29/01/2012
Reading the Psalms for Prayer
Biblical Poetry Today
(2) Noticing how poetry works
Planning permission is sought from
Galway County Council to build a small
temporary dwelling using stone age
techniques on an uninhabited island. It is
proposed to have between 8 and 10 drills
of beans and one hive for the production
of honey. Electrical and telephone
connections are not required. Privacy is
essential.
Sonnet 116 - W. Shakespeare
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Plan of Presentation
(1) Your experience so far…
(2) Noticing how poetry “works”
(3) Different kinds of psalms
(4) The structure of the Psalter
(5) Praying the Psalms today discussion
(2) Noticing how poetry works
I will arise and go now,
and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there,
of clay and wattles made.
Nine bean rows will I have there,
a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
Q.1 Negative refutation
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit “impediments”; love is not love
Which “alters when it alteration finds”,
Or “bends with the remover to remove”.
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Q.2 Positive refutation
O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his heighth
be taken.
Q.3 Negative and positive
refutation
Love's not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Couplet: A Legal Challenge
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Image Structure
Q.1
Legal and mathematical definition
Q.2
Navigation / the pole star / travel
Q.3
Time (ageing and harvest)
Couplet:
Legal language
Rhyming Structure
Q.1
Q.2.
Q.3
minds – love – finds – move
mark – shaken – bark – taken
cheeks – come – weeks – doom
Couplet
proved – loved
The Quatrains and the Couplet
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Love[d]
No
Never
Ever
(2, 2, 9, 11, 14)
(5, 14)
(6, 14)
(5, 14)
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Sonnet 116 - W. Shakespeare
Psalm 63
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
1
2
3
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
Psalm 63
4
5
6
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
Psalm 63
7
8
9
10
11
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
they shall be prey for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Hebrew Poetic Techniques
(a) Techniques which come out in
translation
Parallelism
OT Reference
Structure
Semantic Fields
Imagery (both conventional and original)
(b) Techniques which do not, usually, come
out in translation
Rhythm
Alliteration
Assonance
“Dense words”
Parallelism
Illustration
Is. 2:4
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
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(a) Synonymous Parallelism
a
But let justice
a
and righteousness
b
roll down
c
like waters,
c
like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:2
a
The voice of the LORD
a
the voice of the LORD
b
is powerful;
b
is full of majesty.
Psa. 29:4
a
Happy are those
a
who greatly delight
b
who fear the LORD,
b
in his commandments.
Psa. 112:1
(c) “Formal” Parallelism
Psa. 14:2
The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after
(b) Antithetical Parallelism
a
for the LORD
b
watches over
c
but the way of the wicked
a
A wise child
a
b
makes
b
c
a glad father,
c
but a foolish child
is
a mother’s grief.
Eccl. 11:2
From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth—
Judg. 5:12
!
Psa. 29:1
Divide your means seven ways, or even eight,
for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.
(e) Chiastic Parallelism
Jer. 4:5
a
Declare
b
in Judah,
b
and in Jerusalem
a
proclaim,
Prov. 10:1
(d) “Staircase” Parallelism
God.
Psa. 33:14
c
Psa. 1:6
the way of the righteous,
b
will perish.
a
“Awake, awake,
a
Awake, awake,
!
!a
Ascribe to the LORD,
a
ascribe to the LORD
b
Deborah!
c
utter a song!
b
O heavenly beings,
c
glory and strength.
Psalm 114
1
2
3
4
When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
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Two Stories in One!
When Israel went out from Egypt,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
the house of Jacob from a people
of strange language,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
The mountains skipped like rams,
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O mountains, that you skip like
rams?
Jordan turned back.
the hills like lambs.
O Jordan, that you turn back?
hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence
of the LORD,
who turns the rock into a pool of
water,
at the presence of the God of
Jacob,
the flint into a spring of water.
The Shape of the Psalm
A: Event: exodus/entry
B: Repercussions: recounted
B’: Repercussions: interpreted
A’: Event: God's leadership
A Christian reads Psalm 114…
Our “exodus” is the cross and resurrection
Our “Passover” is Jesus
Our “liberation” is from death
Psalms, Part II
Key Text (Creation and Redemption)
2Cor. 4:6 For it is the God who said,
“Let light shine out of darkness,”
who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Structures, Metaphors
(Semantic fields),
the Psalter as a whole
Psalm 122
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem — built as a city that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say,
“Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
Psalm 122
Structure of Ps 122
Etymology of “Jerusalem” as ’ir shalom
Introduction
I rejoiced that they said to me, “Let us go to
the house of Yahweh.”
