Video Transcript: Instruction Psalms

We're taking a look at the Psalms and all of their variety. And we've already  considered them the major forms of expression in the Psalms, the kinds of  synonymous and antithetical and stair like parallelism. We've looked at the  structure of the book of Psalms as a whole, and the five different sub books that are  involved in it. And we began to talk about the specific variety of psalms that are  also among the 150 individual expressions. We've looked at an individual laments  and communal laments, each of which are ways in which we, as individuals, or as  communities, express our difficulties in the circumstances of our lives, and our  need for God to come and participate with us in some kind of larger deliverance.  We've also looked at the hymns of praise, which have helped us talk about the  language of love and the manner in which God is in fact, our God of deliverance.  Today, we're going to take a look at those psalms, which are what I call wisdom or  priestly instruction. These are the Psalms which are not so much designed to help  us address God, as they are designed to help us pass along knowledge and wisdom,  and the values of a life and a society to the next generation. These are poems which  contained condensed teachings, and poet poetry makes it possible for these ideas to  be memorized, and quickly transmitted from one group to the succeeding  generations. There are quite a number of these, some of them are very short, but  most of them are modest in length. The very first Psalm Psalm one we're going to  take a look at it is, is one of those wisdom Psalms or those instruction Psalms, and  they go all the way through. There's no particular area of the psalter, that contains  more than others. Psalm one is a very interesting psalm of wisdom or instruction.  Blessed is the one who does not walk with a step of the wicked, or stand in the way  that sinners take or sit in the company of the mockers, but whose delight is in the  law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a  tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf  does not wither whatever they do, prospers. Not so the wicked, they are like the  chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the  judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous, for the Lord watches over  the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction, very  compact, but a lot of comparison, and a lot of insight in all of that. There's a  comparison made between two types of people, those who acknowledge God and  worship Him. And those who choose not to, while many of their actions in life may  seem quite similar, the outcomes of their existences are very different. And so the  psalm itself is divided into two parts. And in that first part, it focuses on the  blessings that accrue to the person who is righteous, doesn't mean the person does  absolutely everything, right, but does mean that there's a heart direction toward 

God, a desire to participate in the things of God. An attitude that the Creator  matters, and that this should shape and form the days and expressions of my life.  The wicked in that first half are seen as in opposition to that, because they're in  opposition to the ways of God, they're also in opposition to those who delight in  God. And so there's this sense of us versus them. Of course, this is in a kind of  poetic or summary form. So it's divided into two different kinds of people. And  that comes through in the second half in the second half the wicked are derided for  denying the creator's intentions, and for their desire to harm the righteous. Again,  as I said before, that these psalms are not directed toward God as prayers. Instead,  they're the testimony of those who have learned a thing or two in life, who know  and who love God, now seeking to pass along this wisdom about God and the ways  of life to the next generation. So you can imagine that this would be one of those  songs which would be sung by parents as they were putting children to bed. I know  that my parents used to tell us early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy,  wealthy and wise. Those kinds of things are expressions of values that are then  transmitted to the next generation. And this psalm would be used exactly for that.  In this sense, the Psalm is actually an educating tool. Here's another one, Psalm 15.  It's a Psalm of David, notice that it's still fairly near the beginning of the collection  of Psalms, and probably something that David reflected on as he was in the process  of or had already brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. During the first  part of David's life, the Ark of the Covenant was still in the tabernacle, which was  the tent like structure that had traveled with the Israelites through the wilderness. It  was parked when the Israelites came into the land of Canaan, about in the middle  of the country at a place called Shiloh. And when David established His throne, his  kingdom and reflected on what had gone wrong with his predecessor Saul,  essentially, what had gone wrong is that Saul had not placed God at the center of  the nation. David wanted something quite different. Of course, David wanted God  to be seen and known and experienced as king. And so David wanted the throne of  the king of Israel, the Ark of the Covenant to be center in his capital city. He  wanted also to build a permanent house for God, we'll hear about that. In for  instance, II Samuel 5, 6, and 7, David had a desire that God would have a  permanent residence in the same way that all the Israelites had permanent  residences. What didn't happen, though, was David creating that because God  came to him through the prophet Nathan and said, You are a man of war, it will be  the task of a man of peace, your descendant, your son, who will make that happen.  So we're in the process of God's throne room and Palace being established. But  David himself is not going to do it still, he understands that not he, but Yahweh, 

