Old Testament Lesson 25 – “Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord”

Psalms

The book of Psalms is a collection of poems originally sung as praises or petitions to God. Many were written by David. This book is like a hymnal from ancient Israel.

Many psalms prophesy of Christ’s mission as the Messiah. Note the fulfillment of the following prophecies about Christ that are written in the book of Psalms:

Prophecy                   Fulfillment

Psalm 69:20              Mark 14:32-41

Psalm 22:7-8             Matt 27:39-43

Psalm 22:16              Mark 15:25

Psalm 22:18              Matt 27:35

Psalm 22:1                Matt 27:46

Psalm 16:10              Acts 2:31-32; 13:34-35

Read the following psalms that express gratitude to the Savior for his mercy, forgiveness, and love: Psalms 23; 51; 59:16; 78:38; 86:5, 13;100:4–5; 103:2–4, 8–11, 17–18.

Read the following psalms that teach the importance of trusting in the Lord: Psalms 4:5; 5:11; 9:10; 18:2; 56:11; 62:8; 118:8–9.

Read the following psalms about the temple: Psalms 5:7; 15:1–3; 24; 27:4;65:4; 84:1–2, 4, 10–12; 122; 134.

 

OT Gospel Doctrine Lesson #25, Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord
Psalms

The Psalms are composed of temple/tabernacle hymns by David and some of the priests.

The Psalms covers so many concepts that not all can be easily done in one lesson. Sadly, when we try to cover the entire Old Testament in a single year, we miss out on some of the best poetry and teachings in the scriptures. And that is what we find in Psalms.

 

Understanding Old Testament Poetry (links to ensign article)

Many people are surprised to learn that as much as a third of the Old Testament is written in poetry. In addition to the poetic books, Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, isolated poems are preserved throughout the Pentateuch and the historical books, such as Jacob’s patriarchal blessings to his twelve sons (Gen. 49), the songs and blessings of Moses (Ex. 15 andDeut. 32–33), the song of Deborah (Judg. 5), and the song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2). A substantial portion of the prophetic writings is also poetic in structure. Many of the prophets of ancient Israel wrote their messages in Hebrew poetic forms, and their discourses recorded in the Old Testament are often framed in Hebrew poetry. Therefore, both for purposes of understanding and appreciation, students of the Old Testament should have some familiarity with Hebrew poetry.

The first thing to learn about poetry in the Old Testament is that it is different from the Western poetry with which we are most familiar. Prior to the eighteenth century, ¹ scholars generally tried to describe Hebrew poetry in terms of classical Western composition—with reference to meter and other conventions we normally associate with poetry. But classical models can be misleading; although it is possible to recognize rhythms in Hebrew poetry, for example, the poetry is not based on a metrical system. Further, unlike much English poetry, rhyme is virtually unknown in Hebrew poetry. Rather than using meter or rhyme, Hebrew poetry uses patterns of repetition.

Both in poetry and prose, repetition is the hallmark of the Hebraic style. ²It is such a dominant element in Hebraic writing that it can even be seen in the grammar of the language. For instance, Hebrew favors a construction known as the cognate accusative, where a verb and a related noun are used in the same sentence, as in Genesis 37:5: “Joseph dreamed (verb) a dream (noun).” [Gen. 37:5] In English, we would avoid the repetition and simply say “Joseph had a dream.” Another example is the way Hebrew supplies the force of a superlative by repetition, as in Exodus 30:10, which literally reads, “It is a holiness of holinesses unto the Lord” [Ex. 30:10] (translated in English as “It is most holy unto the Lord”), and as in the threefold repetition of Isaiah 6:3: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” [Isa. 6:3]

 

*** Book of Mormon.  Donald Parry from BYU has formatted the  Book of Mormon in Poetry and Parallelism.  A link to the PDF is here.  ***

He puts every Synonymous phrase, Identical Word phrase, Opposite phrase, complement, metaphor, double simile, resultative relationship, chaism and parallelism possible in formatted form in this amazing book.  Free online. 

