Poetic literature, whilst being a very different genre than narrative and law, can still speak volumes into the development of the theme of liberation. Not only does it give insight into the lives of the ancient author and audience, but also allows modern readers to experience the emotions felt by the author and audience. This is important in order to build up a holistic picture of the past and apply it to the present.
Literary Context
Verse 1
Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Verse 1 begins with a simple repeating synonymous parallelism that states the purpose of the Psalm – praising Yahweh. The extension of the second phrase highlights the personal nature of the Psalm. The Psalmist moves quickly from a general exhortation to praise to a specific command for his own soul to praise Yahweh.
Verse 2
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Again the Psalmist uses synonymous parallelism to reinforce his reply to the command in verse 1. The firm use of the model verb will expresses determination to praise Yahweh, the use of personal pronouns I and my again reiterate the personal nature of the praise and the qualifiers all my life and as long as I live express the longevity of the praise.
Verse 3
Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
Verse 3 gives us an example of subordination parallelism. The Psalmist uses qualifying stichs to expand his command. He qualifies in whom we should not trust (mortal men) and why we should not trust them (they cannot save). His use of the second person your signifies a move from personal exhortation to praise to a more general exhortation as to where others should direct their praise.
Verse 4
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Here the Psalmist continues to build up the argument for not trusting in men. His parallelism of intensification hammers home his reasoning – men cannot save because they are mortal. His description is graphic-they return to the ground. The use of return would have reminded the reader of creation; men were made from dust by the creator (Genesis 2:7). Not only does this serve to remind readers of the mortality of men but also of their status as created beings. The implication emphasises the foolishness of trusting the created rather than Creator. The phrase in the final phrase, on that very day, and the final word nothing manage to convey the finality and instant nature of their end.
Verse 5
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God
Contrasting with the futility of trusting in men, the Psalmist offers hope by highlighting the blessing gained from trusting Yahweh through the use of synonymous parallelism. The Psalmist has also continued his use of the third person that he began in the previous verse. The whole Psalm seems to be moving. Verse by verse, from the personal to the general. This verse also signifies the change from whom the readers should not trust and why, to whom they should praise and why. The clever use of God of Jacob and the LORD his God demonstrate succinctly the communal heritage of the Israelites as it alludes to the Patriarchs as well as signifying the personal relationship an individual Israelite can have with Yahweh. Referring to Jacob and using Yahweh could also be subtle allusions to the covenantal relationship.
Verse 6
The Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
In verse 6 the Psalmist makes clear the hint he made in verse 4. The God they are to trust in is the one that made the mortal men, and the whole earth (the use of generalities allows nothing to be outside of Yahweh’s creation). The contrast between men and Yahweh is striking. As he did in verse 4, he is building up the case for trusting in Yahweh. God is given a role (creator) and a name (Yahweh) which, interestingly, are two factors considered essential to existence by the ancient Near East world (Walton, 91). His attribute of enduring faithfulness is pointed out, in contrast perhaps to the ultimate mortality of men and princes.
Verse 7-9
The Psalmist almost seems to change the structure of his poem so far as he launches into a list of examples of Yahweh’s faithfulness. He gives example after example, shooting them out to his readers in quick succession:
| What does Yahweh do? | To whom does He do this? |
| upholds cause | the oppressed |
| gives food | the hungry |
| sets free | prisoners |
| lifts up | the bowed down |
| loves | the righteous |
| watches over | the alien |
| sustains | the fatherless and the widow |
| frustrates the ways | the wicked |
It is important to note that this list is not past tense, although there are certainly specific examples of how Yahweh has done these actions throughout the history of the Israelites (namely the events surrounding the Exodus). The Psalmist uses the present tense which allows the list to be perceived as the ongoing actions of Yahweh. This perhaps gives the readers freedom to place within the Psalm their own experiences or examples of Yahweh’s faithfulness and also points towards Waltke’s definition of this Psalm as ‘descriptive praise’. This means that it is not in praise of a specific act of deliverance but a general praise of God’s person and general works (881).
The list focuses on the vulnerable of society and those that perhaps would be cast out, or given lower priority by mankind. The Psalmist is representing Yahweh as the God who is on the side of the vulnerable. His bombardment of examples of the vulnerable and lowly that Yahweh acts on behalf for leaves the reader no doubt as to the favour Yahweh has towards these groups.
In including both the righteous and the wicked in this list the Psalmist not only makes the list all inclusive but stresses the complimentary attributes of Yahweh – to act for those in need Yahweh must also act against those that cause the problems that harm the vulnerable.
The actions listed by the Psalmist are straightforward and are directly linked to the need of the people listed. The list could also be seen as an extended parallelism as it repeats the structure of action and recipient.
The repetition of LORD throughout this section emphasises who it is that carries out this action – it is the God of the covenant, the personal and revealed Yahweh of Israel.
Verse 10
The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.
The concluding verse returns to an echoing synonymous parallelism, which reinforces the eternity of Yahweh’s reign; succinctly contrasting with the reign of mortal princes of verses 3 and 4. There is also the suggestion of contrast between even the praise of the Psalmist (which lasts for a lifetime) to the reign of Yahweh (which lasts for all generations). Both contrasts promote the enduring reign and majesty of Yahweh compared to mankind. The verse also suggests a chiasmic structure as it compliments the starting verses of the Psalm, for example the last line is a direct repetition of the first. The whole Psalm, beginning with the personal pronouns in verse 1 and 2, moves from the specific to the general as it ends with a communal call for praise. This is emphasised by the words your, Zion and all generations.
In summary, this Psalm appears to be a poem of praise for the enduring faithfulness of Yahweh, particularly shown through his actions towards vulnerable.
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