Passing-Thought

Psalm 5: Literary Context

I consider Psalm 5 to the centerpiece of a group of laments beginning in Psalm 3 and ending in Psalm 7. The superscripts for this set of psalms suggest an intentional composition strategy functioning to unify around the Davidic drama.

(3:1) A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM ABSALOM HIS SON.

(4:1) TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS.
A PSALM OF DAVID.

(5:1) TO THE CHOIRMASTER: FOR THE FLUTES.
A PSALM OF DAVID.

(6:1) TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS; ACCORDING TO THE SHEMINITH.
A PSALM OF DAVID.

(7:1) A SHIGGAION OF DAVID, WHICH HE SANG TO THE LORD CONCERNING THE WORDS OF CUSH, A BENJAMINITE.

It appears to me that the superscripts of Psalm 3 & 7 bracket these laments with historical information concerning the life of David: Psalm 3 concerns David's fleeing from Absalom (2 Samuel 15); while Psalm 7 may refer to one or two later incidents: Shimei the Benjamite's curses against David (2 Samuel 16:1-23), and/or possibly the Cushite's news of Absalom's death (2 Samuel 18:31). Within this historical bracket (inclusio), Psalms 4-6 are connected with a chiasitic (A-B-A) pattern of instrumental directives to the "Choirmaster": strings - winds - strings.

Thus, Psalm 5 is the liturgical center for this set of laments anchored in the redemptive-historical situation where God's anointed king has been exiled from the throne and groans for final restoration.

Morning and Evening

Within this Davidic drama, I am impressed by a common theme surrounding morning and evening.

• (Psalm 3:5) I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
• (Psalm 4:4,8) Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent...In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
• (Psalm 5:5) O LORD, in the morning you [will] hear my voice; in the morning I [will] prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
• (Psalm 6:6) I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.

Upon closer examination of the word "morning" in the Psalms, I found that it is used most often to express confidence and hope that Yahweh will act in the morning to bring salvation, to deliver from the time of trouble. Conversely, evening/night is a metaphor for the time of trouble/distress, even from God's own wrath:

• Psalm 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
• Psalm 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
• Psalm 90:5-7, 14 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed...Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

The "morning" is also used to express thanksgiving for Yahweh's faithful protection through the distress of the night:

• (Psalm 59:16) But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
• (Psalm 92:1-2) It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
• (Psalm 143:8) Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalms 3-7 also seem to draw upon the theme of divine protection and divine deliverance by its use of morning and evening.

• Psalm 3:5 remembers the Lord's protection through the night while the psalmist slept
• Psalm 4:4,8 expresses confidence and trust in the Lord's protection to sustain him through the night
• Psalm 5:5 expresses confidence that the Lord will protect him during the night bring and/or bring deliverance in the morning
• Psalm 6:6 expresses the psalmists continual languish during the night

Resolution: New Creation in the Christ

"Morning" and "evening" are creation motifs. David's throne is not simply a throne for establishing justice in Israel, but for the entire cosmos. God had promised to set the entire world to right through a chosen seed, his annointed son. I think that is why David's psalms most often carry historical ambiguity. Not simply because the psalmists indend to express "timeless truths" or "an individual's existential struggles that relate to experiences of many", but because the Psalter is comprehensive and cosmic, concerned with the summation of all of history and creation with respect to God's promises through his chosen, annointed leadership--David's throne.

Thus, I read David's creation psalm (Psalm 8) as a praise arising from Yahweh's faithfulness to answer his laments of Psalms 3-7. David has been restored to the throne, "crowned with glory and honor"; peace and harmony has been restored to God's creation (cf. Gen 1 & 2). And this movement from lament to praise is a microcosm of the Psalter as a whole: God will answer the prayers of David to bring praise and worship to him in all creation.

David's greatest son, Jesus, has faced the full night of God's wrath but his tears of blood have turned to tears of joy in his resurrection and exaltation to God's right hand forever. The dawn of morning has come. God has been faithful to His promises to David. Praise God for the new creation He brought about for us in Christ!

Further Question(s) & Comments:

1. How does the content of Psalm 5 prove itself to be the "center" of Psalms 3-7?
2. Psalm 7 doesn't seem to have explicit references to morning and evening. It does, however, repeat the plea "Arise, O Yahweh" that is also uttered in Psalm 3:7 which may also be translated "Awake, O Yahweh!" While the Psalmist remembers God's faithfulness to protect him during the night, he awakes to find that the danger of his enemies is still surmounting. Has faithful Yahweh fallen asleep after his night-watch? It appear so. If Psalm 7 is governed by this same metaphor, we may have found another inclusio: psalms 4-6 are psalms of the "evening" (longing for morning) and psalms 3,7 are psalms of the "morning": it is (almost past?) the urgent time for God to rid the enemies and exalt his messiah.
3. Does Psalm 8 continue the theme of day and night set forth in the preceding laments?
4. Is it possible that Psalm 8 was preceeded by five laments because five days preceeded the creation of man in Gen 1?
5. How does Jesus' experience of the cross "fit in" with David's confidence in Yahweh for divine protection against his enemies?

Posted by Eric Pyle at April 20, 2004 10:50 AM