Psalm 23

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NASB

 

1 The LORD is my shepherd,

 I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

 He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

 He guides me in the paths of righteousness

 For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 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 have anointed my head with oil;  My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

 And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

Effect of the Metric Center on the Psalm’s Development

The use of grammatical persons is one key to this popular Psalm.  Verses 2-3 speak in the 3rd person; verses 4-5, the 2nd person; verse 6, the 1st person.  The conjunction “for” (כּי, “because”) at verse 4b and the metric center that begins to focus on the 2nd person explains “why” the psalmist has no fear—Yahweh’s presence with him and provisions for him. This movement from the 3^rd person, what Yahweh does for the psalmist, to the 1^st person, how the psalmist responds to Yahweh’s graciousness, centers ultimately on the 2^nd person, the continual presence of Yahweh in a relationship characterized by dialogue and intimacy wherein each participant is concerned for the other. In Psalm 23 Yahweh identifies with the needs of the psalmist as seen in verses 1-3 and 5 while the psalmist shows concern for the “name of Yahweh” (verse 3) and His temple, the place of His abiding presence (verse 6).  At the center of these relationships is the statement, “for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Without an intimate relationship with God, the psalmist would fail to appreciate or acknowledge God as the source of his blessings and his motivation for worship would lose its vibrancy and ultimately fade.

 

Ellsworth (Opening Up Psalms,  49) focuses on the change to the 2^nd person.

It is important to notice the change in personal pronoun as David reflects on his shepherd. In verses 2 and 3, David speaks about his shepherd (notice the fourfold use of ‘he’). But when he comes to the valley of death, David drops the ‘he’ in favour of ‘you’ and ‘your’. He was able to look upon the prospect of death with peace and tranquility because he knew that it would mean meeting his glorious shepherd face to face. 

 

Tesh and Zorn, Psalms, 212, likewise points to the movement to the 2^nd person (italics mine),

Notice that the psalmist now speaks directly with God—for you are with me (not, “he is”). It is the experience of fellowship with the Lord as companion and guide, one who is fully equipped with whatever is necessary to insure his safety, whether it be rod or staff. The former was a short, thick stick used as a weapon for protection and the latter a long stick used for help and comfort when climbing in hilly country. Whatever the circumstance and however trying, the presence of this divine guide would be adequate to dispel all fear—I will fear no evil.

 

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Psalm 21

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NASB (Verse 1 in Hebrew is the superscription)

1 O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad,

And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice!

2 You have given him his heart’s desire,

And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

3 For You meet him with the blessings of good things;

You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

4 He asked life of You,

You gave it to him,

Length of days forever and ever.

5 His glory is great through Your salvation,

Splendor and majesty You place upon him.

6 For You make him most blessed forever;

You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.

 

7 For the king trusts in the Lord,

 And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;

Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

9 You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger;

The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath,

And fire will devour them.

10 Their offspring You will destroy from the earth,

And their descendants from among the sons of men.

11 Though they intended evil against You

And devised a plot,

They will not succeed.

12 For You will make them turn their back;

You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.

13 Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;

We will sing and praise Your power.

Effect of the Metric Center on the Psalm’s Development

 

Closely tied thematically to Psalm 20 (Ross, BKC, 808), this Royal Psalm praises Yahweh for his deliverance in verses 1-6 (English) leading up to his reason for praise in 7a, “Because the king trusts in Yahweh.”  The remainder of the Psalm praises Yahweh who fights on behalf of his people.  Again, the metric center appears to signal a turning point in the Psalm. Craigie (Psalms 1-50, 191, 193 Italics mine) states:

Whereas the first part of the psalm [English vv. 1-6], presumably spoken by the congregation, referred primarily to God’s past actions on behalf of the king, which were a source of thanksgiving, this single verse—the mid-point of the entire psalm—serves to bring the focus to the present, the actual moment of proclamation in the liturgy.  Just as the king had trusted in the past, so now in the present moment the solemn declaration is made (presumably by a priest): “the king is trusting in the Lord”. . . . But always, past and future remained contingent upon the present moment, and it was the present moment which formed the central point of the liturgy [English  v. 7a].  

Thus the metric center, located temporally in the present (בֹּטֵחַ, Qal Active Participle, “is trusting”) serves as the theological center of the Psalm transitioning from Yahweh’s past actions to the psalmist’s confidence in Yahweh’s help in the future.

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Psalm 20

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NASB (Verse 1 in the Hebrew Bible is the Superscription)

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!

2 May He send you help from the sanctuary

And support you from Zion!

3 May He remember all your meal offerings

And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah.

4 May He grant you your heart’s desire

And fulfill all your counsel!

5 We will sing for joy over your victory,

And in the name of our God we will set up our banners.

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

6 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;

 

He will answer him from His holy heaven

With the saving strength of His right hand.

7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses,

But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

8 They have bowed down and fallen,

But we have risen and stood upright.

9 Save, O Lord;

May the King answer us in the day we call.

