Recent posts on Poetry of Christ

I continue my 10 posts per month at the disciplined and now scheduled blog here. I am up to psalm 85 and am beginning to imagine a new idea for the organization of the Psalter: who gets to the Holy Place.  What if the Psalter is a series of progressions concerning this question?  Thoughts?  As I work out how to write a short book on the psalms, I am thinking this might provide a theme worth following. It would encompass worship, all uses of קדשׁ, i.e. the holy hill, holiness itself, the sanctuary, the Holy One, the place of Zion, and the city, which gets its last mention in psalm 139.

Thinking out loud - what are the progressions:

1. the first is from psalm 1-7, leading to psalm 8, celebrated by the attempted acrostic 9-10
2. the second is to psalm 15, leading to psalm 16, progressing through to 19 and 24, celebrated by the acrostic 25
3. the third ...
4. the inner cells from 42 to 106 need further thought from me on this theme. Perhaps they are a failure of the progression of human government ...
5. Psalm 107 has much to say of the general human condition and the city as haven.
6. the next sequence is to psalm 110, celebrated by the acrostics 111, 112
7. the next sequence is to psalm 118, and the adoration of the acrostic 119
8. then there are the steps to the Holy in the Psalms of the Ascents 
9. then do we have another progression to psalm 139?
10. the ultimate progression towards praise continues. Does 144 have a special role that it should be followed by the acrostic 145? Or does the final acrostic stand as a celebration of the whole formational process of the Psalter.

As I do my next work through of Books 2 to 4, I will be looking for clues...

One-trick pony

I am sure you all know that over the past 5 years, I have concentrated as a one-trick pony learning and perseverating on the psalms. Before that I had done quite a bit of work on Paul and the Gospels. The other day our Bible Study read the opening of Chronicles and then the epistle to Titus - O those Cretans! and genealogies (Titus 3:9)! Disputes etc.  The author of Titus does not read to me like Paul - not in any translation I have.

This morning I saw a new book on science and religion.  The author is a retired cosmologist and an Anglican. It's hard to produce a book, I know. But can one say something that will be helpful? I don't know. I haven't read this yet. It seems to me to be an important subject that shouldn't get in the way. Another dispute that distracts. I don't think my God is a God of the gaps.  I can't be objective. That requires me to be Escher-like and play the inside and outside in the same image. And it's still an image.  When we've learned time travel, and know as we are known, and are as grave as gravity, maybe we'll be like the self-emptying God we have glimpsed in the death of Jesus (Philippians 2:7) and known through the Spirit (Romans 8:13).

Christmas 1997 - Turkey (no not the bird)

Here's some old news - written 14 years ago (edited slightly) for Kurk

---

No news! A normal year for us for the first time since January 1990. As the Turks say (speaking of our years 1990-1996), Geçmis(h) olsun - may it be in your past.

The year in review. Kirkegaard said most thoughtfully - "we live forwards but understand backwards". Physicists may say that their laws work as well regardless of the direction of time, but we are none the less its apparent prisioners forward. We appear "for a moment and then are gone", (James 4:14) leaving a unique trace in the space-time hologram (Bob 13:2).

So this year had departings: Three of us (Simon from Montreal, Sarah from Halifax, and Bob from Victoria) began the year with the grand Eastern Townships funeral of our sister Diana's husband, Derek. What a sendoff - the whole town and all the surrounding countryside of Brome was in attendance. Bob had not been able to get to the too recent funeral in 1996 of another brother-in-law, Gib Allen, former chief surgeon at the Belleville Hospital and former Reeve of Tweed (following in the steps of our sister Barbara, his wife). More of the whole family was at Derek's funeral than at any other time in recent history - since our sister Janet's death at age 9 almost 33 years to the day earlier.

There was another departing in September as our Rector and friend, Bob MacRae retired from the parish after 20 years. We really have to get used to departings, don't we? Just a week ago, we went to Bob's 65th birthday party in Vancouver.

But I lied - there is news.

• Sarah has gone back to Cambridge where she and Marcus are both tutoring and she is assistant organist at Great St Mary's and graduate organ scholar at Robinson College. This is the continuation of a good beginning - as the Turks say - Saatlun olsun - may it last for hours, (meaning in this case may it last for ever).
• Jeremy recovers steadily; he has been back at work since March, and has just purchased a second hand jeep. Bas(h)inig sag() olsun - may his life be spared. (I can't find the Turkish keys on this keyboard!)
• Simon has finished the academic requirements for his master's in violin performance. Afiyet olsun - may it contribute to his health.
• And James has just been given 15 months of compulsory free room and board in northern Alberta. Canlnlz sag() olsun - may his soul be safe from harm.
• Diana soldiers on alone as manager of the GVYO, her co-manager, Sue MacRae having accompanied her husband to Vancouver.
• Bob has created a new framework for software development, and continues research in first century history.

That's the real news. I know several of you went to Turkey this year. So did we! And we spent a week in the Isles of Greece including three eternal days on Patmos. Some days in the hologram stand out - they really do last for ever. Some weeks, some holidays. Our three recent European trips are like that, and this one is built on the other two. Immediately as we left on holiday, we were there - time out of time in a villa in Turgutreis near ancient Halicarnassus, now Bodrum. We rented the villa from Gary Retzleff of Bishop's University, who recently completed a trip of the silk road journey from China to Turkey. We took day and overnight trips to many major historical sites on the west coast of Turkey.

What can I say about the hospitality, the carpets, the history, the food, the 20-cent loaves of bread, the architecture, the religion, the art - a feast for the heart, mind, and soul. There was a special character to the high roadside curbs. Having a cane was useful. Dogs and cattle guided us on two of our walks in the hills. We swam in the old Roman baths in Hieropolis (Pamukkale) while snow fell in this high country. Then we returned to the sunsets and more temperate weather on the coast. The weekly markets are personal and full of variety, truly a delight to the eyes. Bob's haircut was an experience of a lifetime. Three generations of sculptors hovered over him for the 1.5 hour operation. We bought four carpets! from Süleyman of Selçuk. His sign reads:

Buy from Süleyman or God hammer you!

He took us on a personally guided tour of the hill village of (S)irince where we met his friend with whom he had done military service. He fed us with yufka, a very thin dough, made by his mother and her sister over a open fire. He gave us home made soap, made by hand by his mother from olive pits. Oh Süleyman - how all this touches our hearts. It is like washing with the soap equivalent of gold. Please tell us how to make it. The recipe must be preserved and followed. We in the West have forgotten to live, we are in such a hurry. Our produce is mass produced, polished to boredom. When we finish our work, we don't know how to occupy ourselves. We labour over information, but communicate nothing of value. Oh Turks, do find yourselves, but do not imitate what is the worst of our traditions. Süleyman's carpets adorn the living room and dining room now in Victoria. They are precious - seemingly ageless, and a testimony to a beautiful craft that has spoken for millennia.

Bob and Sue MacRae joined us on our last week in Turkey. We went together to Greece where we read the Apocalyse out loud for a blessing on the very ground where it was written 1902 years ago. Here Bob (MacDonald) by the good graces of Mr. Loukas, got to sing with the cantors from the Orthodox parish of Scala - a special treat for one who reads neither Greek nor their musical notation. Mr Loukas guided us in the holy places. Father Simeone, a monk from the Monastery of St John the Theologian, was also our host. We will remember these days always as a very special gift to which these two men of our day gave a personal touch.

Something happened at the beginning of our era, friends, that has no parallel in space time. It has to do with the container of the hologram, Glory itself that is immanent everywhere and everywhen, turning our passing moments into Life. For a time, it too experienced the fulness of our artistic, sensual, and political life. We have seen traces of this Glory in the past year. The Apostle of the Glory walked in these places that we have walked in. [The Glory itself spoke in Greek in the cave of the Apocalypse. Ego eimi to alpha kai to o. (I am the alpha and the omega). It is said that the bays of Patmos make the shapes of these letters of the Greek alphabet.]

