Psalm 80: Restore Us!

January 20, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 80 is a psalm of three movements or stanzas of unequal length. The first stanza (vv. 1–3) is introductory and calls on God to hear, stir up his strength and come to save Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. The second stanza (vv. 4–7) asks God how long he will be angry with his people. The…

Psalm 47: The Peoples and the People

January 13, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
In the psalms some translations do not always render the plural of the Hebrew word am (people) as peoples. Yet the psalms maintain a significant distinction between the singular and plural of the word. When it appears in the singular, it refers to Israel, the people of God. When it occurs in the plural, it…

Psalm 89: Renouncing the Unbreakable Covenant

January 9, 2025Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 89 is theologically rich. Its main ideas are God’s covenant with David and his lovingkindness and faithfulness as revealed in it, but there are many other ideas as well: the glory, power and righteousness of God (vv. 6–14), the fear of God (v. 7), the blessedness of God’s people (vv. 15–18), election (v. 19),…

Psalm 85: A Psalm of Turning Back

December 30, 2024Posted inPsalms Commentary
The most frequently used and important word in Psalm 85 is a very common Hebrew word that means to return or turn back. It occurs five times in the first 8 verses of the psalm. The first time is in verse 1: You have shown favor, O Yahweh, to your land. You have turned back…

The Structure of Psalm 18

September 24, 2024Posted inPsalms Commentary
This psalm is a close copy of the song of David found in 2 Samuel 22. It's clear from both 2 Samuel and from the title of the psalm that David wrote it near the end of his life. He had defeated his enemies, consolidated his kingdom after the long and bitter struggle with Saul,…

The Unique Features of Psalm 145

September 21, 2024Posted inPsalm Translations, Psalms Commentary
A Praise of David1. I will exalt you, My God the king, And I will praise your name to forever and perpetuity.2. Every day I will bless you, And I will praise your name to forever and perpetuity,3. Great (is) Yahweh and much praised, And his greatness is not searchable.4. Generation to generation will laud…

Psalm 80: Restore us, O God!

May 21, 2024Posted inPsalms Commentary
Verse 2 of Psalm 80 shows us that this song of testimony belongs to the time following the end of the northern kingdom, and the Asaph mentioned here is not the Asaph whom David appointed to serve in the temple, but a later Asaph who may also have written Psalms 74 and 79. Those two…

Psalm 107: Celebration of the Return from Exile in Babylon

May 14, 2024Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 107 celebrates the Lord’s lovingkindness and wonders towards the sons of man. It has six stanzas. Introduction, verses 1–3 The Lord’s Care in the Wilderness, verses 4–9 The Lord’s Breaking of Chains, verses 10–16 The Lord’s Deliverance from Destruction, verses 17–22 The Lord’s Calming of a Storm, verses 23–32 Conclusion, verses 33–43 One of…

Psalm 90: A Ladder of Prayer

May 1, 2024Posted inPsalms Commentary
Psalm 90 is the only song of Moses in the psalter, but other Scriptures give us two others that belong to him. The first is in Exodus 15, and it is a celebration of the defeat of Pharaoh at the Red Sea. The second is in Deuteronomy 32, and it is a song to testify…