 

Effect of the Metric Center on the Psalm’s Development

 

Psalm 20, a Royal Psalm according to Westermann (The Psalms: Structure, Content & Message, 109)  “are those in which the king plays a role.”  See also Westermann, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 245. Verses 1-5 consist of a prayer for the congregation.  Following this point in the Psalm an Oracle of Salvation (Called also an “Oracle of Assurance” by Yates in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, 503) may be assumed to account for the change in conviction and tone of the remainder of the poem.  At verse [6a English] Craigie, Psalms 1-50, 186,  writes, “The declaration begins with the word now (עתה), which is the emphatic term, indicating a turning point in the ritual. What prompted the turning point is uncertain: it may have been the completion of the sacrificial acts and accompanying ritual, or it may have been the receipt of a positive oracle in the person of the declarer.”  Verses 6b-9 [English] express absolute confidence in the Lord’s deliverance. 

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Psalm 8

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NASB (The Hebrew text makes the superscription verse 1)

1 O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth,

Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

2  From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength

Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

 

4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?

 

5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!

6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

 

Effect of the Metric Center on the Psalm’s Development

 

Westermann, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 139—Psalm 8 is a creation psalm. Bratcher &  Reyburn, A Translator's Handbook on the Book of Psalms, 77, summarize the whole revealing the turning point at verse 4 (English), 

 

This psalm is a hymn which celebrates the glory of God and the worth of humankind. It opens with praise of God’s majesty (verses 1–2), followed by a reflection on the human being: though insignificant when compared with God’s creation (verses 3–4), the true worth of human beings is revealed in their having been appointed by the Creator as rulers over all other created beings (verses 5–8). The psalm closes with the same praise of God’s majesty with which it begins (verse 9).

 

Verse 4 (English) is the metric center and the turning point identified thematically by means of a question after which mankind becomes the subject. Ross, BKC, 797—“The rhetorical questions in verse 4 emphasize that man is an insignificant creature in the universe (cf. 144:3). Yet God cares for him immensely. It amazed David that the Lord of the universe even thinks about man.” Craigie, Psalms 1-50, 110, notes the Christological significance in 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2:6-9.

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Psalm 5

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NASB (The Hebrew text adds the superscription as verse 1.)

 

1  Give ear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my groaning.

2  Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,

For to You I pray.

3  In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;

In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

4  For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;

No evil dwells with You.

5  The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;

You hate all who do iniquity.

6  You destroy those who speak falsehood;

The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

 

7  But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,

At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

 

8  O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;

Make Your way straight before me.

9  There is nothing reliable in what they say;

Their inward part is destruction itself.

Their throat is an open grave;

They flatter with their tongue.

10  Hold them guilty, O God;

By their own devices let them fall!

In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,

For they are rebellious against You.

11  But let all who take refuge in You be glad,

Let them ever sing for joy;

And may You shelter them,

That those who love Your name may exult in You.

12  For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD,

You surround him with favor as with a shield.

 

Effect of the Metric Center on the Psalm’s Development

 

Two items make this center significant:  (1) the centrally located וַאֲנִי (“But I”)  indicating a shift in thought, and (2) the double and only reference to the temple.  Craigie (Psalms, 87) notes, “The focus of worship was the ‘holy temple’ of God (presumably the Holy of Holies in the innermost part of the house of God), not as an object of worship, but as a symbol of God’s most intimate presence.” In this Psalm of protection and guidance during dangerous times, the presence of God and His temple become the centerpiece of one’s prayer life (Ross, BKC, 794-95).

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Psalm 2

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NASB (with separation of the “center”in bold font)

1  Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?

2  The kings of the earth take their stand

And the rulers take counsel together

Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,

3  “Let us tear their fetters apart

And cast away their cords from us!”

4  He who sits in the heavens laughs,

The Lord scoffs at them.

5  Then He will speak to them in His anger

And terrify them in His fury, saying,

6  “But as for Me, I have installed My King

Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

 

7  “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.

 

8  ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

9  ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,

You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”

10  Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;

Take warning, O judges of the earth.

11  Worship the Lord with reverence

And rejoice with trembling.

12  Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

 

Effect of the Metric Center on the Psalm’s Development

 

Verse 7 represents the metric center of this Royal and Messianic Psalm.  That this verse focuses the key element in the Sitz im Leben (life situation) of the Psalm is highlighted by Craigie (Psalms 1-50, 67):

 

The Davidic covenant was eternal, but all covenants were renewed from time to time; the principal form of renewal in the royal covenant took place in the coronation, when a new descendant of the Davidic dynasty ascended to the throne.  Thus, the divine words “you are my son” mark a renewal of the relationship between God and David’s house in the person of the newly crowned king.

 

Further support for center-focus may be found in the cohortative of resolve אסַפְּרָה (Waltke/O'Connor, Biblical Hebrew Syntax, 573, "I am determined to tell") setting the tone for what follows, the reference to the Davidic Covenant in, חֹק יהוה ("decree of the LORD"), and the preceding and following "envelope" references to divine wrath (verses 5 and 12). Finally, the NT authors recognized the Messianic significance of this verse: Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5.

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