Dignoscentia

This psalm praises God for the power He displays in battle with Israel’s enemies. Various military events are recounted, and God is given the credit for the wins. The futility of human anger is also set in contrast to the awesome power of God’s wrath: “You, you alone, strike terror! Who can hold his ground [...]

This psalm is a marked improvement on the prayer in psalm 70. It’s interesting to find pretty much the same phrases in verse 13 of this psalm as in verses 2 and 3 of psalm 70. Having encountered them in other psalms, I can venture to say they’re probably formulaic.
It appears that this psalm is [...]

To me, this psalm is a clear-cut demonstration of the way Israelites worshipped God. To others, it’s a resurrection psalm, and I disagree. Let me go through the arguments and show you each side. Then you’ll be able to decide for yourselves.
When we look at the plot of the psalm, it goes like this: A [...]

This hymn of thanksgiving is a pleasant and insightful demonstration of the dependence of the Israelites on God. Let’s enumerate the ways in which they counted on God:

Fulfillment of vows (verse 1)
Answers to prayers (verse 2)
Judgment (verse 3)
Forgiveness of sins (verse 3)
Blessings and “good things” (verse 4)
Justice (verse 5)
Hope (verse 5)
Control of nature (verses 6 [...]

This psalm unfurls like a little play. It’s different from other psalms, because the narrative thread is continuous. The author begins with a plea for protection, then describes the reason for it: wicked people are seeking his destruction, and hurting him in secret by spreading evil words. I love the way he describes them: “They [...]

There are some powerful phrases in this psalm, which not only serve to illustrate beautifully the point of the author, but also serve as reminders of how one’s faith in and desire for God should manifest. (I’m going to ignore verses 9 and 10, since I’ve already said plenty of times that it’s wrong to [...]

Clearly written by David, this psalm of prayer begs God for protection from killers sent by Saul to prowl around David’s house and dispatch him if possible.
If these men were indeed sent by Saul, what I find interesting is that there’s no mention of him in the psalm. Instead of focusing on the originator of [...]