READ IT! - Introduction to Psalms 99-106

Readings for this week

Monday: Psalm 99
Tuesday: Psalm 100
Wednesday: Psalm 101
Thursday: Psalm 102
Friday: Psalm 103
Saturday: Psalm 104
Sunday: Psalm 105

Introduction to Psalms 99-106

Psalm 99 

The psalmist says, “The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble! The King loves justice. He spoke from the pillar of cloud. The LORD our God is holy!” 

Royal and ritual thrones of the ancient world were typically constructed of wood frames overlaid with precious metals and inlaid with gems. Popular ornamentation included engravings of lions, winged sphinxes and composite mythological creatures. According to artistic tradition throughout the ancient world, these served as images of power and authority. Solomon’s throne was inlaid with ivory and overlaid with gold. It featured a rounded top and a pair of standing lions for armrests. Six steps led up to the royal dais, and each step was flanked by two lions, one on each end. 

The gods of the ancient Near East are depicted seated either upon thrones or atop animals or mythical beings (e.g., a goddess might be seated astride a lion). The creatures themselves become the seat of divinity. Images of gods carved into the hills along the Tigris River portray deities mounted upon such composite creatures. 

The divine throne of Yahweh is envisioned as a living entity composed of fiery creatures whose outspread wings form the chariot upon which he transverses the heavens. His throne is a spectacle of light, shining with a radiance of jewels and issuing flames of fire. Although heaven is God’s throne and Earth his footstool, the temple and Jerusalem are often referred to as the throne and footstool, respectively. This imagery evokes the divine presence of Yahweh and his kingship over his covenant people. 

Psalm 100 

The introduction to this psalm indicates that it was for “giving grateful praise.” 

It is thought that Psalm 100 was part of the liturgy of the ancient Jerusalem temple and was reused in later Psalms and prophetic texts, particularly the ambiguous verse 3. 

The writer says, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth! Know that the LORD is God. Enter his courts with praise. For his love endures forever.” 

Psalm 101 

This psalm was written by one of Israel’s kings, either David or one of his descendants. It is similar in form to ancient treaties. The king solemnly vowed to administer justice and to live up to the God-governed ideal in Israel. God had instructed the king to prepare a personal copy of the law so that he would learn to live rightly and to manage well the affairs of state as Israel’s chief executive. The king was God’s servant, appointed to carry out the wishes of his master, or overlord. 

The writer says, “I will sing of justice, O LORD. I will walk with integrity. My eyes will be on the faithful of the land. I will destroy the wicked.” 

Psalm 102 

This psalm is introduced as “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.” 

The writer says, “Hear my prayer, O LORD; I wither away like grass. You sit enthroned forever. The heavens will perish, but your years have no end.” 

Psalm 103 

In this Davidic psalm, he writes, “Bless the LORD, O my soul. He forgives all your iniquity. He has compassion on those who fear him. Bless the LORD, all his works!” 

Psalm 104 

The subject matter and its presentation of this psalm is closely related both to the first creation narrative (Genesis 1) where likewise the waters are separated before the creation of Sun and Moon, and to older accounts of creation from the Ancient Near East, both Mesopotamian and Egyptian. In particular, the Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten (14th century BC) is frequently cited as a predecessor, as well as the Ugaritic text of the Myth of Baal. The Lord’s power over the sea in creation is described. While Baal is the “cloud-rider,” the Lord “makes the clouds his chariot.” Unlike Baal, however, the Lord is neither killed nor needs help in making the earth produce food. The attribution of aspects of Baal to the Lord, along with a demonstration of his superiority to Baal, served to exalt and praise the Lord as the true King and God of creation in an environment in which the temptation to worship Baal was rampant. 

The writer says, “O LORD, you are very great. You set the earth on its foundations. All your creatures look to you for food. Bless the LORD, O my soul!” 

Psalm 105 

This psalm is traditionally recited on the first day of Passover. 

The psalmist says, “Give thanks to the LORD! He has remembered his covenant. He sent Moses to perform signs. He brought his people out of Egypt with joy.” 

The text called The Admonitions of Ipuwer is a lament over the breakdown of society in Egypt, and some compare it to the laments over upheavals found in the Biblical prophets. Ipuwer is most famous in Biblical studies because it contains a line stating that the Nile is blood – and yet people drink from it anyway. This as an obvious historical parallel in the turning of the Nile to blood during the period of the plagues prior to the exodus. Verse 29 expressed it this way: “he turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die.” 

Although the date of the composition of Ipuwer is unknown, this lament was probably written long before the exodus and thus is not describing the Biblical event. The expression that the Nile “turned to blood” in Ipuwer may help us to understand what the term would have meant to ancient readers. The implication does not appear to have been that the river was literally full of blood but more likely that the water was so polluted as to have been barely usable. 

Psalm 106 

The psalmist says, “The LORD is good! We have sinned like our fathers. They forgot their God. They served idols. But the LORD remembered his covenant.” 

When the Israelites were encamped at Mount Horeb they worshiped the image of a calf cast in gold, a practice they had no doubt learned in Egypt. The Cairo Hymn of Praise to Amon-Re describes the chief Egyptian god variously as the Goodly Bull, the bull of Heliopolis and the bull of his mother. The bull’s two eyes were the sun and the moon; both bovine and solar images were incorporated into the cult of Amon-Re. He was worshiped as the creator god who generated heaven, Earth, humankind and animal life and was believed to have been the father of all other gods, and the sustainer of the Egyptian kings. Although Amon-Re rescued the poor and downtrodden, he nevertheless kept his name a secret from his children (Amon means “hidden”). 

When the Israelites formed the golden calf, they insulted God by using the same image employed to portray Egyptian and Canaanite gods, possibly even attributing his saving acts to one of these false gods. Unlike the “hidden” god Amon-Re, however, the one true God revealed himself to his people both in his name and in his miraculous deeds. It is important to recognize that the worship of the bull god was in keeping with everything the Israelites had learned in Egypt and that it was, in their view, entirely appropriate… even though their sin was an obvious violation of God’s commands.