Friends, let us care for one another.

As the Turks say, S(h)erefinize - in your honour/to your health!

Bob and Diana MacDonald

Old cool graphics

Theology seems to me like a fractal sometimes, so I downloaded on my old xp machine a fractal generator from chaoscope - quite easy to use and come up with some interesting images.

So now I'm imagining picking up any single word and spinning it's 'formula' into a sentence, paragraph, or essay with examples about the theology in the Psalter. Possible?

So start with David. Will this eventually spin the royal purple? Or the place of the lilies. Yellow, perhaps. What about Korah and associates? Why are they surrounded by David? And the exile and the lament concerning the monarchy? Or the exile, wisdom, and the acrostics (all the acrostic poems suggest including Lamentations and Proverbs). And the response of Moses in Book 4. What is the shape and colour of the instruction? And what about the Teacher and the method of teaching?

And if we turn the fractal image and turn it again, it changes. So does our reflection on the history and text we have received.

Sir Philip Sydney and Mary Herbert

The act of writing poetry with a constraint goes well beyond 'meaning', and rhyme or pulse.

Here's a comparison of the Hebrew of Psalm 1 with the first poem in that stunning and wonderfully varied collection begun by Sir Philip Sydney and completed by his sister, Mary Herbert, and praised by John Donne.

Can you match the English to the Hebrew? Really quite an insight into the mind of the 16th century poet.

Psalm 1

BeatusVir

אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים וּבְדֶרֶךְ חַטָּאִים לֹא עָמָד וּבְמוֹשַׁב לֵצִים לֹא יָשָׁב	1	He blessed is who neither loosely treads the straying steps as wicked councel leads Nor for bad mates in way of sinners waiteth nor yet himself with idle scorners seateth
כִּי אִם בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה חֶפְצוֹ וּבְתוֹרָתוֹ יֶהְגֶּה יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה	2	But on Gods law his whole delight doth bind Which night and day he calls to marking mind
וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל פַּלְגֵי-מָיִם אֲשֶׁר פִּרְיוֹ יִתֵּן בְּעִתּוֹ וְעָלֵהוּ לֹא יִבּוֹל וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה  יַצְלִיחַ	3	He shall be like a freshly planted tree To which sweet springs of waters neighbours be Whose branches fail not timely fruit to nourish Nor withered leaf shall make it fail to flourish So all the things whereto that man doth bend Shall prosper still with well succeeding end
לֹא-כֵן הָרְשָׁעִים כִּי אִם כַּמֹּץ אֲשֶׁר-תִּדְּפֶנּוּ רוּחַ	4	Such blessing shall not wicked wretches see But like wild chaff with wind shall scattered be
עַל-כֵּן לֹא-יָקֻמוּ רְשָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּט וְחַטָּאִים  בַּעֲדַת צַדִּיקִים	5	For neither shall the men in sin delighted Consist when they to highest doom are cited Ne yet shall suffered be their place to take Where goodly men do their assembly make
כִּי-יוֹדֵעַ יְהוָה דֶּרֶךְ צַדִּיקִים וְדֶרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים  תֹּאבֵד	6	For God doth know and knowing doth approve the trade of them that just proceedings love but they that in sinfull breast do cherish The way they go shall be their way to perish

Weekly commentary

Sometimes I wonder if I should keep reading these. And then every now and then, what Hebb would call random reinforcement, a lovely piece comes along. In this one, I think it would be instructive to compare Jesus death with Moses death - maybe some day, based on all the suggestive hints in the derash - but not according as they might have been intended!

It's worth reading - how would you compare the death of Moses and the death of Jesus?

The whole story

What John Hobbins calls my magnificent obsession continues.  Here's the latest 'summary' with all the posts on the psalms.  Now I need to start thinking how to tell the story - who are the characters, what is the plot, purpose, what is the impact, the setting, etc.  Still wondering how to do this without writing a traditional commentary and yet another new translation. The date is the date I last changed the text of the translation. I have made other changes like adding notes or adjusting roots or prosodic form, but I didn't include those in the list.