the God of Israel is the true King of the land. So here's what David says about that,  Lord, Who may dwell in your sacred tent, notice it's still a tent, not a palace, who  may live on your holy mountain. And the answer given the one whose walk is  blameless, who does not who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from the  heart, whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong in to a neighbor, and  cast no slur on others, who despises a vile person, but honors those who fear the  Lord. Notice the antithetic parallelism there who keeps an oath, even when it hurts,  and does not change their mind, who lends money to the poor without interest, who  does not accept the bribe against the innocent? And then the conclusion which is a  reflection of that first verse, whoever does these things will never be shaken.  Notice that the Psalm begins with that synonymous parallelism question, and then  ends with a concluding synonymous parallelism directly give an answer to the  question that was raised in the first in that first verse, what there's one question  posed twice for poetic emphasis, who will go up to who will dwell on the tent and  the mountain of the Lord synonymous parallelism there? And the question itself,  there's a response to that in the center part, the bulk of the psalm, and then very  specifically addressed in that last synonymous parallelism. So there's great  development and balance to the Psalm and sort of this, this look at how things  develop from beginning to end. The behaviors of the righteous encompass social  activities of many dimensions, both outwardly expressed and inwardly thought or  imagined. What does it mean for a person to be in tune with God? What does it  mean for a person to be a righteous character. And so in that center section, you  have a variety of expressions of that. And our holiness is this sort of theme that  shot through the whole thing, and it's both a process and a reflection. It's a process  of doing the right and being in tune with the right being in tune with God, at work  in one's life, and at play. All of these things are sort of bubbling to the surface in  me. So worship is the outcome of right living. And if we desire to worship well, we  need to live well. It's a very powerful Psalm even though it's quite short. A third  example of this wisdom summarized in some meaningful way. Much longer  expression of it in Psalm 37. Again, a Psalm of David. Notice that it's fairly near  the beginning of the book of Psalms. Listen to the collection. So almost like a  whole lot of things put together almost like a bunch of Proverbs listed together that  collectively have a larger idea of purpose. Do not fret because of those who are  evil or be envious of those who do wrong for like the grass. They will soon wither  like green plants, they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good dwell in  the land and enjoy safe pasture. take delight in the Lord and He will give you the  desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him and He will 

do this he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn while you're  vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for  Him do not fret when people succeed in their ways. When they carry out their  wicked schemes, refrain from anger and turn from Wrath Do not fret. It leads only  to evil for those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord  will inherit the land. David continues on with these ideas throughout many more  verses of Psalm 37. And it's almost as if every several lines brings a new thought  which is dwelled on for a little while and then moved on again. Notice near the end  here for the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. wrongdoers  will be completely destroyed, the offspring of the wicked will perish. The  righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. the mouths of the righteous  that are wisdom and their tongue speak what is just the law of God is in their  hearts. They do not their feet do not slip the wicked lie in wait for the righteous  intent and putting them to death. But the Lord will not leave them in the power of  the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial hope in the Lord and  keep His way He will exalt you and you will inherit the land. And the very last line  to the Psalm The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord. He is their  stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them he delivers  them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in Him. The Psalm  is an acrostic. I've mentioned that before acrostic psalms are those which have  segments, either couplets or longer collections that begin with successive letters of  the Hebrew alphabet. In this case, there are a couple of couplets together that form  each separate group. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. And so there are  really 22 sections to this psalm, expressing the ideas of wisdom about living with  God, you might say from A to Z. And that's also probably why this particular  psalm is somewhat choppy. There is a kind of deliberateness in having segments of  the song, beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and they don't  necessarily flow together into a unified song so much as they are almost separate  stanzas about the same themes. It's crafted deliberately to follow that convention of  successive segments, beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  There are so many metaphors used to describe the manner in which God cares  about God's people. And God's people themselves respond in different ways to  God's care, and righteousness and salvation are always almost opposite sides of a  singular coin. Righteousness is how we live. Salvation is what God brings.  Salvation is what God brings, therefore we live righteous lives. Taking a look at  the idea of these songs of wisdom, these instruction Psalms, the Psalms are  essentially teaching tools designed to help people remember why God is to be 

honored, and how the people themselves are to live faithfully before God.  Righteousness is connected to right living and also to salvation. And salvation as it  comes breeds righteousness in those who respond to it. Righteousness is expected  of God's people because it is the mark of God's kingly rule, and is expressed  through them. If God rules then it ought to be seen and how's it best seen not just  through the glories of creation, but through people who live right lives? So the  whole point of these psalms all of them together in this collection these wisdom  psalms or instruction Psalms is to Help each generation pass along the right values  about living and obeying God and functioning righteously, to the next generation.  You can imagine that these were memorized as part of the education process. They  were sung by families around tables, and they were intended to be passed down  from one generation to the next. More on these kinds of things in my devotional  meditations on the Psalms Hear Me Oh God, and also more on the structure of  these things in my book, Covenant Documents, Reading the Bible Again, For the  First Time.