Tonight we come to the conclusion to Book 3 of the Psalter.
The themes of Book 3 all come together in Psalm 89:
- the question “why has God cast us off?” (Psalms 74, 79, 80 and 88)
- the vision of the heavenly council (Psalms 76, 82),
- God's righteousness and justice for the humble of the earth (Psalm 76, 82, 85)
- his steadfast love and faithfulness (think of Psalms 85-86)
- how God will exalt the horn of his servant, but cut off the horns of the wicked (Psalm 75), going before his people to defeat their enemies (Psalm 81, 83)
- God's power over the seas, and the sea monsters (Psalm 74)
- Rahab and the reminder of God's triumph over Egypt (Psalm 77, 78, 87),
- God's choice of David and how Israel's future is bound up with him (Psalm 78, 80)
- and the importance of walking uprightly before God (Psalm 84)
- the fearsome power of Sheol (Psalms 86 and 88)
Every Psalm in Book 3 finds an echo in Psalm 89. Someone might reply – yeah, well, Psalm 89 is just a long Psalm, so of course it covers a lot of themes. True – but Psalm 78 is even longer – and Psalm 78 does not include all of these themes.
Book 3 begins in Psalm 73 with a comment on how I nearly betrayed God's people – if I had said that the wicked prosper and envied the arrogant, “I would have betrayed the generation of your children.” (73:15) Psalm 89 closes book 3 with exactly the same problem: the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, but this time demonstrating the proper way to handle this dilemma!
The God who is characterized by steadfast love and faithfulness will surely be faithful to his covenant with David – even though I don't know how long it will be! |
