Читать книгу Theological Themes of Psalms - Robert D. Bell - Страница 8
ОглавлениеPreface
Biblical theology is the science that seeks to analyze what God has revealed in the holy Scriptures and then proclaims these theological truths in propositional form. These truths fall into three main categories: (1) God, (2) man, and (3) salvation. The Bible concentrates on four main theological propositions: (1) God has spoken to mankind; (2) Man has rebelled against his Creator and sinned; (3) God threatens and carries out judgments because of sin;1 but the good news is that (4) in compassion God has provided salvation for mankind.
Nature of a Book Theology
One of the methods of biblical theology is a book theology. It seeks to display the theological themes that occur in a book of the Bible and to present the data supporting those themes. A Biblical verse has a context within what precedes and follows it. We could call this its vertical context. But it also has a horizontal context: its themes are related to the other parts of the book that treat the same themes.2 By presenting a book’s theological themes, a book theology provides this horizontal context for the verses in a Biblical book.
It may appear that Psalms contains a miscellaneous collection of poems written over a long period by many different authors, but actually, careful study reveals a unifying element. The Holy Spirit as the real Author behind a series of human poets who focused on one key topic with a related set of themes.3 Since Psalms focuses on worship and prayer, the theological truths about God (His attributes and works) abound in the book’s poems.4 Furthermore, Psalms presents also truths about mankind. The psalmists set their hopes on what God promised to do, the key event being the universal rule of the Messiah, who is God Himself as well as David’s descendent.
The theological value of Psalms has often been recognized. Geoffrey W. Grogan speaks of “a coherent theological perspective”: “This means that although the immediate literary context for any one word, phrase, verse or stanza is the particular psalm in which it is to be found, each psalm needs also to be interpreted within the context of the whole book. In some ways, therefore, a theology of the psalms is like a biblical theology.”5 Martin Luther called the Psalms “a little Bible. In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible. It is really a fine enchiridion or handbook.”6 Included are the truths about mankind’s inward state: Calvin called Psalms, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul.”7
Quotations in the New Testament
The significance of the theological message of Psalms is evident in the frequent use the New Testament makes of this book. It is difficult to nail down exactly how many quotations of and allusions to the Psalms there are in the New Testament. Delitzsch says there are about seventy;8 Waltner claims that 60 psalms provide the New Testament with 93 quotes;9 Henry M. Shires claims seventy cases introduced by formulas and sixty without.10 Other works provide lists of references: the UBS NT has 79;11 Leopold Sabourin itemizes 112 quotations;12 a key reference work tabulates 67;13 a collection of articles charts 118 quotations and allusions.14 Another list carefully distinguishes between “formal quotations,” allusions, and paraphrases.15 Table P.1 below charts 58 cases where the NT uses some introductory word or words to introduce information from Psalms, clearly indicating a direct or indirect quote. Table P.2 provides a list of 25 places where the NT author directly quotes Psalms without an introductory formula, and Table P.3 adds seven more instances of quoted portions by some other speaker. Thus my total would be 90 quotations. The tables help us identify the key Messianic psalms: 2, 8, 16, 22, and 110, which was quoted six times and alluded to one additional time.
Organization of This Book Theology
Table P.4 charts this book’s arrangement, referring first to the three main categories of theology mentioned above in the first paragraph. In the table they are called topics. The next column divides this book according to the four main theological propositions, called principles in the table. Next are 28 themes that run through Psalms; these are the chapter titles of this book.