***end BoM***

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This, I think, is the one advantage of non-KJV versions of the bible.  The formatting of songs and poetry.  They do it, the KJV does not. 

 

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In Hebrew, Psalms is: Th'hilliym or Tehillim‎, תְהִלִּים. It simply means, “Praises.” When reading Psalms, it is important to focus on the location where these were anciently sung: in front of the Tabernacle and in holy settings. There are 150 songs or hymns in Psalms. Some are long, and often may be combined chants. The Psalms were meant to be sung or chanted, and some even have instrumentation and note the tune to be played.

However, since none come with musical annotation, we do not know what the original music was like.

Muslims believe David received the Psalms in the same way that Moses received the Torah, or Mohammad received the Quran.  That is, directly from heaven.

Music

Here is psalm 23 by the St. John’s college choir in Cambridge.  The 23rd psalm says…

(Play Psalm 23)

KJV 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of theLord for ever.

Remember that, as foreign as music such as these Psalms can sound to us…compare that with…

Play Come Come ye Saints (Sabre Rattlers). 

You could make an argument that this is a modern day Psalm, something that is poetic, tells a story, is made to be sung. And we enjoy the music, we understand it, it is familiar to us. 

However it was sung, Psalm 23 likely had that same impression back then.  It was familiar.  It was comforting.  And when an entire people knew it, as they know Come Come ye Saints, it binds a people together. 

If you are walking in a foreign country and know no one, but heard Come Come ye Saints from a window or a passerby, you would likely have…an immediate connection.  A togetherness. 

 

Turn to Psalm 136

Clearly this repetitive psalm was made to be chanted or sung back and forth, from one to another

Psalm 136

1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:

12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:

15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.

17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:

20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:

21 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:

22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

 

Types of Psalms

Lament Psalms	Community	12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89*, 90, 94, 123, 126, 129
	Individual	3, 4, 5, 7, 9-10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27*, 28, 31, 36*, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42-43, 52*, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86, 89*, 120, 139, 141, 142
Specialized Lament Psalms	Penitential	6, 32*, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143
	Imprecatory	35, 69, 83, 88, 109, 137, 140
Thanksgiving Psalms	Community	65*, 67*, 75, 107, 124, 136*
	Individual	18, 21, 30, 32*, 34, 40:1-11, 66:13-20, 92, 108*, 116, 118, 138
Specialized Thanksgiving Psalms	Salvation History	8*, 105-106, 135, 136
	Songs of Trust	11, 16, 23, 27*, 62, 63, 91, 121, 125, 131
Hymnic Psalms		8*, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 67*, 95, 100, 103, 104, 111, 113, 114, 117, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Liturgical Psalms (for Public Worship)	Covenant Songs	50, 78, 81, 89*, 132
	Royal / Enthronement	2, 18, 20, 21, 29, 45, 47, 72, 93, 95*, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 110, 144
	Songs of Zion	46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122
	Temple Liturgies	15, 24, 68*, 82, 95*, 115, 134
Community Psalms	Wisdom Psalms	1*, 36*, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128, 133
	Torah Poems	1*, 19:7-14, 119
		* indicates classification difficulty, can be in more than one category

 

 

Poetry in Psalms
Ancient Hebrew poetry is very different than what we consider poetry today. They did not rhyme lines.

There are different ancient forms of poetry used in Psalms. One form is to use the holy language within itself. For example, in Psalms 145, we find an alphabetic acrostic. Every line begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the first starting with “aleph” (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and so on.  There is no evidence of that with translation... Lost in Translation…

145 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

² Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

etc….

 

Parallelism is another form of poetry in Psalms: “

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Ps 119:105).

In this line, we find parallel concepts: “lamp to my feet” and “light for my path.” It emphasizes the concept the Psalmist wishes to impress upon us. Given in a song for worshipers to hear, it impresses the concept twice upon their minds and hearts.

