Psalms 112 to 124

Last time was Psalms 99 to 111. Now for the next batch.

PSALM 112

This is another short psalm, titled, “The Blessings of the Just.”  Instead of focusing on God, we’ll spend a psalm on the life of someone who believes.  Apparently, it’s nice.  The man who fears the Lord – there, one psalm after we’re told that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we get another psalm beginning by urging us to fear God.  Anyhow, the man who fears God will be mighty in the land, be upright, be blessed, have a steadfast heart, and his righteousness will endure forever.

Sounds nice, but it sounds like the psalm for the rich.  It sounds like the thoughts for someone in a suburban megachurch.  What does it offer a poor man who believes in God?  They are the ones who often have nowhere else to turn except God.

PSALM 113

In fact, right after a psalm that struck me as being for the affluent, we get one called, “Praise of God’s Care for the Poor.”  This gets the audience that the other one misses, calling for helping the poor.

This is one nice thing about the Hebrew religion.  Since we’re all made in God’s image, it provides dignity to all peoples, no matter how lowly.  It puts us all in the same community, which can lead to psalms like this. 

PSALM 114

A short psalm on the Exodus and the wonders that took place in it.  This notable just for one line.  When God did his miracles, the very natural objects of the world itself were in awe.  We’re told, “The mountains skipped like rams.”   Well, there’s a sight you don’t see everyday, a bunch of mountains tiptoeing through the tulips, skipping like rams.

PSALM 115

This one is called “The Greatness of the True God” so I supposed it’s an avowedly monotheistic psalm. 

It’s a bragging psalm.  Others ask, where is your God?  Well, he’s in heaven.  While your sucky gods are just idols.  Suck on it, sucky gods. 

PSALM 116

This is a psalm about surviving a near-death experience.  The psalmist begins by noting he was near death, about to go to Sheol (Hell), when he called out to God for help.  And God heard!  And once God heard, then God – in his infinite compassion – saved him.  So now he sings the praises of God.

This psalm reminds me of former Hardball Times writer (and Baseball Think Factory poster) John Brattain.  He once noted that he had some serious health problems, but survived them (for a time).  When his health was declining (and ended up killing him) he said how blessed he felt to have these extra years.  John was very religious. In fact, when discussing his health problems and his sense of feeling lucky to have the extra time, he quoted a Bible passage.  No, it wasn’t this one, but this one reminds me of him anyone.

Good man, that John Brattain.  A very good man indeed.

PSALM 117

Here it is – the shortest psalm in the Bible. Also – the shortest Bible chapter.  It’s all of two verses & 25 words.  There is nothing else memorable about it.

PSALM 118

This is “Hymn of Thanksgiving” and it lives up to the title.  Give thanks to the Lord for all that he is done.  This is a nice little poem, heavy on the refrain.  Those refrains include: “Let ____ say,” “They surrounded me,” and “The Lord’s right hand.”

It’s nice and pleasant, but I really don’t have very much else to say about it.

PSALM 119

Here it is – by far the longest psalm in the Bible.  It’s by far the longest chapter in any book of the Bible. Weighing in a 176 verses (!), it’s more than double the length of any other psalm.  In fact, given that it’s followed by a series of short psalms, it’s 176 verses is greater than …..the next 20 psalms combined!  Impressive.

In my previous Bible readings, I was so overwhelmed by its length that I just read over it and got nothing out of it.  But this time, I knew to pay more attention.  This is one part of the Bible that David Plotz’s “The Good Book” really does a great job explaining. 

Plotz recounts how he wasn’t in the mood for another psalm when he began it; let alone such a never ender of a psalm.  But as he read it, he began to realize it’s a very different psalm.  This is a love psalm – but it’s a love psalm dedicated not to God, but to God’s laws.  Plotz noted that this is absolutely perfect.  However strange it might sound, it’s the existence of the Bible and the common identity that springs from it that’s allowed the Jewish people to survive.  There ain’t many Edmoites or Moabites or Hittites left – but there are still people.  This guy is on the right track for praising God’s written laws.

