Week # 49 Study Page

Psalm 120-150

About the Book(s)

we’ve seen all the Bible Project videos for the book of Psalms. so here’s a bonus video about loving God with our hearts

PSALMS

About: "Psalm" is a translation of the Hebrew word mizmor, which is is a technical term for a song sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments. The book of psalms or the "Psalter" came into being over a period of centuries. It is a collection of songs / prayers which are sung / spoken to God. The Psalter is divided into five books, each ending in a doxology. This week's reading will cover the remainder of book 5. Psalms is the only book of the Bible that we're not reading straight through.

As You Read Notes:

Psalm 120:5 Meshek and Kedar

We’re reading through the Bible at a fairly quick pace this year. You probably have noticed that doing so has its advantages and disadvantages. I have explained before why i believe the advantages of doing it this way outweigh the disadvantages, but if you feel exhausted by the pace of our reading, it may bee a good idea to use a slower-pace reading plan for the next year or two so that you can really focus in on the granular details of Bible books that you’re interested in. The truth is that the Bible offers an inexhaustible amount of insight and one could spend an entire lifetime attempting to better understand it without ever reaching a point of diminishing returns. I bring all of this up because what I’m about to point out next is a key insight to understanding Psalm 120 that you would have to moving at a slower pace to catch. looking closer at the locations named here, is a luxury reserved for reading slow, but it is rewarding.

Meshek, is a region in northern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) that appeared on a map which we looked at last week showing the location of Magog from Ezekiel. Kedar on the other hand is far down south into the Arabian Peninsula on the west side. It would be impossible for the psalmist to live both in Meshek and Keder as the text seems to literally indicate. However, note that this is a Psalm of ascents (see heading), this worship song was sung by those approaching Jerusalem and the temple for worship during the prescribed festivals in the Old Testament law. The Psalmist brings up these two locations, not because it is the psalm of a foreigner, but these two regions are selected because of the way that they bracket, from the north to the south, the large region in which Israel exists. it is a way of saying that “all of my neighbors are violent people” after having asked for God’s deliverance from them previously in the Psalm.

Psalm 127: Solomon’s Psalms

Two of the 150 psalms are attributed to Solomon, and this is one of them, the other is Psalm 72. While Psalm 72 is a royal psalm dealing mostly with the office of the Israelite king, notice how proverbial this second Psalm of Solomon’s is. It reads very much like it has been extracted from proverbs or Ecclesiastes, and fits will with the rest of the literature attributed to Solomon in the Bible

Psalm 129:6

as the psalmist is speaking against the enemies of Zion (Jerusalem) he says this in 129:6

May they be like grass on the roof,
which withers before it can grow;

That image may is a little difficult to understand in a 21st century world filled with asphalt shingles.

The uppermost roof on the common dwelling places in Israel would have been constructed of beams laid across the walls intertwined with reeds and grasses. The whole roof would then be plastered with mud to fill in the gaps and make them somewhat watertight. Any lingering seeds in the grass or mud would briefly sprout but would quickly die for lack of roots (IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament, note on Psalm 129:6)

PSALM 132

Psalm 132 is a psalm of ascent, meaning that it was used by Israelites who were gathered or gathering to the temple for worship. here the psalmist refers to the ark of the covenant as God’s footstool

7 “Let us go to his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool, saying,
8 ‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.

The idea here is that the mercy seat on top of the ark is just the tip of God’s mighty presence. Additionally, the footstool of the king in the ancient world signified the subjugation of his enemies and was where petitioners would be located who were asking the king to decide in their favor. Taking a hold of the footstool or of the feet was a gesture of self-abasement and entreaty by which a petitioner could demonstrate their submission and surrender.

Verses 17 & 18 of this Psalm clearly have messianic importance. Verse 17 is included in Zechariah’s (John the Baptist’s father) song of praise upon the birth of his son in Luke 1:69.

PSALM 133:2: ANOINTING with oil.

It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe. (Psalm 133:2)

Banquet guests in the ancient world were often treated by a generous host to fine oils for anointing their foreheads. This provided not only a glistening sheen to their countenance but also would have added a fragrance to their persons and the room. For example, an Assyrian text from Esarhaddon’s reign describes how he “drenched the foreheads” of his guests at a royal banquet with “choicest oils'“ Oil preserved the complexion in the hot Middle Eastern climate. Both the Egyptian Song of the Harper and the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh Epic describe individuals clothed in fine linen and with myrrh on their head. Anointment of priests used the finest oil and would symbolize the gifts of God to the people and the responsibilities now laid on their leaders through this ceremony. In Israelite practice anointing was a sign of election and often closely related to endowment by the Spirit. (IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament, note on Psalm 133:2

Psalm 135-136: Ancient Cosmology

These two Psalms are filled with images of ancient cosmology. The Israelite people of the Old Testament did not think of the earth the way that we do in the 21st century AD. Their earth was not a globe, it was not spinning, and there was nothing around which it rotated. The sky was a firm layer far above their heads, and the waters of the seas extended down to the primordial chaos beyond all of it. Features of ancient cosmology on display in these chapters include:

clouds rising from the ends of the earth (135:7) - this understanding also appears in Sumarian literature where clouds enter the sky as gates are opened to heaven (beyond the solid firmament of the sky) on the horizon.
storehouses of wind (135:7) - the word translated “storehouses” can be used to refer to treasuries that would store precious objects as well as royal weapon. Hail, snow, wind, thunder, and lighting are often seen as the weapons that God uses to defeat his enemies.
the earth spread out upon the waters (136:6) - the ancient Israelites thought of the landmass of the earth as a kind of disk which sat above water either floating, or resting on pillars. This understanding was reinforced by the presence of the under-ground water table and the impassibility of the oceans

Week #49 - Psalm 120 - 150