Theological Themes of Psalms - Robert D. Bell

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fruits according to the month (22:2). The river will flow from the throne of God, not from the top of a mountain (22:1). Just the function of a three-dimensional city in a cubical form (21:16) is unimaginable to us, but the wisdom of God will construct it.

      In conclusion, we call attention to the fact that the Holy Spirit, who has communicated wisdom to mankind, exhorts us to be wise. “Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, and consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord” (107:43, NASB). We all need to reflect on God’s wise instruction and focus on the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness. The instructive wisdom of Psalm 111 challenges us to contemplate God’s creative wisdom: “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them” (v. 2, ESV); “He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered” (v. 4a). The psalmist speaks of redemption (v. 9), and in the last verse comes back to wisdom’s great slogan: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (v. 10a).

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      Creation

      The first three chapters have prepared us for the theme of God’s work of creation. The act of God’s speaking (Chapter 1) led to heavenly bodies coming into existence: “he commanded, and they were created” (148:5b). The instructions He gave (Chapter 2) were the means of creation: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made” (33:6a). Two of the twelve wisdom psalms (78 & 119) have something to say about creation. Of course, the book of Psalms connects God’s wisdom (Chapter 3) to His creative acts: “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all” (104:24a); “To him that by wisdom made the heavens” (136:5a).100

      The Psalms frequently celebrate this theme and praise God for this particular work of His. The doctrine of creation appears in 33 psalms, occurring in 51 different verses. Every one of the five Books in Psalms treats this subject in at least three psalms, with dominance in the last two Books (17 verses in Book IV, 15 in Book V). Since the Bible itself begins with creation and because creation is the first of God’s awesome works, it is a fitting topic in praising the Lord and appears in four of the five concluding hallelujah psalms (146:6; 147:8; 148:5; 149:2).

      Vocabulary of Creation

      The normal Hebrew verb for “create” (ברא, bara’) occurs six times in Psalms (see Table 4.1 below). By noting parallels to this word, we discover additional terms for this theme. The poetry of Isaiah 45:18a gives us three synonyms: “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it …” (my emphasis). The verb עשׂה (‘asah, “to make”) is a very general term that occurs over 2500 times in the Old Testament, over 100 times in Psalms, where it specifically refers to creation 17 times. Parallel to it in 95:5 is the verb יצר (yatsar, “to form”), used for God’s creative activity in five out of its seven occurrences in Psalms. It can designate the activity of a potter with his clay. In 74:17b English versions (KJV, ASV, NASB, ESV, HCSB, and NIV)101 usually translate it as “made.” In this same context the third synonym from Isaiah 45:18 appears: “The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun” (74:16). This verb כון (kuwn, “to establish”) indicates founding or setting up something firmly, for example, of a man setting up a city (Hab. 2:12) or of establishing an altar (Ezra 3:3).

      The psalmists make use of four additional verbs for creation (listed in Table 4.1 below). Parallel to כון (kuwn) in 24:2 is the term יסד (yasad, “to found”): “For he has founded [the earth] upon the seas, and established it upon the floods” (my emphasis). Six out its ten occurrences in Psalms refer to creative action. Parallel to עשׂה (‘asah) in 95:5 is יצר (yatsar, “to form”): “The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.” This verb refers to creation an additional four times in Psalms. When David asks the Lord to “create … a clean heart” in him, the parallel is “renew a right spirit within me” (51:10). The verb חדשׁ (khadash) could be translated “make anew” or “create something new.”102 The same verbs are parallel in 104:30. The verb קנה (qanah), which normally means “to buy” or “to acquire” can rarely mean “to create,”103 as it does in 139:13.104 An additional verse counted in the totals but not noted in the table is 90:2, which uses the verbs ילד (yalad) and חיל (khiyl ): “Before the mountains were brought forth [literally, “were born”], or ever thou hadst formed [literally, “brought forth by labor pains”] the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Additionally, there are five verbs not included in the table but used in contexts of creation and in parallel with verbs in the table: (1) נטע (nata‘), “planted the ear” (94:9); (2) נטה (natah), “stretchest out the heavens” (104:2); (3) רקע (raqa‘), “stretched out the earth” (136:6); (4) סכך (sakak), “wove me in my mother’s womb” (139:13); (5) עמד (hiphil of ‘amad), “stablished them for ever” (148:6). These provide us with pictures of the ease of God’s creative work: like planting a shoot, spreading a piece of cloth, hammering a piece of metal, weaving cloth, or hanging a door.

      Table 4.1 Terminology in Psalms for Creation

Hebrew English # References Totals: Ps./all OT
ברא create 6 51:10; 89:12, 47; 102:18; 104:30; 148:5 6/54
עשׂה make 17 33:6; 86:9; 95:5, 6; 96:5; 100:3; 104:19, 24; 115:15; 119:73; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 136:5, 7; 146:6; 149:2 110/2640
כון establish 11 8:3; 24:2; 65:6, 9; 74:16; 89:37; 93:1; 96:10; 119:73, 90; 147:8 53/218
יסד found 6 24:2; 78:69; 89:11; 102:25; 104:5, 8 10/44
יצר form 5 33:15; 74:17; 94:9; 95:5; 104:26 7/45
חדשׁ renew 2 51:10; 104:30 3/10
קנה create 1 139:13 3/85
מַעֲשֶׂה work 8 8:3, 6; 19:1; 28:5; 33:4; 103:22; 111:2; 143:5 39/235
פֹּעַל work 2 111:3; 143:5 11/37
פְּעֻלָּה work 1 28:5 3/14

      Table 4.1 also lists three additional terms. The cognate noun to the verb עשׂה (‘asah) is מַעֲשֶׂה (ma‘eseh; “work”), a word that occurs over 235 times in the Old Testament, 39 times in Psalms. In at least eight passages the reference is to God’s creative deeds.105 In 28:5 מַעֲשֶׂה is parallel to the noun פְּעֻלָּה (pe‘ullah) and in 143:5 to the noun פֹּעַל (pow‘al ). The latter refers to creation also in 111:3.106

      Propositions

      The many verses in Table 4.1 provide

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