Reading The Psalms With Jesus: John Delhousaye

Reading the Psalms with Jesus
John DelHousaye
Phoenix Seminary Press

Phoenix, Arizona
2 Contents
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Psalms 1—2 Wise Messiah
Chapter 2 Psalm 6 Prayer
Chapter 3 Psalm 8 Son of man, Meditation
Chapter 4 Psalm 16 Resurrection
Chapter 5 Psalms 22-23 Sacrificial Shepherd
Chapter 6 Psalm 31 Faith
Chapter 7 Psalm 34 Tasting
Chapter 8 Psalm 37 Inheritance
Chapter 9 Psalm 40 Darkness
Chapter 10 Psalms 42-43 Grief
Chapter 11 Psalm 45 Love
Chapter 12 Psalm 48 Jerusalem
Chapter 13 Psalm 50 Throne
Chapter 14 Psalm 69 Zeal
Chapter 15 Psalm 78 Mystery
Chapter 16 Psalm 82 Council
Chapter 17 Psalm 91 Protection
Chapter 18 Psalm 104 Signs
Chapter 19 Psalm 107 Hunger
Chapter 20 Psalm 110 Accountability
Chapter 21 Psalm 118 Temple
Chapter 22 Psalm 132 Light
Conclusion
3 Preface
Preface
Brothers and sisters, I have written a little book on the way our Lord Jesus Christ reads the
Psalms, the heart of Scripture. We love one another; our time has been incomparable. I wanted to
keep these words between us for fear that my unpolished diction should prove displeasing to the
reader. I read the manuscript, and found many errors; no doubt, many persist. Who is adequate
for such things? Yet when our Seminary requested an elective, this was the only topic I could
offer: There is nothing after the Psalter, except the face of the Beloved. With these psalms, all
people may see the universe as Temple and the fullness of the Cross. But what I’ve written is
certainly not the last word. I wrote this first draft to rekindle a very old conversation. May God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be glorified in Phoenix, Arizona, and everywhere else. Amen.
John DelHousaye
Sonoran Desert
11 May 2016
4 Introduction
Introduction
The Psalms, languaged music from God and to God, have nurtured God’s people for millennia.
The title, used by our Lord, is derived from ψαλµός (“playing strings”), the Greek translation of
the Hebrew ‫“( ִמז ְמוֹר‬stringed instruments”).1
The Psalter, another title, has been called the “hymnbook of the Second Temple.”2 The Levites,
assistants to the priests, sang them on festal days and for the daily sacrifices (1 Chron 16; Sir.
50.16-17; 1 Macc. 4.54). Presumably, they were also sung in the synagogues, but less evidence is
available.3
The Psalms are attributed to David (3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 91*, 101, 103, 104*,
108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-45), Moses (90), Solomon (72, 127), Jeduthon (39, 62, 77),
Heman (88), Ethan (89), Asaph (50, 73-83), and the sons of Korah (42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88).
With the exception of David, Moses, and Solomon, the others are Levites (1 Kgs 4:31; 1 Chron
6:31-44; 15:19; 16:5; 2 Chron 5:12; 29:30). There are also anonymous or “orphan” psalms.4
Many psalms are deeply personal, but were also recognized as Scripture. Moses, David,
Solomon, the Levites—all addressed YHWH for the people.5 (YHWH is an appropriately
inadequate transliteration of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton ‫יהוה‬, which refers to the personal God
of Ancient Israel. Instead of pronouncing the consonants, one may say ha Shem, “the name” or
Adonai, “the Lord.”)
Structure
The 150 psalms6 are organized into five “books,” which are demarcated by four benedictions
(41:13; 72:18-20; 89:52; 106:48; 145:21):7
Book 1 1-41
Book 2 42-72
1
Grogan, Psalms, 7. We also find the title in Codex Vaticanus.
2
Codex Alexandrinus ψαλτήριον = Psalter. Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 25.
3
Peter Jeffrey “Philo’s Impact on Christian Psalmody” in Psalms in Community: Jewish and Christian Textual, Liturgical, and
Artistic Traditions (Harold W. Attridge and Margot E. Fassler, eds.; Leiden: Brill, 2004), 147-88, 152.
4
Grogan, Psalms, 9.
5
Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 26.
6
The MT has 150 psalms in the Psalter. In some collections, there is a psalm or two after the 150. The OG has 151. However, the
final psalm is not numbered. Canonical for the Eastern Orthodox Church. 11QPsa : a psalm follows 151 (“151B”) First published
by James Sanders in 1963. Proves the Psalm was originally written in Hebrew and part of their collection. For commentary, see
Reymond 2011, 51-74. David’s glorification of Yahweh. Yahweh’s glorification of David. Appropriation of 1 Samuel 17. Ben
Sira 47.1-12. Reflects interest in Davidic biography. 1 Sam 9:2 The diminutive stature of David brings more glory to God, in
contrast to Saul. Yet God saw something in David’s heart—See Ant. 8.1.1.
7
Goldingay finds the arrangement “arbitrary” but pedagogically symbolic (Psalms, 23). I detect a slightly polemical edge (36-
37).
5 David
Book 3 73 - 89
Book 4 90 - 106
Book 5 107 – 150
We also find collections within the Psalter: Davidic (3-41, 51-72, 138-145), Korahite (42-49, 84-
85, 87-111), Elohistic (42-83), Asaphite (73-83), and Ascents (120-134), a celebration of
Nehemiah’s reestablishment of Jerusalem. These collections may precede the Masoretic frame.
The Psalter ends with a fivefold doxology (146-150).
The anonymous framer(s), whoever put the material into its canonical form, has contributed to
the meaning of Scripture.8
Many psalms are framed by inclusio, repetition at the beginning and end. The delimitation
creates a discourse unit, and allows meditation. R. Yohanan is remembered to have said: “Any
psalm dear to David he opened with ‫‘( אשרי‬happy is he’) and closed with ‫‘( אשרי‬happy is he’).”9
The juxtaposition of psalms, like Pss 22 and 23, may also be significant.
The basic mode of expression is bicola. Robert Lowth famously called this phenomenon
parallelism, although the language is falling out of use because no two clauses, phrases, or even
words are entirely synonymous. The second line usually furthers meaning in one of three ways:
echo, contrast, or escalation.10
For emphasis, the psalmist may expand a bicolon into a tricolon.11
The bicola build together into a strophe, a subunit, which is similar to a paragraph with a
common theme or argument.
David
King David (r. 970 – 931) and the Psalter have a special relationship: at least seventy-three are
attributed to him; with the exception of Moses, the other contributors are closely related to him
as his son or priests.
David is the most fully developed, complex personality in the Old Testament.12 In addition to the
psalms, we have something of an ancient biography that extends through three books in Scripture
8
We encounter a similar phenomenon in Mark, who organizes the anecdotal memories of Peter about Jesus. The Evangelist is
more than a mere editor, making his contribution primarily at the seams. See my Fourfold Gospel, which discusses the gains of
redaction criticism over traditional form criticism.
9
B. Berakhot 10a.
10
For a similar view, see W. H. Bellinger, Psalms: A Guide to Studying the Psalter (2nd ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Academic, 2012), 12-13.
11
Simon P. Stocks does not find intrinsic, singular meaning to the phenomenon, but does find the rhetorical feature of emphasis
in the Psalms of Ascent: The Form and Function of the Tricolon in the Psalms of Ascents: Introducing a New Paradigm for
Hebrew Poetic Line-form (Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick, 2012), 257.
6 David
and restated in a fourth.13 From a historical perspective, the literary critic Robert Alter (b. 1935)
notes:
The story of David is probably the greatest single narrative representation in antiquity of
a human life evolving by slow stages through time, shaped and altered by the pressures of
political life, public institutions, family, the impulses of body and spirit, the eventual sad
decay of the flesh.14
Andrew Bonar (1810 - 1892) draws out a theological implication: “It was for this end that God
led David the round of all human conditions, that he might catch the spirit proper to every one,
and utter it according to the truth.”15 God pushed David into the fullness of humanity.
Bernd Janowski notes seven aspects of being human in the Psalter:
The complaining human being (Ps 13),

The hostile human being (Ps 59),
The persecuted human being (Ps 7),
The sick human being (Ps 41),
The transitory human being (Ps 88),
The praising human being (Ps 30),
The gifted human being, (Ps 16),
God’s human being, the tsaddik (Ps 22).16
Few human beings escape any of these. David offers a realistic response for all.
King David is not mythological, but a historical person. A stele from Tel Dan, which can be
dated a little less than two hundred years from the biblical account, reads “The house of
David.”17 Scholars debate the relationship between the “historical David” and Scripture, as they
do with Christ, but faith is required for any position.18 Jesus and his contemporaries recognized
the King’s hand on the Psalter.19
Many psalms have inscriptions that allude to what may be called the David Story:
When he fled from Absalom his son (3:1)

Concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite (7:1)
12
So also David Wolpe, David: the Divided Heart (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2014), x.
13
1 Sam 16:1—1 Kings 2:12; 1 Chron 11:1—29:30.
14
The David Story: a translation with commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel (New York: Norton and Company, 1999), ix.
15
Christ and His Church in The Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 1978), vii.
16
Bernd Janowski, Arguing with God: A Theological Anthropology of the Psalms Translated by Armin Siedlecki Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2013.
17
George Athas, “Setting the Record Straight: What Are We Making of the Tel Dan Inscription?” Journal of Semitic Studies 51
(2006): 241-256.
18
Most scholars date these psalms to the postexilic period” Peterson, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, 91. This skepticism can be
traced back to Wilhelm Martin Lebrecht de Wette (1780 – 1849): Marttila, Collective Reinterpretation, 2. If true, James L. Mays
offers a justification for the pseudepigraphy: “In the intellectual world of Judaism, one of the most important ways of
understanding the meaning of present experience was to make sense of the contemporary by perceiving and describing it in terms
of an established tradition”: Psalms (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 105.
19
See, for example, Acts 4:25, The Dead Sea Scrolls (11QPsa), Josephus (Ant. 7.305), and Philo (Plant. 9.39).
7 David
On the day when YHWH rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the
hand of Saul (18:1)
At the dedication of the Temple (30:1)
When he changed his judgment before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went
away (34:1)
When Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba (51:1)
When Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of
Ahimelech” (52:1)
When the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?” (54:1)
When the Philistines seized him in Gath (56:1)
When he fled from Saul, in the cave (57:1)
When Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him (59:1)
When he strove with Aram-Haharaim and Aram-Zobah, and when Joab on his return
struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt (60:1)
When he was in the wilderness of Judah (63:1)
When he was in the cave (142:1)
Most of the psalms result from crisis, especially the front end of David’s life when Saul was
losing his kingdom. Walter Brueggeman (b. 1933) presents the psalms as reflecting three stages
of life: orientation, disorientation, and reorientation.20 Several assist in worldview formation.
David builds up his faith by meditating on his relationship to creation, torah or God’s revealed
will, wisdom or the art of living well, narrative or present in light of the past, and expresses trust.
Then David experiences a crisis that pushes him into a season of disorientation. If innocent, he
expresses anger, frustration, and confusion over God’s seeming absence; if guilty, a penitential
that expresses sorrow and regret.
David models what a person after God’s heart does. Despite his stature, he was not spared from
the effects and consequences of a fallen world.
Yet the King was led by the Holy Spirit from the beginning:
And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the
Spirit of YHWH rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and
went to Ramah. (1 Sam 16:13)
This allows the eventual interpretation of his psalms being inspired—that he could be a mouth
piece for the Holy Spirit and God’s people. David also played the harp. Martin Luther notes:
“The light fingers of the harpist are the emotions of the heart moving about in the words of the
psalms.”21 Inspiration posits God as the ultimate author of Scripture, but incorporates the
experience of the human writer.
According to the David Story, YHWH made a covenant with David:
20
The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg, 1984).
21
Psalm 1; Luther’s Works, 14:311 [W, V, 47].
8 Messianic Psalms
The word of YHWH came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says
YHWH: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the
day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving
about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of
Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to
shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ So
now you must say to my servant David, ‘Thus says YHWH of hosts, I took you from the
pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I
have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before
you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may
dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men will afflict them no
more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I
will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, YHWH declares to you that YHWH
will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers,
I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come from your body, and I will
establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne
of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he
commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of
men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put
away from before you. And your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever
before me. Your throne will be established forever.’” (2 Sam 7:4-16)
However, David’s house fell to the Babylonians in 586/7 B.C. This led to a national crisis that
was expressed in Lamentations. Instead of losing faith in YHWH, many Judeans began to look
forward to a Messiah.22
Messianic Psalms
The word messiah (‫ ) ָמשִׁי ַח‬occurs ten times in the Psalter.23 Jesus alludes to the final occurrence
(John 5:32-35). Some claim it refers only to God’s people, a collective sense, but we should
avoid the false dichotomy.24 The epithet was applied to Israel’s kings and most naturally refers to
a descendant, who represents his people before God. We find a fairly consistent messianism:
YHWH “is king; he has appointed an earthly vice-regent who represents his heavenly rule on
earth; the earthly vice-regent and his people travail against the rebellious of the earth.”25 The
Psalms of Solomon, which was composed around the time of Christ, ends with this hope.26
22
Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979), 516. See also William C.
Pohl, “A Messianic Reading of Psalm 89: A Canonical and Intertextual Study,” JETS 58 (2015): 507-25.
23
See 2:2; 18:51; 20:7; 28:8; 84:10; 89:39, 52; 105:15; 132:10, 17.
24
See Marko Marttila, Collective Reinterpretation in the Psalms (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006), 178.
25
Snearly, Return of the King, 1.
26
J. Schaper, Eschatology in the Greek Psalter (WUNT 2/76; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1995), 72-76. Many if not all of the
psalms were composed after Pompey’s death (29 September 48 BC), during the reign of Herod the Great (40 – 4 BC). Jesus was
born a year or so before Herod’s demise. For more discussion, see Wright, Psalms of Solomon. Mark Siefrid claims the Pharisees
published the psalms for instruction in their synagogues (1992, 113-117). In Pharisäer, Roland Deines attributes this position of
Pharisaic authorship to Schürer (74 n. 81), Bousset (122-23), and many others. H. E. Ryle and M. R. James confidently title their
work, Psalms of the Pharisees, Commonly Called the Psalms of Solomon (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891). The
9 Jesus
James Charlesworth (b. 1940) describes the 17th psalm in this collection as “the locus classicus
for belief in a Davidic Messiah.”27 The psalmist looks forward to the “Lord Christ [Messiah]”
(χριστός κύριος, 32).28 He will be a son of David, who fulfills God’s promises to his descendant
(21, 4). After ousting the Romans (22, 24-25) and corrupt Jewish leadership (17.36), retrieving
the diaspora and restoring tribal divisions (28), he will establish God’s Kingdom (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ
θεοῦ) as an independent state. He is sinless, but not necessarily divine (36). Like David, he is a
shepherd (40) imbued with “the spirit of holiness” (37).
The people (Gentiles) will also come (17.31, 34). However, the Messiah’s relationship to these
outsiders is ambiguous. He will judge them—purging “Jerusalem from gentiles” (22)—but they
will also come to Jerusalem to worship. He “will have Gentile peoples serving him under his
yoke” (30; Wright 2007, 193). Yet the psalmist claims he “will be merciful to all the Gentiles”
(34).
However, unlike the biblical psalms, God does not respond. It is speech to, but not from God.
Psalms of Solomon fell out of favor in Rabbinic Judaism, but was read by Christians. The work
is mentioned in the list at the beginning of Codex Alexandrinus, and is included in Rahlfs’s
edition of the Septuagint.29
Jewish and Christian readings of the Psalter have intersected in the last two millennia.30 Rabbinic
exegesis often retains a messianic hope, but without its partial realization in Christ.
Jesus
The New Testament presents Jesus as a “son of David” and “Lord Jesus Christ.”31 Peter claims
God made him “Lord and Christ” at his resurrection/ascension (Acts 2:36). There is continuity
and discontinuity with contemporary Messianism.
Jesus receives the Holy Spirit at his baptism. This creates a physical and spiritual bond with the
ancient King: “the Psalms disclose the mind of David in the process of becoming the mind of
Christ”;32 “Jesus becomes David and David Jesus.”33 He is the good shepherd, the man after
God’s heart, the beloved.
most extensive defense of Pharisaic authorship is provided by Winninge, 1995. See also Seifrid 1992, 111; Gathercole 2002, 63.
For a survey of positions, see J. L. Trafton, “The Psalms of Solomon in Recent Research,” JSP 12 (1994): 3-19.
27
Foreword in Wright 2007, vii.
28
χριστὸς κυρίου in Rahlfs edition is an unjustified emendation. The Greek and Syriac mss read as both nominatives
(Charlesworth 1985, 667; Wright 2007, 194).
29
However, the earliest witness dates from the fifth century: Wright, Psalms of Solomon, 13.
30
See Susan Gillingham, ed., Jewish and Christian Approaches to the Psalms: Conflict and Convergence (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2013).
31
See, for example, Matt 1:1; Acts 11:17; 15:26; 20:21; 28:31; Rom 1:7; 5:1, 11; 13:14; 15:6, 30; 16:20; 1 Cor 1:3, 7, 8, 10; 6:11;
8:6; 15:57; 2 Cor 1:2, 3; 8:9; etc.; James 1:1; 2:1; 1 Pet 1:3; Jude 4, 17, 21.
32
Sheehan, Psalms, xxv.
33
Attridge, 107.
10 Jesus
Jesus announces the imminence of God’s Kingdom (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ), but fights against
Satan, not Rome. He castigates the Jewish leadership and predicts the destruction of Herod’s
Temple (AD 70), but does not supplant them. Contemporaries were looking forward to an
especially righteous, even sinless, leader, but not the incarnation. The elevation of the Messiah
(Christ) to deity (Lord) encouraged a “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity.
Trinitarian Throne Conversations