Link	Date last changed	Title based on New Frames	Brief
1	2011.08.25	The way of the wicked and the righteous	in which the main characters, wicked and righteous, are introduced, and the invitation to learn a fullness of joy in the judgement is offered
2	2011.09.10	I introduce my king to the kings of the earth	in which we find ourselves in the midst of a struggle, kings set against יְהוָה and his anointed, and the means of escape into a safe haven
3	2011.07.20	A multitude of peoples rising, salvation	how the elect of יְהוָה lives in immediate and present trouble and requires both salvation and the consolation of the presence of יְהוָה.
4	2011.09.13	I call, you hear : you offer, you trust	in which יְהוָה rebukes the elect who affirms confidence for sleep and quiet communion.
5	2011.09.21	My voice in the morning in you	in which the character of יְהוָה is considered and the elect claims a place in the house and holy temple
6	2011.09.13	My life vexed and shamed much	in which the prayer of the elect is suddenly answered and the result is fearful, but the prayer continues.
7	2011.09.13	The judgement of toil and trouble established	in which the persecuted, insisting that it is not appropriate to take responsibility for actions not committed, sees the reality of destruction as established
8	2011.09.13	יְהוָה our Lord how majestic your name in all the earth	in which we marvel at the reign of the child of dust over all the earth under the excellent name of the governor.
9	2011.09.13	Sing a psalm perpetually	in which we begin an acrostic declaring the fragility of the human
10	2011.09.13	Value spurned	in which an incomplete acrostic, concerning the characters in the story: the criminal, the poor, the orphan, the hapless, and the crushed, is ended with a restored letter sequence when יְהוָה arises
11	2011.09.20	Love tested to see the upright	in which we meet the beloved, the upright one in which יְהוָה is pleased
12	2011.07.22	Lips and tongue divide the children of dust	in which there is lament over the faithlessness and divisions of the children of dust
13	2011.09.13	How long?	in which there is an insistent query with intense desire concerning the state of a single individual among the children of dust
14	2011.09.19	There is none good – they dread dread	in which we have insight concerning the general state of the children of dust and its dependency on the action of יְהוָה towards his people
15	2011.07.22	A sevenfold no	with all stubborn and altogether abominable, who then among the children of dust can be complete in the tent of יְהוָה ?
16	2011.09.13	The pleasures and the right hand	in which the elect reveals the tension inherent in the world and chooses the refuge, the portion, and the secure place of trust in which he or she will not be moved and where there is satisfaction of joys in the presence of יְהוָה
17	2011.09.21	Satisfied with the ears and eyes of יְהוָה	in which the poet, held and unmoved, knows judgement and, seeing the enemy as the hand of יְהוָה and the wicked as his sword, desires nothing but to awaken in the likeness of יְהוָה
18	2011.09.18	The servant, complete, secure	in which passion for יְהוָה is revealed of a servant in the midst of death and destruction moved by gentleness and destined for greatness even though the enemies are too strong
19	2011.09.14	Night to night even to the extremities	in which we hear the silent promise of God that is everywhere spoken through the heavens day to day and night to night and gives light and warmth like the teaching, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, and judgements of יְהוָה
20	2011.07.23	Holy answer, we are filled	in which the people pray for the anointed
21	2011.09.15	Strength to him and blessing set	in which the prayer for the king is considered answered
22	2011.09.15	Praise to the hart of the dawn in the congregation	in which uniqueness is surrounded by animals, and yet is not distant from God and will praise him in the great congregation where all will eat and worship
23	2011.09.19	-	in which we know a respite such as is never far away, even with distress arrayed before us
24	2011.09.15	This mighty king of glory enters	in which the king of glory enters and we hear a repetition of questions
25	2011.09.15	I wait, in covenant teach me your paths	in which the elect celebrates the lifting up of the king of glory on behalf of all, but reminds God of trouble and the need for pardon
26	2011.09.16	Walk in completeness	in which the poet offers to be the elect
27	2011.09.16	I seek, you will not forsake	in which the elect exalts יְהוָה in his beauty and allows questions of a fearful nature
28	2011.09.16	Hear the voice of my supplication	in which the elect does not want יְהוָה to be silent to supplication
29	2011.09.16	Ascribe beauty, break the cedars of Lebanon	in which יְהוָה is clearly not silent to supplication
30	2011.09.16	Acceptance	in which the elect gains in confidence because of healing received
31	2011.09.21	Wasting away but a strong rock intervenes	in which the elect expresses full confidence in יְהוָה God of truth, and by example, encourages others who hope in יְהוָה
32	2011.09.17	Insight re transgression and iniquity	in which the poet with insight notes the working of happiness related to sin forgiven or lifted up
33	2011.09.17	Sing, counsel stands	in which is celebrated the poet's trust in יְהוָה who made the heavens and the earth, who understands the turmoil of the nations and of the sea and the deeps, and whose eye is on those who fear him
34	2011.09.16	The madness of taste, nothing lacking	in which we play the third of eight alphabet games and almost a perfect one and we see that these poets liked games with letters and language
35	2011.09.17	Contend my contention	in which the elect prays for judgement in the midst of contention
36	2011.09.17	Light in mischief	in which the oracle of the wicked is seen in the light of יְהוָה
37	2011.09.17	Burning instead of delight	in which we receive good advice against considering the fortune of others
38	2011.09.17	To remember the referee of the flesh	in which the poet retains hope because the face of wrath is so clear
39	2011.09.17	Futility, she is bound	in which the poet prepared to resist sin especially with the tongue, bursts out with a demand to יְהוָה as to the what for of this futile exercise
40	2011.09.04	Behold, continually unrestrained	in which we read that the end to be known is continually unrestrained mercy
41	2011.08.25	In me amen	in which trouble continues, but so does the completeness we have entered and are in: וַאֲנִי בְּתֻמִּי תָּמַכְתָּ בִּי
42	2011.09.16	Longing – where?	in which through insight a deep longing is expressed concerning the depths of being and the desire for presence
43	2011.08.25	-	in which the poet prays for judgement in the grip of an enemy
44	2011.09.17	Why is this flock set up as reproach?	in which we hear the corporate voice clearly
45	2011.08.25	Beautiful father's daughter brought, palaces under sceptre	in which the marriage of the king is celebrated, to the joy and inspiration of both poet and community
46	2011.09.19	She will not be moved	in which the city of God is introduced
47	2011.07.23	Il monte et voilà - un cri de joie	in which we are invited to shout and sing psalms because of the triumphant offering of the elect
48	2011.09.16	The city of our God, the town of a great king	in which we learn how to see the holy city
49	2011.09.19	The house of the proverbial precious dust like beasts	in which the elect riddles us a parable concerning who can afford to live
50	2011.09.19	Silence – goats to you	in which God instructs the people of his mercy with respect to sacrifice
51	2011.08.25	Blot out - purify - wash, then joy indeed	in which the anointed, in sin, finds himself facing the righteousness of God
52	2011.07.23	Deceit and calamity	in which the capacity of the tongue for destruction and deceit is made clear
53	2011.09.19	-	in which we are reminded of the difficulty of finding one doing good
54	2011.07.22	-	in which David, the fugitive, is again betrayed but also has supporters
55	2011.09.19	The inner close combat	in which we see what David sees, violence within the city
56	2011.08.25	Will ye no come back again?	in which we see the fugitive elect daily confident in the presence of God
57	2011.08.30	Be roused	in which the elect, still fugitive, among lions, continues in praise
58	2011.09.20	Like hot snake charming	in which the righteous washes his footfall in the blood of the wicked
59	2011.09.20	Dogs in the evening	in which the elect is again watched, his enemy having sent those who are set to take his life
60	2011.09.16	The last miktam, inscribed geography	in which the land is defined
61	2011.07.22	my vow	in which we see an individual poet, not the king, living for ever in the tent of God because of a shared inheritance
62	2011.09.20	of lies - mute	in which surely silence is a good option
63	2011.07.21	A psalm of joy	in which we learn of the king's ecstasy in his God
64	2011.09.21	suddenly – to plan	in which we engage in target practise
65	2011.09.16	drips for the extremes - even in noise	in which God provides for the earth and soothes the tumult of its tribes
66	2011.09.21	refining	in which we are instructed in the content of a prayer of praise and the rationale for it
67	2011.08.03	-	in which we identify God's judgement with the harvest of the earth
68	2011.08.25	captivity captive – riding the storm	in which we see God's determination to be present in his holy hill, to drive away wickedness, to capture captives, to receive gifts in spite of the jealousy of other hills
69	2011.09.20	sinking in overflowing floods in depth	in which the elect is sunk in a wine from the deep and there is no foothold
70	2011.07.24	hurry	in which we are asked to remember
71	2011.09.12	the declarations of youth and age	in which the poet sings of the one who desires for us to be one in him and he in us
72	2011.07.24	the needy the sun, moon, and Sheba	in which we see the full scope of the role of the Anointed
73	2011.09.19	how is the heart touched so	in which the poet identifies with both the beastly nature of wickedness and the bodily nature of the good
74	2011.08.25	senseless, the signs and the appointed place	in which the poet laments the destruction of the sanctuary and appeals to both creation and covenant for protection of the turtledove from the senseless and the adversary
75	2011.07.26	the horn	in which the red cup of judgment is drained to the dregs
76	2011.09.01		in which human heat as clothing is worn by God
77	2011.09.05	remembering the wonderful prodigality	in which we prepare to remember
78	2011.09.20	commanding and guiding an imprisoned and provocative people	in which is presented the entire epic of Israel for our instruction
79	2011.09.09	the pouring out of Jerusalem	in which the home of Jacob is devoured
80	2011.09.13	the rooted vine in tears	in which is a prayer for the presence of salvation for the vine rooted in tears
81	2011.09.13		in which while recapitulating a determined hope we hear what the thunder said
82	2011.08.27	judge in favour of the weak	in which the consequences of unjust judgement are spelled out
83	2011.09.16	no no no - not silence	in which the poet prays that the enemy in covenant against God might come to know God's name through their own disgrace and vexation
84	2011.09.16	the courts of יְהוָה	in which the poet meditates on finding a home
85	2011.09.04		in which the turning of God's people is considered
86	2011.09.08		in which David makes an unexpected appearance
87	2011.07.25	who was born here?	in which the citizens of the City of God are revealed
88	2011.07.25	in a pit, entombed	in which the elect is in a jam
89	2011.09.14	of anointed and sworn to build – creation not profaned	in which the poet laments the failure of the Davidic monarchy
90	2011.08.25	of transient change	in which Moses intercedes for the elect and for all
91	2011.08.25		in which we bidden exchange feathers for wrath in the shadow of the Sufficient
92	2011.08.16	about luxuriant flourishing	in which the righteous is likened to a palm tree
93	2011.08.15	the rivers	in which crushing waves cannot drown the majesty on high
94	2011.08.25	how long vengeance - will the one who fashions also annihilate?	in which the one divided finds correction and consolation
95	2011.08.25	them!	in which it is revealed that there remains a rest for God
96	2011.08.25	the world	in which the invitation is given again to worship in the honour of holiness for the judgment of the world in righteousness
97	2011.08.25		in which the earth is invited to rejoice for the fire that is from within the presence and the many righteous to give thanks for the remembrance of holiness
98	2011.08.25	on the harp	in which a new song is invited for the salvation seen to the ends of the earth
99	2011.08.26		in which we are in the presence of the holy
100	2011.08.27		in which the invitation to thanksgiving continues
101	2011.08.24		in which the poet records intent and the response is of destruction
102	2011.09.04	of dried up herbage	in which the poet realizes dependence and the need for renewal
103	2011.08.19	nurturing compassion - as benefits the grasses' flush	in which the blessings are piled on plural to plurality and all the hosts are invited to bless in return
104	2011.09.14	drink from the upper rooms	in which we review the created order
105	2011.08.31	of Abraham and portents - borders	in which the promises and statutes are rehearsed from Abraham to Moses
106	2011.09.14	reeds - Moses in the breach - extermination, plague, and idols	in which an unknown individual makes a plea to be remembered when the people come into their acceptance
107	2011.09.16	the cry, distress - hunger, iron, waves, tempest and fruit	in which, having reviewed the testimony of Moses for the elect, the invitation to redemption is extended retroactively to the whole world
108	2011.08.30		in which we recall both the prepared heart and inscribed geography
109	2011.09.02	the accuser, blot out, curse progeny to wandering	in which an individual suffers a severe curse as one who must come to judgment
110	2011.08.31		in which the king as priest drinks from the torrent in the way
111	2011.09.16	Verily his righteousness stands in perpetuity	in which the poet plays the first of two praises reflecting the redemption of the elect people
112	2011.08.31		in which the poet plays the second of two praises reflecting the redemption of the prepared heart
113	2011.08.31	to live with the nobility	in which the protagonists, the poor and needy, are made to sit with princes
114	2011.09.19	lambkin and little hills skipping	in which the process of the redemptive birthing of the earth is recalled
115	2011.07.22	trust and blessing	in which all are included in the blessing
116	2011.09.07	now please	in which the individual celebrates the cup of salvation
117	2011.09.01		in which all are again included
118	2011.09.01	the circumcision	in which the elect is refused but becomes the headstone
119	2011.09.21	I note the pathway to the extraordinary space	in which the poet expresses his adoration for and cleaves to all the aspects of the instruction that are available to humanity
120	2011.09.02		the first of the ascending steps to the Holy - woe to me for I live a charade
121	2011.09.19	no snoozing	the second of the ascending steps to the Holy - keeping
122	2011.09.16		the third of the ascending steps to the Holy - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
123	2011.08.31	of contempt	the 4th of the ascending steps to the Holy - eyes
124	2011.08.31	unless ... then - we escape the snare	the 5th of the ascending steps to the Holy - escape
125	2011.09.16		the 6th of the ascending steps to the Holy - mountains
126	2011.09.16		the 7th of the ascending steps to the Holy - joy
127	2011.08.23	in vain	the middle of the ascending steps to the Holy - building the house
128	2011.07.21		the 9th of the ascending steps to the Holy - children
129	2011.07.25		the 10th of the ascending steps to the Holy - troubled from youth
130	2011.08.31		the 11th of the ascending steps to the Holy - forgiveness
131	2011.08.31		the 12th of the ascending steps to the Holy - weaned
132	2011.09.19	rest, Mighty One, priest	the 13th of the ascending steps to the Holy - the rest of יְהוָה
133	2011.07.20		the 14th of the ascending steps to the Holy - unity running down as oil, as dew
134	2011.07.21		the 15th of the ascending steps to the Holy - blessing on the verge
135	2011.09.03		in the courts of יְהוָה sing a psalm to his name for pleasure
136	2011.09.16	in parts	in which we praise for creation and redemption for his mercy endures for ever
137	2011.09.03	Babel, expose	in which remembering is expressed from many voices
138	2011.09.06		in which all give thanks for the completion of the work of יְהוָה for the sake of the elect
139	2011.09.19	from you examine me	in which the elect knows the reserving of יְהוָה even through death and awakening
140	2011.09.07	violence	in which fragility and the need for protection are not forgotten
141	2011.09.07	traps	in which the elect realizes culpability even when traps are set
142	2011.09.07	appeal	in which prayer continues
143	2011.09.03		in which the poet continues prayer and looks for an end to enemies through God's loving kindness recognizing that no one is justified in God's presence
144	2011.09.08	set me free with a bolt of lightning	in which the poet prays for both individual and people, a fullness of creation
145	2011.09.08		in which the poet with an army of kaf's sounds the completion of the Psalter and its universality
146	2011.09.03		The first of the final Hallels - freedom, sight, consolation, love, preservation, restoration, subversion
147	2011.09.08	favour	The second of the final Hallels - the word runs swiftly
148	2011.09.02		The third of the final Hallels - the praise of all creation
149	2011.09.08		The 4th of the final Hallels in which the חֲסִידִים bind the kings
150	2011.07.27	cymbals	The final Hallel, the praise of all that breathes

