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It is surely ancient Israel’s daring trust and concrete realism that make it possible for the Christian church to affirm the Psalms as an essential part of its own confession, even as it celebrates the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes. But in this book it is our intention to let the individual psalms speak for themselves and to pay close attention particularly to their uniquely Hebrew perspective. What are some of the themes related to trust that Israel so often celebrated? This section provides some fifteen examples of these celebratory, prayerful, and reflective tones. Each connotes a vibrant trust and confidence in יהוה and helps us to understand the vital burden of the message of the ancient poets. 1

First, and central to Israel’s confession, is the Psalms’ witness to faith in the relationship-faith in the living God who has entered into covenant with Israel. Magnalia Dei, the great deeds God has done on Israel’s behalf, in history, in deliverance, are constantly being recalled as the restorative acts of יהוה.

I will call to mind the deeds of יהוה and recall your wonderful acts of old . . . You are a God whoworks miracles; you have shown the nations your power. With your strong arm you rescued your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph (Ps 77:11,14, 15); When יהוה restores [his] people’s fortunes, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad (Ps 14:7); The coming generation will be told of יהוה; they will make known [his] righteous deeds, declaring to a people yet unborn: ‘יהוה has acted!’ (Ps 22:31); I shall exalt you, יהוה; you have lifted me up and have not let my enemies be jubilant over me (Ps 30:1); How great is your goodness, stored up for those who fear you (Ps 31:19); יהוה, your unfailing love reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the lofty mountains, your justice like the great deep (Ps 36:5, 6).

Israel rejoices in the praise of יהוה as practically expressed in her history. For Israel, God was active throughout their history and acted in their history by extraordinary saving events. The mighty deeds of יהוה were continually being celebrated. Their core experience as a people was the deliverance from slavery and oppression in Egypt. These historic acts lie at the root of all praise, thanksgiving, and gratitude.2 All praise and glory are always being addressed to the sacred name of יהוה.

Praise יהוה. It is good to give thanks to יהוה for [his] love endures forever. Who can tell of the mighty acts of יהוה and make [his] praises heard? Happy are they who act justly, who do what is right at all times! (Ps 106:1–3); We have heard for ourselves, God, our forefathers have told us what deeds you did in their time (Ps 44:1); How awesome is יהוה Most High, great king over all the earth! [He] subdues nations under us, peoples under our feet; [he] chooses for us our heritage, the pride of Jacob whom [he] loves (Ps 47:2–4); Let all the earth acclaim God. Sing to the glory of [his] name, make [his] praise glorious (Ps 66:1,2); Awesome is God in your sanctuary; [he] is Israel’s God. [He] gives might and power to [his] people. Praise be to God (Ps 68:35).

Second, there are several primary attributes of יהוה that are particularly prized by the poets. Among these are God’s compassion, God’s love, and God’s goodness. An overarching emphasis is on the graciousness of יהוה. The poets write of these attributes unerringly and with a directness and relentlessness that confront the serious reader full force. It is a worthwhile exercise to sit quietly and read this litany of love. As a preamble, Psalm 146:2 states: As long as I live I shall praise יהוה. I shall sing psalms to my God all my life long. This poet knows what [she/he] is talking about!

There is a transformational quality to the following psalms that, at once, serves to embrace and enfold the reader. This section (Books One to Five) is divided according to the traditional five books of the Psalter. This division gives a certain order and accessibility to these extraordinary themes of love, goodness and compassion. That יהוה is a personal, caring and involved God is the foundation of Israel’s covenant relationship. יהוה is invested in Israel’s life! I will be explaining later on in the book just why the Psalter is considered a collection of collections and how it is that the Psalms—as a book—is best understood as having an edited Introduction (Pss 1–2) and a summary Benediction (Pss 146–150) both of which cohere thematically to the overall book of Psalms and whose basic movement is from lament to praise.

Introduction (Pss 1–2)

Happy are all who take refuge in [יהוה] (Ps 2:11);

Book One (Pss 3–40)

Return, יהוה, deliver me; save me, for your love is steadfast (Ps 6:4);

. . . for the king puts his trust in יהוה; the loving care of the Most High keeps him unshaken (Ps 21:7);

Goodness and love unfailing will follow me all the days of my life (Ps 23:6);

All the paths of יהוה, are loving and sure (Ps 25:10);

Well I know that I shall see the goodness of יהוה, in the land of the living (Ps 27:13);

Blessed be יהוה, whose unfailing love for me was wonderful (Ps 31:21);

. . . the earth is filled with the unfailing love of יהוה, (Ps 33:5);

יהוה, who saves both [man] and beast, how precious is your unfailing love! (Ps 36:7);

It is יהוה who directs a person’s steps; [he] holds [him] firm and approves of [his] conduct (Ps 37:21);

You, יהוה, will not withhold your tender care for me; may your love and truth forever guard me (Ps 40:11);

Book Two (Pss 41–72)

By day יהוה, grants [his] unfailing love; at night [his] praise is on my lips, a prayer to the God of my life (Ps 42:8);

Arise and come to our aid; for your love’s sake deliver us (Ps 44:26);

God, within your temple we meditate on your steadfast love (Ps 46:9);

. . . [he] chooses for us our heritage, the pride of Jacob whom [he] loves (Ps 47:4);

God, be gracious to me in your faithful love; in the fullness of your mercy blot out my misdeeds (Ps 51:1);

For I trust in God’s faithful love for ever and ever (Ps 52:8);

May God send [his] love, unfailing and sure (Ps 57:3);

My God, in [his] unfailing love, will go before me; (Ps 59:10);

‘Power belongs to God’ and ‘Unfailing love is yours, Lord’ (Ps 62:12);

Your unfailing love is better than life; (Ps 63:3);

Blessed is God who has not withdrawn from me [his] love and care (Ps 66:20);

Book Three (Pss 73–89)

Assuredly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart (Ps 73:1);

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has [he] in anger withheld [his] compassion (Ps 77:9);

יהוה, show us your love and grant us your deliverance (Ps 85:7);

Lord, you are kind and forgiving, full of love towards all who cry to you (Ps 86:5);

But you, Lord, our God, are compassionate and gracious (Ps 86:15);

The source of all good is in you. (Ps 87:7);

I shall sing always of the loving deeds of יהוה; I said: “Your love will stand firm forever;” (Ps 89:1,2);

Book Four (Pss 90–106)

[יהוה speaks]:’Because his love holds fast to me, I shall deliver him’ (Ps 91:14);

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, to declare your love in the morning and your faithfulness every night (Ps 92:2);