A close reading of the appropriation of the Psalms in the New Testament reveals that Jesus is not
merely fulfilling prophecy, but is a preincarnate participant in what may be called Trinitarian
Throne Conversations. According to the Fathers, the Triune God is formally revealed at Jesus’s
baptism, but the scene echoes what the Holy Spirit conveyed in Psalm 2.
The Jesus Psalter

Jesus cites the Psalter more than any other Scripture.34 He primarily uses those attributed to
David, which reflects the King’s influence in the tradition: 6, 8, 16, 22, 23, 31, 34, 37, 40, 42, 43,
69, 91*, 104*, 110. He mentions David by name. He also appropriates psalms from Asaph (50,
78, 82), Korah (45, 48), and anonymous contributors (107, 118, 132). Since the inscriptions are
in Psalms from the Dead Sea and Septuagint (Old Greek), they would have been available to him
and presumably informed his reading. He treats psalms 78 as Torah and 118 as Scripture, which
was common belief.35
Like other Jews, Jesus appropriated the Psalter as his prayer book, but in a special way.36 It
became “his answering speech to his heavenly father,”37 but also illumined the key events and
themes of his ministry:
Incarnation (8:6; 40:8)

Baptist’s ministry (132:17)
Baptism / Anointing (2:7; 23:5; 45:7-8)
Proclaiming the Gospel (40:10)
Stilling of the Storm (107:29)
Feeding the Crowds (23:2)
Rejection (2:2; 78:2)
Betrayal (41:10)
Sorrow (6:4; 42:6, 7; 43:5)
Stripping (22:18)
Piercing (22:17)
Abandonment (22:1)
Faith (31:6)
Death / Paschal Sacrifice (69:10; 34:21)
Resurrection (16:9-11; 40:3, 14)
Ascension (8:6-7; 110:1)
34
His three “favorite” books are Psalms, Isaiah, and Deuteronomy—probably in that order.
35
Sue Gillingham, “From Liturgy to Prophecy: The Use of Psalmody in Second Temple Judaism,” CBQ 64 (2002): 488.
36
Christopher Halls, Jesus Reads The Psalms: A 100 Day Study Guide to the Old Testament Book of Psalms (U.S.A.: Xulon,
2012), 7.
37
James W. Sire, Praying the Psalms of Jesus (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2007), 13.
11 Jesus
Body as Temple (118:23)

Communion (23:5)
Parousia / Judgment (2:8-9; 6:9; 45:4; 110:1)
Beatitude (37:9, 11, 19, 22, 29, 34)
The Psalms also reveal the inner life of Jesus and therefore complement the Gospels, which
primarily relate his activity and teaching.
According to Luke, Jesus knows the Psalms as a book (scroll):
“How do they say the Christ is to be the son of David?” For David himself says in the
book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies
[under] the footstool of your feet.’ Therefore, David calls him Lord, so how is he his
son?”38
According to Peter Flint, we have Psalms scrolls from the time of Christ.39 Jesus cites or alludes
to all five books of the Psalter, which suggests he read from a complete collection.
Luke presumes the synagogue in Nazareth had an Isaiah scroll; it is reasonable to infer they had
a Torah and Psalms scroll as well. Because scrolls were very expensive, it is unlikely that Jesus
or his family, which Luke presents as poor, had their own.40
When Luke presents Jesus reading from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, it is the Septuagint
(or more accurately Old Greek). On the one hand, this may reflect historical reality: Jesus and
those present spoke Greek;41 on the other, Luke appropriates the Scripture that was available to
Theophilus, his reader. Most scholars favor the latter scenario. Luke cites the Greek translation
throughout his Gospel and Acts. This would allow his readers to imitate the Bereans—to check
his story against Scripture.
However, Jesus probably spoke Greek, unless the Syrophoenician woman, centurion, and Pilate
spoke Aramaic, which is less likely. He grew up beside Sepphoris, a major Galilean city, where
Greek would have been spoken. As an artisan, there would have been an economic incentive to
learn the lingua franca. In several places, the peculiar wording of the Greek translation of a
psalm is essential to the setting or argument. If the wording does not go back to Jesus, it would
compromise the historical accuracy of the tradition. Of course, scholars like Rudolf Bultmann
(1884 – 1976) claim the Gospels are more the product of early Christian imagination than
memories of what Jesus actually said.
38
Luke 20:41-44
39
Several Psalms scrolls from the time of Christ in Judea have been found: see Peter W. Flint, The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls
Psalms & the Book of Psalms (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 2-7.
40
See Luke 2:24. The Torah allows the poor to offer pigeons.
41
For a recent defense of this view, see G. Scott Gleaves, Did Jesus Speak Greek? The Emerging Evidence of Greek Dominance
in First-Century Palestine (Casemate, 2015), 24. The author interacts with earlier scholarship.
12 Jesus
I believe this skepticism is unnecessary. The Gospels were written before the end of the first
century, and could be checked against the living memory of Jesus. Paul carefully distinguishes
between what Jesus said and his own position in 1 Corinthians. He treats what Jesus said as
oracular and having complete authority. Although led by the Spirit and claiming to have the
mind of Christ, the apostle respected the historical particularity of Jesus’s ministry before the
cross and resurrection. And there is no evidence to suggest that he was unique. As with David,
faith is required for any position.
The Gospels presuppose that Jesus cited the Old Greek Psalter, and there is no convincing reason
to reject the claim. But they also have citations that differ from the Greek as we have it.42
Aramaic was spoken by Judeans.43 Mark records Jesus crying out the opening line of Psalm 22 in
Aramaic.44 There is no definitive evidence for an Aramaic translation of the Psalter at the time;
but if Jew only spoke that language, it seems likely that something was available.45 However,
Mark presents Jesus using Aramaic in the context of healing and exorcism, which culminated on
the cross.46 It is also possible that Jesus did his own translation, crying from the heart in his first
language. Despite the famous cry of dereliction, evidence for an Aramaic Psalter is scanty in the
Gospels.
Jesus may have read Hebrew. This was the language of disputation, and the Pharisees had
encouraged the education of children for more than a century.47 Matthew, who is not dependent
on the Greek translation for his Scripture, may align the Cry of Dereliction closer to the Hebrew.
In sum, Jesus ministered in a multi-lingual environment (Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew) where
there was not a single authoritative text or translation. In any case, when Jesus cites or alludes to
psalms in the Gospels, they are from memory; he may have translated according to the capacity
of the audience.
For this reason, we have generally included both the Hebrew (MT) and Greek (OG) versions of
the Psalms for comparison.
“My sheep hear my voice.” For millennia, disciples have heard the voice of their master in the
Psalter.
42
At present, there is no critical text for the Old Greek Psalter. Rahlfs incorporates only a few manuscripts.
43
Technically, the dialect has been called Middle or Palestinian Aramaic.
44
The chain of transmission would have been the women eyewitnesses at the cross, who informed Peter, who related the detail to
Mark.
45
The Rabbinic targums date from a later period, but may contain earlier translation and commentary. Jesus cites a line from
Isaiah that is only extant in a later targum.
46
Another scenario is the Jesus accommodates to those who speak only in Aramaic, but this does not explain the Cry of
Dereliction.
47
It is also possible that a meturgeman (“translator”) translated the Hebrew into Aramaic for Jesus, who then memorized the
psalms.
13 Jesus
Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers continued the work of the Levites. They recited “the twelve psalms”—one
for each hour of daylight. They were also voiced morning and evening. They were chanted at
work. According to tradition, they were first recited by an angel in response to fears that the
church was becoming lukewarm (Cassian, Institutes 2.5.5). Psalmody brought a person into the
angelic life. The goal was continual god-mindfulness or living in ultimate reality—what the
author of Hebrews calls faith (11:1). Chanting psalms allowed the disciple to see God, to become
God’s friend.
After cultivating quietness (hēsuchia, ἡσυχία), they would recite only a few lines at a time for
greater understanding (Cassian, Institutes 2.11.1-2).
Athanasius
Athanasius (c. 295 – d. 373), bishop of Alexandria and a champion of right belief, wrote a letter
to Marcellinus that established the Christian approach to the Psalter. Marcellinus, a deacon, had
become ill and was taking the down time for Bible study. He wanted to learn “the meaning
contained in each psalm.” Athanasius shows how the Psalter epitomizes Scripture, which is
ultimately about Christ, but may also become our language to God, reflecting “the emotions of
each soul.”48 It is like a garden with fruit for every season. Most of the letter pairs each psalm to
a specific life experience.49 The letter was highly valued; it is copied along with Psalms and
Odes in Codex Alexandrinus (c. 400 – 440).
Athanasius reverses the liturgical tradition: instead of the Psalter framing experience, the stuff of
life leads to a particular psalm. In other words, if one reads, say, Psalm 23 every morning, the
habituation tends to shape perception. But one may also turn to the Psalm to express faith after
experiencing YHWH’s provision. Unfortunately, Christians have created a false dichotomy
between habituation and spontaneity; these uses are complementary.
Cyril of Jerusalem
Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 310 – 386) provides the imaginative iconography for a Christian reading of
the Psalms. In The Procatechesis, the bishop addresses catechumens (candidates for illumination
or baptism) in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre:
Imagine (ἐννοέω) the angelic choirs, and God the Lord of all sitting, and his Only Son
sitting with him at his right hand, and the Spirit with them present, and thrones and
dominions doing service, and each man and woman among you receiving salvation. Even
now let your ears ring with the sound: long for that glorious sound, which after your
salvation, the angels will chant over you, Blessed are they whose iniquities have been
forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.50 [Ps 32:1]
48
Chs. 2, 10.
49
See chapters 14-26.
50
Lectures on the Christian Sacraments (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1986), 10. Cyril cites from the OG:
µακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνοµίαι, which is actually 31:1.
14 Jesus
He invites the subjective appropriation of an objective reality. Trinitarian Throne Conversations

are timeless before God, but eschatological (temporal) from our viewpoint. Like the author of
Hebrews, Cyril attributes some of the language to angelic mediation.
Gregory of Nyssa
The contemplative Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 – after 394) wrote a commentary, On The
Inscriptions of the Psalms.51 He saw the state of blessing, the opening word of the Psalter, as the
goal (σκοπός) of the book.52 Blessing follows virtue, but not independent of Christ (Inscr. Pss.
1.8).53 It is “participation in true being” (τῆς µετουσίας τοῦ ὄντος) or, as Jesus puts it, “abiding”
(µένω) in him.54
Gregory saw the five books of the Psalter as five stages (ἀκολουθία) of the soul in the journey
back to God:
Book 1: Separating from evil (repentance)

Book 2: Taming the passions and desire for participation in God (purgation)
Book 3: Seeing as God sees (illumination)55
Book 4: Interceding like Moses (ministry)56
Book 5: Cleaving (union).57
Most people do not advance beyond the second stage in this life, but are saved because this
journey is eternal: “the true sight of God consists in this, that the one who looks up to God never
ceases in that desire.”58 This epektasis (ἐπέκτασις) or “reaching out” is the telos of our purified
and illumined will.59 Gregory even speaks of “ecstasy” (ἔκστασις) and “intoxication” (µέθη) in
God’s presence.60
Evagrius of Pontus (346 – 399)