Presentation experiment

Presentation is here in PDF developed from Open Office presentations.  No scheduled date yet. The flash export from Open Office left the images grainy. And it can't handle the way I do tables.

I am having my difficulties thinking that I have not done anything except 'read' the psalms and 'report' some surface features of the landscape.  This marvelous picture of the Milky Way seems to say there are more things to reveal. HT James McGrath.

The heavens are from the books of the glory of God

and what his hands make is evident from the surface

Day to day ferments promise

and night to night breathes knowledge

Draft as a Pah Point

Here is a hierarchic decomposition of my prior draft text - suitable for electronic presentation via Power point or similar

Slide 1
The Psalter kata Bob
A joke

Slide 2
Seeing the Psalter
To open the eyes of the blind
Genesis 3 makes opening the eyes a special experience
Isaiah 35:6 repeats the phrase (only here is it repeated)  אָז תִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי עִוְרִים and psalm 146.8 shows who does the opening of eyes יְהוָה פֹּקֵחַ עִוְרִים
(work on slide 2 - subtlety required)

Slide 3

Seeing the psalms? They're poetry
Language no longer available aurally
Performance practice is at best inferred.
To see is to hear

Slide 4
Three grand principles:
parallels,
recurrence,
and prosody

Slide 5

Parallelisms or the rhyming ideas in the poems are clearest in the performance practice of plainsong and chanting.
Such patterns have been studied under the term, parallellismus membrorum,
coined by Robert Lowth in the 18th century.

For example psalm 18.21 contains two parallel similar thoughts

יְהוָה will reward me for my righteousness

for the purity of my hands he will turn to me

This parallel is in the form a-b-b-a.  There are many variations, a-b-a-b, a-b not b, not a etc etc etc and with trios and more.
(additional examples - without much comment)

Slide 6

Recurrence
A Rabbi Reads the Psalms, Jonathan Magonet
Read the psalms with coloured pencils and circle the words that repeat.

In the case of Psalm 18, verse 21 is itself the top of a frame.

