Bible In A Year - Psalm 119 (Part Two)

The Bible in a Year  - Psalms

Psalm 119 – Part Two

Read this coming week:

Nov 15 Lam 2‐3, Ps 119:57‐64, 2 Cor 11‐13 Nov 16 Lam 4‐5, Ps 119:65‐72, Gal 1‐2 Nov 17 Ezek 1‐3, Ps 119:73‐80, Gal 3‐4 Nov 18 Ezek 4‐6, Ps 119:81‐88, Gal 5‐6 Nov 19 Ezek 7‐9, Ps 119:89‐96, Eph 1 Nov 20 Ezek 10‐11, Ps 119:97‐104, Eph 2‐3 Nov 21 Ezek 12‐13, Ps 119:105‐112, Eph 4 Nov 22 Ezek 14‐15, Ps 119:113‐120, Eph 5‐6

Reading Questions

For next week you’re reading Psalm 119, vs. 57-120.  Be able to answer the following:

• The Psalms are not without application in our own lives.  When might each of these psalm stanzas (the letters) give you comfort, hope, help, or wisdom (or something else)?
• This psalm forms the basics of Biblical interpretation – how should we interpret the Bible according to them?
• What happens to those who do not heed the words of the psalm?
• One of my seminary professors once told me that Martin Luther saw Jesus in the psalms in places that He didn’t even know He was.  Where do you see Jesus in these psalms?

6 Principles for Interpreting the Psalms

The Psalms are Hebrew poetry intended to reach the heart and the soul of the reader/speaker/hearer.  Just as we would not expect the same things out of English poetry that we do out of English prose – we recognize that the Psalms are the Word of God that functions in a poetic manner and thusly have interpretive peculiarities.

1. Each Psalm originated as a complete unit, therefore, we should not interpret verses of a psalm apart from its literary whole (i.e. Psalm 119 should be interpreted as Psalm 119, not as Ps. 119:1-5).
2. Contextually, unless given specific reasons to think otherwise, we should consider the psalm itself to be its own context (i.e. Psalm 119 is not contextually connected to Psalm 1, although they are both in the same book.)
3. The occasion on which ancient Israel would have used the Psalm contributes to the Psalm’s historical context as well as the psalm’s intended use in the Christian church (i.e. a psalm of lament should be recognized as a lament be used in times of sorrow)
4. The intended speaker/hearer should be considered in the interpretation of a psalm.  (i.e. if the whole nation of Israel is the intended “speaker” of a psalm it must be interpreted and applied to the Church corporately, not individually)
5. Poetic devices, including word play and structure, should be considered in the interpretation of a Psalm – although these are often hard to determine in translated works. (i.e. Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem using the alphabet as its key, alluding to its educational nature)
6. Christians believe that Jesus is the prophesied “New David” and we may see royal psalms as pertaining to the reign of Christ.

Image: New Hebrew Typeface by Nir Tober at Flickr