Evagrius is remembered to have said, “It is a great thing to pray without distraction but to chant
psalms without distraction is even greater.”61 For him, the aim was apatheia (ἀπάθεια), focusing
on God rather than idolatry and what makes for anxiety.62
51
I am indebted to the notes of Father Maximos Constas.
52
GNTIP 84.
53
This observation has been vindicated by poetic analysis. The opening monocolon stands outside of the psalm’s strophic
structure: Peterson, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, 92.
54
See Cynthia Peters Anderson, Reclaiming Participation: Christ as God’s Life for All (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress, 2014),
who integrates Eastern patristic thought with Barth.
55
That is, beginning to consider objects as God considers them—not in terms of their external appearance or social status.
56
1.58-75.
57
1.76-79.
58
The Life of Moses (trs. Abraham Malherbe and Everett Ferguson; New York: Paulist, 1978), 115 [sect. 233].
59
Jean Daniélou popularized this theory in his monograph Platonisme et théologie mystique. Essai sur la doctrine spirituelle de
saint Grégoire de Nysse (Paris: Aubier, 1944). For a recent defense of his reading, see Ovidiu Sferlea, “On the Interpretation of
the Theory of Perpetual Progress (epektasis): Taking into account the testimony of Eastern monastic tradition” (paper presented
at the international conference on “The Church Fathers and Monastic Spirituality,” Voronet, Romania, 8-13 November 2013.
60
In Canticum Canticorum 10.309; 6-310,20; citations in Sferlea, “On the Interpretation,” n. 24.
61
Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 64.
15 Jesus
Augustine of Hippo
The uniquely gifted Augustine (354 – 430) treasured the Psalter. Psalms ground and inform the
Confessions, which is generally recognized as the first autobiography.63 They are doubly
revelatory because they mirror the heart of humanity and God. They are the words of David, but
also “the message of your Holy Spirit,” sent by Jesus after his Ascension.64
As a younger preacher, he labored to isolate the voices in the Psalms, but eventually came to see
their unity. He provides the longest patristic commentary on the Psalms, Enarrationes in
Psalmos (“Conversations in the Psalms”). They began as sermons in Carthage before large
audiences. The “I” of the Psalter is the “whole Christ” (totus Christus), head and body:65
The voice of Christ and His Church was well-nigh the only voice to be heard in the
Psalms66
Everywhere diffused throughout is that man whose Head is above, and whose members
are below. We ought to recognize his voice in all the Psalms, either waking up the
psaltery or uttering the deep groan—rejoicing in hope, or heaving sighs over present
realities.67
Tertullian, another African, writes: “Almost all the Psalms are spoken in the person of Christ,
being addressed by the Son to the Father—by Christ to God.”68
Since believers are in Christ, his prayer language becomes our own.69 Reciting the Psalms with
right intention (Heb. kavanah) deepens the relationship; it imparts Christ and refreshes the
church’s mission.70 “When you pray to God in psalms,” writes Augustine in his rule, “the words
spoken by your lips should also be alive in your hearts.”71 In Confessions, he describes his own
encounter: “How I cried out to you when I read those Psalms! How they set me on fire with love
62
Jerome took issue with Evagrius’s doctrine of apatheia: “Evagrius Ponticus . . . put out a book and maxims on apatheia, which
we would call impassibility or imperturbability—when the mind is never disturbed by the vice of perturbation and, to put it
simply, is either a stone or God” (Ep. 133.3). He was condemned as a heretic by the General Council of Constantinople (553),
although his influence continued through John Cassian and others.
63
Brian Stock, Augustine the Reader: Meditation, Self-Knowledge, and the Ethics of Interpretation (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1996), 4.
64
Confessions 9.4 tr. Pine-Coffin.
65
See Joseph Carola, Augustine of Hippo: The Role of the Laity in Ecclesial Reconciliation (Rome: Pontificia Università
Gregoriana, 2005): 157-217.
66
Vix est ut in Psalmis inveniamus vocem nisi Christi et Ecclesiae. Exposition of Psalm 58.
67
Exposition on Psalm 43.
68
omnes poene (pené) Psalmi Christi personam sustinent.—Filium ad Patrem, id est Christum ad Deum verba facientem
repraesentant. This was an especially popular quote in the nineteenth century. See, for example, George Horne, A Commentary
on the Book of Psalms (James Anderson [printer]: 1822), xxv.
69
Brian Brock, Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007),
202.
70
See John DelHousaye, “Praying with Kavanah: Watching Christ from Death to Glory,” Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul
Care 2 (2009): 87-100. This is the main claim of Jason Byassee, Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with
Augustine. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007.
71
The Rule of Saint Augustine (tr. Raymond Canning; Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 13.
16 Jesus
of you! I was burning to echo them to all the world . . . this cry came from my inmost heart,
when I was alone in your presence.”72
He employs the verse-by-verse approach of the desert fathers. For Augustine, the telos of
exegesis is drawing readers into the beauty of God.73
During the siege of Hippo, dying, Augustine asked for the seven penitential psalms to be copied
and hung beside his bed to read, to weep, and to repent.74
Antiochene School
Athanasius, Gregory, and Augustine exemplify what may be called an African reading of the
Psalter, which focused on the voice of Christ. But what of the earlier voices of David and other
prophets? Whenever an important dimension of Scripture is underappreciated for too long, it is
championed. Diodore of Tarsus (d. c. 394) speaks for what came to be called the Antiochene
School: “we much prefer the historical sense to the allegorical.”75 By historical, they meant
carefully attending to language (ἀκρίβεια) and context. His disciple Theodore of Mopsuestia
wrote a youthful commentary in the asketerion.76 Instead of jumping to Christ, he notes that
David “instructs the listeners from his own situation, teaching what each person’s attitude should
be to what happens, what is the due response when living in a state of sin . . . .”77 He regularly
finds fulfillment of the Psalms in the Old Testament itself. He is unwilling to grant messianic
interpretations to texts cited as such in the New Testament (e.g., Ps 22:1), with the exception of
Psalms 2, 8, 45, and 110.78
They were anathematized at a synod of Constantinople (499), and Theodore’s writings were
condemned as Nestorian at the fifth ecumenical council there (553). Their work, however,
established a helpful dialectic. The Psalms were meaningful to God’s people before Christ. A
Christian may learn from David before turning to his descendant. Eucharius of Lyon (c. 449)
sought a middle way between typological and literal exegesis.79
Gregory the Great

Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604) would not consecrate a bishop who had not memorized the
Psalms.80
72
9.4 tr. Pine-Coffin.
73
Byassee, Praise Seeking Understanding, 100.
74
Stock, Augustine the Reader, 11, citing Possidius, Vita 31, PL 32.63.
75
Fragment 93, prologue Ps 119; cited in Waltke, Houston, and Moore, Psalms, 45.
76
Commentary on Psalms 1-81 (tr. Robert C. Hill; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006). Another student John
Chrysostom preached extensively on the Psalter.
77
Commentary, xxiv.
78
Commentary, xxxi.
79
Terrien, Psalms, 3.
80
J. M. Neale, A Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.; London: Joseph Masters, 1869), 4.
17 Jesus
Thomas Aquinas
While preparing the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas underwent a vision that ended his writing.
When asked, he compared his previous words to straw. He was lecturing on the Psalms (Postilla
super Psalmos) at the time.81
The Psalter offers materia est universalis, the general material for all theology.82 In breadth, it
“contains the whole Scripture.”83 Concerning its ultimate cause, “The end purpose of this work
of Scripture is prayer.”84
Aquinas appropriates Augustine’s totus Christus. Christ is present yet hidden. He is the “true
David,” who prays to the Father.85 On Psalm 22 (21), he says,
Christ spoke these words in the person of a sinner, or of the Church . . . for the Church
and Christ are one mystical body; and for this reason, they are spoken of as one person,
and Christ transforms himself into the Church and the Church into Christ.86
This resolves in important question: How does Jesus relate to the penitential psalms if he is
without sin? The New Testament claims Jesus identified with sinners at his baptism and again on
the cross.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483-1546) views the Psalms as “a little Bible.”87 He decries their
marginalization, misinterpretation, and his overwhelming schedule that keeps him from
meditating on them.88 Lecturing on them at the University of Wittenberg contributed to his
understanding of justification through faith alone. The Seven Penitential Psalms (1517, rev.
1525) was the first book Luther prepared for publication.89
An Augustinian monk, Luther presumes totus Christus: “In the Book of Psalms,” he claims, “we
have not the life of one of the saints only, but we have the experience of Christ himself, the head
of all the saints.”90 Since Christ enters us in faith, we feel his “signs and groans” in the face of
temptation.91 The Psalms eased his lifelong struggle with depression (Anfechtungen).92
81
McDermott, Summa, xx; Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 123-25.
82
Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 125, citing from the Proemium.
83
Proemium.
84
There is presently no English translation. The citation is taken from Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 123.
85
Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 126.
86
Cited and translated in Murray, Aquinas at Prayer, 126.
87
A Manual of the Book of Psalms (tr. Henry Cole; London: R. B. Seeley and W. Burnside, 1837), 5.
88
Manual, 4.
89
Jaroslav Pelikan and Danliel E. Poellot, eds., Luther’s Works (Saint Louis, Miss.: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), viv.
90
Manual, 5, emphasis added.
91
Manual, 6. Luther emphasized a union of faith over ontology: Brock, Singing the Ethos of God, 202.
92
Terrien, Psalms, 3.
18 Jesus
Luther interprets the Psalms as direct prophecies of Christ.93 The historical David knew he was
writing about the Messiah. Many find this unpersuasive, placing too great a burden on human
authorial intent.94 Sadly, the opponents become the Pharisees and the Jewish people.
John Calvin
John Calvin often chose a psalm for the Sunday afternoon sermon—the only book from the Old
Testament.95 He was reluctant to publish on the Psalter because other commentaries were
available, but was finally persuaded to keep others from publishing his lectures.
Reflection on the Psalter accompanied his theological maturation: In the first edition of the
Institutes (1536), it is rarely appropriated; in the final edition, it is quoted more than any other
book besides Romans.96 He claims, “in proportion to the proficiency which a man shall have
attained in understanding them, will be his knowledge of the most important part of celestial
doctrine.”97
The reformer emphasizes the range of emotion in the Psalter, which is a mirror the soul. Reading
is cathartic, a release from “all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to
be agitated.”98 He encourages private confession: We have been given access to God “to lay
open before him our infirmities, which we would be ashamed to confess before men.”99
Calvin distinguishes David from Christ, but does not separate them. Later interpreters found this
to be too Jewish.100
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
After joining the illegal seminary of the Confessing Church, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
gave a lecture “Christ in the Psalms.”101 Meditating on the disciples’ request “teach us to pray,”
he offers a corrective to reading the psalms only for expression:
Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to
God and to speak, whether the heart is full or empty. No man can do that by himself. For
that he needs Jesus Christ.102
Jesus knows how to speak with God: “The child learns to speak because his father speaks to him.
He learns the speech of his father. So we learn to speak to God because God has spoken to us
and speaks to us.”103
93
Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 33.
94
See, for example, Tremper Longman, “The Messiah: Explorations in the Law and Writings,” in The Messiah in the New and
Old Testaments (ed. Stanley Porter; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007), 13-34, 17.
95
Greef, Writings of John Calvin, 88.
96
I am indebted to Herman Selderhuis for this observation.
97
Psalms, 1:xxxvii.
98
John Calvin, Commentary on The Book of the Psalms (tr. James Anderson; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1963), 1:xxxvii.
99
Commentary, 1:xxxviii.
100
Selderhuis, Psalms 1-72, li.
101
31 July 1935.
102
Prayer Book of the Bible, 10.
103
Prayer Book of the Bible, 11.
19 Jesus
As a Lutheran, the absence of disparaging comments about the Jews is notable.104 In Life
Together, he develops the communal dimension of the Psalter. When individuals encounter
words of rage but are not presently in that despair, they should remember “it is nevertheless the
prayer of another member of the fellowship.”105 We pray for them, as they, we hope, will pray
for us. This is the “secret of the Psalter”—namely, that Jesus is praying “through the mouth of
his church.”106 As high priest, he voices our complete human experience to the Father:
How is it possible for a man and Jesus Christ to pray the Psalter together? It is the
incarnate Son of God, who have borne every human weakness in his own flesh, who here
pours out the heart of all humanity before God and who stands in our place and prays for
us. He has known torment and pain, guilt and death more deeply than we. Therefore it is
the prayer of the human nature assumed by him which comes here before God. It is really
our prayer, but since he knows us better than we know ourselves and since he himself
was turn man for our sakes, it is also really his prayer, and it can become our prayer only
because it was his prayer.”107
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton (1915 – 1968), a Trappist monk who inspired a generation to deepen their walk
with God, summarizes the patristic tradition: “The Psalms contain in themselves all the Old and
New Testaments, the whole Mystery of Christ. In singing the Psalms each day, the Church is
therefore singing the wedding hymn of her union with God in Christ.”108 Our ultimate end is
God’s Kingdom; proximate, a pure heart.109
Summation: Three Contexts

Whether Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, the Psalter has been an essential guide for theology
and practice. All disciples love the Psalter.
With Calvin, I believe we should begin at the beginning: God came to David three thousand
years ago. This is the first context. David is the collective voice of ancient Israel. He embodies
their hope in YHWH. This allows us to read the Psalter with our Jewish friends, to learn more
about our heritage.
Jesus, the son of David, appropriates the Psalms as his prayer language. This is the second
context. Disciples rightly see Jesus as their only teacher, the ultimate interpreter of the Psalter.
We cannot accept any interpretation that contradicts our Lord. He is also the head of the church.
The Antiochene school has influenced modern biblical scholarship. John Goldingay, for
example, claims the New Testament writers and father see new meaning in the Psalms, not what
104
See his “The Jewish Problem” (1933).
105
Life Together, 46-47.
106
Life Together, 46.
107
Prayer Book of the Bible, 20-21.
108
Praying the Psalms, 9.
109
Thomas Merton, Bread in the Wilderness (New York: New Directions, 1953), 20.
20 Jesus
the Holy Spirit originally gave the authors.110 But we should be slow to limit what God intends in
Scripture. If God is the ultimate author, there will always be a surplus of meaning.
We, the body of Christ, adopt his prayer language. His speech becomes our speech. We hear the
Psalter in the mystery of our union with Christ.111 The Holy Spirit enables us to pray with the
Son to the Father as Abba. We have accepted the apostolic message of union with Christ: “I am
crucified together with Christ. Now I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”112 We share
in his person: memory, intellect, and will. “We have the mind of Christ,” Paul says. We have his
“compassions.” Like a wife, we join his family and heritage. This is the third context.
Possessing Christ’s mind does not include, from my experience, the ability to recover what Jesus
was thinking at a particular moment in his historical ministry; it’s a way of seeing the present.
The Psalter allows the Head and Body to worship together. Paul writes, “Be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering songs and singing
with your heart to the Lord, πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύµατι, λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς [ἐν]113 ψαλµοῖς καὶ
ὕµνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευµατικαῖς114, ᾄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ115 ὑµῶν τῷ κυρίῳ (Eph
5:18-19). In context, the “Lord” refers to Jesus. We are invited to see Jesus at the right hand of
the Father.
But our Lord also worships the Father with us:
I will confess you among the Nations (Gentiles).