Table P.1 Direct Psalm Quotes Introduced in the New Testament
| # | Psalm | NT Reference | Introductory Word(s) |
| 1 | 2:1-2 | Acts 4:25-26 | said |
| 2 | 2:7 | Acts 13:33 | written |
| 3 | 2:7 | Heb. 1:5 | say |
| 4 | 2:7 | Heb. 5:5 | said |
| 5 | 5:9 | Rom. 3:13 | written (v. 10) |
| 6 | 8:2 | Matt. 21:16 | read |
| 7 | 8:4-6 | Heb. 2:6-8 | saying (somewhere) |
| 8 | 8:6 | 1 Cor. 15:27 | for |
| 9 | 10:7 | Rom. 3:14 | written (v. 10) |
| 10 | 14:1-3; 53:1-3 | Rom. 3:10-12 | written (v. 10) |
| 11 | 16:8-11 | Acts 2:25-28 (31) | says of Him |
| 12 | 16:10 | Acts 13:35 | says |
| 13 | 18:49 | Rom. 15:9 | written |
| 14 | 19:4 | Rom. 10:18 | indeed they have |
| 15 | 22:15 | John 19:28 | Scripture … be fulfilled |
| 16 | 22:18 | John 19:24 | fulfill the Scripture |
| 17 | 22:22 | Heb. 2:12 | saying |
| 18 | 24:1 | 1 Cor. 10:26 | for |
| 19 | 32:1-2 | Rom. 4:7-8 | David also speaks |
| 20 | 34:12-16 | 1 Pet. 3:10-12 | for |
| 21 | 34:20 | John 19:36 | fulfill the Scripture |
| 22 | 35:19 | John 15:25 | fulfill the word … |
| 23 | 36:1 | Rom. 3:18 | written (v. 10) |
| 24 | 40:6-8 | Heb. 10:5-7 | says |
| 25 | 41:9 | John 13:18 | Scripture … fulfilled |
| 26 | 44:22 | Rom. 8:36 | written |
| 27 | 45:6-7 | Heb. 1:8-9 | says … of the Son (v. 6) |
| 28 | 51:4 | Rom. 3:4 | written |
| 29 | 68:18 | Eph. 4:8 | says |
| 30 | 69:4 | John 15:25 | fulfill the word … written … |
| 31 | 69:9 | John 2:17 | written |
| 32 | 69:9 | Rom. 15:3 | written |
| 33 | 69:22-23 | Rom. 11:9-10 | David says |
| 34 | 69:25 | Acts 1:20 | written … Psalms |
| 35 | 78:2 | Matt. 13:35 | fulfill … |
| 36 | 82:6 | John 10:34 | written in your Law |
| 37 | 94:11 | 1 Cor. 3:20 | written (v. 19) … and again |
| 38 | 95:7-11 | Heb. 3:7-11 (15) (18) | Holy Spirit says |
| 39 | 95:7-8 | Heb. 4:7 | said before |
| 40 | 95:11 | Heb. 4:3 (5) | just as He has said |
| 41 | 102:25-27 | Heb. 1:10-12 | says (v. 7) … And |
| 42 | 104:4 | Heb. 1:7 | He says |
| 43 | 109:8 | Acts 1:20 | written in … Psalms |
| 44 | 110:1 | Matt. 22:44; Mk. 12:36; Lk. 20:42-43 | saying/said/says |
| 45 | 110:1 | Acts 2:34-35 | says |
| 46 | 110:1 | 1 Cor. 15:25 | for … says |
| 47 | 110:1 | Heb. 1:13 | He ever said |
| 48 | 110:4 | Heb. 5:6 | He says also in another passage |
| 49 | 110:4 | Heb. 7:17 | attested |
| 50 | 112:9 | 2 Cor. 9:9 | written |
| 51 | 116:10 | 2 Cor. 4:13 | written |
| 52 | 117:1 | Rom. 15:11 | says … again |
| 53 | 118:6 | Heb. 13:6 | (We confidently say) |
| 54 | 118:22-23 | Matt. 21:42; Mk. 12:10-11; Lk. 20:17 | read/read/written |
| 55 | 118:22 | 1 Pet. 2:7 | Scripture (v. 6) … |
| 56 | 132:11 | Acts 2:30 | had sworn … |
| 57 | 135:14 | Heb. 10:30 | said … and again |
| 58 | 140:3 | Rom. 3:13 | written (v. 10) |
Table P.2 Quoted Allusions from Psalms in the New Testament
| # | Psalm | NT Reference | Number of Words Quoted |
| 1 | 2:8-9 | Rev. 2:26-27 | Hebrew 8/ Greek 10 |
| 2 | 2:9 | Rev. 12:5 | Hebrew 3/ Greek 4 |
| 3 | 2:9 | Rev. 19:15 | Hebrew 3/ Greek 5 |
| 4 | 4:4 | Eph. 4:26 | Hebrew 3/ Greek 4 |
| 5 | 6:8 | Matt. 7:23; Lk. 13:27 | Hebrew 5/ Greek 7/6 |
| 6 | 8:6 | Eph. 1:22 | Hebrew 4/ Greek 6 |
| 7 | 9:8 | Acts 17:31 (also 96:13 & 98:9) | Hebrew 3/ Greek 5 |
| 8 | 22:1 | Matt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34 | Hebrew 4/ Aramaic 4 |
| 9 | 22:7 | Matt. 27:39; Lk. 23:35 | Hebrew 7/Greek 4/2 |
| 10 | 22:8 | Matt. 27:43 | Hebrew 7/Greek 5 |
| 11 | 22:18 | Matt. 27:35; Mk. 15:24; Lk. 23:34 | Hebrew 7/ Greek 5/7/6 |
| 12 | 31:5 | Lk. 23:46 | Hebrew 3/ Greek 7 |
| 13 | 34:8 | 1 Pet. 2:3 | Hebrew 4/ Greek 5 |
| 14 | 42:5, 11 | Matt. 26:38; Mk. 14:34 | Hebrew 2/ Greek 3 |
| 15 | 62:12 | Matt. 16:27 | Hebrew 3/ Greek 6 |
