Reading: Royal Psalms (Video Slides)

#15 Understanding the Variety of Psalm Types and Their Unique Expressions:

Part 5 – Royal Psalms

 

Understanding & Using the Psalms

• Individual Lament:

Cries of the individual in times of distress

5,6,10,13,22,26,35,38,39,40,42,43,51,54,55,56,57,59,64,69,70,86,88,102,109,120,130,142,143

• Communal Lament:

Cries of the community in times of distress

60,74,79,80,90,108,123,137

• Hymns of Praise:

Celebrations of Yahweh’s goodness & character

8,9,19,29,30,33,34,65,66,67,68,76,95,96,97,98,99, 100,103,104,111,113,116,117,134,135,138,144,145, 146,147,148,149,150

• Songs of Confidence:

Declarations of trust in Yahweh

3,4,7,11,12,16,17,18,20,23,27,28,31,36,41,46,50,58, 62,63,71,77,82,83,85,89,91,92,93,94,114,115,121,124,125,126,129,139,140,141

• Royal Psalms:

Song in praise of Yahweh as Israel’s true king and the monarch who rules on Yahweh’s behalf

2,21,24,45,47,61,72,110,132

• Psalms of Zion:

“National Anthems” that praise the earthly residence of Yahweh

14,48,53,84,87,122

• “Thank” Psalms:

Expressions of appreciation for Yahweh’s deliverance

75,118,136

• Wisdom or Priestly Instruction:

Poems which contain condensed teachings to be passed along by memorization

1,15,25,32,37,44,49,52,73,78,81,101,105,106,107,112,119,127

Royal Psalms

• Character: Song in praise of Yahweh as Israel’s true king and the monarch who rules on Yahweh’s behalf
• Examples: Psalms 2, 21, 24, 45, 47, 61, 72, 110, 132

 

Royal Psalms: Example #1 – Psalm 2

¹ Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

⁷ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate his rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss his son, or he will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 

Note these things:

• Yahweh, the Creator, who is partner to Israel, is understood as the Father of the king on Israel’s throne. In this sense, the theocracy of Israel is affirmed, and its relationship with the nations around described.
• Although Israel is small among the nations (geographically), it is considered by God to be the central and key figure in the political fortunes of the world. What happens to Israel happens to God. What happens through Israel is for the benefit and blessings of the nations.
• The Psalm is built in a broad chiasm:
  -The first major section is verses 1-3, describing the rebellion of the rulers of the nations of earth against the rightful rule of Yahweh, the Creator of all.
  -This section is paralleled in verses 10-12, at the end of the Psalm, in which these rebellious kings are urged to worship God and honor God’s earthly regent, the king on the throne in Israel.
  -The second major section is verses 4-6, which describe Yahweh’s plans for the establishment of the kingship in Israel, regardless of what the other nations and kings might think.
  -This second section is paralleled with the section that immediately follows it, verses 7-9, in which the authority of the king in Jerusalem is affirmed and established.
• So the point of the Psalm is to affirm the validity of the Davidic king in Jerusalem as God’s intended ruler for the blessing of all nations.
• Thus, Israel is God’s earthly partner in the divine mission to reclaim and bless all the nations of the earth, and the Davidic king on the throne is divinely appointed to serve these ends.
• This is why the New Testament Apostles (see Acts 4) understood this Psalm as foretelling Jesus, the last and greatest son of David to rule over the nations.

 

Royal Psalms: Example #2 – Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.

 

Note These Things

• Notice the many synonymous parallelisms throughout the Psalm, which constantly reiterate and reaffirm certain ideas
• Notice that the Psalm begins with an affirmation about the global, universal rule of God, and then moves to the royal procession ascending the throne in Jerusalem.
• The Psalm deliberately leaves vague the location of this ultimate throne:
  -Is it the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple, the throne of God on earth?
  -Is it the throne of David in the human palace?
• No answer need be given, for these two thrones are essentially the same! God, the King of Heaven and Lord of Earth is represented by the divinely appointed Son of David on Israel’s national throne. This is the mission of God to bless all nations.

 

Royal Psalms: Example #3 – Psalm 110

Of David.

¹ The Lord says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”

² The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
    “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
³ Your troops will be willing
    on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
    your young men will come to you
    like dew from the morning’s womb.

⁴ The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵ The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
⁶ He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
    and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
⁷ He will drink from a brook along the way,
    and so he will lift his head high.

 

Note These Things

• This is a Psalm of David, but it celebrates an authority which lies outside of and above the Levitical priesthood which is usually seen to be the primary means by which Israel connects with God.
• The greater authority is based on the person and idea of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is only a footnote in the Old Testament (Genesis 14:18-20), but  the father of the whole Israelite nation and family, Abraham, offers sacrifices to God through the ministry of Melchizedek.
• This theme of a greater authority than that of the Levitical priests and their sacrifices is picked up in Hebrews 8-10 to explain the unique authority of Jesus as High Priest and Divine Ruler.

 

Reflections on Royal Psalms

• These Psalms assert the link between God’s rule over the whole world and the unique role that the king of Israel plays in God mission through Israel. God rules, but this reign is exerted through Israel’s place among the nations. So the king of Israel is the representative for God among the nations.
• Thus the king must live a righteous life, reflecting God’s character.
• Also the righteousness of the people is a reflection of their following of the righteous rule of the king.