If I said that my foot was slipping, your love, יהוה, continued to hold me up (Ps 94:18);

יהוה loves those who hate evil; [he] keeps [his] loyal servants safe (Ps 97:10);

יהוה has remembered [his] love for Jacob, [his] faithfulness towards the house of Israel (Ps 98:3);

יהוה is good and [his] love is everlasting (Ps 100:5);

As the heavens tower high above the earth, so outstanding is [his] love towards those who fear [him] (Ps 103: 11);

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, for [his] love endures forever (Ps 106:1);

Book Five (Pss 107–145)

Let them give thanks to יהוה for [his] love (Ps 107:8, 15, 21, 31,);

Help me, יהוה, my God; save me by your love (Ps 109:26);

יהוה is gracious and compassionate (Ps 111:4);

Not to us, יהוה, not to us, but to your name give glory for your love, for your faithfulness! (Ps 115:1);

Gracious is יהוה and righteous; our God is full of compassion (Ps 116:5);

Praise יהוה, all the nations, extol [him], all you peoples; for [his] love protecting us is strong, the faithfulness of יהוה is everlasting. Praise יהוה (Ps 117);

Let your love comfort me, as you have promised me, your servant (Ps 119:76);

In your love hear me, and give me life, יהוה, by your decree (Ps 119:149);

For in יהוה is love unfailing, and great is [his] power to save (Ps 130:7);

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, for [his] love endures forever (Ps 136 = the entire psalm);

For your love and faithfulness, I shall praise your name; your love endures forever, יהוה (Ps 138:2, 8);

In the morning let me know of your love, for I put my trust in you (Ps 143:8);

יהוה is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering and ever faithful. יהוה is good to all; [his] compassion rests upon all [his] creatures (Ps 145: 8,9).

Concluding Benediction (Pss 146–150)

יהוה does not delight in the strength of a horse and takes no pleasure in a runner’s fleetness; [his] pleasure is in those who fear [him], who wait for [his] steadfast love (Ps 147:10, 11).

Three, the God who intervened in Israel’s history is praised as the guarantor of the weak. The covenantal demands instruct Israel in the ways of God and the Psalms confess יהוה, their God, to be eternally on the side of the oppressed–Though you would frustrate the counsel of the poor, יהוה is their refuge. If only deliverance for Israel might come from Zion! When יהוה restores [his] people’s fortunes, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad (Ps 14:6–8);

יהוה is exalted, yet cares for the lowly and from afar [he] takes note of the proud . . . יהוה will accomplish [his] purpose for me. Your love endures forever, יהוה; do not abandon what you have made (Ps 138:6,8).

This confidence in God’s covenant faithfulness is often remarkably intimate–As the eyes of the slaves follow their master’s hand or the eyes of a slave-girl the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are turned to יהוה our God, awaiting [his] favour (Ps 123:2); יהוה is my shepherd . . . goodness and mercy unfailing will follow me all the days of my life (Ps 23);

Guard me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings (Ps 17:8).

Four, the love so often proclaimed in the Psalms is the practical faithfulness of יהוה in the covenant relationship. Through her covenant with יהוה, Israel finds herself caught up in the great redemptive plan of God and its boundless expectations. When one considers the harsh exclusiveness—which was to become Israel’s greatest temptation–even as it remains ours today, it is utterly remarkable how frequently the Psalms speak of God’s plan as embracing all peoples– Let all the ends of the earth remember and turn to יהוה; let all the families of the nations bow before [him]. For kingly power belongs to יהוה ; dominion over the nations is [his] (Ps 22:27);

Of Zion it will be said, ‘this one and that one were born there.’ The Most High [himself] establishes her. יהוה will record in the register of the peoples: ‘this one was born there’ (Ps 87:5,6).

As Israel’s faith developed and matured, the unique power and authority of the God of the covenant and of the nations comes to be celebrated as the Creator of the universe–the One God of All.3 Many times, as a consequence, the Psalms celebrate the Creator’s greatness as manifest in the power and wonder of the material universe. At the word of the Creator all things came to be. The heavens are yours, the earth yours also; you founded the world and all that is in it (Ps 89:11); Before the mountains were brought forth, or the earth and the world were born, from age to age you are God. (Ps 90:2);

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, at the moon and the stars you have set in place, what is a frail mortal, that you should be mindful of [him], a human being, that you should take notice of [him]? (Ps 8:3,4);

The heavens tell out the glory of God, heaven’s vault makes known [his] handiwork (Ps 19:1);

The word of יהוה created the heavens; all the host of heaven was formed at [his] command. [He] gathered into a heap the waters of the sea, [he] laid up the deeps in [his] store-chambers (Ps 33:6,7);

Long ago you laid earth’s foundations, and the heavens were your handiwork. They will pass away, but you remain (Ps 102:25).

One of the more complementary features of the Psalter is the way in which it speaks of Israel’s experience in the on-going drama of the covenant relationship. The Psalms are an unconscious disclosure of how Hebrew faith understood the human condition. We could describe this awareness as a personalism of concrete immediacy. Its ideals are not mere abstractions. It has no concept of immateriality. Transcendence is known in the incomparable otherness of the divine. In some mysterious way this divine greatness is shared intimately through the awareness of the covenant and the presence of יהוה in temple worship—By day יהוה grants [his] unfailing love; at night [his] praise is upon my lips, a prayer to the God of my life (Ps 42:8);

Send out your light and your truth to be my guide; let them lead me to your holy hill, to your dwelling-place (Ps 43:3);

Happy are those who dwell in your house; they never cease to praise you (Ps 84:4);

Let me hear the words of God–יהוה; [he] proclaims peace to [his] people (Ps 85:8);

יהוה, teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth. Let me worship your name with an undivided heart (Ps 86:11).

Five, the power of the personalism of the Psalms may be described as visceral. The whole person is involved, bodily, in the drama of personal existence. For example, this is reflected in two terms frequently occurring in our versions, heart and soul. Beyond its purely physical association with strong emotions, the heart (לב leb) designates the interior mystery of the person where intentions, decisions, feelings and speech take form; where the human person experiences the presence of God who knows her or him profoundly and gives support throughout life.4

Examine me, God, and know my mind; test me, and understand my anxious thoughts. Watch lest I follow any path that grieves you; lead me in the everlasting way (Ps 139:23);

The precepts of יהוה are right and give joy to the heart. The commandment of יהוה is pure and gives light to the eyes. The fear of יהוה is unsullied; it abides forever (Ps 19:8,9);

‘Come, ‘my heart has said, ‘seek [his] presence.’ I seek your presence, יהוה (Ps 27:8);

My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and raise a psalm (Ps 57:7).