יִגְמְלֵנִי יְהוָה כְּצִדְקִי כְּבֹר יָדַי יָשִׁיב לִי	21	יְהוָה will reward me for my righteousness for the purity of my hands he will turn to me
כִּי שָׁמַרְתִּי דַּרְכֵי יְהוָה וְלֹא רָשַׁעְתִּי מֵאֱלֹהָי	22	for I have kept the ways of יְהוָה and I have not been wicked with my God
כִּי כָל מִשְׁפָּטָיו לְנֶגְדִּי וְחֻקֹּתָיו לֹא אָסִיר מֶנִּי	23	for all his judgments are before me and his statutes I will not put aside from me
וָאֱהִי תָמִים עִמּוֹ וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר מֵעֲו‍ֹנִי	24	and I will be complete with him and I will keep myself from my iniquity
וַיָּשֶׁב יְהוָה לִי כְצִדְקִי כְּבֹר יָדַי לְנֶגֶד עֵינָיו	25	and יְהוָה turned to me for my righteousness for the purity of my hands before his eyes

Slide 6

Selected recurring words in relative order - psalm 18.19-25

Word and gloss * first usage	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Vs	Root
כצדקי for my righteousness	░								21	צדק
* כבר for the purity of		░							21	ברר
ידי my hands			░						21	יד
ישׁיב he will turn				░					21	שׁוב
* לי to me					░				21	לי
שׁמרתי I have kept						░			22	שׁמר
ולא and not							░		22	לא
* לנגדי are before me								░	23	נגד
לא not							░		23	לא
ואשׁתמר and I will keep myself						░			24	שׁמר
וישׁב and turned				░					25	שׁוב
* לי to me					░				25	לי
כצדקי for my righteousness	░								25	צדק
* כבר for the purity of		░							25	ברר
ידי my hands			░						25	יד
* לנגד before								░	25	נגד

Slide 7

How should one manage the lines in a poem?
2's and 3's.
words in a line,
and lines in a verse,
and verses in a stanza.

slide 8
Enclitic nature of Hebrew.
So psalm 18:21 in Hebrew is

יִגְמְלֵנִי יְהוָה כְּצִדְקִי

כְּבֹר יָדַי יָשִׁיב לִי

7 'words' in Hebrew, 3 and 4 in each of the two lines - 18 'words' in English, 7 and 11 in the two lines.

Grammatical letters are in green. (22 letters, 2 sets)

slide 9
Consequences - for thinking, for presentation, for reading

All the psalms,
Proverbs,
Job,
the Song and other songs within the narrative portions,
all the prophets, and furthermore,
much of the so called prose

also makes heavy use of recurrence within its rhetorical framework

Slide 10
(E.g. Jonah, the whole story organized around 7 words).
Descent
Sea
Fish
Call
Turn
City
Tender Plant

slide 11
the canticles in Luke,
the sermons of Jesus,
and the writing of John.

slide 12
frames and meaning
to apprehend and respond

form follows function
function is obscured by disorder or a failure to perceive the form.

If function or meaning is framed in the original tongue,
then surely we should preserve the frames in translation.

KJV 400th continuous read-through

Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria has begun a Biblethon, a complete reading out loud in the Nave of the King James Translation. I listened to a couple of hours today, following along in my Tanakh.  This was an experiment - following where I have no English clues as to where we are.  One reader asked me at a hiatus - what chapter did we stop at? I had come into the church at the spot about bricks and straw and then a new reader had taken over without announcing the beginning of her chapters, but fortunately I had just found my place - so I said: chapter 12 of Exodus.  And he said - Oh - that's where I start.  So he started.

It's like my first experience of reading musical scores 50 years ago - you try and find clues as to where the reader is, then you catch up and keep up.

Tonight there is a performance of the Song of Songs by a theatre company. Same company doing Job on Thursday. Must continue.  I read tomorrow (Esdras) and Friday (Hosea).  (Remember). I feel very irresponsible not checking the translation of Esdras.

How to present what I have seen - a draft

This post encapsulates the principles I desired to follow over the past 5 years. Where shall I go? What else should I read on this?

Why do I insist on seeing the psalms? I take them as a public declaration of both liturgical practice and personal delight. I need to see them, because the language is no longer available aurally in my time, and the performance practice is at best inferred. But in seeing them, I begin to hear also.

As I learned Hebrew, the language they were first written in, I saw patterns that were not obvious in English translations, the language I had first learned them in. Some patterns are relatively clear in some translations. For example, the parallelisms or the rhyming ideas in the poems are clearest in the performance practice of plainsong and chanting. Such patterns have been studied under the term, parallellismus membrorum,  coined by Robert Lowth in the 18th century. For example psalm 18.21 contains two parallel similar thoughts

יְהוָה will reward me for my righteousness

for the purity of my hands he will turn to me

In this case also, we have an action verb followed by a reason, then a parallel reason followed by an action verb. In this case reward me and turn to me are rhyming ideas, as are for my righteousness and for the purity of my hands. In the thought process, this parallel is in the form a-b-b-a.

These parallels are important, but there are other words also that frame and support parallelism. In a recent book, A Rabbi Reads the Psalms, Jonathan Magonet instructs the reader to read the psalms with coloured pencils and circle the words that repeat. In a close word for word translation, this is barely possible, but no translations into English that I know of are close enough.

To get the full extent of the word play and the recurring patterns or word usage, I had to read in Hebrew and translate in a new way to allow the frame evident in the Hebrew to play its same role in an English version. In the case of Psalm 18, verse 21 is itself part of a frame. It contains several words that are exactly repeated in verse 25, thus framing verses 22-24 which state the speaker's actions that lead to the reward of the presence. This type of recurrence I have shown in tables. The pattern in the table below immediately reveals the recurring words.

Selected recurring words in relative order - psalm 18.19-25

Word and gloss * first usage	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Vs	Stem
כצדקי for my righteousness	░								21	צדק
* כבר for the purity of		░							21	ברר
ידי my hands			░						21	יד
ישׁיב he will turn				░					21	שׁוב
* לי to me					░				21	לי
שׁמרתי I have kept						░			22	שׁמר
ולא and not							░		22	לא
* לנגדי are before me								░	23	נגד
לא not							░		23	לא
ואשׁתמר and I will keep myself						░			24	שׁמר
וישׁב and turned				░					25	שׁוב
* לי to me					░				25	לי
כצדקי for my righteousness	░								25	צדק
* כבר for the purity of		░							25	ברר
ידי my hands			░						25	יד
* לנגד before								░	25	נגד

A third pattern also emerged. How should one manage the lines in a poem? It has been suggested by John Hobbins at ancienthebrewpoetry.com that the Hebrew poets grouped by 2's and 3's. The pattern works quite well for words in a line, and lines in a verse, and verses in a stanza. The pattern works at the word level because of the enclitic nature of Hebrew. Conjunctions and prepositions, helping verbs, and so on are all clumped together in a Hebrew 'word' as prefixes and suffixes on a stem or root. As a result, a Hebrew poetic line perhaps expressing the first part of a parallel, is typically two or three words, and occasionally 4, rarely 5. Ideas are expressed with very few lexical words because the words are complex, comprised of a stem which is generally two or three characters, and the grammatical affixes. So psalm 18:21 in Hebrew is

יִגְמְלֵנִי יְהוָה כְּצִדְקִי

כְּבֹר יָדַי יָשִׁיב לִי

7 'words' in Hebrew, 3 and 4 in each of the two lines - 18 'words' in English, 7 and 11 in the two lines. In the above, the grammatical letters are in green. Each line thus has three distinct root words. In my work I form the Hebrew according to this prosodic rule, and I put the English beside it line for line, writing the English to correspond to the pairs and triplets of the Hebrew thought process as expressed in each poetic line. (The full text of the psalm is here.)

These three patterns: parallels, recurrence, and prosody all play a part in the way in which I want to see each poem.

A very large proportion of the Hebrew Bible is written in poetic form. All the psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Song and other songs within the narrative portions, all the prophets, and furthermore, much of the so called prose also makes heavy use of recurrence within its rhetorical framework (E.g. Jonah, the whole story organized around 7 words). Moreover, much of the New Testament takes its flavour from the thought process that is evident in Hebrew poetry. For example, the canticles in Luke, the sermons of Jesus, and the writing of John. The form frames the expression of meaning and therefore governs how we are to apprehend and respond to it.  The design principle is that form follows function, and its corollary is that function is obscured by disorder or a failure to perceive the form. If function or meaning is framed in the original tongue, then surely we should preserve the frames in translation.

I'm reviewing the situation...

Advertising - I am reviewing all my psalms again from the beginning. Eventually I will catch up with PoC's postings (which I am also reviewing in advance of their scheduled publication date). This week I did all of Book 1, republishing all the translations with a few little tweaks. As I work through Book 2, I notice a substantial comment on Psalm 45 which of course follows the great exilic Psalm 44. Why is it that in the Psalter, this love marriage happens within the immediate context of exile?  Is it an accident?  Does Paul take the image of exile (he cites Psalm 44)  lightly?