And I will sing (ψάλλω) to your name [Rom 15:9 // Ps 17:50 LXX]
The Greek word “psalm” (ψαλµός) is related to the verb ψάλλω, which refers to singing. The
Messiah looked forward to bringing the peoples (Gentiles) into the Temple.
The author of Hebrews similarly places Jesus in the worship service:
For both he who makes holy and those who are made holy are all from one (Father).116
For this reason, he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I proclaim your name to
my brothers. In the midst of the church,117 I will praise (ὑµνέω) you [2:11-12 // Ps 21:23
OG].118
110
Psalms, 72.
111
Andrew Bonar notes: “The literal and historical sense is in the highest degree profitable . . . But our principle is, that having
once found the literal sense, the exact meaning of the terms, and the primary application of the Psalm, we are then to ask what the
Holy Spirit intended to teach in all ages by this formula”: Christ and His Church, viii.
112
Gal 2:19-20
113
Absent in Byz.
114
The Adj may modify ᾠδαῖς or, according to Larkin, all three substantives, including ψαλµοῖς and ὕµνοις (2009, 126). The
other terms are masculine. Faced with the diversity, Paul may have adopted the genre of nearest. However, the parallel in Col
suggests stereotypical language. “Spiritual songs” is more appropriate.
115
Means (Larkin 2009, 126).
116
(Father) = NRSV. Some believe, however, that one refers to a common humanity. The ESV retains the ambiguity with “one
source.”
117
Church or “assembly”: The psalmist originally praised God in the Temple.
118
Ps 22:22 MT. The crucified yet resurrected Messiah calls his brothers and sisters to worship with him.
21 Quadriga (Pardes)
The verb translated “praise” (ὑµνέω) is a cognate of “hymn” (ὕµνος) another expression for the
Psalms. Jesus is the perfect high priest, the only mediator between humanity and God. He is
compassionate towards us and righteous before the Father. He is our brother.
Imprecatory Psalms
Something should be said about the imprecatory psalms, which petition God to harm one’s
enemies.119 Many find these words difficult to integrate into their prayer, especially because
Jesus requires disciples to love their enemies.
Imprecatory psalms address injustice. They give language to the abused.120 They “are words of
giving over as much as they are words of crying out.”121 Daniel Nehrbass writes:
The worshipper is voicing his dependence upon God, rather than taking matter into his
own hand . . . the worshiper is adopting for herself the heart of God, grieving over the
things that grieve God, and celebrating the things that God celebrates.122
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not reject justice or castigate the desire for justice, only
taking vengeance into our hands instead of allowing God to judge at his Parousia (return). This is
especially clear in the way Jesus appropriates psalms in Matthew.
Quadriga (Pardes)
Our notes follow the Quadriga, a fourfold approach to interpreting Scripture that developed in
the Middle Ages from the monastic practice of lectio Divina (“divine reading”).123 Recognizing a
harmony with their own practice, the rabbis adopted the quadriga but called it Pardes (‫)פּ ְַרדֵּ ס‬, a
reference to the Garden of Eden.124 The Hebrew word, which is spelled only with consonants,
serves as an acronym. The “p” stands for peshat (‫שׁט‬ ָ ‫) ְפּ‬, the plain sense of words; “r”, remez (‫)רמֶז‬,
ֶ
which means “hint,” is the allegorical or typological sense; “d”, derash (‫)דְּ ַרשׁ‬, “interpreting” or
“searching,” the homiletical or moral sense;125 “s”, sod (‫ )סוֹד‬or “secret,” the innermost meaning
of Scripture, the intent of the divine author. Instead of offering a long explanation, it is best to
see these senses in action in the commentary. When I intend to explore one of them, I begin with
the letter (P,R,D,S) in bold followed by a colon.
119
See also Psalms 7, 35, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109, 137, 139.
120
Osborne, Hermeneutical Spiral, 185.
121
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, “The Theology of the Imprecatory Psalms,” in Soundings in The Theology of Psalms:
Perspectives and Methods in Contemporary Scholarship (ed. Rolf A. Jacobson; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2011), 77-92, 91.
122
Daniel Michael Nehrbass, Praying Curses: The Therapeutic and Preaching Value of the Imprecatory Psalms (Eugene, Ore.:
Pickwick, 2013), 4.
123
It continues in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. See Eugen J. Pentiuc, The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox
Tradition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 178.
124
On this approach, see Michael Fishbane’s two studies: Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1985; The Garments of Torah: Essays in Biblical Hermeneutics (U.S.A.: Indiana University Press, 1992).
125
Before then, derash was viewed as an exegetical and theological method and midrash ,a literary genre. See A. Del Agua, “Die
‘Erzählung des Evangeliums im Lichte der Derasch Methode,” Judaica 47 (1991): 140-154.
22 Texts
Texts
The Masoretic Text (MT), essentially the Leningrad Codex, has distinctive punctuation for Job,
Psalms, and Proverbs—“the accents of the three books.”126 I follow the Sof Pasuq (:) marking for
verse delimitation. For the Greek, I appropriate the semi-critical Rahlfs’s edition, Psalmi cum
Odis (pub. 1931, reprint 1979). The editio maior of the Göttingen Septuaginta is not yet
available. The Old Greek translation treats Psalm 9 and 10 as one psalm, but then divides Psalm
146 into two. This explains the alternative numbering for the OG in parentheses.
Psalms 1—2: Wise Messiah
The way a book begins is important: it’s the only part taken by readers throughout their
encounter with the text. The beginning is part of everything else.
The first and second psalms were probably joined and placed together to introduce the Psalter.127
Both psalms lack headings in the OG and MT, and are surrounded by inclusio:
Blessed is the man . . . (1:1)
. . . Blessed are all who trust in him. (2:12)
Origen (c. 185 – c. 254) saw two Hebrew manuscripts with this format.128
This encourages a juxtaposition of the psalms’ themes. Psalm 1 describes the way of a tsaddīk
(‫)צַדִּ יק‬, a “just” or “righteous one.” According to Martin Buber (1878 – 1965), the term describes
someone who is “proven” after standing a test.129 Psalm 2 presents the Messiah, a son of David
who would restore God’s Kingdom. Like digital image editing, the Messiah becomes a
tsaddīk.130 As we saw in the Psalms of Solomon, Jews expected to the Messiah to be spirit-led
and sinless.
The emphasis on messianic piety is natural after the general corruption of the Davidic line.131
Psalm 2 may evoke King Solomon (970 – 931 B.C), the last son of David to rule a united
kingdom. But “his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly
true to YHWH his God, as was the heart of David his father” (1 Kgs 11:4). The Charter of
Kingship in the Torah (Law), requires a different ruler:
When you come to the land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you, and you possess it
and dwell in it and then say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around
126
They create the acronym ‫“ ֱא ֶמת‬truth”; also known as “the accents of emet.”
127
Such unions explain the different orders in the Masoretic and Old Greek text-forms. For more discussion, see Gillingham,
Journey of Two Psalms, 294-298; Snearly, Return of the King, 87-88; Watts, Psalms, 26.
128
Noted also by Justin, Tertullian, and Cyprian. See Comfort, New Testament Text, 382-383. In most witnesses, Luke writes “it
has been written in the second psalm” (Acts 13:33), but Codex Bezae (5th cent.) reads “the first” perhaps for the same reason.
129
Tales of the Hasidim: The Early Masters (tr. Olga Marx; New York: Schocken Books, 1947), 1. For the correctness of this
gloss, see the note at Ps 1:6.
130
Boda, “Declare His Glory,” 33.
131
Depending on the timing of this redaction, the similar corruption of the Hasmoneans may also inform the exigence.
23 Psalm 1
me,” you may indeed set a king over you whom YHWH your God will choose. One from
among your brothers you will set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over
you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause
the people to return to Egypt to acquire many horses, since YHWH has said to you, “You
will never return that way again.” And he must not acquire many wives for himself, lest
his heart turn away, nor acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. “And when he sits
on the throne of his kingdom, he must write for himself in a book a copy of this torah
(law), approved by the Levitical priests. And it must be with him, and he must read in it
all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear YHWH his Elohim by keeping all the
words of this torah (law) and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be
lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment,
either to the right hand or to the left, that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his
children, in Israel. (Deut 17:14-20)
Despite the righteousness of Hezekiah and Josiah, the Davidic reign of Judea ended at the Exile
(586-7 B.C.). Whoever edited these psalms looked forward to a messianic king who depends on
YHWH and reverences his torah (law).132
Psalm 1
MT
Blessed is the man who133
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of scoffers.
2
For his joy is in the torah (instruction, law) of YHWH,
and on his torah he will meditate134 day and night.
3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that will yield its fruit in its season,
and its leaf will not wither.
In all that he will do, he will prosper.
4
Not so the wicked.
For they are like chaff that wind will blow away.
5
Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment
or sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6
For YHWH knows the way of the righteous,135
but the way of the wicked will perish.
OG
132
Jamie A. Grant, The King as Exemplar: The Function of Deuteronomy’s Kingship Law in the Shaping of the Book of Psalms
(Atlanta, Ga.: SBL, 2004), 58-60.
133
Anacrusis
134
Imperfect
135
HALOT s.v. ‫צַדִּ יק‬: “of a thing which is examined and found to be in order,” “persons whose conduct will be checked and
found irreproachable.”
24 Psalm 1
1
Blessed is a man,
who did not go in (the) council of irreverent (people)
and did not stand in a way of sinners (outsiders)
and did not sit in a seat of infectious (people).136
2
Instead, his will is in the Lord’s nomos (law),
and in his nomos (law) he will meditate137 day and night.
3
And he will be like a tree planted beside an outlet of waters138
that will give its fruit in its season.
And its leaf will not fall down.
And all things—whatever he might do—will prosper.
4
Not so the irreverent, not so.
Instead, (they will be) like the motes that the wind blows
from the face of the earth.
5
Because of this, the irreverent will not rise in judgment
or sinners in (the) council of (the) righteous.
6
For (the) Lord knows (the) way of (the) righteous,
but (the) way of (the) irreverent will perish.
Translation: The Greek is a fairly literal translation of the original Hebrew as evidenced by the
MT.139 At a turning point, the translator(s) repeats a line for emphasis: “Not so the irreverent, not
so.140 Also, the wind blows motes “from the face of the earth” (ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς).141 These
rhetorical flourishes, which go further than word-for-word translation, may address the exigence
of the seeming prosperity of the “wicked” (‫שׁע‬ ָ ‫)ר‬
ָ or “irreverent” (ἀσεβής). Jews were surrounded
by the Gentiles (Nations) in Alexandria, and relations were tenuous.
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC – AD 50) uses ἀσεβής (“irreverent”) to describe the immoral
mob.142 It embodies the Epicurean life in The Wisdom of Solomon, a Jewish work published in
the same area. The unit is long, but worth citing:
But the ungodly (ἀσεβεῖς) by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a
friend, they pined away and made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to
his company. For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Short and sorrowful is
our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known
to return from Hades. For we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as
136
λοιµός may refer to a diseased person or public menace. Paul was accused of this! (Acts 24:5)
137
µελετάω describes focus, even preoccupation.
138
I.e., a spring (BDAG).
139
Gauthier, Psalms 38 and 145 of The Old Greek Version, 3.
140
The repetition is unique to the Greek, perhaps emphasizing the transition (Gillin gham, A Journey of Two Psalms, 25).
141
ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς—not in MT. See occurrences in Genesis.
142
See, for example,Opi. 1.80; Pos. 1.53; Philo may echo the Psalm: “Do you not see that Abraham was still standing in the place
of YHWH, and coming near to him said "do not then destroy the righteous with impious," [Genesis 18:23] him who is manifest
to you and well known by you, with him who flees from you and seeks to escape your notice, for he indeed is impious, but the
righteous man is one who stands before you and does not flee. For it is right indeed master that you alone should be honored”
(Leg 3:9).
25 Psalm 1
though we had never been, for the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark
kindled by the beating of our hearts; when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air. Our name will be forgotten in time, and no one
will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be
scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat. For our
allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it
is sealed up and no one turns back. Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that
exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in youth. Let us take our fill of costly
wine and perfumes, and let no flower of spring pass us by. Let us crown ourselves with
rosebuds before they wither. Let none of us fail to share in our revelry; everywhere let us
leave signs of enjoyment, because this is our portion, and this our lot. Let us oppress the
righteous poor man; let us not spare the widow or regard the gray hairs of the aged. But
let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless. "Let us lie
in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. He
professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. He became to
us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner
of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. We are considered by him as
something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous
happy, and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test
what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God's child, he will
help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with
insult and torture, so that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his
forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he
will be protected.” (1:16—2:20 NRS)
Surrounded by Pagan distraction, the translator may have felt compelled to emphasize the way of
the righteous.
Teacher
The Psalter does not open with a prayer, but a lesson. The unnamed voice may be called the
Preacher. This didactic psalm assumes the two-ways ethical tradition.143 At least for the sake of
argument, there’s no middle ground: one is either near or far from God; and each state has a
related future.
The Preacher describes a tsaddīk three ways: negatively (via negativa), positively (via positiva),
and analogously (via analogia).144
The opening tricolon (three parallel clauses) emphasizes what a tsaddīk is not. A tsaddīk is sadly
rare and therefore difficult to define, like God. The human mind is assisted by exploring what
143
Keil and Delitzsch note both the negative and positive expectations God places upon those who seek his blessing: “The man
who is characterized as blessed is first described according to the things he does not do, then (which is the chief thought of the
whole Ps.) according to what he actually does” (Psalms, 84).
144
See Carson, God Who Is There, 89; Osborne, Hermeneutical Spiral, 185. Goldingay notes the otherwise rarity of inferential
particles: Psalms, 1:42.
26 Psalm 1
God or a god-like person, a tsaddīk, is not. Essentially, he145 or she is not a friend of sinners. A
tsaddīk imitates God, not people.
The first bicolon (two parallel clauses) offers a positive description: a tsaddīk is preoccupied
with God’s torah (‫)תּוֹרה‬.
ָ Adherence to torah defined “insiders” and “outsiders” of the covenant
146
with YHWH. Contextually, sinners are dangerous to the tsaddīk because they do not value
torah, but prefer their own way. The rabbis encouraged their disciples to focus all conversation
on torah. Rabbi Hananiah ben Tradion, a martyr for torah, said:
If two sit together and no words of torah (are spoken) between them, they are a session of
scoffers, of whom it is written: Nor sit in the seat of scoffers. [Ps 1:1] But if two sit
together and the words of torah (are spoken) between them, the Shekinah (divine
presence) rests between them. (m. Abot 3.2).
The usual Christian translation “law” for torah may be too narrow without explication. Torah
broadly signifies “direction” or “instruction,”147 but may also refer specifically to the first five
books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. The books contain many laws, but they are embedded in a story that moves from
creation to the eve of entering the Promised Land. In other words, they are contextualized laws.
The shape of the Psalter, five books, is modelled on the Pentateuch.148 Based on this structure,
Gordon Wenham claims “the law that the righteous should delight in is not just the law of Moses
in the Pentateuch, but the law of David enshrined in the Psalter.”149 Jesus cites a psalm as torah.
The Psalter invites us to “read creation.”150 From this context, Jesus can say, “Look carefully into
the birds of heaven—that they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather (food) into barns,
and (yet) your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are you not worth more than they?” (Matt
6:26).151
Torah, then, may refer to any revelation, any teaching from God—what the fathers referred to as
the books of Scripture and Creation.
In Judaism, meditation (µελέτη) is a cycle of repetition. Rabbi Ben Bag Bag, possibly a disciple
of Hillel, said: “Turn it [torah] and turn it again, for everything is in it, and contemplate it, and
145
The Psalmist uses ἀνήρ, which normally describes an adult male, although the form of the makarism may allow a generic
sense. See D.
146
Even if the original Hebrew had a broader signification, the translator and intended audience probably thought of the
Pentateuch. The ambiguous relationship between text and commentary sparked debate between the Pharisees and virtually every
other religious group, including the followers of Jesus. The Mishnah (c. AD 200) claims God gave a written and oral torah to
Moses, which was passed along through the Prophets, Great Assembly, and teachers like Hillel and Shammai (Abot 1:1).
147
HALOT s.v. ‫;תּוֹרה‬
ָ Jastrow, “teaching, law,” 1657.
148
1—42, 42—72, 73—89, 90—106, 107—150. At the center of the first and fifth book are psalms celebrating the Torah: 19
and 119, respectively.
149
Psalms as Torah, 79.
150
Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: a theological commentary, 36.
151
See, for example, Psalm 50:11 and the value of a human being in Psalm 8.
27 Psalm 1
grow gray and old over it, and stir not from it, for you can have no better rule than this” (m. Abot
5.22). After hearing the Torah read and expounded in the synagogue on Sabbath or from other
encounters with Scripture, the tsaddīk is preoccupied by its meaning. He or she “turns” it or
approaches the passage from several angles.152
We also find an apophatic dimension to meditation in the Psalter: “Be silent, and know that I am
God” (Ps 46:10 [OG 45:11]). The Greek translator chose scholazō (σχολάζω) to render the first
verb, which can signify clearing the mind to offer God all our attention, as we do in polite
conversation.153
After negative and positive descriptions, the psalmist employs simile: the tsaddīk is like a tree.
The especially thick symbol invites qualification: planted beside an outlet of waters.154
Contextually, the psalmist likens Torah to a spring in contrast to the desiccated company of the
ungodly. Meditation allows for the consumption (internalization) of torah. Rashi (1040 – 1105)
plays with the ambiguous antecedent of the pronoun (“his torah”): through meditation, YHWH’s
torah may become ours.155
R: Psalm 1 also introduces the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings
(ketuvim): Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther,
Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles.156 It has the same function in the Christian Old Testament,
but for a more circumscribed section: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
The psalm also echoes the opening of Joshua, which introduces the Prophets (nevi’im) in the
Hebrew Bible:
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day
and night (‫יוֹמם ָו ַ֔ליְלָה‬
֣ ָ ‫) ְו ָה ִג֤יתָ בּ ֙וֹ‬, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is
written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good
success. (1:8 ESV)157
Before and after Christ, the Psalter was viewed as prophetic.158
In sum, the opening psalm echoes the Law and Prophets and suggests what follows is more of
the same, but in a different modality (genre, key).
152
I.e., Pardes. See the gloss in Blackman, Mishnah, 4:538.
153
BDAG.
154
The passive ambiguates the agency: Was the tree planted by a human farmer, the wind, God? Or does it matter (1 Cor 3:6)?
The missing yet implied action is “watered”; the tsaddik is nourished by Scripture meditation “even,” as D. A. Carson notes,
“when there is heat and blight”: God Who Is There, 88.
155
Gruber, Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms, 173.
156
The Christian Old Testament treats Ezra and Nehemiah as separate books and divides Chronicles into 1 and 2 Chronicles.
157
Noted, for example, by Sailhamer, Meaning of the Pentateuch, 217; Wenham, Psalms as Torah, 77-78; Wenham, Psalms as
Torah, 97-99.
158
See J. Samuel Subramanian, The Synoptic Gospels and The Psalms as Prophecy (New York: T&T Clark, 2007).
28 Psalm 1
Head
The first word of the Psalter, “blessed,” opens the Sermon on the Mount.159 Blessed (‫אַ ְ֥שׁ ֵֽרי‬,
µακάριος) is a pronouncement of divine favor.160 The recipient is the apple of God’s eye. This is
firstly Christ, but we share in the blessing as brothers and sisters. Jesus presents himself as torah
observant, the sine qua non for the biblical Messiah, but also as the fulfillment of the Law and
Prophets (Matt 5:17-18). However, there is an already but not yet tension in the Beatitudes: the
destitute and persecuted possess the Kingdom, but wait to be comforted, to inherit, to be
satisfied, to receive mercy, to see God, and to be called sons of God (Matt 5:3-12).161
The “not yet” is further unpacked in the Parables Discourse (Matt 13). Jesus alludes to Psalm 1
in two parables. The finale of the psalm occurs in The Dragnet:162
Likewise, it will be at the completion of the age: The angels will come and separate those
who are evil from the midst of those who are righteous. (Matt 13:49)
οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος· ἐξελεύσονται οἱ ἄγγελοι καὶ ἀφοριοῦσιν τοὺς
πονηροὺς ἐκ µέσου τῶν δικαίων
Because of this, the ungodly will not rise in judgment or sinners in (the) council of (the)
righteous. (Ps 1:5)
διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει οὐδὲ ἁµαρτωλοὶ ἐν βουλῇ δικαίων
The language does not overlap with the Old Greek, but the substance and context do. Matthew is
not bound to the Greek translations.163
Jesus promises ultimate accountability. The “wicked” and “righteous” will be separated. The
eschatological trajectory, anticipated by the Old Greek, is more explicit: separation will take
place “at the completion of the age” (ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος). By this time, Jews understood
time as being divided into two seasons: the present and the “age to come.” The New Testament
claims the coming age has begun in Christ’s resurrection, but that the present order of things is
still passing away. The true end will be announced by the Parousia, accompanied by angels who
will mediate the judgment promised at the end of the psalm.
The second allusion occurs in The Tenants:164
“Therefore, when the Lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
They say to him, “He will kill those wicked wickedly, and will lease out the vineyard to
other tenants, who will repay him the fruits in their seasons.” [Ps 1:3] Jesus says to
159
The allusion is likely because of the placement and Jesus’s appropriation of Psalm 37 (36 OG) in the Beatitudes.
160
BDAG s.v. µακάριος “privileged recipient of divine favor.”
161
This is clear from the vacillation between the present and future tenses in Greek.
162
The allusion is recognized by the Loci Citati Vel Allegati.
163
See, for example, George M. Soares Prabhu, The Formula Quotations in the Infancy Narrative of Matthew (Rome: E
Pontificio Instituto Biblico, 1976).
164
This is noted in Nestle-Aland’s Loci Citati Vel Allegati.
29 Psalm 1
them: “Have you not read in the Scriptures: The stone that the house-builders rejected
has turned into the head of the corner. This came about from the Lord and is marvelous
in our eyes. [Ps 118:22] Because of this I say to you: the Kingdom of God165 will be
taken away from you and will be given to a people producing the fruits of it.” [Ps 1:3]
(21:40-43)
οἵτινες ἀποδώσουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν (Matt 21:41)
ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ (1:3 OG)
‫( ֲא ֶ ֤שׁר פּ ְִרי֙וֹ׀ י ִתֵּ֬ ן ְבּע ִ֗תּוֹ‬1:3 MT)
Jesus employs gezerah sheva linking the opening psalm to 118 (OG 117). Its close relationship
with the second psalm may explain why: Psalm 2 and 118 (117) are explicitly messianic and
overlap thematically. The later psalm, according to Jesus, predicts the replacement of Herod’s
Temple with his body. The temple authorities were fruitless, which exposed them as false
Jesus predicts a great reversal: “the first will be last.”166 The wicked are not “outsiders,” but the
ultimate “insiders”—the leaders of Judaism, who control the Temple. However, their fruitless
lives reveal them as false tsaddikim. So the “lord” will give the vineyard to another “people
group” (ethnos, ἔθνος), who will make it fruitful.167 The transition happened at Jesus’s
resurrection, with the destruction of Herod’s Temple taking place in AD 70.
Body
Jesus is the head, and we are his “people group” (ethnos, ἔθνος). There is the expectation that,
unlike the temple authorities, disciples will bear fruit. Jesus says he is the vine, and we are the
branches. Without him, we can do nothing (John 15).
D: The psalmist exhorts us to 1) separate from evil, 2) meditate on higher things, and 3) become
like God, a tsaddīk. This three-stage process of formation (sanctification) came to be called the
purgative, illuminative, and unitive. This is how Christians read Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and
Song of Solomon, respectively.
Departure from ungodliness Purgative