Soul (נפשי nephesh) refers to the innermost, volitional being of a person where conscious decisions and choices are made. In Hebrew it is the noun that refers bodily to the gullet or the neck. Like heart, its significance expands to refer to more than bodily hunger, thirst and taste; it stands in sharp relief to the human being in a situation of want and necessity as a desiring being-How long must I suffer anguish in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? (Ps 13:2);

The law of יהוה is perfect and revives the soul (Ps 19:7);

As I pour out my soul in distress, I call to mind how I marched in the ranks of the great to God’s house (Ps 42:4);

God, you are my God; I seek you eagerly with a heart that thirsts for you and a body wasted with longing for you (Ps 63:1);

I pine and faint with longing for the courts of the temple of יהוה; my whole being cries out with joy to the living God (Ps 84:2);

Bless יהוה, my soul; with all my being I bless [his] holy name. Bless יהוה, my soul (Ps 103:1,2);

For the poets, the eyes also are closely associated with the movements of the heart.—My strength, I look to you; for God is my strong tower. My God, in [his] unfailing love, will go before me (Ps 59:9, 10);

Come, see what יהוה has done, the astounding deeds [he] has wrought on earth (Ps 46:8);

My eyes are worn out with waiting for my God (Ps 69:3);

Look to יהוה and be strong; at all times seek [his] presence (Ps 105:4);

Turn my eyes away from all that is futile; grant me life by your word (Ps 119:37);

I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come? My help comes from יהוה, the Maker of heaven and earth (Ps 121:1);

יהוה, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty (Ps 131:1);

But my eyes are fixed on you, יהוה God; you are my refuge; do not leave me unprotected (Ps 141:8);

I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for יהוה, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob (Ps 132:4, 5);

I lift up my eyes to you whose throne is in heaven (Ps 123:1);

My eyes are ever on יהוה, who alone can free my feet from the net (Ps 25:15).

Six. The Psalms’ personalism of concrete immediacy is frequently expressed in a narrative form which captures the drama of the poets’ present moment within the totality of their on-going story. Vivid images abound. Human life is the walking of paths, but only one path is secure and therefore desirable; the path of יהוה—You will show me the path of life; In your presence is the fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures for evermore (Ps 16:11);

My steps have held steadily to your paths; my feet have not faltered (Ps 17:5);

What god is there but יהוה ? What rock but our God? It is God who girds me with strength and makes my way free from blame, who makes me swift as a hind and sets me secure on the heights (Ps18:31,32);

יהוה revives my spirit; for [his] name’s sake [he] guides me in the right paths (Ps 23:3);

Teach me your way, יהוה; . . . lead me by a level path (Ps 27:11);

Whoever fears יהוה will be shown the path he should choose (Ps 25:12);

It is יהוה who directs a person’s steps; [he] holds firm and approves of [his] conduct. Though [he] mayfall, [he] will not go headlong, for יהוה grasps [him] by the hand (Ps 37:23, 24);

For you have rescued me from death and my feet from stumbling, to walk in the presence of God, in the light of life (Ps 56:13);

I have chosen the path of faithfulness; I have set your decrees before me (Ps 119:30);

יהוה, teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth (Ps 86:11);

When my spirit is faint within me, you are there to watch over my steps (Ps 142:3).

God is a very real companion and stronghold, a high tower and refuge to the poets.5 This is a recurring theme in the Psalms and is especially appropriated in the psalms of trust– But let all who take refuge in you rejoice, let them forever shout for joy (Ps 5:11);

יהוה my God, in you I find refuge (Ps 7:1);

May יהוה be a tower of strength for the oppressed, a tower of strength in time of trouble (Ps 9:9);

Keep me, O God, for in you have I found refuge (Ps 16:1);

יהוה is my shepherd: I lack for nothing (Ps 23:1);

יהוה is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? יהוה is the stronghold of my life; of whom then should I go in dread? (Ps 27:1);

In you, יהוה, I have found refuge; let me never be put to shame (Ps 31:1);

Taste and see that יהוה is good. Happy are they who find refuge in him! (Ps 34:8);

Deliverance for the righteous comes from יהוה, their refuge in time of trouble (Ps 37:39);

יהוה will save him in time of trouble; יהוה protects him and gives him life (Ps 41:1,2);

God is our refuge and our stronghold, a timely help in trouble (Ps 46:1);

The mountain of Zion. . .is the city of the great king. God in her palaces is revealed as a tower of strength (Ps 48:2,3);

God has rescued me from every trouble (Ps 54:7);

I shall raise a psalm to you, my strength; for God is my strong tower. [He] is my gracious God (Ps 59:7);

I am safe in the shadow of your wings. I follow you closely and your right hand upholds me (Ps 63:8);

With יהוה on my side, as my helper, I shall see the downfall of my enemies (Ps 118:7);

God, be gracious to me; be gracious, for I have made you my refuge. I shall seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until the storms are past (Ps 57:1);

But יהוה has been my strong tower, and my God is my rock and my refuge (Ps 94:22).

Seven, there are remarkable notes of intimacy with which Israel addresses her God. They speak too in the language of the formidable and address God in wondrous titles. יהוה is addressed as:

The Praise of Israel: You, the Praise of Israel, are enthroned in the sanctuary (Ps 22:3);

The Shepherd of Israel: Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock (Ps 80:1);

The Holy One of Israel: . . . on the lyre I shall sing to you, the Holy One of Israel (Ps 71:22);

Again and again they tried God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel (78:41);

To יהוה belongs our shield, to the Holy One of Israel our king (89:18).

Israel’s God: But you, Lord God of Hosts, Israel’s God . . . (59:5);

Awesome is God in your sanctuary; [he] is Israel’s God (68:35);

God of Israel, let none who seek you be humiliated through me (Ps 69:6);

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel (Ps 72:18;);

Blessed be יהוה the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting (Ps 106:48).

