Toni’s Title
The Blessedness of the Wise
ESV Title
How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
Literary Type
This is a mixed type, including wisdom, hymn, and lament.
Wisdom Psalms
Some Psalms reflect the wisdom movement in Israel which taught that the foundation of wisdom is faith in God and reverence for him. Wisdom psalms are meditations on the good life, the blessings of living the wise way of life of dependence on God as opposed to the way destruction which the foolish live who rely on themselves to work out their own destiny.
Examples: Psalms 37, 49, 73
Hymns
Hymns extol the glory and greatness of God as it is revealed in nature and history, and particularly in Israels’s history. Hymns praise God in general terms for his power and faithfulness as creator of the cosmos, ruler of history, and creator/redeemer of Israel to bring blessing to all the world. Israel’s hymns stress God’s active involvement in the life story of Israel. Hymns typically demonstrate motives for worshipping and praising God. A clear example is Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, just two verses:
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations; *
praise him, all you peoples.
2 For (= Hebrew ki) great is his loving-kindness towards us, *
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Hymns were used for exuberant worship in the temple and the synagogue. The people of God before the Incarnation invite us to celebrate and praise with them in hope of the kingdom of God and his Messiah. Hymns, like all psalms, show Christians how to praise God who has acted in creation, in revelation, and in redemption, and who is acting decisively in establishing his kingdom on earth. They do not ask anything; they simply rejoice in God’s presence.
Examples: Psalms 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 100, 103, 104, 145-150, and others
Laments
More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.
Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others
NT Prayer Guide
Gal. 5:16-25
Superscription
To the choirmaster, Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36
Dixit injustus
1 My heart shows me the wickedness of the ungodly; *
there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own sight, *
until his abominable sin is found out.
3 The words of his mouth are unrighteous and full of deceit; *
he has left off behaving wisely and doing good.
4 He imagines mischief upon his bed, and has set himself in no good way; *
neither does he abhor anything that is evil.
5 Your mercy, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, *
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness stands like the strong mountains; your judgments are like the great deep; *
you, Lord, shall save both man and beast.
7 How excellent is your mercy, O God! *
The children of men shall take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
8 They shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of your house, *
and you shall give them drink from your pleasures as out of a river.
9 For with you is the well of life, *
and in your light shall we see light.
10O continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *
and your righteousness to those who are true of heart.
11O let not the foot of the proud come against me, *
and let not the hand of the ungodly cast me down.
12 There have they fallen, all those who work wickedness; *
they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.