At last our feet are standing at your gates,
Jerusalem
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Psalm 122
part one: the city (’ir)
Psalm 122
part 2: peace (shalom)
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, built as a city, in one united whole
there the tribes go up
the tribes of Yah
a law for Israel to give thanks to the name of
Yahweh
For there are set the thrones of judgment
the thrones of the house of David.
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.
Metaphor of hospitality
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
MIDlDv…wr◊y MwølVv …wlSaAv]
[=
may those who love you prosper!
Peace within your walls
may your palaces prosper!
For love of my brothers and my friends
I will say, “Peace upon you!”
For love of the house of Yahweh our God
I will pray for your well-being
Metaphor of the shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose,
near restful waters he leads me
To revive my spirit.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with you crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
Psalm 23
A)  The song of the shepherd (1-4):
unfolds in the following moments
- a thematic declaration: YHWH is my
shepherd (1a)
- a pastoral description of rest (1b-3a)
- a pastoral description of travel (3b-4c)
- a thematic declaration (4d)
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Psalm 23
B) The song of the guest (5-6):
unfolds in the following moments
- a thematic declaration: before me a
table (5a)
- a general description of hospitality (5b-5d)
- a specific description of sacred
hospitality (6)
Psalm 1
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Observations
Questions
Type
Links to OT
Links to the NT
Psalm 104
Antiphon (1a)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Happy is the man
who has not followed the counsel of the wicked,
or taken the path of sinners,
or joined the company of the insolent;
rather, the teaching of the LORD is his delight,
and he studies that teaching day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season,
whose foliage never fades,
and whatever it produces thrives.
Not so the wicked;
rather, they are like chaff that wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not survive judgement,
nor will sinners, in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD cherishes the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
Different Kinds of Psalms
(i) Hymns of Praise
(ii) Laments
(iii) Royal Psalms
(iv) Wisdom Psalms
(v) Liturgical Psalms
(vi) Historical Psalms
Psalm 104 - links with Gen 1
Psalm 104 Genesis 1
A. Strophe 1 – the heavens and God’s presence (1b-4)
B. Strophe 2 – the earth and the seas (5-9)
C. Strophe 3 – water on the earth, fertility, life (10-18)
Nourishment for animals and plants (10-13)
Nourishment for human beings (14-15)
Nourishment for animals and plants (16-18)
D. Strophe 4 – time (19-24)
B’ Strophe 5 – the sea (25-26)
C. Strophe 6 – life, enough to eat, the spirit (27-30)
A’ Strophe 7 – the heavens and God’s presence (31-35b)
Antiphon (35c)
Psalm 1
1-3 light 3-5 light
3-4 firmament 6-8 firmament
5-9 land and sea 9-10 land and sea
10-18 vegetation 11-13 vegetation
addition 1: living creatures
addition 2: nourishment
19-23 night and day 14-19 night and day
addition 1: living creatures
addition 2: nourishment
25-26 the sea and its creatures 20-23 living creatures and the sea (create)
24-28 living creatures and the land (create)
27-28 nourishment (eat) 29-30 nourishment (eat)
29-30 living creatures and the land (create)
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Finally…
Development and lay-out of the
Psalter
(more complex than the Da Vinci Code)
Praying the Psalms today
(discussion)
Some internet sites:
The Voice: www.crivoice.org/psalmsintro.html
New American Bible: www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/psalms/intro.htm
Praying the Psalms:
http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apri1989/v46-1-article3.htm
Singing the Psalms:
www.laudemont/org/index.html?MainFrame=http://laudemont.org/astp/htm
Study of the Psalm:
www.bether.edu~dhoward/articles/FOTZPsalms2.htm
Periodicals:
Journal of Biblical Studies 2003, 22-61 : “A role-Taking Theory of
Praying the Psalms: Using the Psalms as a Model for Structuring the
Life of Prayer.” (Available on-line)
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