Meditation on God’s torah Illuminative
Becoming a tsaddik (union with Christ) Unitive
This process may also be called the way to happiness, the subjective side of blessedness. God is
happy, and desires the same for us. As Aquinas notes, happiness is a complete and self-sufficient
good, like ripe fruit, a necessary telos for human life and flourishing. The purgative stage
empowers our free will; the illuminative reveals false or ephemeral happiness; and the unitive
offers a taste of true joy. For this God gave the torah-observant Messiah.
165
A departure from Matthew’s preferred “Kingdom of the heavens.”
166
Allen Verhey, The Great Reversal: Ethics and The New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1986).
167
Rashi sees a reference to the resurrection: Gruber, Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms, 173.
30 Psalm 2
A tsaddīk chooses intimate relationships carefully. Like the Jews in Alexandria, disciples are
surrounded by Pagans. But sinners should not be avoided because of prejudice or contempt.
Indeed, we exist for them. Jesus did not come for tsaddikim, but sinners. But we cannot
fellowship in their sin (1 Pet 4:1-6), or allow them to distract us from God’s Kingdom.
Continual nourishment on God’s Word leads to growth.168 François de Sales (1567 - 1622)
compares biblical meditation to the imitation of bees who never leave a flower as long as they
can extract any honey from it.169
S: YHWH is a good teacher, who knows his students, the tsaddīkim, and provides whatever is
necessary for their success.
Psalm 2
MT
Why are the people groups restless170
and the people meditate emptily?171
2
Kings of the earth resist
and rulers collude
against YHWH and against his Messiah:
3
“Let us burst their bonds and cast away their cords from us.”
4
He who sits in the heavens172 laughs;
Adonai holds them in derision.
5
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury:
Father
6
“And I have installed [anointed]173 my King on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
Son
7
I will recount the decree:
YHWH said to me,
“You are my son;
today I begot174 you.
8
Ask me, and I will make the people groups your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
168
Grogan, Psalms, 43.
169
Devout Life 2.5.
170
HALOT s.v. ‫רגשׁ‬.
171
HALOT suggests “plot” with the accusative for ‫( הגה‬Ps 38:13; Prov 24:2). But the same verb occurs at 1:2.
172
Juxtaposition with “earth.”
173
The regular meaning of the Qal stem of ‫ נסך‬is “pouring out” (HALOT), which corresponds to the anointing of the Messiah.
174
‫ילד‬
31 Psalm 2
9
You will175 break them with a rod of iron
and smash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10
Now therefore, kings, be wise;
be warned, rulers of the earth.
11
Serve YHWH with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
OG
Father176
1
Why did the people groups [ethnos] become arrogant,177
and the peoples meditate on vain things?178
2
The kings of the earth stood up,
and the rulers gathered themselves together
against the Lord and against his Christ.
[Pause]179
3
“Let us break through their bonds,
and cast away their yoke from us.”
4
He that dwells in the heavens will laugh out loud180 at them—
the Lord will mock them.
5
Then he will speak to them in his anger
and will trouble them in his fury.
Son
6
“But I have been appointed king by him
on Zion, his holy mountain,
7
declaring the ordinance of the Lord.
The Lord said to me, ‘you are my Son;
today, I have begotten you.181
175
Or “may” (permissive)
176
According to Luke’s exegesis; see below.
177
Aorist for Hebrew Perfect.
178
The same verb µελετάω occurs at Ps 1:2.
179
διάψαλµα. Apparently, there was a ‫ סלה‬in the ms. (L&S). Presumably, it invited a pause from the lector.
180
Future for Hebrew Imperfect. ἐκγελάω
181
Perfect for Hebrew Perfect. The translator(s) has been using the aorist for the perfect up to this point. Contextually and
semantically, however, the stative aspect makes sense.
32 Psalm 2
8
Ask me, and I will give you the people groups as your inheritance
and the ends of the earth as your possession.
9
You will182 shepherd [rule]183 them with a rod of iron:
as a potter’s vessel, you will smash them to pieces.’”184
Exhortation
10
So now, kings, understand:185
be instructed [disciplined]—all who judge the earth.
11
Serve the Lord with fear
and rejoice in him with trembling.
12
Accept instruction [discipline],
lest the Lord become angry
and you perish from the righteous way186
when his wrath is suddenly kindled.
Blessed are all who trust in him.
Translation: The translation is literal. However, there is a significant difference with the MT
that affects dramatis personae. The OG is monological; the MT, dialogical: YHWH and Messiah
are conversing.187 The Hebrew, as we have it at v. 6, reads
‫ ַו ֲאנִי נ ַ ָ֣סכְתִּ י ַמל ִ ְ֑כּי‬,֭
And I have installed [anointed] my King
The OG reads
ἐγὼ δὲ κατεστάθην βασιλεὺς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ,
But I have been made king by him
Either YHWH (MT) or Messiah (OG) is speaking. This leads to either “my” or “his holy
mountain.” Differences continue in the subsequent clause: “declaring the ordinance of YHWH”
(MT); “I will recount the decree” (OG).
There is also a significant difference in the final stanza. The MT (v. 12) reads
‫ָל־חוֹסֵי בֽוֹ‬
֥ ‫שׁ ֵ֗רי כּ‬
ְ ‫נַשְּׁקוּ־ ַ֡בר פֶּן־יֶא ֱַנ֤ף׀ ו ְ֬ת ֹאבְדוּ דֶ֗ ֶרְך כִּ ֽי־יִב ַ ְ֣ער ִכּמ ַ ְ֣עט ַא ֑פּוֹ ַ֜א‬
Christians typically translate something like:
182
Possibly, an imperatival future (“you shall shepherd”).
183
ποιµαίνω takes on a positive meaning in early Christian usage.
184
Asyndeton differs from the Hebrew.
185
καὶ νῦν has an inferential force (e.g., Gen 4:11; 31:29).
186
See 1:6.
187
Aquila H. I. Lee, From Messiah To Preexistent Son (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock, 2005), 244.
33 Psalm 2
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Noting the uncertainty of the Hebrew, JPS reads “pay homage in good faith.”
The OG supports this reading:
δράξασθε παιδείας µήποτε ὀργισθῇ κύριος καὶ ἀπολεῖσθε ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας ὅταν ἐκκαυθῇ
ἐν τάχει ὁ θυµὸς αὐτοῦ µακάριοι πάντες οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ
Accept instruction [discipline], lest the Lord become angry and you perish from the
righteous way when his wrath is suddenly kindled.
However, this may be a mistranslation. The verb ‫ נשׁק‬regularly signifies kissing someone with an
object (e.g., Gen 33:4; 1 Sam 20:41). Samuel kisses Saul after his consecration (1 Sam 10:1),
which seems to be a fitting context: kings should show respect for the office of God’s anointed.
‫ בַּר‬is the regular form for “son” in Aramaic, but we also find the spelling in the MT (Prov 31:2).
Perhaps ‫ בַּר‬is a slight transcription error (or updating).188 With the earlier occurrence (v. 7), the
nun is tucked behind a pronominal suffix. However, it may also be an intentional Aramaism.
Contextually, the psalmist addresses kings outside of Israel.189
Finally, there is the different wording at v. 9.
OG: You will shepherd [rule] them with a rod of iron
MT: You will break them with a rod of iron
The translator saw ‫ תרעם‬and related it to ‫“( רעה‬to shepherd”); the Masoretes, ‫“( רעע‬to break”).
Both readings are grammatical, although the latter is a stronger fit with the parallelism.190 But
Jesus sanctions the shepherd reading (Rev 2:27).
P: There are echoes of Psalm 1 at the beginning and end: The tsaddik meditates (‫ )הגה‬on God’s
torah (1:2); the peoples, “emptily”; YHWH knows “the way of the righteous” (1:4), but defiant
kings risk perishing from it (2:12). As we noted, Psalm 2 ends with a beatitude (makarism),
forming inclusio. But for the first time, we hear God’s speech to us.
The psalm may be halved into two unequal stanzas:
2:1-3 Rebellion
2:4-12 Response
188
The MT suggests a transcription error with the original wording being “With trembling kiss his feet.” This is unnecessarily
complicated. It’s simply the difference between a nun and resh, a common ambiguity.
189
Ross, Psalms, 198.
190
Ross, Psalms, 198.
34 Psalm 2
This royal psalm responds to “rebellion against YHWH’s universal kingship, expressed on earth
through his anointed.”191 Political unrest often follows transitions in power, especially when
there’s a perceived weakness.192
The language may have originated from a coronation (enthronement) of a Davidic king.193 The
anointed hears a divine locution: “You are my son.” On the one hand, YHWH adopts the king,
bestowing mediated authority from heaven. On the other, especially in canonical context, the
would be king is recognized as a tsaddīk or godlike. The king is not identical to YHWH, but
“shares the nature of the father.”194
David
Luke presumes David is the mouthpiece of the second Psalm (Acts 4:25). This may be due to any
number of reasons: the general association of the King with the Psalter, his name being in the
inscription of Luke’s manuscript, inspiration, or the wording of the psalm.195 The divine speech
echoes the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:1-17).196 Through the prophet Nathan, YHWH addresses
David: “I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son” (v. 14). The immediate context
looks to Solomon, but he and most of his descendants disappoint. Tremper Longman notes the
“grandiose” language that does not naturally evoke any historical moment when Israel ruled the
Nations.197 Calvin notes, “David prophesied concerning Christ . . . he knew his own kingdom to
be merely a shadow,” a “type.”198 By the time of Jesus, Psalm 2 was read messianically.199
Head
According to Luke, David was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but God the Father is the ultimate
speaker of Psalm 2 (Acts 4:25). Along with other Scriptures, the Father echoes the psalm at
Jesus’s baptism and transfiguration:200
And it came about in those days (that) Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was
baptized into the Jordan by John. And rising out of the water, suddenly he saw the
heavens tearing apart and the Spirit descending like a dove into him. And there was a
191
Watts, Psalms, 26.
192
Rebellion broke out in Galilee after Herod the Great’s death; the one culminating in the Temple’s destruction began similarly.
After Nero’s death, there were three emperors in a single year.
193
The scholarly majority (following Gunkel and Mowinckel) sees a Davidic enthronement Sitz im Leben, although other settings
are proposed, like a pre-holy war ceremony. See the literature cited in Lee, From Messiah, 241-242. The divine utterance is
reminiscent of ancient Near East coronation liturgies. In Karnak, the Egyptian god Amon-Rê said to Queen Hat-shep-sut: “My
darling daughter, I am thy dear father: I confirm thy position as ruler of the two kingdoms; I have written for thee thy protocol.”
194
Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 2011), 1:208 n. 25.
195
He is also aware of its order (Acts 13:33). The Old Greek assigns more psalms to David than the Masoretic text.
196
Longman, “The Messiah,” 17. This was probably recognized in the Dead Sea Scrolls through gezerah sheva.
197
Longman, “The Messiah,” 18. On the contrary, Calvin finds the setting suitable to David’s life.
198
Commentary, 1:11.
199
Longman, “The Messiah,”, 20.
200
W. Davies and D. Allison conclude: “The first line of our text is from or has been influenced by Ps. 2:7 (LXX?) while the next
two lines are derived from a non-LXX version of Isa. 42:1”: The Gospel According to Saint Matthew. 3 vols. (International
Critical Commentary; Great Britain: T&T Clark, 1988, 1991, 1997), 1:338.See also Stanton, Jesus and Gospel, 43; Rick Watts,
“The Psalms in Mark’s Gospel,” in The Psalms in the New Testament (Steve Moyise and Maarten J.S. Menken, eds.; New York:
T&T Clark, 2004), 25-46, 25. As Davies and Allison note, Psalm 2 is not the only intertext: The Father also echoes the Akeda
and possibly Isaiah’s suffering servant (42:1), so that Jesus unites suffering and humility with power and glory: Everett Ferguson,
Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009),
123; Stephen P. Ahearne-Kroll, “Psalms in the New Testament,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms (William P. Brown, ed.;
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 269-280, 274.
35 Psalm 2
voice from the heavens: “You are my beloved son. In you I am appeased.”201 [Ps 2:7]
(Mark 1:9-11)
υἱός µου εἶ σύ (Ps 2:7)

σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός µου (Mark 1:11)
Mark is probably the earliest Gospel; the others extend his presentation. The psalm may
foreground the subsequent conflict over God’s Kingdom: Jesus is tempted by Satan (1:12-13);
after John’s arrest, Jesus announces the imminence of God’s Kingdom and calls the people to
repentance and faith (1:14-20); Peter and the others are called to an “eschatological holy war,”
and his first sign is exorcism (1:21-28).202
If the meaning of Jesus’s baptism was a private experience, presumably shared it with his
disciples, especially since would instruct them to baptize others in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
We find this conflict at the center of Revelation:
And the Dragon stood before the woman, who was about to give birth, that, when she
gave birth, he might devour her child. [Gen 3:15] And she gave birth to a son, a male,
who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. [Ps 2:9] And her child was caught up to
God and to his throne. [Acts 2:33-36] (12:4b-5)
Matthew extends Mark with a birth narrative that emphasizes Herod the Great’s opposition to the
son of David, of which the temple authorities participated.
Luke applies Psalm 2 to the opposition from Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, and Pilate,
the prefect of Rome:
Now after being released, they went to their own and announced what the head priests
and elders said to them. Now those who heard203 raised a voice in union to God, and said:
“You are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in
them,204 [the One who through the Holy Spirit from the mouth of our father, David, your
child,205 said]206: Why did the peoples rage, and the people pursue empty things? The
201
Or “pleased.” The Akeda or “Binding of Isaac,” one of the most horrific, inexplicable moments in salvation history, is
repeated and completed with God’s own Son. Yet the fulfillment is darker: the beloved is slaughtered. God is saying: “Because
of you, sons of Abraham, I did not spare my Son.” In light of this context, I translate eudokeō “appeased,” not “pleased” (KJV,
ESV). In the Septuagint, the verb describes God’s gracious acceptance of sacrifice: TDNT 2:738-39; see, for example, Lev 7:18;
Ps 50:18 [MT 51:16]; Sir. 31:23. This may be correlated with The Lamb of God saying (John 1:28-31).It may not be accidental
that the verb shares the same prefix as euangelion (“good news” or “gospel”).
202
Suzanne Watts Henderson, Christology and Discipleship in The Gospel of Mark (SNTSMS 135; London / New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2006), 108; Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (ABC
27; New York: Doubleday & Company, 2000), 183, citing Judg 6:34; 1 Sam 11:6-7.
203
D adds “and knew the work of God.”
204
This is a persistent motif in Scripture (2 Kgs 19:15; Isa 37:16; Neh 9:6; Exod 20:11; Ps 146:6). It is difficult to determine the
precise citation.
205
Or “servant.” Luke probably intends a contrast with “father.”
36 Psalm 2
kings of the earth stood together, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the
Lord and against his Christ. [Ps 2:1 OG] For truly they were gathered in this city against
your holy child, Jesus, who was anointed (as Messiah), both Herod [Antipas] and Pontius
Pilate, along with the peoples and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and plan
predestined to happen. And now, Lord, watch over their threats and give to your slaves
(the empowerment) to speak your word boldly, while stretching out (your) hand to heal
and (so that) signs and wonders might take place through the name of your holy child,
Jesus.” (Acts 4:23-30)
Antipas and Pilate represent two people groups—Judeans (Jews) and Romans, respectively. As
with interpretations of Psalm 1, the New Testament offers what may be called a “sectarian”
reading of Ancient Israelite Scripture: Of particular significance is the nuance between “people
groups” (Gentiles) and the “people,” depicted here as Israel (v. 27). What may have begun its life
as nearly synonymous parallelism is now an indictment of both Gentiles and Judeans.
Medieval interpreters signified the rebellious as Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish leaders, who
crucified Jesus.207
The rebellion’s apex, described in the first part of the Psalm 2 (vv. 1-3), happened at the cross.
The fullness of God’s Response, the second (vv. 4-12), will take place at the Parousia. In the
meantime, the church prays for refuge to complete her mission (vv. 29-30). The Father’s
response is remarkable:
After they prayed, the place on which they were gathered was shaken; and they were all
filled by the Holy Spirit and were speaking the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)
As Paul later explains in a sermon, the second part of Psalm 2 has already begun its fulfillment—
when Jesus began to reign as God’s co-regent (Acts 13:33). Luke is the only Evangelist who
depicts Jesus’s Ascension. The author of Hebrews (probably Luke) draws the same inference
(1:4-5).
Paul opens Romans with an allusion to the Davidic Covenant fulfilled in the “Son”
who was born 208 from a descendant 209 of David [2 Sam 7:12 OG]210
206
Most Byzantine manuscripts omit the agency of the Holy Spirit: ὁ διὰ στόµατος ∆αυὶδ παιδός σου εἰπών, “the One through
the mouth of David, your servant [child], who said.” The Alexandrian witnesses read ὁ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡµῶν διὰ πνεύµατος ἁγίου
στόµατος ∆αυὶδ παιδός σου εἰπών, the One who through the mouth of our father, David, your servant [child], through the Holy
Spirit said.” Metzger records dissatisfaction with the Alexandrian reading, but the committee considered it “closer” to the original
(Textual Commentary, 323). The reference to the Holy Spirit also occurs in the shorter reading of D (“the One who spoke by your
Holy Spirit through the mouth of David, your servant [child].” The earlier reading is more difficult, but not impossible. God the
Father speaks simultaneously through the Holy Spirit and the mouth of David (Comfort, Commentary, 280-281).
207
Sujin Pak, The Judaizing Calvin: Sixteenth-Century Debates over the Messianic Psalms (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2010), 14-15.
208
Who was born (tou genomenou): The Greek does not normally refer to birth, and may suggest Jesus’s birth took place
without human fatherhood (see Gal 4:4; Witherington 2004, 32).
209
Lit. a “seed.”
37 Psalm 2
according to the flesh,

