The Festival of Psalms

We held this festival recently at church: partly as worshipful encouragement, partly as godly entertainment and partly as education and outreach. It was designed to be 'visitor friendly'.

The choir took most of the running, along with congregational singing, and read segments and prayers.

The read segments included academic, devotional and exotic (!) components. The exotica was a North American Indian translation of Psalm 23.

But it was the academic segment that was most interesting.

The story of the Psalter

Widely respected scholars such as Brevard Childs, Gerald Wilson and James Mays have demonstrate that the canonical editors of the Psalter had clear intent. The Psalter, as we have received it, is organized into five books, with the 'seams' being marked b doxologies and psalms of theological significance. Royal psalms are placed with wisdom psalms at the seams, Typical of Hebrew literature, however, our modern demand for clinical and forensic certainty is not met.

There is a thematic development through the five books within the Psalter. The first book (Ps 1 -- 41) frequently shows David in trouble, crying out to god for vindication. The second book (Ps 42 -- 72  generally sows David comfortably on the throne but with hints of decline emerging. the third book (Ps 73 -- 89) show Israel in decline, her monarchy ineffectual and her people in dire circumstances. Psalm 89 puts this problem most sharply. God's covenant with David, with which the first three books of the psalms are primarily concerned, has apparently failed.

The fourth book (ps 90 -- 106) seems to be the editorial centre which poses the question, "What will happen now that the covenant is broken?" A response to this problem is developed throughout book four and in book five (Ps 107 -- 150). The response can be summarized:

• Yahweh is king
• He has been our 'refute' in the past, long before the monarchy existed
• He will continue to be our refuge now that the monarchy is gone
• Blessed are they that trust in him!
  

So the Psalter is a symphony in five parts, swelling towards triumphant songs of praise to God who reigns over his people, despite the swirling currents of chaos and opposition.