How should we study the Psalms?
If we choose a psalm to study, we should certainly read and reread its content. We should look for literary transitions and notice any literary devices. We should consider whether the writer speaks from the first-, second, or third-person perspective. We should discern the emotion being conveyed: is the writer lamenting, celebrating, recounting, hoping, recoiling, etc.? Is the psalmist asking for anything specific? Does the superscription give us information, such as the author or any detail about a historical setting? Does the New Testament cite or allude to the psalm?
Studying the Psalms involves these kinds of questions. Another question to fold into the others is this: how do the preceding and following psalms illuminate the one I’m studying? Let’s apply such a question as we look at Psalm 23.
In Psalm 23 (arguably the best-known psalm in the book) the author, David, is expressing his trust in the Lord. The Lord is a faithful shepherd who guides the psalmist to green pastures and still waters (23:1–2). The Lord restores the psalmist’s soul and directs his feet to the right paths (23:3). Not even the deep dark valley excludes the Lord’s presence. The faithful shepherd, equipped with rod and staff, is with the psalmist (23:4).
The confidence which opens Psalm 23 is not like the opening of the preceding one, Psalm 22. David says in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (22:1). David’s words in Psalm 22 are drenched with agony and steeped in affliction. In Psalm 22, he is surrounded, overwhelmed, undone, and at the edge of destruction.
When we pass from Psalm 22 and read Psalm 23, we can discern a progression. The psalmist doesn’t fear the Lord’s remoteness. Instead, the psalmist celebrates the Lord’s nearness and presence with him even in the valley of the shadow of death. In Psalm 22 the enemies of David are on every side, but in Psalm 23 the Lord has prepared a table for David in the presence of his enemies (23:5).
If we leave Psalm 23 and read Psalm 24, we notice still further progression. Psalm 24 rings with triumph. The king of glory, who had been mighty in battle, is welcomed into the city with pomp and circumstance (24:7–10). The movement through Psalms 22, 23, 24 is one of suffering and trust and triumph.
The psalmist’s shepherd in 23:1 is the creator of all things in 24:1–2. At the end of Psalm 23, David says, “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (23:6). But near the beginning of Psalm 24 the question must be asked, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” For the ancient reader, the “house” of God would be the temple in Jerusalem, preceded by the tabernacle. This house was the “holy place” situated on “the hill of the LORD.” The valley in Psalm 23 is followed by victory in Psalm 24.
These observations about Psalms 22, 23, and 24 aren’t meant to exhaust what we can notice, but they are sufficient to illustrate the point I made near the beginning of this post. When we study a psalm, we should ask ourselves what happens in the preceding and following psalms. When we reflect on the psalms that surround the one we’re focused on, we can gain insight into its literary placement. We can realize, for instance, that Psalm 23 isn’t arbitrarily placed. The significance of Psalm 23 is enriched in the light of Psalms 22 and 24.
The thread of suffering-trust-triumph is a thread fulfilled by the Lord on the cross. In Matthew 27:46, Jesus quotes from Psalm 22. He is the suffering king surrounded by his enemies. Given that Psalms 22, 23, and 24 are part of a sequence, the citation of Psalm 22 would easily call to mind the psalms that follow as well. Jesus is the suffering king of Psalm 22, but he is also the trusting king in Psalm 23, and he is ultimately the triumphant king in Psalm 24.
Jesus suffered and died, but he rose from the grave. He went through the valley of the shadow of death, and then he ascended the hill of the Lord.
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