who was appointed Son of God in power [Ps 2:7]
according to the Spirit of Holiness [Isa 63:10]
Aquila Lee notes: “At his baptism, Jesus’ self-consciousness of divine sonship received the final
confirmation (Mk 1:11), while the prophecy about his divine sonship (Ps 2:7) was fully
demonstrated through the resurrection.”211
Later, he writes:
So you212 will say: “The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” Very well.
Because of unbelief, they were broken off. But you stand because of faith. Do not
meditate on arrogant (things), but be afraid! [Ps 2:1] For if God did not spare the natural
branches, nor will he spare you.213 Behold, then, the kindness and severity of God:
severity toward those who have fallen, but the kindness of God214 toward you, if you
remain in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. (Rom 11:19-22)
In context, Paul has been discussing the general rejection of Jesus as Messiah among Jewish
communities. There were probably more Gentile followers of Jesus in Rome after Claudius
banished Jews from the city because of disturbances over a certain “Chrestus.” What happened
in Jerusalem, as narrated by Luke, came to pass in Rome: division over Jesus’s identity.
Body
To the prophet John the resurrected Lord says:
And the one who conquers and keeps my works until the end, I will give him authority
over the Nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod—like ceramic pots
smashed, as I also have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the
morning star. The one who has ears must listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
(Rev 2:26-27)
To this point, the New Testament has emphasized the partial fulfillment of Psalm 2 in Jesus’s
death, resurrection, and ascension. Here, Jesus applies the promises to the whole community at
his Parousia. He promises a shared destiny: if we, the body of Christ, are willing to suffer with
210
This is probably the earliest confession of Jesus’s Davidic ancestry in the NT, repeated in 2 Tim 2:8. Matthew emphasizes the
Davidic ancestry of Joseph, but insists Jesus was begotten by the Holy Spirit. In this case, the descendant of David is Mary. Paul
regularly follows the Jesus Tradition eventually published in Luke, who focuses on Mary in the birth narrative. She too is from
Nazareth, which appears to have been resettled by descendants of David from Bethlehem. Presumably, her father was Davidic.
The preposition ek can describe birth from a woman (Matt 1:3, 5, 6). Decisive is Paul’s γενόµενον ἐκ γυναικός “born from a
woman” in Galatians (4:4).
211
From Messiah, 251.
212
I.e., a Gentile.
213
As throughout the section, Paul is speaking of Christian assemblies.
214
The Majority text and a few other witnesses omit of God.
38 Psalm 2
him, the head, the glory of his resurrection and ascension will be ours as well. This is a natural
interpretation of the original Psalm, which moves from an individual to community.215
The complete fulfillment of the psalm is depicted in the Seventh Trumpet Judgment:
Then the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in the heaven, saying: “The
kingdom of the world (is now the kingdom) of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will
reign forever and ever.” [Ps 2:2 OG] And the twenty-four elders, [the] ones who sit
before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give
thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your
great power and begun to reign. The people groups raged, but your wrath came and the
season for those who are dead to be judged, and to give the reward to your slaves—to the
prophets and to the holy ones—and to those who fear your name—both small and great—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” [Ps 2:1, 5, 12] (Rev 11:15-18)
There are no longer two kingdoms and justice is realized. The “great voice” and “elders” mark
the moment.
D: We, the body, are united to Christ, the head, in faith and baptism. The Holy Spirit allows us to
pray “abba” with the Son to the Father. We are adopted into God’s family and become citizens of
God’s Kingdom.216 Luther saw this psalm as being prophetically fulfilled in Christ, but saw the
Kingdom as spiritual.217 Rulers on earth, like the princes in Germany, enjoyed a mediated
authority.
But sadly negative responses to God’s Kingdom persist. How should the Christian respond?
Luther’s theology was tested by the peasants’ uprising (1525). At first sympathetic, he turned
against them after the rebellion became violent:
Christians do not fight for themselves with sword and musket, but with the cross and with
suffering, just as Christ, our leader, does not bear a sword, but hangs on the cross. Your
victory, therefore, does not consist in conquering and reigning, or in the use of force, but
in defeat and weakness . . .218
In Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants, Luther claimed those who died
assisting the princes would be martyrs, while each peasant who perished would become “an
eternal firebrand of hell.”219
215
Peterson, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, 92.
216
Ferguson, Baptism, 123.
217
Manual, 18; Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 33.
218
Luther’s Works, 46:32-33. Cited in Atherstone, Reformation, 47.
219
Luther’s Works, 46: 50-53. Cited in Atherstone, Reformation, 47.
39 Psalm 2
Luther applied Psalm 2 to the Jewish people, seeing the “bonds” (v.3) as reference to the
Torah.220 He was initially kind toward the Jews, but towards the end of his life he became
hostile:221
Let me give you my honest advice.
First, their synagogues or churches should be set on fire, and whatever does not burn
should be covered or spread over with dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder
or stone of it. And this ought to be done for the honor of God and of Christianity in order
that God may see that we are Christians, and that we have not wittingly tolerated or
approved of such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of His Son and His Christians....
Secondly, their homes would likewise be broken down and destroyed. For they
perpetuate the same things there that they do in their synagogues. For this reason they
ought to be put under one roof or in a stable, like Gypsies, in order that they may realize
that they are not masters in our land, as they boast, but miserable captives, as they
complain of us incessantly before God with bitter wailing.
Thirdly, they should be deprived of their prayer books and Talmuds in which such
idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught.
Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden, under threat of death, to teach any more....
Fifthly, passport and traveling privileges should be absolutely forbidden to the Jews. For
they have no business in the rural districts since they are not nobles, nor officials, nor
merchants, nor the like. Let them stay at home.
Sixthly, they ought to be stopped from usury. All their cash and valuables of silver and
gold ought to be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping. For this reason, as we
said before, everything that they possess they stole and robbed from us through their
usury, for they have no other means of support....
Seventhly, let the young and strong Jews and Jewesses be given the flail, the ax, the hoe,
the spade, the distaff, and spindle, and let them earn their bread by the sweat of their
noses as is enjoined upon Adam’s children. For it is not proper that they should want us
cursed Goyyim to work in the sweat of our brow and that they, pious crew, idle away
their days at the fireside in laziness, feasting, and display.... We ought to drive the
rascally lazy bones out of our system.
If, however, we are afraid that they might harm us personally, or our wives, children,
servants, cattle, etc., when they serve us or work for us...then let us apply the same
220
Pak, The Judaizing Calvin, 35.
221
When Luther was a youth (about 10), Sephardic Jews had been expelled from Spain (1492), the same year Christopher
Columbus landed in the Americas.
40 Psalm 6: Mercy Me
cleverness [expulsion] as the other nations...and....drive them out of the country for all
time.... To sum up, dear princes and nobles who have Jews in your domains, if this advice
of mine does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this
insufferable devilish burden—the Jews. (On the Jews and Their Lies 1543, in Luther’s
Works 137-306, esp. 268-72).
This tract was appropriated by the Nazis for their propaganda.222 Calvin also includes the Jews
among the rebellious nations. He makes the logical deduction: “all who do not submit
themselves to the authority of Christ make war against God.”223
What can be said? When the New Testament appropriates Psalm 2, it does not recommend
violence. Rather, Jesus, Luke, Paul, and the authors of Hebrews and Revelation counsel humility,
trust, and perseverance until the Parousia. Concerning the Jewish people, Paul exhorts Gentile
believers to show Christ to them. The Sermon on the Mount requires disciples to wait on the
judgment of the Lord.
S: In the Psalter, YHWH is first presented as the giver of torah (1:2). YHWH is relational.
Indeed, torah and relationship are interrelated: we know (and are known by) God by meditating
on and following his torah. In Psalm 2, YHWH is the giver of Messiah. He remains present
through the Davidic king.224 The New Testament unites these gifts: Jesus Christ is the final
interpreter of torah; he is the telos of torah; he is torah.
They are gifts, but like what a king gives another to initiate peace; to reject them is to dishonor
the giver and prolong the war. Eventually, YHWH will hold people accountable to torah and
messiah.225 According to the New Testament, this will take places at the Parousia.
Psalm 2 offers the first anthropomorphism in the Psalter: YHWH laughs. We should treat such
language as more than metaphor, but less than literal. On the one hand, God is interpersonal.
Wrath warms his love. As person, God feels, although not exactly like we do. On the other, if we
absolutize the language, it risks making God look petty.
Lord, is it too small to claim your derision and wrath towards the violent? Surely, this is
condescension for our benefit, but also revelatory of your commitment to a just universe.
Psalm 6: Mercy Me
MT
To the choir director,226 with stringed instruments, according to the eighth,227 a psalm by David
222
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America repudiated these remarks. See Edward
Kessler and Neil Wenborn, eds. A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations (Cambridge: University Press, 2005), 280-281. I am
grateful to Mitch Miller for this observation.
223
Commentary, 1:12.
224
Gillingham, A Journey of Two Psalms, 8.
225
Both psalms are eschatological.
226
Heb. uncertain. “Music-director” or “choir master” are suggested.
2
YHWH, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
3
Be gracious to me, YHWH, for I am languishing;
heal me, YHWH, for my bones are troubled.
4
And my soul also is greatly troubled.
And you, YHWH—how long?
5
Turn, YHWH, deliver my life (soul);
save me for the sake of your steadfast love (chesed).
6
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
7
I am weary
with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
8
My eye wastes away because of provocation;228
it grows weak because of all my foes.
9
Depart from me—all you workers of evil [injustice],
for YHWH heard the sound of my weeping.
10
YHWH heard my plea;229 YHWH will accept my prayer.
11
All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they will turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
OG
For the end,230 among the hymns for the eighth,

a Psalm by David
2
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline (educate) me in your wrath.231
3
Mercy me, Lord, because I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled.
4
And my soul is very troubled. [John 12:27]
And you, Lord, how long?
5
Return, Lord, deliver my soul:
Save me because of your mercy.
6
For in death no one remembers you232:
227
Heb. uncertain.
228
The common translation “grief” for ‫ ַ֫כּעַס‬falls short semantically and contextually.
229
Perfective aspect; subsequent verbs are imperfective.
230
Obscure meaning. The Hebrew was probably uncertain at the time.
231
The verbs are called “prohibitive subjunctives” and are equivalent to the imperative mood (Wallace, Grammar, 469).
Who in Hades233 will profess234 you?

7
I am wearied with my groaning.
I will wash my bed every night;
I will water my couch with tears.
8
My eye is troubled from anger;
I am worn out because of all my enemies.
9
“Depart from me—all who work lawlessness!”
For the Lord heard235 the voice of my weeping;
10
The Lord heard my request;
The Lord received my prayer.236
11
“May all my enemies be put to shame
and become very troubled:
May they be turned back and
grievously put to shame quickly.”237
Translation: The Greek is a literal translation of the original Hebrew because of its conformity
to the MT. The meaning of the title, however, appears to have been already lost.
P: Although classified as the first of seven penitential psalms, at least since the time of Pope
Innocent (1160 – 1216), contrition is a minor theme.238 The opening may function as litotes,
leading with the opposite to emphasize the positive—be gracious and restorative!—and there is
no confession of sin (contrast with Psalm 51).239 The psalm is closer to a lament.240
David
This is the first explicit Psalm of David in our collection. It is his speech to God. But as the
people’s King and God’s son (Ps 2), David also mediates between YHWH and Israel. He speaks
for the ill and oppressed. The only tricolon, a point of emphasis, expresses wearied grief (v. 7).
God is distant; enemies, near. He cannot sleep.
The ancient Israelites held the body and soul together in their anthropology, so that descriptions
of suffering are often psychosomatic: “my bones are troubled, and my soul is very troubled.”241
232
Or “is mindful of you.”
233
‫שְׁאוֹל‬, ᾅδης, place of the dead
234
ἐξοµολογέω, confess
235
εἰσακούω – “to listen, with implication of heeding and responding,” common in LXX (BDAG).
236
The aorist is a departure from the Hebrew.
237
Petitions are in the optative mood.
238
See Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143.
239
Waltke and others, however, see an implication of guilt (Psalms, 52).
240
Rebekah Eklund, Jesus Wept: The Significance of Jesus’ Laments in the New Testament (N.Y.: Bloomsbury T&T Clark,
2015), 36-37; Waltke et al., Psalms, 52. The psalm is part of the evening cycle (4, 6), and may be contrasted with a dawn
perspective (3, 5): Waltke et al., Psalms, 52.
241
Some view bones and soul as synonymous, but this collapses the bicolon and is outdated: see, for example, Edward R.
Dalglish, Psalm Fifty-One in Light of Ancient Near Eastern Patternism. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962), 143. However, he does
demonstrate the broader semantic range of bones in the OT.
David’s fear of sheol may be more about having to leave God’s house than a Thanatopsis.242 The
opponents may assume David suffers because of divine displeasure.243
Yet there is a sudden transition to praise: “Depart from me, all who work lawlessness.” Has God
acted—an event offstage—or is David believing and hoping?
R: By implication, David’s enemies are confident, healthy, and strong. Their “provocation” (‫) ַ֫כּעַס‬
is like Peninnah toward Hannah:
And her rival used to provoke [‫ ]כעס‬her grievously to irritate her, because YHWH had
closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of
YHWH, she used to provoke her. So Hannah wept and would not eat. (1 Sam 1:6-7)
Head
Jesus appropriates the suffering and victory of Psalm 6. Facing an unjust death, he cries, “my
psuchē has become troubled” (John 12:27).244 But he modulates the request. Whatever
intervention might look like for David, it would have to come before death: “in Sheol who will
give you praise?” But instead of appealing for immediate intervention, John remembers him
adding, “And what can I say? Father, save me from this hour! Rather, for this I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28).
Jesus makes an ancient appeal for divine intervention, but according to YHWH’s will.245 Jesus is
not asking for God to take away his cup; unlike David, he has a greater option beyond death. But
like his earthly descendant, Jesus trusts God’s imminent vindication: “And I, when I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (v. 32).
However, by citing a psalm, a speech to God, we are not surprised by the subsequent locution:
Then a voice came from heaven: “I glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:28)
Jesus also cites the critical turn in the psalm in two different contexts:
Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens,
but the one who does the will of my Father in the heavens. Many will say to me on that
day, ‘Lord, Lord! By your name did we not prophesy? And by your name did we not cast
out demons? And by your name did we not do many powerful (things)?’ And then I will
confess to them: ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, the ones who work lawlessness’.”
[Ps 6:8 (9 OG)] (Matt 7:21-23)
And he was passing through cities and villages, teaching and making his way toward
Jerusalem. Now someone said to him: “Lord, are there few who are saved?” Now he said
to them: “Fight to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter,
242
Grogan, Psalms, 50.
243
Declaissé-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner, Psalms, 105.
244
See also Matt 26:38 par.; Heb 5:7.
245
See Pss 25:11; 31:3; 79:9; 109:21; 143:11; Jer 14:7, 21.
and they will not be strong enough. When once the householder is raised, and he closes
the door, you also will begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying: ‘Lord, open
up for us.’ And answering, he will say to you: ‘I do not know where you come from.’
Then you will begin to say: ‘We ate in your presence, and we drank; and you taught us in
the broad streets.’ And he will say, responding to you: ‘I do not know where you come
from. Depart from me all workers of unrighteousness.’ [Ps 6:9] There the weeping and
the gnashing of teeth will be, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
Prophets in the kingdom of God, while you are being cast out. And men will come from
the East and West and from the North and South. And they will recline in the Kingdom of
God. And behold, some who are last will be first. And there are some who are first who
will be last.’” (Luke 13:22-30)
In Matthew, Jesus contrasts “the one who does the will of my Father” with “the ones who work
lawlessness.” The singular and plural may be significant: few are willing to take the narrow path.
The righteous often feel isolated. In Luke, “the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” reverse the
lament, where vexation is returned upon the unrighteous.
In both cases, Jesus interprets the reversal eschatologically. Escalation continues: David may
have asked only for rescue, whereas now the lawless will not enter the Kingdom. The original
psalm mentions “Hades” (sheol) as a place of separation from God—something David fears.
Now it’s a judgment for the unrighteous.
Body
As his Body, we share Christ’s destiny. We pray in light of his resurrection, so that faith does not
require intervention before death. The resurrection is God’s answer to all these prayers. All is
well because all will be well.
D: David expresses no tension between appealing for personal mercy and asking YHWH to
judge his enemies. This has troubled Christian interpreters. How do we recite this psalm while
loving our enemies? Jesus offers this teaching in the context of eschatological judgment. We
love by releasing vengeance to God.
The causation for the unfortunate state is withheld, inviting mirror reading. Luther, not
surprisingly, sees an internal struggle between law and grace.246 David’s original words were
pastoral; the New Testament invites us to identify with the Lord’s suffering in righteousness.
S: David addresses YHWH by name eight times. The strain in their relationship actually betrays
intimacy. The king appeals to chesed, which is translated “mercy.” Mercy potentially transforms
anger and judgments to grace and restoration. God responds to reason and passion;247 he hears
and accepts prayer.
246
Manual, 29.
247
Waltke et al., Psalms, 54.
45 Psalm 8: Jewel of Creation
Psalm 8: Jewel of Creation
MT
For the choir director, for the Gittit,248 a psalm by David
2
YHWH, our Lord,
how wonderful is your name in all the earth,
who set your glory above the heavens!249 [Gen 1:1]
3
From the mouth of children, even nursing infants,
you established strength250 because of your foes,
to destroy the enemy and one who avenges.251
4
When I consider your heavens, a work of your fingers,
(the) moon and stars that you ordained, [Gen 1:16]
5
what is a human being252 that you are mindful of him,
even (the) son of man [Adam] that you visit253 him?
6
And (yet)254 you made him a little lower than Elohim,
and crowned him with glory and majesty!
7
You caused him to rule over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet—
8
all flocks and cattle and indeed (all) the beasts of the field,
9
birds of the heavens and fish of the sea—
whatever passes through the paths of the seas. [Gen 1:20-30]
YHWH, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
OG
1
For the end, concerning the wine-presses,255 a Psalm by David.
2
Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
For your magnificence is exalted above the heavens.