Israel’s hiding-place and shield: But you, יהוה, are a shield to cover me (Ps 3:3);

For you, יהוה, will bless the righteous; you will surround them with favour as with a shield (Ps 5:12);

I rely on God to shield me; he saves the honest of heart (Ps 7:10);

Guard me like the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings (Ps 17:8);

the word of יהוה has stood the test; [he] is a shield to all who take refuge in [him] (Ps 18:30);

יהוה is my strength and my shield; in יהוה my heart trusts (Ps 28:7);

. . . you are a hiding-place for me in distress; you guard me and enfold me in salvation (Ps 32:7);

You will hide me under the cover of your presence (Ps 31:20);

O Lord, my shield (Ps 59:11);

In your tent I shall make my home forever and find shelter under the cover of your wings (Ps 61:4);

To יהוה belongs our shield (Ps 89:18);

You have made the Most High your dwelling-place (Ps 91:9);

Those who fear יהוה trust in יהוה: . . . [he] is their help and their shield (Ps 115:9–11);

יהוה God, my strong deliverer, you shield me on the day of battle (Ps 140:7);

Blessed be יהוה, my rock, . . . my shield in whom I trust (Ps 144:2).

Israel’s rock:6 God only is my rock of deliverance, my strong tower, so that I stand unshaken (Ps 62:2);

יהוה lives! Blessed is my rock! High above all is God, my safe refuge (Ps 18:46);

To You, יהוה, I call; my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry (Ps 28:1);

Be to me a rock of refuge, a stronghold to keep me safe. You are my rock and my stronghold (Ps 31:2,3);

God only is my rock of deliverance, my strong tower, so that I stand unshaken (Ps 62:2);

Do not vaunt yourself against heaven or speak arrogantly against the Rock (Ps 75:5);

God is the rock of my heart (Ps 73:26);

יהוה is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him (Ps 92:15).

Blessed be יהוה, my rock, who trains my hands for battle (Ps 144:1).

יהוה God of Hosts: יהוה of Hosts, [he] is the king of glory (Ps 24:10);

יהוה of Hosts is with us (Ps 46:11);

יהוה God of Hosts, Israel’s God, arouse yourself to come to me and keep watch (Ps 59:4);

יהוה God of Hosts, how long will you fume at your people’s prayer? (Ps 80:4);

יהוה God of Hosts, let none of those who hope in you be discouraged (Ps 69:6);

יהוה God of Hosts, restore us, and make your face shine on us, that we may be saved (Ps 80:7; 19);

יהוה of Hosts, how dearly loved is your dwelling-place (Ps 84:1);

יהוה God of Hosts, hear my prayer (Ps 84:8);

יהוה God of Hosts, who is like you? Your strength and faithfulness are all around you (Ps 89:8);

The Most High: I shall rejoice and exult in you, the Most High (Ps 9:2);

Yet they provoked and defied God Most High (Ps 78:56);

. . . all sons of the Most High (Ps 82:6);

I put my trust in you, the Most High (Ps 56:3);

I shall call to God Most High (Ps 57:2);

Does the Most High know or care? (Ps 73:11);

Has the right hand of the Most High changed? (Ps 77:10);

The Most High establishes her (Ps 87:5);

[He] who lives in the shelter of the Most High . . . (Ps 91:1);

You have made the Most High your dwelling-place (Ps 91:9);

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, to sing praises to your name, O Most High (Ps 92:1).

The God of Jacob: May the name of Jacob’s God be your tower of strength (Ps 20:1);

. . . such is the fortune of those who seek [him], who seek the presence of the God of Jacob (Ps 24:6);

. . . the God of Jacob is our fortress (Ps 46:11);

Sing out in praise of God our refuge, acclaim the God of Jacob (Ps 81:1);

God of Jacob, listen . . . (Ps 84:8);

Earth, dance at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob (Ps 114:7);

. . . a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob (Ps 132:2);

Happy is he whose helper is the God of Jacob (Ps 146:5).

יהוה my God: יהוה my God, in you I find refuge; (Ps 7:1);

Look now, יהוה my God, and answer me (Ps 13:3);

יהוה my God, to you I lift my heart (Ps 25:1);

But in you, יהוה, I put my trust; I say, ‘You are my God.’ (Ps 31:14);

Judge me, יהוה my God, as you are righteous (Ps 35:24);

On you, יהוה, I fix my hope; you, יהוה my God, will answer (Ps 38:15);

יהוה my God, great things you have done (Ps 40:5);

יהוה , my God, by day I call for help, by night I cry aloud in your presence (Ps 88:1);

יהוה has been my strong tower, and my God is my rock and refuge (Ps 94:22);

יהוה my God, you are very great (Ps 104:1);

You, יהוה my God, deal with me as befits your honour (Ps 109:21);

Help me, יהוה my God; save me by your love (Ps 109:26);

I say to יהוה, ‘You are my God (Ps 140:6).

Eight, since there is not an actual Hebrew word for the presence (of God), the poets speak anthropomorphically of “the face” (לפניך lepanim) of יהוה; they speak too in potent images and language concerning the nearness and dearness, and the grandeur and intimacy of יהוה. When the poets are in trouble, they persist in the conviction that the presence of יהוה is ever near—as before the face or in the the presence of יהוה; to dwell in the presence of God is the singularly longed for experience of the one who hungers after a life of friendship with God. It is, for Israel, the highest good.7

Let the light of your face shine on us, יהוה (Ps 4:6);

For יהוה is just and loves just dealing; [his] face is turned towards the upright (Ps 11:7);

[He] asked of you life, and you gave it to [him], . . . for you bestow everlasting blessings on [him], and make [him] glad with the joy of your presence (Ps 21:4, 6);

For יהוה is just and loves just dealing; [his] face is turned towards the upright (Ps 11:7);

יהוה has not scorned [him] who is downtrodden, . . . nor hidden [his] face from [him] (Ps 22:24);

‘Come,’ my heart has said, ‘seek [his] presence.’ I seek your presence, יהוה (Ps 27:8);

How long, יהוה, will you leave me forgotten; how long will you hide your face from me? (Ps 13:1,2);

I thirst for God, the living God; when shall I come to appear before [his] presence? (Ps 42:2);

Do not drive me from your presence or take your holy spirit from me (Ps 51:11);

May God be gracious to us and bless us, may [he] cause [his] face to shine on us (Ps 67:1);

Do not hide your face from me, your servant; answer me without delay, for I am in dire straits (Ps 69:17);

You are awesome, Lord; . . . who can stand in your presence? (Ps 76:7);

God of Hosts, restore us, and make your face shine on us, that we may be saved (Ps 80:3,7, 19);

Worship יהוה in gladness; enter [his] presence with joyful songs (Ps 100:2);

יהוה, hear my prayer and let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in dire straits (Ps 102:1,2);

Look to יהוה and be strong; at all times seek [his] presence (Ps 105:4);

Earth, dance at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob (Ps 114:7);

Let your face shine on your servant and teach me your statutes (Ps 119:135);

Where can I escape from your spirit, where flee from your presence? (Ps 139:7);

Do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the abyss (Ps 143: 7).