Oh my aching sides and tearing eyes

Hysterics have subsided for a moment. I must read out loud as part of a King James marathon reading next week, 2 Esdras Chapter 11. I swear it's a dead parrot.

Heeeeelllllpppppp - how will I avoid breaking down into hysterics again?  Tell me something serious. Here's a bit of it... I challenge you to read it out loud without breaking up

11 Then saw I a dream, and, behold, there came up from the sea an eagle, which had twelve feathered wings, and three heads.
2 And I saw, and, behold, she spread her wings over all the earth, and all the winds of the air blew on her, and were gathered together.
3 And I beheld, and out of her feathers there grew other contrary feathers; and they became little feathers and small.
4 But her heads were at rest: the head in the midst was greater than the other, yet rested it with the residue.
5 Moreover I beheld, and, lo, the eagle flew with her feathers, and reigned upon earth, and over them that dwelt therein.
6 And I saw that all things under heaven were subject unto her, and no man spake against her, no, not one creature upon earth.
7 And I beheld, and, lo, the eagle rose upon her talons, and spake to her feathers, saying,
8 Watch not all at once: sleep every one in his own place, and watch by course:
9 But let the heads be preserved for the last.
10 And I beheld, and, lo, the voice went not out of her heads, but from the midst of her body.
11 And I numbered her contrary feathers, and, behold, there were eight of them.
12 And I looked, and, behold, on the right side there arose one feather, and reigned over all the earth;
13 And so it was, that when it reigned, the end of it came, and the place thereof appeared no more: so the next following stood up. and reigned, and had a great time;
14 And it happened, that when it reigned, the end of it came also, like as the first, so that it appeared no more.
15 Then came there a voice unto it, and said,
16 Hear thou that hast borne rule over the earth so long: this I say unto thee, before thou beginnest to appear no more,
17 There shall none after thee attain unto thy time, neither unto the half thereof.
18 Then arose the third, and reigned as the other before, and appeared no more also.
19 So went it with all the residue one after another, as that every one reigned, and then appeared no more.
20 Then I beheld, and, lo, in process of time the feathers that followed stood up upon the right side, that they might rule also; and some of them ruled, but within a while they appeared no more:
21 For some of them were set up, but ruled not.
22 After this I looked, and, behold, the twelve feathers appeared no more, nor the two little feathers:
23 And there was no more upon the eagles body, but three heads that rested, and six little wings.
24 Then saw I also that two little feathers divided themselves from the six, and remained under the head that was upon the right side: for the four continued in their place.
25 And I beheld, and, lo, the feathers that were under the wing thought to set up themselves and to have the rule.
26 And I beheld, and, lo, there was one set up, but shortly it appeared no more.
27 And the second was sooner away than the first.
28 And I beheld, and, lo, the two that remained thought also in themselves to reign:
29 And when they so thought, behold, there awaked one of the heads that were at rest, namely, it that was in the midst; for that was greater than the two other heads.
30 And then I saw that the two other heads were joined with it.
31 And, behold, the head was turned with them that were with it, and did eat up the two feathers under the wing that would have reigned.
32 But this head put the whole earth in fear, and bare rule in it over all those that dwelt upon the earth with much oppression; and it had the governance of the world more than all the wings that had been.
33 And after this I beheld, and, lo, the head that was in the midst suddenly appeared no more, like as the wings.
34 But there remained the two heads, which also in like sort ruled upon the earth, and over those that dwelt therein.
35 And I beheld, and, lo, the head upon the right side devoured it that was upon the left side.

Do I need prayer?

Every time on blogger that I publish a psalm translation, I am paired with a source of online prayer requests and in auto-read I see and read their advertisement. Perhaps it is in the random nature of language that the future might pray for the past. Pray, O ye who pray, by all means for David, the Beloved, the turtledove, the uniqueness and remember his troubles. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

I don't have a humour category - but that is where this should be filed. Totally serious humour like most of the Bible.

Psalm 111 - a translation joke

גְּדֹלִים מַעֲשֵׂי יְהוָה דְּרוּשִׁים לְכָל חֶפְצֵיהֶם

2

Great are the deeds of יְהוָה, Delight of all that search them out.

You will notice that I am translating as acrostic - this makes it fun. But in doing the acrostic I managed to reverse the 'meaning' - yet both are true. As I have noted at the post

note the b part reverses the sense for the English - but both senses are fully true - they are sought out by those who delight in them and are the delight of all that seek them out. This process is called knowledge on the one hand and science on the other.

By all means suggest alternatives if you wish

Do you want to be happy? Read the psalms.

Warning - long post. This is a quick summary of structural elements I have found in the Psalter. Some of it is obvious and easily observable on the surface, some not. Check my counting.

The Psalter is comprised of 150 chapters divided into 5 Books. The chapters are variously inscribed,

• 94 with a name, 
• 56 with a genre, 
• 51 for the Leader, 
• 47 with additional notes perhaps referring to an incident recorded elsewhere in the Bible about the named person, some of these with instruments and or perhaps the name of the tune to which they might be sung. 

These inscriptions appear to be a somewhat random collection of curatorial notes at least at first glance.

The Books

• Book 1, using the Hebrew numbering scheme, has 41 chapters. 
• Book 2 from 42 to 72 is 31 chapters. 
• Book 3 from 73 to 89 has 17 chapters. 
• Book 4 from 90 to 106, also 17 chapters, and 
• Book 5 from 107 to 150 has 44 chapters. 

The Greek translation has a variation in numbering. Psalms 9-10 are numbered as one chapter. This produces a difference of 1 in all chapters from 11 up to 147 which in the Greek is divided at Hebrew verse 11. (Psalms 42-43 feel like one poem but neither the Greek nor the Hebrew combines them. The Greek also has differences in the inscriptions. E.g. Psalm 43 is pertaining to David! This undercuts the structures laid out below.)

• Three chapters in Book 1 have no name in the inscription. These are 1, 2, and  33. Chapter 10 is clearly a continuation of the poem of chapter 9. All other psalms in Book 1 are of David.
• Four chapters in Book 2 have no name in the inscription. These are 43, 66, 67, 71 but chapters 43 is clearly a continuation of the poem  or chapter 42. These are of the children of Korah (42-49), of Asaph (50), and of David (51-65, 68-70) and one of Solomon (72).
• All chapters in Book 3 have a name in the inscription, of Asaph (73-83), of the children of Korah (84, 85, 87), of David (86), of Hayman (88), of Ethan (89). 
• In Book 4 only three chapters have a name in the inscription (90 of Moses, 101, 103 of David). 13 are without a name.
• In Book 5, 17 chapters have a name (of David 108-110, 122, 124, 131-133, 138-145 and of Solomon 127). 27 are without a name.
• David is the only one who has at least one chapter inscribed to him in each book.

For the moment I have called these chapters. They are usually called psalms, but only 57 are actually called a psalm in their inscription. Of the others,

• 30 are called song (and several of these carry both song and psalm in their inscription), 
• 13 are labeled maskil (insight), 
• 6 are labeled miktam (written/inscribed), 
• 4 prayer,
• one reel, and
• 2 oracle.  

Of these specialized genres Book 4 has one song. Book 4 is the sparsest when it comes to inscriptions. But all the 150 chapters are poems in a unique style of word usage and dialogue among poet, reader, community, and God. They are all sung and therefore, under the special rubric 'psalm', they can all be considered psalms, prayers, and songs. And all will give insight, all are written, and all will speak or cause one to dance (or writhe). Now the name for them in Hebrew is תְּהִלּים Tehillim, a masculine plural. This word occurs in the feminine in Psalm 22:4

וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ

יוֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל

But you are holy

seated on the praises of Israel

So one could (and certainly in retrospect having read them from cover to cover - a task for which there is no substitute) consider the whole 150 chapters as praises.