3
From the mouth of children, even those who nurse,
you restored praise256 because of your foes
to destroy enemy and avenger.257
4
For I will see the heavens as the works of your fingers—
moon and stars that you founded.
248
Meaning of ‫ ַעֽל־ ַהגִּתִּ֗ ית‬is uncertain—possibly an instrument or key (HALOT).
249
JPS marks the Hebrew of the clause uncertain.
250
HALOT s.v. ‫ע ֹז‬. A narrow semantic range.
251
JPS marks the Hebrew of the entire verse uncertain.
252
‫אֱנוֹשׁ‬
253
‫פקד‬
254
The adversative is not immediately clear, a vav capable of several meanings.
255
The fathers treated the ambiguity with allegory.
256
BDAG s.v. αἶνος. Narrow semantic range. According to Hatch and Redpath, this is the only instance of translating ‫ ע ֹז‬this way.
257
The awkwardness probably reflects difficulties in the Hebrew.
5
What is a human being (ἄνθρωπος), that you are mindful of him?
or son of man (υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου), that you care for (or visit) him?
6
You lowered him for a while below the angels;
with glory and honor, you crowned him.
7
And you set him over the works of your hands.
You put all things under his feet:
8
Sheep and all oxen,
and indeed also the cattle of the field;
9
the birds of the sky (heaven) and the fish of the sea—
what passes through the paths of the sea.
10
Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!
Translation: In Hebrew, the psalm is addressed to “YHWH, our Adonai” (‫ְהו֤ה ֲאד ֵֹ֗נינוּ‬ ָ ‫)י‬. The
verbal distinction is lost in the Greek with both words translated as “Lord” (κύριος). Another
smoothing out is ‫ אֱנ֥ וֹשׁ‬and ‫ בֶן־ ָ֜אדָ֗ ם‬as ἄνθρωπος and υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, respectively.
The uncertain ‫ ַעֽל־ ַהגִּתִּ֗ ית‬is rendered ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν, “concerning the winepresses,” a phrase that
invited allegory.258 Presumably, the original meaning was lost by the translator’s time.
“Strength” (‫ )ע ֹז‬is uniquely interpreted as “praise” (αἶνος). Elohim ( ‫ֱֹלהים‬ ֑ ִ ‫ ) ֵמא‬is understood as
259
referring to angels (παρ᾽ ἀγγέλους). ‫ חסר‬in the piel means “to be devoid” (HALOT).260
David
This is the Psalter’s first praise hymn, although just before David says:
I will give to YHWH the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the
name of YHWH, the Most High. (7:17)
And the following psalm opens:
I will give thanks to YHWH with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful
deeds. (9:1)
So the King does in Psalm 8 what he promises around it.261 He gives the people language for
thanksgiving. The psalm begins and ends with an observation: “Lord, our Lord, how wonderful
is your name in all the earth!” The inclusio expresses “wonder” (‫ ַאדִּ יר‬, θαυµαστός), a word that
was generally used to describe a deity, but also close associations like a name (ὄνοµα)—one’s
reputation and work.262
Two rhetorical questions center the psalm:
258
Jerome follows the Greek: pro torcularibus.
259
It is isomorphic with the Hebrew, but not necessarily isosemantic: Gauthier, Psalms 38 and 145 of The Old Greek Version, 4.
260
Glosses that include “made” (NAS, NIV, ESV) convey the wrong sense.
261
Mays, Preaching and Teaching The Psalms, 38.
262
BDAG s.v. θαυµαστός; Kraus, Psalms, 1:180.
What is a human being, that you are mindful of him?

or the son of man, that you care (or visit) him?
The King James Version (1611) famously reads “What is man?” The question invites humility,
but David also finds honor in the imago Dei—that all human beings, sons of Adam, are created
in God’s image (Gen 1:26). In the Ancient Near East, it was assumed that a king imaged the
divine, but David democratizes the honor.
In this conviction, the moon and stars are not disorienting to David, but calming. True to the
creation story, they enlighten his time and place.
R: David is like the Queen of Sheba, who heard “the name of Solomon” (τὸ ὄνοµα Σαλωµων)
and came to interrogate him. But when she
had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the
seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers,
and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of YHWH, there was no more breath
in her. And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your
words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own
eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity
surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who
continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!” (1 Kgs 10:4-8)
David meditates on creation, the beginning of the Torah.263 There are a cluster of echoes from
the creation story. Unlike neighboring accounts, Israelite Scripture elevates humanity as God’s
image (‫ ֶצלֶם אֱֹלהִים‬, εἰκών θεοῦ, imago Dei). This is often interpreted as people having intrinsic
worth or divine attributes (ontology), like reason. Scripture emphasizes role and relationality.
God created man and woman to “rule” his creation, like a king who delegates authority (Gen
1:26).264 Human beings are created to work and rest. The verb “to work” () relates
humanity to God, who works six days before resting on the seventh. And “God saw everything
that he had made, and Look: it was very good” (Gen 1:31). David responded to the prompt—
“Look!”: “I will recount all of your wonderful deeds,” and was given what became Psalm 8.
Head
Jesus refers to himself as “the son of man” more than any other title, although it probably was
not heard as messianic in the first century.265 Apparently, he wanted a fresh perspective on his
ministry. This observation has invited reflection and debate.266 A review of the Gospels shows
263
Some refer to it as a “creation psalm” (Jacobson, “The Faithfulness” in Soundings, 118). For more discussion, see Grogan,
Psalms, 350.
264
The verb can signify oppression (e.g., Num 24:19; Ps 72:8; Sir. 44:3), but this sense does not fit the idyllic context. Indeed, we
could argue that oppressive authority results from the Fall (3:16). On the other hand, authority is not inimical to God’s will. The
authority is a consequence of being created in God’s image.
265
Matt 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41; 16:13, 27, 28; 17:9, 12, 22; 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44;
25:31; 26:2, 24, 45, 64. The Gospels uniquely add an article to the epithet, which emphasizes identity: Hurtado, Lord Jesus
Christ, 290-293.
266
See Delbert Royce Burkett, The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2000).
that he uses “son of man” to describe his humble and exalted status.267 The latter may be seen in
his appropriation of Daniel:
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds [Dan 7:13] with great power and
glory. And then he will send out the messengers [or angels] and will gather together his
elect from the four winds—from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of
heaven.” (Mark 13:26-27)
However, both senses occur in Psalm 8. The Hebrew ben adam may be translated “son of
Adam,” which fits within the appropriation of the creation story.
Jesus cites Psalm 8 in The Triumphal Entry:
And the blind and the lame come to him in the Temple, and he was healing them. But
after the head priests and the scribes saw the marvelous things that he did and the
children (παῖς) crying out in the Temple and saying, “Hosanna268 to the son of David,”
they became angry. [Ps 118:25] And they said to him, “Do you hear what they are
saying?” But Jesus says to them: “Yes, have you not read: from the mouth of small
children (νήπιος), even those yet to be weaned, you restored praise.” [Matt 21:14-16; Ps
8:3]
The citation is from the Old Greek as we have it:
ἐκ στόµατος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον (Ps 8:3 OG)

ἐκ στόµατος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον (Matt 21:16)
The idiosyncratic translation “praise” (αἶνος) for “strength” (‫ )ע ֹז‬is integral to the psalm’s
appropriation.
The citation is immediately followed by “because of your foes to destroy enemy and avenger.”
The “head priests and the scribes” are cast into this role. They had corrupted God’s house, but
God “restored praise” from outsiders. Jesus has come in the way of humility, mounted on a
donkey.
After the resurrection, Paul recognizes the ascension of their King. He describes the Father as
working
in Christ, raising him from (those who are) dead and seating him at his right (hand) in the
heavenly places, far above every ruler and authority and power and dominion and every
name which is named—not only in this age, but also in the one coming. And he put all
things into submission under his feet, [Ps 8:7] and appointed him (as) head, who is above
267
Burkett, The Son of Man Debate, 3-5. They presume the “son of man” is the “son of God”: see the important work of Seyoon
Kim, “The ‘Son of Man’” as the Son of God (WUNT 30; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1983).
268
A Greek transliteration of the Aramaic: “Save, [we pray]!”
everything, to the church, who is his body—the fullness from the one who is filling for
himself all things in every respect. (Eph 1:20-23)
Paul cites the same line to Corinthians (1 Cor 15:27), and uses the Scripture to describe Jesus’s
victory after the Parousia. Jesus has already ascended to the right hand of the Father. The Father
has already subjected all things to Christ, but all things will be explicitly subjected at his return.
The author of Hebrews makes a similar point:
For he did not subject to angels the coming (inhabited) world, concerning which we are
speaking, but someone testified somewhere, 269 saying: What is man that you remember
him, or the son of man that you care about him? You made him for a while lower than the
angels. With glory and honor you crowned him. You set all things under his feet. [Ps 8:5-
7 OG] For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. (1:5-
8a)
The Old Greek’s decision to render ‫ אֱֹלהִים‬as ἀγγέλους “angels” is essential to the context in
which Jesus is presented as their superior. The author goes on to admit:
But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him, although we see him who was
made for a little while lower than the angels—that is, Jesus, who because of the suffering
of death, was crowned with glory and honor, that by God’s grace he might taste death for
everyone.270 (1:8b-9).
Irenaeus (d. c. 195) draws the implications together:
When he [Jesus] was incarnate and made man, he recapitulated [or summed up] in
himself the long line of the human race, procuring for us salvation thus summarily, so
that what we had lost in Adam—the being in the image and likeness of God—we might
regain in Christ Jesus. (Against Heresies 3.18)
This is why the Lord declares himself to be the Son of Man because he recapitulates
[sums up] in himself the original man who was the source from which sprang the race
fashioned after woman; that as through the conquest of man our race went down to death,
so through the victory of man we might ascend to life. (21.1)
Luther saw this psalm as prophetic, referring to Christ’s passion, resurrection, and dominion over
all creatures.271
269
The author apparently had no interest in the Davidic stage of the psalm. But see Heb 4:7.
270
There is a remarkable textual variant here: “apart from God he might taste death on behalf of all.” The Greek words for grace
and without are very similar. But this is probably an example of changing the wording for theological bias—that God cannot
undergo change: see Comfort, New Testament Text, 697.
271
Manual, 33.
In sum, Jesus uses the term “son of man” to express solidarity with humanity, especially our
mortality and suffering, and redignifies the race through his destruction of sin and death.
Body
Paul immediately links Jesus as head to his body, the church, in the above citation. The author of
Hebrews presents Jesus as our high priest, who represents us before the Father. Those who are in
Christ represent God on earth, yearning for the return of Paradise.
D: The psalm addresses the perception of smallness: Who has not looked up on a starry, starry
night and not felt the vastness of the universe?272 We are tiny specks of conscious energy. Who
has not felt powerless like a child? Yet God made humans beings to rule over “the heavens and
earth.” He bestowed us with “glory and majesty.”273
Our sin made us small, but Jesus took our sin and died in our place: “the son of man did not
come to be served, but to serve and to give up his life (as) a ransom in exchange for many”
(Mark 10:45).274 He also took away our shame, and gave us his glory.
D: Wonder is fullest in the union of God’s two books, Scripture and Creation. “Given infinite
time, a monkey with a typewriter,” I was told, “would eventually type the works of
Shakespeare.” The Bible offers a richer theology that is more plausible: human beings hold a
special place in the universe. With oversized brains and a penchant for language, we alone can
respond to God’s prompt: “Look!” (Gen 1:31). Earth is perfectly placed. Most of the universe is
too cold for life, too far from the warmth of a star; other parts, like Mercury and Venus, too close
and too hot.275
Seeing Creation with Scripture, a diptych, “shapes content” and “suggests interpretations and
feelings.”276 Philo notes that the Genesis account was not a collection of mythical fictions, “but
modes of making ideas visible” (Op. 157 [LC 1:124-34]). Wonder “embraces surprise, enjoys the
excess and alteration which generate it, is constitutively open to the rewriting of the past as well
as the future, the making of new worlds.”277 The moon and stars are no longer disorienting.
Christ, the image of the invisible God, who reveals the transfigurative potential of the cosmos, is
the hinge. Rest restores this wonder.
What is man? According to the creation story, we consist of dirt and God’s breath:
Yahweh Elohim formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and the man became a nepeš. (Gen 2:7)
272
I remember, long ago, being given an award for something and walking outside at night and feeling that it was almost
worthless.
273
The Hebrew is difficult, but many agree with Gunkel: God “performs his great deeds through apparently insufficient means,
so that his power may be revealed all the more plainly”: cited in Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 181.
274
A ransom (Heb. kapor) is something paid in exchange for a life, typically someone who has been kidnapped (see Prov 13:8)
or charged with a serious crime (Exod 20:30).
275
Hermann, God, Science, and Humility, 38.
276
Pacal Lefévre, “Mise En Scène and Framing: Visual Storytelling in Lone Wolf and Cub,” 71-83.
277
Mary Baine Campbell, Wonder and Science: Imagining Worlds in Early Modern Europe (U.S.A.: Cornell University Press,
1999), 3.

Reading The Psalms With Jesus: John Delhousaye

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Reading the Psalms with Jesus

Phoenix Seminary Press

The Psalter ends with a fivefold doxology (146-150).

For emphasis, the psalmist may expand a bicolon into a tricolon.11

Bernd Janowski notes seven aspects of being human in the Psalter:

The complaining human being (Ps 13),

When he fled from Absalom his son (3:1)

According to the David Story, YHWH made a covenant with David:

Trinitarian Throne Conversations

The Jesus Psalter

Incarnation (8:6; 40:8)

Body as Temple (118:23)

According to Luke, Jesus knows the Psalms as a book (scroll):

He invites the subjective appropriation of an objective reality. Trinitarian Throne Conversations

Book 1: Separating from evil (repentance)

Evagrius of Pontus (346 – 399)

Gregory the Great

Summation: Three Contexts

But our Lord also worships the Father with us:

I will confess you among the Nations (Gentiles).

The author of Hebrews similarly places Jesus in the worship service:

Psalms 1—2: Wise Messiah

Blessed is the man . . . (1:1)

. . . Blessed are all who trust in him. (2:12)

Before and after Christ, the Psalter was viewed as prophetic.158

The second allusion occurs in The Tenants:164

ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ (1:3 OG)

‫( ֲא ֶ ֤שׁר פּ ְִרי֙וֹ׀ י ִתֵּ֬ ן ְבּע ִ֗תּוֹ‬1:3 MT)

Departure from ungodliness Purgative

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Blessed are all who trust in him.

‫ ַו ֲאנִי נ ַ ָ֣סכְתִּ י ַמל ִ ְ֑כּי‬,֭

And I have installed [anointed] my King

ἐγὼ δὲ κατεστάθην βασιλεὺς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ,

But I have been made king by him

Christians typically translate something like:

The OG supports this reading:

Finally, there is the different wording at v. 9.

OG: You will shepherd [rule] them with a rod of iron

MT: You will break them with a rod of iron

The psalm may be halved into two unequal stanzas:

υἱός µου εἶ σύ (Ps 2:7)

We find this conflict at the center of Revelation:

according to the flesh,

Let me give you my honest advice.

For the end,230 among the hymns for the eighth,

Who in Hades233 will profess234 you?

Psalm 8: Jewel of Creation

For your magnificence is exalted above the heavens.

And the following psalm opens:

Two rhetorical questions center the psalm:

What is a human being, that you are mindful of him?

Jesus cites Psalm 8 in The Triumphal Entry:

The citation is from the Old Greek as we have it:

ἐκ στόµατος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον (Ps 8:3 OG)

The author of Hebrews makes a similar point:

Irenaeus (d. c. 195) draws the implications together:

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