Nine, it is moving to reflect on how this astounding confidence and trust of which we are speaking co-exists with a tragic realism. The psalmists are profoundly aware of the precariousness and transience of human existence. The parameters of human life and existence are strikingly apparent when the poets speak of human mortality–which they do often. Here are but a few examples–

All our days pass under your wrath; our years die away like a murmur (Ps 90:9);

I know you have made my days a mere span long, and my whole life is as nothing in your sight. A human being, however firm [he] stands, is but a puff of wind (Ps 39:5).

[He] remembered that they were but mortal, a breath of air which passes by and does not return (Ps 78:39);

Remember how fleeting is our life! Have you created all [mankind] to no purpose? (Ps 89:47).

And the endless blackness of death’s pit is never far away—

What profit is there in my death, is my going down to the pit? Can the dust praise you? Can it proclaim your truth? (Ps 30:9);

Will it be for the dead you work wonders? Or can the shades rise up and give you praise? Will they speak in the grave of your love, of your faithfulness in the tomb? (Ps 88: 10, 11);

Who can live and not see death? Who can save [himself] from the power of Sheol? (Ps 89:49).

Even so, confidence in יהוה is so remarkably expressive that commentators are often uncertain whether some of these psalms are looking forward to something more than simply knowing the joy of God’s presence in the temple worship. They take us to the threshold of the Christian gospel when they insist–

For you will not abandon me to Sheol or suffer your faithful one to see the pit (Ps 16:10);

For you have rescued me from death and my feet from stumbling, to walk in the presence of God, in the light of life (Ps 56:13);

But God will ransom my life and take me from the power of Sheol (Ps 49:15);

Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me by your counsel and afterwards you will receive me in/to/with glory (Ps 73:23, 24).

Ten, there is a vibrant social conscience exhibited throughout the Psalter. The covenant experience gives rise to derivative themes which have an important place in the Psalms’ confession of faith: the challenge brought to the plan of God by the abuse of human freedom, and the tangible ways in which God’s presence is mediated in the midst of Israel. Israel’s life is undermined when the unjust and the powerful oppress those who are defenseless. The true faith of Israel is learned from the God who intervenes in their history as the champion of the oppressed. יהוה is the Just One who demands justice for the weak and the powerless. It is in her living that this faith is reaffirmed and deepened.—

יהוה hears the cry of the poor; They crush your people, יהוה, and oppress your chosen nation; they murder the widow and the stranger and put the fatherless to death (Ps 94:5f.);

‘Now I will arise,’ says יהוה, ‘ for the poor are plundered, the needy groan; I shall place them in the safety for which they long.’ (Ps 12:5);

When the righteous cry for help, יהוה hears them and sets them free from all their troubles (Ps 34:17);

For יהוה crowns the lowly with victory (Ps 149:4);

יהוה lifts the weak out of the dust and raises the poor from the rubbish heap (Ps 113:7).

The Psalms reflect both the blessings of the temple and the bitter lessons of national defeat and subsequent forced exile—

By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept as we remembered Zion (Ps 137:1);

I shall say to God, my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me?’ Why must I go like a mourner because my foes oppress me? (Ps 42:9);

Restore now what has been altogether ruined, all the destruction that the foe has brought on your sanctuary (Ps 74:3).

With humility, the Psalms recognize that opposition to God’s designs come also from the depths of Israel’s own sinful heart. This recognition of culpability and accountability before יהוה—by Israel’s ancient poets–is acute, even uncanny. 8

יהוה, do not rebuke me in your anger, do not punish me in your wrath (Ps 6:1);

Who is aware of his unwitting sins? Cleanse me of any secret fault. (Ps 19:12);

Test me, יהוה, and try me, putting my heart and mind to the proof; (Ps 26:2);

. . . for my iniquities tower above my head; they are a heavier load than I can bear (Ps 38:4);

God, be gracious to me in your faithful love; in the fullness of your mercy blot out my misdeeds (Ps 51:1).

Eleven, it has been noted that there is no parallel in ancient world literature to the Hebrew Scripture’s acknowledgment of national apostasy and communal failure. Through its regression and failure to honor the dictates of the covenant, and its struggles to live in fidelity and trustful obedience, Israel came to the profound knowledge of God’s mercy and forgiveness which is often echoed in the confession of the psalms–

When I acknowledged my sin to you, when I no longer concealed my guilt, but said, ‘I shall confess my offense to יהוה’ then you for your part remitted the penalty of my sin (Ps 32:5);

God, be gracious to me in your faithful love; in the fullness of your mercy blot out my misdeeds. Wash . . . away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin (Ps 51:1);

יהוה is righteous in all [he] does . . . יהוה is compassionate and gracious, long-suffering and ever faithful . . . As far as the east is from the west, so far from us has [he] put away our offenses (Ps 103:8, 12).

Twelve, symbols and imagery play an indispensable function in human existence. It is not surprising then that these too have a place in Israel’s confession of faith. God’s presence came to be mediated in the life of the nation in different ways: in the common confession in the Jerusalem temple, and through the line of David, envisioned as the lineage from whom God’s anointed will come. The presence of יהוה was mediated by the nation’s common confession of faith. This confession is a profoundly personal one. Yet it is also communal. For centuries scholars interpreted the “I”, which is so prevalent throughout the Psalter, as finding a voice in an individualized piety, an inner ethic seeking expression for itself.9 Today it is understood more and more that in the Psalms—as is the case for the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole—it is primarily the communal faith of Israel that is being expressed.

It is this faith that resonates throughout the multi-faceted contributions of the Hebrew poetic genius. When we read the “I” as also a “we”, and understand “servant” as also applying to Israel, we find there is a common embrace of both the personal and the communal. The personal/individual and the communal/corporate are held throughout in dialectic tension. We can hear them, then, as the liturgies of the temple in Jerusalem, which was the central locus of Israel’s worshiping life. This neither means that the Psalms are impersonal nor does it exclude their adaptive power to speak personally to the individual seeking a connection to יהוה.

What it does mean is that all Israel, gathered in the temple at Jerusalem or in other shrines, sanctuaries, and assemblies, as in old Israel, appropriated both dimensions: the personal and the corporate in worship, much as we experience worship and liturgy today in our common gathering and individual exercise of prayer and praise in our worship of God. All Israel’s worship and praise is addressed to יהוה. Again we will follow the Psalter’s five book arrangement as we track the Psalter’s representation of Israel as the worshiping people who are in love with יהוה and with the place of worship—the temple.