In Psalms 15, we read:

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

Here we find parallels between those dwelling in the tabernacle and holy hill (Zion);

walking uprightly, doing righteousness and speaking truth;

and negation of the evil acts of (Not…)

backbiting with his tongue, doeth evil to his neighbour, taketh a reproach against his neighbor.

Sung to a congregation, it would be hard for them to miss the concepts being impressed upon their minds through repetition.

 

Chiasmus also is a form of poetry found in Psalms. In this form of parallelism, we find nested levels of sameness or opposites. Some can be very intricate, while others more basic.

The form for a basic chiasmus structure is:

aa
bb
cc
cc’
bb’
aa’

The aa lines match, bb lines match themselves, etc.
Here we find a chiasmus in Psalms 29 to consider. I have placed in parentheses marks to show which lines line up:

Some discussion of symmetry in scripture was discussed in the 1700s and 1800s, but it was not until the 1920's that Nils Lund published articles about the chiasmus in the United States.³ Since the 1980's, there has been an increasing interest in the chiastic approach.

 

Psalm 29

(aa)1 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. 2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

   (bb)3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.

      (cc) 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

         (dd)5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

            (ee)7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.

         (dd’)8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests:

      (cc’)and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

   (bb’)10 The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.

(aa’) 11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Here we see parallels in the lines, working from both ends into the center. There are about 30 chiasmus in the various chapters of Psalms.

 

The Psalms Scroll (11QPs)

(Remember the convention.  11Q means the 11th Qumran Cave, Ps means Psalms)

Among the findings at Qumran in Israel are the Dead Sea Scrolls. These were initially discovered in 1947 and have exploded onto the scene of Hebrew scholarship since then.

In the Psalms Scroll there is actually an additional Psalm (151). This is also found in the Greek Septuagint, but was thought to be a later addition until it was also found at Qumran in Hebrew. (Common English Bible and RSV)

1. I was the smallest among my brothers,
and the youngest in my father’s household.
I used to take care of my father’s sheep.

2 My hands constructed a musical instrument;
my fingers tuned a harp.

3 Who will announce this to my Lord?
The Lord himself—he is listening.

4 He himself sent his messenger
and took me from my father’s sheep,
and anointed me with his anointing oil.

5 My brothers were handsome and big,
but the Lord did not approve of them.

6 I went out to meet the foreigner (Goliath);
he called down curses on me by his idols.

7 But I pulled out his own sword;
I beheaded him and thereby removed reproach from the Israelites.

Such a hymn may seem gruesome to sing in the Tabernacle, but the Psalms often denoted victory over one’s enemies. So important was this event in Israelite history that Goliath’s sword and armor were placed in the Tabernacle as part of the national treasures. The adult David would retrieve the sword later to use as he was being chased by Saul.

 

Modern Use
Modern Jews integrate Psalms into many of their feasts and festivals.

Portions of Psalms are recited at virtually every Sabbath service. 

Many Jews will make it a point to read the entire Psalms weekly or monthly.

Orthodox Jews will often plan on reading all of Psalms on the Sabbath prior to services each week.

When a Jewish person dies, it is traditional for someone to continuously read Psalms over the body until burial occurs.

Early Christians used Psalms. Over 60 Psalms are referenced in the New Testament.

 

Some Churches, such as the Reformed and Westminster Presbyterian Churches only sing Psalms in their services.

Imagine introducing such poetry and imagery into our children’s lives, and making it a frequent event. Perhaps a section can be read as a family each Sunday, helping them to see the blessings of God, the proper form of Praise that is demonstrated within the Psalms, and the beauty of song in that praise.

Chant them, don’t just read them. See how a sing-song form can bring out the poetry and power in each of these hymns.

