Psalms of David

I can’t help myself. My autistic mind is focused on numbers and patterns, when I see a pattern I want to see what it means. We have just finished 10 Psalms of David which were mostly linked to events in David’s life: Five called Maskil and five Miktam. The next five Psalms, starting with Psalm 61 are also attributed to David, but neither are they linked to events in his life nor are they given a song type. But they are a third group of five and the numbers three and five have significance in Hebrew writing.

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Psalms in Book 2 are like Book 1 in that they are mostly lament and distress although they now include a communal voice in addition to the singular voice of the first book.

The books of Psalms are roughly themed like this:

Book 1: Psalms 1 – 41: God is beside us.
Book 2: Psalms 42 – 72: God goes before us
Book 3: Psalms 73 – 89: God is all around us.
Book 4: Psalms 90 – 106: God is above us.
Book 5: Psalms 107 – 150: God is among us.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.

61 Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
² from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,

³ for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.
⁴ Let me dwell in your tent for ever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah

⁵ For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
⁶ Prolong the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!

⁷ May he be enthroned for ever before God;
    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
⁸ So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I perform my vows day after day.

Psalm 61 ESVUK

I’m starting with the three blocks of five psalms.

The meaning of the number 5 in Hebrew is God’s grace, mercy and favour. Or if directed towards humans it is the idea of being saved or rescued by God.

The meaning of 3 is divine wholeness, completeness and perfection. In Matthew Chapters 8 & 9, a section on Jesus’ miracles, the miracles come in three groups of three.

Structurally Psalm 61 is easy to see. There are four groups each of two verses and two subjects. In nearly all of the psalms, the repetition of similar ideas is in the reverse sequence, but this is one of the few where they are repeated in the same order.

The theme is:
Hear my cry (verse 1)
Let me dwell in your tent for ever! (verse 4)
God has heard (verse 5)
May he be enthroned for ever before God (verse 7)

The Psalm is set when David is on a military campaign outside Israel. Just where nobody is sure. But in typical mixed metaphors David asks to be put on a place of safety he cannot attain by himself , the “rock that is higher than I” and then talks about that place as a “my refugen a strong tower against the enemy.” The rock, the strong tower is God himself.

In the style of David’s psalms in book 2 the song is both a lament and prophetic. Using a prophetic tence David thanks God for his protection as if it has already happened, the words of which are Mesianic, the king enthroned forever before God. david spoke about the Messiah who was to come: We as Christians know about Jesus, God in human form who was rejected, executed, raised and is now reigning in Heaven at the right hand side of the Father.

Let us praise God for what he has done.

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