Psalms of Orientation

Hosea 4:1-3--Brueggemann 1 Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the LORD has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land. 2 Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing. (Hos 4:1-3 NRS) Keeping of Torah maintains creation.

Psalms/Orientation--Brueggemann Psalm 1—Whatever you read is read in light of Torah!

Psalm 1 1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalms/Orientation--Brueggemann Dt. 30:15-16: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

Psalms/Orientation--Brueggemann "Land theology by the propertied class" "Nurturing socializing process"

Psalms/Orientation--Brueggemann

Psalms/Orientation--Brueggemann Torah Psalms: 1, 19, 119 “Life is not normless!”

Torah Psalms—Psalm 119 Acrostic Psalm “Exhausting and Exhaustive”—Brueggemann

Psalms/Orientation--Brueggemann Creation Psalms: “Celebration of creation that is a life-giving system that works!”

Psalm 104 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, 3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind. … You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Psalm 104 14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate--bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. Elemental gifts of creation = sacramental powers.

Psalm 104 20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. 23 People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening. 24 O [wow!] LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Psalm 104 25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26 There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. Jon Levenson = "God's rubber ducky” The psalm performs creation, it is generative of orientation.

Psalm 104 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. Table Prayer

Psalm 104 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit = breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. YHWH—The Iron Lung of Creation Breath (ruah, רוּחַ) is a gift from God, not a possession.

Creation Psalms The world is sustained by the reliable, faithful fidelity of a breath-giving God. They invite grateful amazement that the world works. They are forms of social control. There are ways to communicate what you must do to share our faith. Sociology of some prosperity, but a sociology of prosperity that is aware that prosperity is a gift.

Psalm 8 1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise {Or strength} because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings {Or "God"} and crowned him with glory and honor.

Psalm 8 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

Psalm 139 1O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. (ESV)

Psalm 139 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (ESV)

Psalm 139 13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (ESV)

Psalm 139 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. (ESV)

Psalm 139 19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! 20 They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. (ESV)

Psalm 139 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (ESV)

shevet achim, gam yachad. Psalm 133 Hineh ma tov Hineh ma tov, umah nayim, shevet achim, gam yachad.

A Song of Ascents. Of David. Psalm 133 Hineh ma tov A Song of Ascents. Of David. 1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. (ESV)

Wisdom Psalms What is a "wisdom psalm"? Characteristics of wisdom literature. Wicked vs Righteous, Evil vs Good Rewards & punishment Wisdom or instruction terminology Is "wisdom psalm" a form or genre? Depends upon who you ask.

Wisdom Psalms

Psalm 37 {Of David} 1Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

Psalm 37 7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret-it leads only to evil. 9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

Psalm 37 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. 12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

Psalm 37 16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance. 20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish-like smoke they vanish away.

Psalm 37 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones. The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

Psalm 37 30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice. 31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip. 32 The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them. 33 The LORD will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial. 34 Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

Psalm 37 37 Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him

Psalm 112 1Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments. 2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. 4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.

Psalm 112 6 For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. 7 They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD. 8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Psalms of Orientation--Conclusions Wonderful statements of theology. They celebrate the reliable fidelity of God. Invite grateful amazement that the world works. Forms of social control. This is what you need to do to share in the faith of our creator. Be alert how you use them!