Book One

Through your great love I may come into your house, and at your holy temple bow down in awe (Ps 5:7);

My God who ordered justice to be done, awake. Let the peoples assemble around you; take your seat on high above them (Ps 7:6,7);

Sing to יהוה enthroned in Zion; proclaim [his] deeds among the nations (Ps 9:11);

יהוה is in [his] holy temple; the throne of יהוה is in heaven (Ps 11:4);

יהוה I shall praise you among the nations and sing praises to your name (Ps 18:49);

May the name of Jacob’s God be your tower of strength. May [he] send you help from the sanctuary (Ps 20:1,2);

Be exalted, יהוה, in your might; we shall sing a psalm of praise to your name (Ps 21:13);

Let all the ends of the earth remember and turn again to יהוה; let all the families of the nations bow before [him] (Ps 22:27);

Lift up your heads, you gates, lift them up, you everlasting doors, that the king of glory may come in (Ps 24:9);

יהוה, I love the house where you dwell, the place where your glory resides (Ps 26:8);

יהוה will give strength to [his] people; יהוה will bless [his] people with peace (Ps 29:10);

Sing a psalm to יהוה, all you [his] loyal servants; give thanks to [his] holy name (Ps 30:4);

Shout for joy to יהוה, you that are righteous; praise comes well from the upright (Ps 33:1);

Rescue me from those who would destroy me, save my precious life from the powerful. Then shall I praise you in the great assembly, I shall extol you in a large congregation (Ps 35:17, 18);

In the great assembly I have proclaimed what is right; I do not hold back my words, as you know, יהוה (Ps 40:9).

Book Two

Send out your light and your truth to be my guide; let them lead me to your holy hill, to your dwelling-place. Then I shall come to the altar of God, the God of my joy and delight, and praise you with the lyre, God my God (Ps [43:3,4]); 10

God, within your temple we meditate on your steadfast love. God, the praise your name deserves is heard at earth’s farthest bounds (Ps 48:9, 10);

I am like a spreading olive tree in God’s house, for I trust in God’s faithful love for ever and ever. I shall praise you forever for what you have done, and glorify your name among your loyal servants, for that is good (Ps 52:8,9);

My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I shall sing and raise a psalm (Ps 57:7);

I shall raise a psalm to you, my strength; for God is my strong tower, [He] is my gracious God (Ps 59:17);

So I shall ever sing psalms in honour of your name as I fulfill my vows day after day (Ps 61:8);

With such longing I see you in the sanctuary and behold your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life; therefore, I will sing your praises. Thus all my life I bless you; in your name I lift my hands in prayer (Ps 63:2, 3);

Let all the earth acclaim God. Sing to the glory of [his] name, make [his] praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!’ (Ps 66:1,2);

Your processions, God, come into view, the processions of my God, my King in the sanctuary; in front the singers, with minstrels following, and in their midst girls beating tambourines. Bless God in the great congregation; let the assembly of Israel bless יהוה (Ps 68:24–26);

Awesome is God in your sanctuary; [he] is Israel’s God. [He] gives might and power to [his] people. Praise be to God (Ps 68:35).

Book Three

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock. Shine forth, as you sit enthroned on the cherubim. Leading Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, rouse your might and come to our rescue. God, restore us, and make your face shine on us, that we may be saved (Ps 80:1–3);

Sing out in praise of God our refuge, acclaim the God of Jacob. Raise a melody; beat the drum, play the tuneful lyre and harp (Ps 81:1,2);

יהוה of Hosts, how dearly loved is your dwelling-place! I pine and faint with longing for the courts of the temple of יהוה; my whole being cries out with joy to the living God (Ps 84:1,2);

יהוה teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth. Let me worship your name with an undivided heart. I shall praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart (Ps 86:11, 12);

The city of יהוה founded stands on the holy hills. [He] loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God (Ps 87:1–3).

Book Four

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, to sing praises to your name, Most High, to declare your love in the morning and your faithfulness every night to the music of a ten-stringed harp, to the sounding chords of the lyre (Ps 92:1–3);

Come! Let us raise a joyful song to יהוה, a shout of triumph to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into [his] presence with thanksgiving and sing psalms of triumph to [him] (Ps 95:1,2);

Enter in! Let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before יהוה who made us, for [he] is our God, we are the people [he] shepherds, the flock in [his] care (Ps 95:6,7);

Sing a new song to יהוה. Sing toיהוה, all the earth. Sing to יהוה and bless [his] name; day by day proclaim [his] victory (Ps 96:1,2);

Ascribe to יהוה, you families of nations, ascribe to יהוה glory and might; ascribe toיהוה the glory due to [his] name. Bring an offering and enter [his] courts; in holy attire worshipיהוה (Ps 96:7–9);

יהוה has become King; let peoples tremble. [He] is enthroned on the cherubim; let the earth shake. יהוה is great in Zion; [he] is exalted above all the peoples. Let them extol your great and terrible name. Holy is [he] (Ps 99:1–3);

Let all the earth acclaim יהוה ! Worship יהוה in gladness; enter [his] presence with joyful songs. Acknowledge that יהוה is God; [he] made us and we are [his], [his] own people, the flock which [he] shepherds. Enter [his] gates with thanksgiving, [his] courts with praise. Give thanks to [him] and bless [his] name; for יהוה is good and [his] love is everlasting, [his] faithfulness endures to all generations (Ps 100);

I shall sing of loyalty and justice, as I raise a psalm to you, יהוה. (Ps 101:1);

As long as I live I shall sing to יהוה; I shall sing psalms to my God all my life long. May my meditation be acceptable to [him]; I shall delight in יהוה (Ps 104:33, 34);

Give thanks to יהוה, invoke [him] by name; make known [his] deeds among the peoples. Pay [him] honour with song and psalm and tell of all [his] marvelous deeds. Exult in [his] hallowed name; let those who seek יהוה be joyful in heart. Look to יהוה and be strong; at all times seek [his] presence (Ps 105:1–4).

