), so the Book of Psalms provides such words for God’s people to beseech and worship the Lord.