Psalms 8 - Book Report/Review Example

PSALMS 8 HERMENEUTICS PAPER Psalms 8 Genre When reading the Psalms, one should always remember that the Psalms are both prayer and poetry and that these two features need to always be kept in mid as if either of them is forgotten, this will inevitably cause the Psalms to be not only misused but also greatly misunderstood in their application and significance1. At their very core, the Psalms are poems and prayers composed and made by old testament believers and had been set to be accompanied to music and either sung individually or corporately in Israel. The book of Psalms is intended to give the believer an ideal model for a godly life, which is generally a life that manages go center on God despite the confusion, excitement, trails and challenges of daily life. Kraus points out that Psalms 8 belongs to a group of songs of praise and has been broadly dubbed the song of all creation.2 The song of praise that is found in this Psalm is entirely formed by the addressing of Yahweh in the Psalm in the second person. This hymnic style is noted to be relatively rate and is thought to have first penetrated the Israelite hymn only at a later time. Goldingay identifies Psalms 8 is being the Psalter’s first praise song although he recognizes the fact that both is subject and form are largely untypical. In the Psalm, there is neither an invitation to praise as this is the only praise Psalm that happens to be entirely addressed to God, nor does the Psalter give any reason to praise in a because clause.3 The Author’s Overall Purpose for Writing Psalms 8 was written by David who is widely regard as ancient Israel’s most important king. He was born in Bethlehem as the eighth and youngest son of Jesse. He is later appointed as to the position court musician by King Saul. He goes on to kill the enemy giant Goliath and succeed Saul as king. Under his rule, circa 1010 to 970 B.C. all of Israel’s regions unite and win battles with all their surrounding enemies. At first glance, Psalms 8 appears to be ill-placed in the Psalter. Although the Psalm is located in book 1 which is almost exclusively composed of Davidic psalms that are primarily dominated by a series of individual laments, however David writes Psalms 8 as a praise hymn and it appears to be an aberration. In its context, Psalms 8 can be seen to indicate the Psalter’s general move from lament to praise and as such, it can be seen to be a foretaste of the rejoicing that is to eventually come once the laments have been adequately resolved and YHWH is rightfully honored as being the king over all creation. In the middle of the laments presented by the Psalter, in its immediate context, Psalms 8 appears to stand as a reminder that the Lord is indeed sovereign over all the creation and that he actually has a vested special interest in guaranteeing the wellbeing of the whole creation. The verses presented in Psalms 8 can be used to indicate how the chapter fits into the historical setting of this part of the bible. Verse 2 of the chapter that points out that God has ordained strength from out of the mouth of infants and babes can be considered as a poetic expression of the rather immature strength of a young David as contrasted against the massive brute force of Goliath as is highlighted in 1 Sam. 9:2. The verse goes on to further point out that the almighty God has caused the enemy and the avenger to cease. Goliath was the enemy and his prime intention had been to avenge the defeat of the Philistines at the hands of Jonathan, Saul and Samuel in 1 Sam. 7:11; 14:31; 13:3. Audience Psalms 8 is addressed to the chief musician and was essentially meant to be used in worship at the temple. The historical background aids us in understanding the circumstance of the audience as helps us understand that David essentially wrote this Psalm in celebration of the victories that God had granted him over the battle with Goliath. It addresses the circumstances of the audience as the Psalm has historically been tired to the translation of the gittith as being a winepress in this sense, the psalm appears to be part of the audience’s harvest celebrations and cause them to consider God’s majesty4. When read to the audience the audience would have understood the Psalm to be both wisdom literature and a praise hymn. This is because the opening and closing lines of the chapter are able to establish a tone of praise to the sovereign Lord and the first line gives the reason for this praise as being as a result of YHWH revealing his majesty for all to perceive and enjoy. However, verses 2 through to 8 of the Psalm can be noted to focus more on what God has created and the special status that has been awarded to man within all creation. Observation and Interpretation Descriptive praise Psalms such as Psalms 8 all tend to follow a given basic structure. This structure generally starts by an invitation or call for the audience to praise God, this is immediately followed by an explanation for the reason as to why this praise should be accorded to God, the lat section of descriptive Psalms usually concludes by renewing the call to praise. Goldingay argues that this psalm does not follow this structure as there is no call to praise and three sonorous lines presented in the first verse directly go on to praise YHWH as being mighty and sovereign.5 The phrase above the heavens as used in verse 1 can be noted to transition between wisdom and praise. This phrase is able to effectively combine a number of theological, cosmological and wisdom instruction. In respect to wisdom and instruction, the juxtaposing of foundation and heaven indicates the great power and wisdom that works to shape creation, as such, God is indeed to be praised as he is the sole wisdom behind all creation. Theologically, the use of this phrase actively demonstrates that God happens to be superior to the various heavenly being such as other (false) gods and angels. Cosmologically, the phrase is able to show that God is indeed separate and above all the creation. As heaven is essentially the height of all the created order, being above the heavens has the effect of putting God in a realm in which no other creature can be able to attain and this has the effect