Here is a link to the Presbyterian Church How to Chant the  Psalms

They have hymnals called “Pointed texts” or “pointed hymnals” which breaks the psalms into singable pieces…

Here is a link to a document showing how to chant the Psalms

 

Here is a link to Psalm 145 in chanting form.  Remember, this is the one that, in Hebrew, has each line start with a new letter of the hebrew alphabet. 

Psalm 145  (KJV) (I’m not clear what version is being chanted…play Youtube)

145 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

² Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

⁵ I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

⁶ And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

⁷ They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

⁹ The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

¹⁰ All thy works shall praise thee, OLord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

¹² To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

¹³ Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

¹⁴ The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

¹⁵ The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

¹⁶ Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

¹⁸ The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

¹⁹ He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

²⁰ The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

 

 

A Few Beautiful Psalms
Let me finish by sharing a few touching praises from David’s Psalms:
Psalm 8

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the gods, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

 

 

(Reiterate if needed, and if time)
Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Epilogue, Translation issues… (if time)

"Let Everything that Hath Breath Praise the Lord"

27 Jun 2014

by Shon Hopkin

Few verses in the Bible have produced as much debate and commentary as Psalm 22:16:

"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet."

The discussions center on the last character (reading right to left) of the Hebrew בארו ("pierced/dug"), assumed to be the word from which the Septuagint Greek ωΡυξαν ("they have pierced") was translated—assumed because the original Hebrew texts from which the Septuagint was translated are no longer extant. If the last character of the Hebrew word was a waw(וּ), as the Greek seems to indicate, then the translation "pierced" is tenable. But a later Hebrew text called the Masoretic text has a yod (י) instead of a waw (וּ), making the word בארי, which translated into English reads "like a lion my hands and my feet." Thus, two divergent possibilities have existed side by side for centuries, causing much speculation and debate. The controversy has often been heated, with large variations in modern translations into English, as evidenced by a brief survey of some important Bible translations:

• "they pierced my hands and my feet" (King James Version)
• "they have pierced my hands and my feet" (New International Version and Revised Standard Version)
• "piercing my hands and my feet" (Anchor Bible)
• "they have hacked off my hands and my feet" (New English Bible)
• "as if to hack off my hands and my feet" (New Jerusalem Bible)
• "like a lion they mangle my hands and feet" (The Psalms for Today —R. K. Harrison)
• "like a lion they were at my hands and feet" (Tanakh, Jewish Publication Society)
• "my hands and feet have shriveled" (New Revised Standard Version)
• "they have bound me hand and foot" (Revised English Bible)
• "they tie me hand and foot" (Jerusalem Bible)

Anciently, the debate was fought between Christians, who saw this verse as an indisputable prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Jews, who denied the existence of prophetic references to Jesus in the Hebrew Bible. The battle continues in modern times between traditionalist scholars, who favor the ancient Christian interpretation, and some textual critics, who deny the existence of the prophecy of future events in the Bible.

 

Initial Lesson List of Psalm/NT Fulfiillments

Prophecy                   Fulfillment

Psalm 69:20              Mark 14:32-41

Psalm 69: 20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Mark 14: 32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

³³ And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

³⁴ And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.

³⁵ And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

³⁶ And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

Psalm 22:7-8             Matt 27:39-43

Psalm 22:⁷ All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ⁸ He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Matt 27³⁹ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

⁴⁰ And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

⁴¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

⁴² He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

⁴³ He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Psalm 22:16              Mark 15:25

Psalm 22:18              Matt 27:35

Psalm 22:1                Matt 27:46

Psalm 16:10              Acts 2:31-32; 13:34-35

 

Bibliography

Psalms in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalms
Psalms 151: http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?adp1.htm
Examples of Poetic Parallelism: http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/23_parallel.html
List of Chiasmus in Psalms and the Bible:http://www.inthebeginning.org/chiasmus/xfiles/lund/lundbook.htm
Psalms Scroll from Dead Sea Scrolls:http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/scr1.html
Psalms quoted in New Testament:http://www.jesuswalk.com/psalms/psalms-NT-quotations.htm