After the introductory 2 psalms, a collection of psalms inscribed to David begins the Psalter. Before the final Hallel, Psalms 146-150, a collection of psalms inscribed to David ends the Psalter. This is where we are going when we begin Book 1, into the first forest of largely individual first person singular poems that follow the opening pair of psalms.

Psalm 1 introduces the problem space, the wicked and the righteous, and a definition of one who is happy. Psalm 2 introduces the kings and the anointed king. Psalms 3 to 7 are a group of individual psalms recognizing trouble. Trouble and enemies are present throughout. Psalm 8 is a celebration of the governance of יְהוָה and derives in part from the creation story. There is an echo of Psalm 8 in Psalm 144. Psalms 9-10 begin a playful set of acrostics. These acrostic poems occur in the Psalter only in Books 1 (9-10, 25, 34, 37) and 5 (111, 112, 119, 145).

The Psalter shows marks of design indicating that it is more than a random collection of poetry. The first mark shows at the beginning and the end. Robert Cole (An integrated reading of Psalms 1 and 2 JSOT 98 (2002) 75-88) has, through observation of several shared words between Psalms 1, 2, and 149, demonstrated that they form such an outer frame for the Psalter. Cole shows the repetition of a whole series of words from Psalm 2 in the last 5 verses of Psalm 149. This is easily verified by a table such as follows. Observe how 6 words in verses 7 and 8 of Psalm 149 are used in the same order as the corresponding words in Psalm 2.

Selected recurring words in relative order for Psalms --2,149

Word and gloss * first usage

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Vs

Stem

* גוים the-many nations

░

--2.1

גוי

ולאמים and the-many tribes

░

--2.1

לאם

* מלכי these kinglets of

░

--2.2

מלך

* ארץ earth

░

--2.2

ארץ

* מוסרותימו their monopoly

░

--2.3

יסר

* באפו in confrontation

░

--2.5

אף

* ואני I myself

░

--2.6

אני

* מלכי my own king

░

--2.6

מלך

ציון Zion

░

--2.6

ציון

בני my son

░

--2.7

בן

* אני I

░

--2.7

אני

* גוים those many nations as

░

--2.8

גוי

* ארץ the earth

░

--2.8

ארץ

ברזל strength

░

--2.9

ברזל

* מלכים kinglets all

░

--2.10

מלך

* הוסרו be warned

░

--2.10

יסר

שׁפטי you many who make judgments

░

--2.10

שׁפט

* ארץ earthly

░

--2.10

ארץ

וגילו and rejoice

░

--2.11

גיל

* אפו his anger

░

--2.12

אף

כל the many who

░

--2.12

כל

הללו Hallelu

░

149.1

הלל

יה Yah

░

149.1

יה

שׁירו sing

░

149.1

שׁיר

שׁיר a song

░

149.1

שׁיר

תהלתו praise

░

149.1

הלל

חסידים the many who know mercy

░

149.1

חסד

בעשׂיו in that one who made him

░

149.2

עשׂה

בני the children of

░

149.2

בן

ציון Zion

░

149.2

ציון

יגילו rejoice

░

149.2

גיל

במלכם in their king

░

149.2

מלך

יהללו let them praise

░

149.3

הלל

חסידים the mercied many

░

149.5

חסד

בכבוד in glory

░

149.5

כבד

לעשׂות making

░

149.7

עשׂה

בגוים in the many nations

░

149.7

גוי

בלאמים for the tribes

░

149.7

לאם

מלכיהם kinglets

░

149.8

מלך

ונכבדיהם these glorious ones

░

149.8

כבד

ברזל durable

░

149.8

ברזל

לעשׂות to make

░

149.9

עשׂה

משׁפט judgment

░

149.9

שׁפט

לכל to all

░

149.9

כל

חסידיו under his mercy

░

149.9

חסד

הללו Hallelu

░

149.9

הלל

יה Yah

░

149.9

יה

The words state that it is those to whom God has shown mercy in covenant who will carry out the judgement. One could summarize the whole Psalter as “The formation of those to whom mercy in covenant has been shown.”

Opening and closing the Psalter

[Psalms 1-2 ... Psalm 149]

Within the envelope of the beginning and end are two groups of psalms attributed to or dedicated to or in the style of David. This is the Davidic outer circle, Psalms 3-41 and 138-145.

Outer circle of psalms with the inscription to/of David
[Book 1................................................................end of Book 5]

[Psalms 1-2 [David, Psalms 3-41 ... Psalms 138-145] Psalm 149]

Book 1 is itself framed (Psalms 1-2, 40-41) by pairs of blessings given as statements of what will make a human happy. The first two psalms are themselves enfolded by their own pair of beatitudes.

אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים וּבְדֶרֶךְ חַטָּאִים לֹא עָמָד וּבְמוֹשַׁב לֵצִים לֹא יָשָׁב	--1.1	Happy the person who does not walk in the advice of the wicked and in the way of sinners does not stand and in the seat of the scornful does not sit
נַשְּׁקוּ-בַר פֶּן-יֶאֱנַף וְתֹאבְדוּ דֶרֶךְ כִּי-יִבְעַר כִּמְעַט אַפּוֹ אַשְׁרֵי כָּל-חוֹסֵי בוֹ	--2.12	Kiss, aflame yourself pure lest he face you and you perish in your way kindled with a hint of his anger Happy! the many who find this protection
אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר שָׂם יְהוָה מִבְטַחוֹ וְלֹא פָנָה אֶל רְהָבִים וְשָׂטֵי כָזָב	-40.5	happy the valiant who sets up יְהוָה as his trust and does not save face with the defiant falling away to a lie
אַשְׁרֵי מַשְׂכִּיל אֶל דָּל בְּיוֹם רָעָה יְמַלְּטֵהוּ יְהוָה	-41.2	Happy the one giving insight to the weak in the day of evil יְהוָה will let him escape
יְהוָה יִשְׁמְרֵהוּ וִיחַיֵּהוּ וְאֻשַּׁר בָּאָרֶץ וְאַל תִּתְּנֵהוּ בְּנֶפֶשׁ אֹיְבָיו	-41.3	יְהוָה will guard him and keep him alive and he will be considered happy in the earth and you will not give him into the throat of his enemies

You will find that every book closes with such a beatitude.

יְהִי שְׁמוֹ לְעוֹלָם לִפְנֵי שֶׁמֶשׁ יִנּוֹן שְׁמוֹ וְיִתְבָּרְכוּ בוֹ כָּל גּוֹיִם יְאַשְּׁרוּהוּ	-72.17	his name will be forever his name will propagate in the presence of the sun and they will bless themselves in him - all nations will call him happy	end of Book 2
אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם יֹדְעֵי תְרוּעָה יְהוָה בְּאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ יְהַלֵּכוּן	-89.16	Happy the people knowing the jubilation of יְהוָה In the light of your face they will walk	Book 3
אַשְׁרֵי שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁפָּט עֹשֵׂה צְדָקָה בְכָל עֵת	106.3	happy those keeping judgment doing righteousness at all times	Book 4
אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם שֶׁכָּכָה לּוֹ אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם שֱׁיְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו	144.15	happy the people who are like this to him happy the people who have יְהוָה as their God	Book 5
אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁאֵל יַעֲקֹב בְּעֶזְרוֹ שִׂבְרוֹ עַל יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו	146.5	Happy the one who has the God of Jacob for its help Its reliance is on יְהוָה its God

Psalm 146, the beginning of 5 psalms that close the Psalter likewise signals that it is part of the happiness frame. If these beatitudes are strategically placed, what about the others? They are clustered in the collections.