of making him worthy of all the praise. In verse 2 of the Psalm, the Psalter describes the unexpected and ubiquitous presence of God’s praise that seems to be all around us even in the mouths of babes and infants. Of note is that these words were used by Christ as justification for the praise that he happened to receive as he was entering the city of Jerusalem for the final time in Matt 21:16.6 This verse also introduces the first illustration in the verse as it points out that God has appointed children and caused the praise that these children give to him to become a power that is great enough to effectively silence all his enemies. This presents a similar conundrum to that presented by Jesus in Mathew 19:14 that shows that children provide what is a trusting and humble model that should be followed by all who seek to follow him. This verse causes the audience to wonder as to why a mighty God would intentionally choose to use those who are small and weak against those who purport themselves to be strong.7 In verses 3-8 of the chapter, the Psalter presents the second illustration of this chapter in the form of what is a puzzling mystery. In verse 3 of the chapter, the Psalter carefully reflects on the vastness of the heavens that God has made and in light of this vastness. In verses 4-8 he incredulously wonders at the reasoning behind the paradox of a great God choosing to be mindful of man who in actually quite small in comparison.8 He points out that God takes good care of man crowning him with glory and honor in all the earth as the sole ruler over all his various works.9 This section o the chapter can be seen to hearken back to Genesis 1:26, where God in his wisdom amazingly decides to make man in his very own image and establishes him as the sole ruler over all the animals.10 The parallelism seen in verses 7-8 of the chapter can be noted to be especially striking in the comprehensive and ever widening nature of the animals that these two verses reference.11 The two verses start off by referencing animals that happen to be in the closest proximity to man, these are the domesticated animals that all depend on man for their survival, the parallelism then goes on to expand and move out to include the wild relatives of these animals as well. In a careful observation, the Psalter notes that even the birds of the air and the fish of the sea which happen to live in two realms in which it is impossible for man to live are still placed under the dominion of man. Psalms 8 then closes by restating the first two cola that are recorded at the start of this psalm, this has the effect of bringing the reader back in a full circle to praise YHWH for the majesty of his name. Psalms 8 essentially identifies man’s position in respect to all creation. A number of similarities have been drawn between Psalms 8 and the second chapter of Hebrews which is noted to include what is an interesting eschatological messianic exposition of Psalms 8. In Hebrews 2, the author notes that God has not yet placed all things under man’s control and in light of this chapter, Psalms 8 is noted to contain an element of hope in the New Earth that has been promised to believers and is yet to come. The author’s intended application of this Psalm is that God’s glory and vast might is unmistakably clear in noticing all creation including young children, stars and moons, birds, fish and other beasts. The author also stresses that the condescension to man by being placed over all these things is overwhelmingly humbling. Application This psalm demonstrates just how a person can look at creation and connect it with God in his wonder at it. In my personal spiritual growth, Psalms 8 causes me to ask myself the question as to whether I am ever still enough to notice God’s creation or am I simply too self-consumed or busy to notice it. The chapter is also a reminder to the church as to the fact that we are created in God’s image. Believers should ask themselves if they are fulfilling their duty of being rulers and stewards of God’s creation. Being stewards of creation place the church in a position whereby it is responsible for the growth of the body of Christ and it should constantly work towards the salvation of those who do not know God. Reflection In working on this paper, I found the chapter to be quite interesting as it forced me to consider the wonders of creation. I found myself lost in thought as I stared at the birds, felt the breeze across my face, looked at the clouds as they moved across the sky at an extremely leisurely pace with none of the hustle that is characteristic of the modern pace of life. Analyzing the chapter however proved to be rather easy to understand as it is short and the parallelism used in the chapter is easy for one to understand. As I was comparing this chapter with those that came before and after it, it was surprising for me to note that Psalms 8 is actually a praise as compared to the lamentations that come before and after it. At the end of the paper, I was rewarded by feeling a deeper appreciation of God and the wonders of his creation. Bibliography Augustine. Expositions of the Psalms, 1-32. Edited by John E. Rotelle. Translated by Maria Boulding. The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century III, 15. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2000. Feld, Edward. Joy, despair, and hope: reading Psalms, 2013. Gariepy, Henry. A treasury of the golden texts of the Bible: 365 of the Bibles greatest texts what they are and what they say to us today. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2004. Goldingay, John. Psalms: Volume 1 (baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms). Baker Academic, 2006. Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Psalms 1-59: a continental commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993 Lawson, Steven J., and Max Ander. Psalms 1-75. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman, 2005. Radzinowicz, Mary Ann. Miltons epics and the Book of Psalms, 1989. Russell, Walt, Playing with fire: how the Bible ignites change in your soul. Colorado Springs, Colo: NavPress. 2000. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Copyright by Thomas Nelson, Inc, 1982. Read More