Psalms of Ascent:
l Journeying up! Going up to Jerusalem? Eg. in
Jerusalem we always going up in order to go to the second temple because it’s
on a slope.
l The importance of Zion, the Temple and the
presence of God. An emphasis on Zion and the presence of God.
l The importance of confidence in YHWH and YHWH’s
deliverance. Reinforcing the confidence and the grounds of the confidence, it
establishes the confidence of the people.
What pattern/s is/are seen in this Psalm?
l “I will not” parallels from V3-4.
l Let… V7, v9
l Covenants/swearing: V2, V11, V12
l Song of ascent: climbing up, ending with shining
crown V18.
l The Lord and David recurs many times.
How does that structure inform your
understanding of the meaning of the text?
l V2: Opens with a vow of David.
l V3-5: Not rest until David finds a place for
the Lord.
l V6: Turning point, the location of the dwelling
place heard and found.
Questions:
l Setting: Postexilic. Song of Ascents as a
collection is postexilic. Some of the contents of this psalm seems pre-exilic
though.
l V6: two places, Ephrathah, the field of Jaar
l V17: Horn, lamp. Yahweh leaves a lamp burning
for David.
l Human and divine kingship.
l Invoking David.
Patterns:
l 2 vows: David’s vows: V2-5. The other vow:
V11-12.
l 2 petitions: V1, V10.
l Response to petitions: V17-18.
l Clothing: 9/16 (parallel), 18
l To Yahweh’s place: V6-9, this is connected with
V2-5.
What key ideas are conveyed by the Psalm?
l Vows
l Passion of Yahweh: Yahweh has desired Zion for
his dwelling place.
l Where God’s dwelling place is: God present with
us, a combination of the history of God’s fidelity to God’s people in their failure
and the place of covenant in history.
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