| 16 | 62:12 | Rom. 2:6 | Hebrew 3/ Greek 6 |
| 17 | 62:12 | 2 Tim. 4:14 | Hebrew 2/ Greek 5 |
| 18 | 69:21 | Matt. 27:48; Mk. 15:36 | Hebrew 2/Greek 2 |
| 19 | 86:9 | Rev. 15:4 | Hebrew 5/ Greek 8 |
| 20 | 89:3-4 | Acts 2:30 | Hebrew 4/ Greek 8 |
| 21 | 110:1 | Matt. 26.64; Mk. 14:62; Lk. 22:69 | Hebrew 2/ Greek 3 |
| 22 | 118:26 | Matt. 23.39; Lk. 13:35 | Hebrew 4/ Greek 6 |
| 23 | 146:6 | Acts 4:24 | Hebrew 9/ Greek 13 |
| 24 | 146:6 | Acts 14:15 | Hebrew 9/ Greek 14 |
| 25 | 146:6 | Rev. 10:6 | Hebrew 8/ Greek 11 |
Table P.3 Allusions to Psalms by Other Speakers
| # | Psalm | NT Reference | Speaker |
| 1 | 78:24 | John 6:31 | crowd |
| 2 | 89:36 | John 12:34 | crowd |
| 3 | 91:11-12 | Matt. 4:6; Lk. 4:10 | Satan |
| 4 | 103:17 | Lk 1:50 | Mary |
| 5 | 107:9 | Lk 1:53 | Mary |
| 6 | 118:25-26 | Matt. 21:9; Mk. 11:9-10; Lk. 19:38; John 12:13 | crowd |
| 7 | 148:1 | Matt. 21:9; Mk. 11:10 | crowd |
Table P.4 Organization Chart
| Topic | Principle | Theme | Chapter |
| God (theology) | Revelation[12] | Speech | 1 |
| Instruction | 2 | ||
| Wisdom | 3 | ||
| Creation | 4 | ||
| Blessing | 5 | ||
| Greatness | 6 | ||
| Holiness | 7 | ||
| Wrath | 8 | ||
| Justice | 9 | ||
| Compassion | 10 | ||
| Love & Faithfulness | 11 | ||
| Protection | 12 | ||
| Man (anthropology) | Sin [4] | Iniquity | 13 |
| Pride | 14 | ||
| The Wicked | 15 | ||
| The Enemies | 16 | ||
| Judgment [4] | Punishment | 17 | |
| Imprecation | 18 | ||
| Affliction | 19 | ||
| Prayer | 20 | ||
| Salvation (soteriology) | Deliverance [8] | Redemption | 21 |
| Hope | 22 | ||
| The Righteous | 23 | ||
| Joy | 24 | ||
| Praise | 25 | ||
| Worship | 26 | ||
| Life | 27 | ||
| Sovereignty | 28 |
Arrangement of Psalms into Five Books
The edition of the book of Psalms that has providentially come down to us has been divided into five groups, known as “books.”16 Robertson has presented charts in color to indicate how the books advance the themes introduced in Psalms 1 and 2, thus indicating the significance of these books for theology.17 My work on themes in Psalms, therefore, has given some attention to these divisions (especially, statistically). Table P.5 lists the psalms, verses, and Hebrew words in each of the five books. Many of the statistical tables in the following chapters of this volume have double lines to indicate the Psalm book divisions.
Table P.5 The Five Books in Psalms
| Books | Psalms | Verses | Words |
| I | 1-41 | 616 (25.03%) | 5097 (26.75%) |
| II | 42-72 (31) | 465 (18.89%) | 3838 (20.14%) |
| III | 73-89 (17) | 358 (14.55%) | 2689 (14.11%) |
| IV | 90-106 (17) | 321 (13.04%) | 2411 (12.65%) |
| V | 107-150 (44) | 701 (28.48%) | 5020 (26.34%) |
| totals: | 150 | 2461 | 19,055 |
Note that in this book theology Psalm commentaries are referenced only by last name and page number. Their bibliography information is listed above in the last section of Abbreviations (Bibliography of Commentaries). Scripture translations not identified in this book are from the King James Version (KJV) or are the author’s own very literal translations. The context will generally identify the latter cases (by the use of “literally”). Since Hebrew words are spelled out in the Masoretic script, the transliterations that usually follow are intended only to provide an approximate pronunciation and do not indicate a letter for letter match with the Hebrew; thus some Hebrew letters are not distinguished from each other (for example, both ט and some תs are transliterated as “t”). Both א and ע are treated as silent but indicated by single quote marks (distinguished as ’ for א and ‘ for ע). The velar fricative ח is indicated by “kh.”