Book Five

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, for [his] love endures forever . . . Let them give thanks toיהוה for [his] love and for the marvelous things [he] has done for [hu]mankind . . . Let them give thanks toיהוה . . . Let them give thanks to יהוה . . . Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of [his] deeds with joyful shouts . . . Let them give thanks to יהוה for [his] enduring love and for the marvelous things [he] has done for [hu]mankind]. Let them exalt [him] in the assembly of the people and praise [him] in the elders’ council (Ps 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 22, 31);

My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I shall sing and raise a psalm. Awake, my soul. Awake, harp and lyre (Ps 108:1, 2);

I shall lift up my voice to extol יהוה, before a great company I shall praise [him] (Ps 109 30, 31);

With all my heart I shall give thanks to יהוה in the congregation, in the assembly of the upright, Great are the works ofיהוה (Ps 111: 1,2);

Praise יהוה! (Ps 112:1; 113:1; 117:1);

Blessed is [he] who enters in the name of יהוה; we bless you from the house of יהוה (Ps 118:26);

I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of יהוה’ Now we are standing within your gates, Jerusalem; Jerusalem, a city built compactly and solidly . . . Pray for the peace of Jerusalem . . . I shall say, ‘Peace be within you.’ (Ps 122:1–3, 6);

Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary and bless יהוה. May יהוה, maker of heaven and earth, bless you; May יהוה, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion! (Ps 134:2, 3);

I shall give praise to you, יהוה, with my whole heart; in the presence of the gods I shall sing psalms to you. I shall bow down towards your holy temple; for your love and faithfulness I shall praise your name, (Ps 138: 1, 2);

I shall sing a new song to you, my God, psalms to the music of a ten-stringed harp (Ps 144:9);

I shall extol you, my God and King, and bless your name for ever and ever. Every day I bless you and praise your name for ever and ever (Ps 145:1, 2).

Concluding Benediction (Pss 146–150)

Praise יהוה. My soul, praise יהוה. As long as I live I shall praise יהוה; I shall sing psalms to my God all my life long (Ps 146:1,2);

יהוה will reign forever, Zion, your God for all generations. Praise יהוה! (Ps 146:10);

Praise יהוה. How good it is to sing psalms to our God! How pleasant and right to praise [him]! (Ps 147:1);

Sing to יהוה a song of thanksgiving, sing psalms to the lyre in honour of our God (Ps 147:7);

Jerusalem, sing to יהוה; Zion, praise your God, for [he] has strengthened your barred gates; [he] has blessed your inhabitants (Ps 147:12, 13);

Praise יהוה. Praise יהוה from the heavens; . . . Praise יהוה from the earth . . . let them praise the name of יהוה, for [his] name is high above all others, and [his] majesty above earth and heaven, [He] has exalted [his] people in the pride of power and crowned with praise [his] loyal servants, Israel, a people close to [him]. Praise יהוה (Ps 148 :1, 7, 13, 14);

Praise יהוה. Sing to יהוה a new song, [his] praise in the assembly of [his] loyal servants! Let Israel rejoice in their maker; let the people of Zion exult in their king. Let them praise [his] name in the dance, and sing to [him] psalms with tambourine and lyre . . . Praise יהוה (Ps 149:1–2, 9).

Thirteen, communal solidarity holds a fundamental place in the Hebrew’s awareness of the corporate personality paradigm. This is reflected continuously throughout the Bible. The “I” of the psalms is now commonly recognized as “we,” the community of Israel confessing its faith through a variety of spokes-persons. Clearly, individual contributions were not lacking for leaders such as Levites, prophets or kings and their associates. The various poets who contributed to the Book of Praises, too, articulated this common faith from within their own particular and unique perspectives.

The shared nature of the Psalms’ confessions however is made clear when we reflect on the fact that they were commonly chanted, as their many references to singing make clear and their frequent use of simple refrains in which all could join. We have in the Psalms an example of the sensus fidelium, functioning with health and vigor in the life of the people of God.

You, the praise of Israel, are enthroned in the sanctuary. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted, and you rescued them (Ps 22:3);

How good and how pleasant it is to live together as [brothers] in unity! It is like fragrant oil poured on the head and falling down upon the beard (Ps 133:1,2).

The presence of יהוה was most acutely mediated throughout ancient Israel’s temple liturgy in which all the people gathered and participated–

The nations will revere your name, יהוה, and all earthly kings your glory, when יהוה builds Zion again and shows [himself] in [his] glory (Ps 102:15, 16).

The immense significance of the temple as the locus of the presence of יהוה in the midst of Israel is reflected in countless references throughout the Psalms–

יהוה, who may lodge in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? (Ps 15:1);

Great is יהוה and most worthy of praise in the city of our God. [His] holy mountain is fair and lofty, the joy of the whole earth (Ps 48:1,2);

יהוה of hosts, how dearly loved is your dwelling-place! . . . Happy are those who dwell in your house; they never cease to praise you! Happy those whose refuge is in you, whose hearts are set on the pilgrim’s way! Better one day in your courts than a thousand days in my home (Ps 84: 1, 4, 5, 10).

The joyful faith of those journeying up to the temple rings out in a series of fifteen remarkable psalms, commonly referred to as the Psalms of Ascents or Steps, or simply, the Pilgrim Psalter (Pss 120–134).

I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of יהוה (Ps 122:1);

I lift my eyes to you whose throne is in heaven (Ps 123:1);

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so יהוה surrounds [his] people both now and evermore (Ps 125:2);

When יהוה restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like people renewed in health (Ps 126:1);

Unless יהוה builds the house, its builders labour in vain (Ps 127:1);

Happy are all who fear יהוה, who conform to [his] ways (Ps 128:1);

The blessing of יהוה be on you! We bless you in the name of יהוה (Ps 129:8);

For יהוה is love unfailing, and great is [his] power to deliver (Ps 130:7);

Israel, hope in יהוה, now and for evermore (Ps 131:3);

Arise, יהוה, and come to your resting-place, you and your powerful Ark (Ps 132:8);

Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary and bless יהוה, may יהוה, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion! (Ps 134:2,3).

Fourteen, the Davidic dynasty, too, came to be seen as the agent of God’s designs and the bearer of God’s promises. For the ancient cultures of the world of the Hebrew Bible, the king or ruler–the sovereign—was commonly viewed as embodying the presence of the divinity being worshiped. It is not surprising therefore that with important modifications reflecting Israel’s faith in the divine mystery, the nation’s royal line is celebrated in several psalms as having received a kind of divine adoption:

I shall announce the decree of יהוה: ‘You are my son,’ he said to me; ‘this day I become your father. Ask of me what you will; I shall give you the nations as your domain, the earth to its farthest ends as your possession (Ps 2:7);

יהוה, the king rejoices in your might: well may he exult in your victory (Ps 21:1);

God has enthroned you for all eternity; your royal sceptre is a sceptre of equity. . . . I shall declare your fame through all generations; therefore, nations will praise you for ever and ever (Ps 45:6f.);

I shall establish your line for ever; I shall make your throne endure for all generations (Ps 89:4);

יהוה says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies my footstool’ (Ps 110:1).

