Structure (based on location of the Selah):
l V1-3: creation and earth
l V4-7: Zion and nations
l V8-11: nations and earth, war and rule
Genre:
l Psalm of confidence (the mood).
l Where is that confidence physically located? In
Jerusalem.
l Psalm of confidence in the God of Zion.
Context:
l Era of Hezekiah? If there was a specification,
all the specifications have been removed.
Literary features:
l If the earth gives way, the mountains fall into
the heart of the sea. A picture of uncreation.
l The waters of chaos are connected specifically
with historical salvation. There we see Yahweh’s victory in the sea.
l The word “earth” is found throughout the psalm.
The “earth” stitches the whole psalm together.
l “Help”. V1
l “Roar”, “stagger”: first two sections. V3, V6
same word.
l “Nations”. V9, 10, 11.
Exegesis:
V1: “Refuge”: run to hide.
“Strength”: someone you have with you.
“Helper, found in trouble, a lot”: In times
of trouble Yahweh is known to help a lot.
A series of noun statements puts emphasis
on factual statements about God rather than the human attitude of trust.[1]
V2: uncreation.
V4: narrative shifts. Second snapshot,
we’re in the realm of: the city of God. The city is peaceful but nations rage.
A city in the midst of the chaos of history. Gihon Spring (next to the city of
David) doesn’t count as a river. This is not a description of geography. So why
does this open with a river if there’s no river in Jerusalem? “River” reminds
us of the Garden of Eden: fruitfulness, life, sanctuary, holy place where God
is. Peace-making presence of God.
All geographical locations in Hebrew are
feminine. Cities are feminine.
V5: “She will not fall”. The mountains
fell, but Jerusalem doesn’t fall, and the nations do fall. The stability of
Zion is in the midst of chaos.
V6: We are here in the context of violence.
The earth melts.
V7: Yahweh of hosts: condensed covenant
language. Yahweh is a covenant name given to Israel, for them to invoke their
relationship with Yahweh. Yahweh is with us! God of Jacob: ancestral
traditions. Jerusalem is the religious, political and military centre of
Israel.
V8: seems like an abrupt shift. But when we
recognise the scenery of the nations in chaos, then it’s a clear shift. Yahweh
has brought desolation on the earth. The previous forces of politics and nature
are subdued. The marks of a devastating military defeat.
V9: Yahweh makes wars cease by winning the
wars. Yahweh imposing Yahweh’s orders on a rebellious world.
V10: A war context: people standing in
rebellion against Yahweh, and Yahweh addresses the rebellious nations saying,
“be still/stop, or you’re stuffed”. The only appropriate response is to
worship. “Be still”: often misused as a call to calm contemplation. It is not
contemplative spirituality. It’s a call to submission, action.
Theology:
l Bringing together the presence of God and
blessing. The concrete form which the blessing takes. A stable reign of good
kings who does God’s will in Israel and in the world.
l This affirmation in the presence of God became
presumptuous: “God is with us, so we can do what we like.” Examples: Jeremiah
7.
l How does this psalm work in a world where
Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple is no more? This is not about Jerusalem,
but it’s about God. It’s only because God in the midst of the city that it will
not fall. If God is not in the midst of the city, then it’s like any other
city.
l It’s used eschatologically. As Christians, we
need to reconfigure the presence of God radically. Jesus said he will “destroy
this temple and I will resurrect it in three days”: This is talking about
Jesus’ body. It’s also used now: anytime the world has fallen apart and history
gone nuts, we will not fear, for God is our refuge and strength.
l Andrew Sloane was in US in 1999 and suddenly
received news his father suddenly had a stroke in Sydney and they didn’t know
if his father will survive the day when he took the plane to LA, to Sydney, to
RPA. This psalm gave him peace.
Psalms of Zion:
l Jerusalem, by William Blake: theology of Zion
misused.
l Zion psalms are important because of what they
do. God’s protection of Zion. The greatness of Yahweh in and for Zion.
l Ps76: Yahweh’s victory being established in
protecting Zion.
l Ps125: Those who trust in Yahweh are like Mt
Zion, which cannot be shaken.
l “Black mills” are often used by Blake with
reference to the established church in England.
l Misuse of our own agenda as God’s agenda: “My
project” is Yahweh’s project, therefore it cannot be critiqued.
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