So Psalms 32-34 in Book 1,

לְדָוִד מַשְׂכִּיל אַשְׁרֵי נְשׂוּי פֶּשַׁע כְּסוּי חֲטָאָה	-32.1	Of David an insight happy lifted up transgression covered sin
אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם לֹא יַחְשֹׁב יְהוָה לוֹ עָו‍ֹן וְאֵין בְּרוּחוֹ רְמִיָּה	-32.2	happy the human to whom יְהוָה will not reckon iniquity and without deceit in his spirit
אַשְׁרֵי הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו הָעָם בָּחַר לְנַחֲלָה לוֹ	-33.12	happy the nation where יְהוָה is its God the people chosen as his inheritance
טַעֲמוּ וּרְאוּ כִּי טוֹב יְהוָה אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר יֶחֱסֶה בּוֹ	-34.9	taste and see for יְהוָה is good happy the valiant that takes refuge in him

One only in Psalm 65 in Book 2,

אַשְׁרֵי תִּבְחַר וּתְקָרֵב יִשְׁכֹּן חֲצֵרֶיךָ נִשְׂבְּעָה בְּטוּב בֵּיתֶךָ קְדֹשׁ הֵיכָלֶךָ

-65.5

Happy the one chosen and made near who will dwell in your courts We will be satisfied in the good of your house your holy temple

A frame for Psalm 84 in Book 3,

אַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ עוֹד יְהַלְלוּךָ סֶּלָה	-84.5	Happy those sitting in your house ever they will praise you Selah
אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם עוֹז לוֹ בָךְ מְסִלּוֹת בִּלְבָבָם	-84.6	Happy the human whose strength is in you with a highway in their heart
יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם בֹּטֵחַ בָּךְ	-84.13	יְהוָה of hosts happy the human who trusts in you

One only in Psalm 94 in Book 4,

אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר תְּיַסְּרֶנּוּ יָּהּ וּמִתּוֹרָתְךָ תְלַמְּדֶנּוּ

-94.12

Happy the valiant whom you chasten Yah and from your instruction you teach them

And at significant structural points in Book 5 - following the triumph of Psalm 110, the acrostic Psalm 112, following the work of Psalm 118, the acrostic of love, Psalm 119, following the songs of ascent, poems of remembrance and intimacy 137, 139.

הַלְלוּ יָהּ אַשְׁרֵי אִישׁ יָרֵא אֶת יְהוָה בְּמִצְו‍ֹתָיו חָפֵץ מְאֹד	112.1	Hallelu Yah A happy person fears יְהוָה By his commandments he has much delight
אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי דָרֶךְ הַהֹלְכִים בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה	119.1	All joy for those who are the complete of the way who walk in the instruction of יְהוָה
אַשְׁרֵי נֹצְרֵי עֵדֹתָיו בְּכָל לֵב יִדְרְשׁוּהוּ	119.2	All joy for those observing his testimonies with a whole heart they search him out
אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר מִלֵּא אֶת אַשְׁפָּתוֹ מֵהֶם לֹא יֵבֹשׁוּ כִּי יְדַבְּרוּ אֶת אוֹיְבִים בַּשָּׁעַר	127.5	happy the valiant who filled his quiver with them he will not be ashamed when he speaks with enemies at the gate
שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת אַשְׁרֵי כָּל יְרֵא יְהוָה הַהֹלֵךְ בִּדְרָכָיו	128.1	A song of the ascents Happy all fearing יְהוָה those walking in his ways
יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ	128.2	for you will eat the labour of your palms your happiness and good for you
בַּת בָּבֶל הַשְּׁדוּדָה אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם לָךְ אֶת גְּמוּלֵךְ שֶׁגָּמַלְתְּ לָנוּ	137.8	Devastating daughter of Babel happy the one who makes peace with you even weans you as you weaned us
אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיֹּאחֵז וְנִפֵּץ אֶת עֹלָלַיִךְ אֶל הַסָּלַע	137.9	happy the one who holds and dashes your unweaned against the cliff

Books 2 (Psalms 42-72) and 3 (Psalms 73-89) together comprise another cell contained in the outer envelopes. Books 2 and 3 have an outer circle of psalms of the children of Korah, Psalms 42-49, 84,85,87-88, 89 (Ethan). We also note that there is a change of the predominant name for God from יְהוָה in Books 1, 4, and 5, to Elohim as 'God' from Psalms 42 to 83.

The Korah circle and the inner Elohist Psalms

[[ the name יְהוָה [ Book 2 and 3 Elohim / Korah 42-49 ... 84-85, 86, 87-88, 89] the name יְהוָה ]]

It is in Book 2 that we first hear of the Exile and, forewarned by the longing of the individual in Psalms 42-43, experience the corporate lament of Psalm 44. The last reference to this disaster is in Psalm 137, By the waters of Babylon. The history of the nation is thus 'contained' by the Davidic corpus and does not mute the final praise. While Book 2 ends with a conclusion that the prayers of David the son of Jesse are at an end, they clearly are not at an end as far as the rest of the Psalter is concerned.  I have not found a significant verbal frame for Book 2 by itself.

Within books 2 and 3 are the psalms of Asaph 50, and 73-83, psalms of the harvest 65-67, a Davidic inner circle and its outlier doubles, 51-65, 68-70 ... 108. Within these are the six psalms inscribed as miktam and four psalms to the tune Do not destroy and their outliers 16, 56-60, 75. Psalm 78, which through its recurring words has earned the name Commanding and Guiding an Imprisoned and Provocative People, is the first of the psalms of the primal history, the exodus and the wilderness. The final of these psalms (136) celebrates with its repeated refrain, the mercy and loving kindness of God.

Inner structure of Books 2 and 3

[...[[Korah [Asaph [David [harvest] David] Asaph] Korah (Ethan)]]...]

Touch נגע may form a structurally significant word in the Psalter. It forms a wrap around the happiness of the centre of Book 1 (Psalms 32-39) and then touches only psalms at or near the borders of Books 3, 4, and 5 (73, 88, 89, 91, 105, 107, 144). This word has additional weight when considered with the other factors giving coherence to the individual books. Book 4 begins with Moses (90), includes the rebellion (95) and a series on יְהוָה as king 96-99. Book 4 ends as it began with a reference to Moses in Psalm 106.

Sequence of cells between the outer David psalms

[Opening [David [Books 2 and 3] [Moses Book 4] [Book 5] David] Closing]

Book 5 begins with Psalm 107, the human condition and the divine response. The crying out of Psalm 107 is echoed with a slightly different spelling in Psalm 144, appeal. Thanks and loving kindness are both in the frame of 107 and 149. Book 5 can be divided by the acrostics: Psalms 111 and 112 both celebrate the work of Psalm 110, prepared by 108 and 109, and Psalm 119 could be seen as celebrating the work of Psalm 118, again prepared by the sequence from 113 to 117. Of the substantial and perfect acrostic, Psalm 119, Pascal (cited in Les Psaumes, Desclée de Brouwer ) writes:

Cette supplication déroule lentement ses 176 versets en un long récitatif et n'est en son fond que la même protestation d'amour indéfiniment répétée sous diverses formes.

This supplication unrolls slowly its 176 verses in a long recitative and is at its base but the same protestation of love repeated without limitation in diverse forms.

The final psalms of Book 5 are the series of the 15 psalms of ascent 120-134, and Psalm 135 celebrating the 'arrival' in the courts of יְהוָה. Then we begin the series of closing brackets and the final cadences, for all who fear God: 136 creation and redemption, 137 exile, 138-145 Davidic reminder and last acrostic, and 146-150 the great Hallel. Psalms 137 to 139 can also be read as if in the courts, memory, prayer, and the Holy of Holies. The remembering of David from within the courts is fitting confirmation of the role of the elect in the redemption of the created order. One should then start the Psalter again considering this ultimate viewpoint.