Fifteen, there is the height of irony and ambiguity which attaches to the biblical tradition since the kings and their officials were often the very oppressors of the people. This oppression by the kings of Yhwh brought the continued judgment of the prophets—and Yhwh! It was only when the Davidic line no longer ruled in postexilic times that this theme could more fully establish itself as part of the nation’s confession of faith and hope. During this period, the theme of God’s kingship over all creation emerged-

Sing a new song to יהוה. Sing to יהוה, all the earth. Sing to יהוה and bless [his] name; day by day proclaim [his] victory (Ps 96:1, 2);

יהוה has become king; let the peoples tremble; יהוה is enthroned on the cherubim; let the earth shake. יהוה is great in Zion; [he] is exalted above all the peoples (Ps 99:1,2);

It is good to give thanks to יהוה, to sing psalms to your name, Most High, to declare your love in the morning and your faithfulness every night (Ps 92:1,2).

Israel’s self-understanding of its covenant with יהוה was beginning to extend to all the world. This is one of the Psalter’s greatest legacies. The various poets of the ancient psalms are of one mind. This is all the more amazing when one remembers that we are dealing with many texts, some of which are separated by nearly a millennium of history—from oral transmission, to their composition, to final editing and reception into the Hebrew biblical canon.

The little nation of Israel, which entered the world of the great religions of the Near East as a novice, had, with its faith in the one, true God, unflinchingly made its way against the primitive traditions of its environment. It took up many various themes from the other religions, but it fused them all and made them useful to its avowal that only this one God existed and that he alone was the Lord. Here again it becomes clear how much the history of Israel’s religion is our history. We stand quite obviously on this ground which Israel had created in its encounter with the other religions.11

There is a unanimity of purposeful reflection, theologically, throughout the various texts of the Psalter. One common and unifying theme is the idea of God as refuge, whereby the individual poet expresses an inherent trustingness toward יהוה; this is an abiding astonishment 12 to the poets and the following section serves to illustrate this phenomenon.

1. The following biblical citations are taken from the REB, The Revised English Bible (1992). I have inserted the Hebrew script יהוה for “LORD.” I am particularly indebted to William P. Brown, Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor (2002) for the arrangement and discourse of some of the themes treated in this section.

2. Note: I choose the terms history, historic and historicity, when referring to the Bible, very cautiously. The Bible is not essentially a book of history though it does tell the story of salvation by יהוה assuming a human historical context. For instance, when Israel rejoices in Yahweh’s intervention in the event of the Exodus, the writers are relying on the memory of Yahweh’s objective action in history as it is remembered by Israel’s story-tellers. The Exodus story of her deliverance is recounted down to the present day and marks the regenerative continuance of Israel’s own unique experience of God’s mighty acts, retold in history, in time, from generation to generation. cf. Walter Brueggemann in Abiding Astonishment, writes: “Israel’s normative response to Yahweh’s rescuing fidelity is one of praise and gratitude. Gratitude (hodu) sets the parameters of Israel’s life with God, and there is in Israel a great deal for which to be grateful. Gratitude stands at the beginning and the end of Israel’s life.” 18

3. Harkness, The Providence of God. “God remains Lord of all that [He] has made. This is stated with marvelous beauty and power in the nature poetry of the Psalms, but it is implied throughout the whole Bible . . . and this is basic to our own understanding of God’s wonderful works . . . the biblical writers were not tempted to devise ideas of a deistic intervention . . . they saw the immanent presence of the transcendent God throughout [His] world.” 159.

4. Eaton, The Psalms: A Spiritual and Historical Commentary, “The faithful person turns to prayer and also witnesses to the good way, where there is awe of God, turning from sin, stillness and meditation, worship that finds and holds to God, and above all, trust in [him]. In such trust the psalmist concludes, confident that the Lord in [his] own time will fill the heart again with rejoicing, and make [his] peace known in every danger.” 72.

5. Brown, Seeing the Psalms, “. . . the metaphor of ‘refuge’ bears not only salvific weight, namely, blessing and protection, but also moral import. God’s refuge constitutes both home and destiny for the righteous, and seeking refuge connotes trust in and allegiance to YHWH to the exclusion of things that do not warrant ultimate reliance, from idols to riches” 31. Note: The term occurs in the Introduction to the Psalter (Ps 2:12b) and signals its recurring prominence in what is to follow: “Happy are all who find refuge in יהוה (him)” 75. cf. Jerome F. D. Creach, Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter.

6. Israel’s poets characterize the solidity of faith and trust in יהוה as the “rock.” It is a metaphor both of prominence and eminence.

7. Murphy, “The Faith of the Psalmist: 229–39 “It is indeed remarkable, and one marvels at the ability of the psalmists to repeat, without monotony, . . .This was possible because theology was not locked into an abstract system but found expression in images and metaphors—drawn from daily experience—without which prayer must remain quite jejune indeed.” 231, 32.

8. VanGemeren, Psalms, Vol. 5. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. “The Psalms thereby invite us to make a frank appraisal of how the promises of God are evidenced in reality and to bring our feelings of disappointment to God . . . We do so because [he]—after all—is the one who can resolve our dilemma, whether by changing circumstances or by changing our understanding and redirecting our expectations. As a result of this encounter, our relationship with God is enhanced, not diminished. Other OT characters, such as Habakkuk and Job, have taken similar pilgrimages.” 304.

9. Koch, “Is there a Doctrine of Retribution in the Old Testament?” in Theodicy in the Old Testament, IRTh vol. 4 “. . . the Israelite does not speak of ‘practicing’ faithfulness or ‘traveling down the road of wickedness. According to the Hebrew way of expressing this, good actions or evil actions are ‘created’. . . . Good actions and wickedness do not have a spatial quality like other ‘things’ which can be held and viewed. The characteristic of the relationship between the person who does something and what that person does is highlighted by the use, throughout the Old Testament, of the preposition be in its original locative sense, meaning ‘in’. A person finds oneself ‘inside’ one’s actions.” 71.

10. Psalms 42 and 43 make up a single complaint or lament. They comprise one psalm; note the repeated refrain in 42:5, 11and 43:5. The REB brackets Ps 43 and adds an explanatory footnote in the Oxford Study Bible edition.

11. Rendtorff, God’s History: A Way Through the Old Testament, 56.

12. This is a term that is borrowed from the title of Walter Brueggemann’s little book, the full title of which is: Abiding Astonishment: Psalms, Modernity, and the Making of History. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991.