And praise God’s written laws he does.  This psalmist pours over them and studies them, and loves them.  His horrified and infuriated when he reads an account in the Bible of someone not following God’s ways.  He seeks salvation in God’s laws.

What at first seems a little out of place in this psalm are repeated references to the psalmist’s enemies, and how he is treated like garbage by the bad people for trying to follow God’s ways.  Really?  People are persecuting him for studying the Bible?  There are two ways of looking at this.  First, he’s living through a time and place where people are really not upholding God’s laws, and therefore mock this guy.  He’s a square; a dork. 

Second, and I started bleeding into this point at the end of the last one – maybe he’s just being bullied because he seems like an easy target for bullies.  Maybe his problem isn’t that he studies the Torah so much; but that he’s around books so much.  He’s too studious and introverted for his own social well-being.  He really is a nerd.  If you think about it, that’s almost certainly the case.  After all, who writes the psalm – the longest psalm of them all by far – about how much he loves studying the Bible?  Given not only how much he studies this but the passion he has for the laws (Leviticus: A Love Story), and his continual talk of being mocked for his studies – this guy is likely well-meaning by socially inept.

And that also explains some of the theology here.  While he at times acknowledges God as compassionate, he also says the sinners won’t get salvation.  That sounds like a junior high student upset at being picked on.  (Yeah, I am projecting my junior high thoughts here a bit). 

While it’s fascinating for its uniqueness, the psalm’s execution could be massively improved.  This guy keeps repeating himself.  It’s 176 verses long, but it doesn’t really build on anything and it barely says anything new after the first 20-30 verses.  You just get the same points repeated over and over and over. The psalmist is pouring his thoughts out but doesn’t know how to do it in a way that’s easy for another person to receive. That is a further point for my theory that this guy is a socially inept introvert. 

PSALM 120

Now begins the most prolonged series of short psalms in the Bible. Psalm 120 is the first of 12 straight (and 14 out of 15) that are less than 10 verses long. 

This is called “Prayer of a Returned Exile” and it lives up to its billing.  The psalmist is happy to have his call of distress responded to by the Lord.  He has an enemy – but in this case it’s the tongue of the psalmist.  I guess he’s made statements or mouthed off about how God would never answer their prayers or something.  I don’t know – that part is pretty vague, but mostly he’s happy God will let him return.

PSALM 121

This is a psalm about the Lord as protector.  He first looks off to the mountains, wondering if his help will come from there.  No, don’t be a fool – of course not.  His help will come from the Lord above. 

God will protect you.  God will save you.  God won’t let your foot to sleep.  God is like a superhero – with actual super powers, too.

PSALM 122

This one clearly predates the Babylonian Captivity.  It’s a pilgrim going to Jerusalem and just feeling overjoyed.  He’d dreamed of doing this, of going to David’s city – and now here he is, with his feet inside the gates.  He’s very happy at this.

This is a nice little psalm.  There isn’t much to say about it, but I like the image of a guy grinning ear to ear because he’s finally made it to the city of his dreams: Jerusalem. 

It’s supposed to be a psalm of David – I guess one after he conquered Jerusalem.  I dunno if I believe that David wrote it, though.  It doesn’t fit my mental image of a writer. I imagine it being someone traveling to a city already long established as the center (and probably after Solomon built his temple there). 

PSALM 123

This one is called “Reliance on the Lord.”  The psalmist says we look to the Lord like a servant looks to his master.  He means this in a good way.

This world doesn’t sound too pleasant for our psalmist.  He notes how people show contempt for the good, mock them, are insolent to them, and are arrogant to them.  So of course you look to Lord to show you favor – who else can you turn to?

PSALM 124

This is a prayer – associated with David – thanking God for rescuing them. We won our fights because God was on our side.  The message is something plenty of previous psalms have had, but it has some really interesting imagery.  My favorite part was, “Blessed is the Lord, who did not leave us to be torn by their teeth.”  Hey!  An apparent reference to cannibalism.  You don’t see too many of those in the Bible.

Click here for psalms 125 to 137