Metrical Setting of Psalm 3
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Heaping Coals of Fire
Romans 12:20, a quotation of Proverbs 25:21,22, has occasioned much debate and given rise to multiple interpretations. The problem is that the most natural explanation seems to be that you should do good to your enemies so that they may suffer an increase of punishment from God. But this interpretation contradicts itself. If we perform…
Hearing the Acrostic of Psalm 119
It’s well known, of course, that Psalm 119 is an acrostic or alphabetic psalm. Such acrostics are, to say the least, very difficult to render in a faithful English translation, but it is possible to illustrate the effect in a few stanzas. This can help us to hear a little of the sound of these…
Metrical Setting of Psalm 2
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Proverbs 6:12-19: Speaking Feet
12. A worthless person, a man of iniquity, walking with a crooked mouth, 13. narrowing his eyes, uttering with his feet, teaching with his fingers, 14. perversity in his heart, devising evil continually, sows discord. 15. Therefore his calamity will come suddenly. Suddenly he will be broken, and there will be no remedy. 16. Six…
Psalm 4: The Key to a Correct Interpretation
I found Psalm 4 very difficult to comprehend until I understood two things about verse 2. The Hebrew has two phrases that the translations render as "sons of man" or "son of men," b'ne adam and b'ne ish, but these two phrases are different in meaning. One of them, the one that we could best…
Psalm 62 and the Word Truly
"Truly he is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken (v.2)." "Truly he is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken (v.6)." The interplay between these two statements is very revealing of the strength of God and the weakness of our faith. On the…
Metrical Setting of Psalm 1
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Psalm 37: Two Chiasms and an Acrostic
At first glance, Psalm 37 seems to be a more or less random collection of verses with the general theme, “Do not fret because of evildoers.” It is, in fact, both an acrostic, or alphabetic psalm, and a carefully constructed poem with three main parts, the first two of which are chiasms. The table below lays out these parts in detail. The central promise for those who heed the exhortation and trust in the Lord is the possession of the land; it is repeated at least five times. For us, that promise means a heavenly inheritance and, in the end, the possession of all things in the new heavens and earth, “for all things are yours… and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Cor 3:21-23).”