Psalms in chronicles

Currents in Theology and Mission, August, 2005 by Ralph W. Klein

While we have learned much in the last century about the forms and the social setting of the psalms, it remains a fact that we know very little about how the Psalter was used in public worship before the rise of the synagogue. The proposals made in the middle of the last century about a covenant renewal festival in ancient Israel (by Artur Weiser in the Old Testament Library commentary on the Psalter), an enthronement festival of Yahweh (Sigmund Mowinckel, in numerous publications), or a festival celebrating the kingly rule of Yahweh (Hans Joachim Kraus in Biblischer Kommentar) have largely passed into the history of prior scholarship leaving few sure results in their wake. That some psalms were used to accompany a sacrifice (Ps 50:24) or that others were used as entrance liturgies (Psalms 15 and 24) or in the course of pilgrimages or processions (Psalms 120-134) is true, but these contributions to our understanding of how psalms were used in public worship remain fairly rudimentary. Suggestions within psalms, such as "Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar" (Ps 118:27) or exhortations to perform music, such as "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day" (Ps 81:4) provide limited access to how psalms were actually used.

But there is one book within Scripture where psalms are used in a liturgical context, namely Chronicles, and 1 Chronicles 16 and 2 Chronicles 6 in particular, where selections from well-known psalms accompany the transfer of the ark to Jerusalem and the dedication of the temple. These too are limited pieces of evidence, because we do not know with any certainty whether David's transfer of the ark was subsequently observed liturgically or in a procession that recited these psalms (but see Psalm 132), but we do have examples here of how psalms were interpreted or reapplied in late Persian times. One supposes that the Chronicler's assignment of psalms to these liturgies did not strike his readers as absurd.

The Psalms in 1 Chronicles 16

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 consists of excerpts from three canonical psalms: Psalm 105:1-15; 96:1-13; and 106:1, 47-48, all from Book IV of the Psalter.

Psalm 105 is a psalm of thanksgiving. After a call to give thanks for Yahweh's wonderful works (vv. 1-6), the psalm recounts Yahweh's efforts on Israel's behalf in the past, including his covenant with and care for the matriarchs and patriarchs (vv. 7-15), his provision of Joseph to save Israel from famine (vv. 16-22), his liberation of Israel from the hardships of Egypt (vv. 23-38), his supplying Israel with food and drink during the wilderness wandering (vv. 39-42), and finally his gracious gift of the Land (vv. 43-45). Only the first fifteen verses of this psalm are included in 1 Chronicles 16. Were the next thirty verses--with the mention of plagues and the dread that afflicted Israel's enemies--considered too potentially revolutionary for the political context in which the Chronicler wrote?

Psalm 106, another hymn of praise (mixed with a theology similar to that of the Deuteronomistic History), provides a history of sin and judgment in Israel. The psalmist praises Yahweh for remaining faithful to God's people despite their long history of sin and apostasy. Periods of sin (in Egypt and at the Red Sea, vv. 6-7; in their rebellions in the wilderness, 13-14; in rebelling against Moses and Aaron, 16; in the incident with the golden calf, 19-22; in the incident with the doubting spies, 24-25; in their apostasy at Baal Peor, 28; in apostasy during the period of the judges and later, 32-39; and their frequent subsequent rebellions, 43b) were followed by periods of judgment (vv. 15, 17-18, 26-27, 29, 40-42, 43c), and then again and again by periods of Yahweh's compassionate protection and deliverance (vv. 8-12, 23, 30-31, 43a, 44-46). The last two verses of the psalm are a prayer for deliverance from the exile (v. 47) and the conclusion to Book IV of the Psalter (v. 48). Of these forty-eight verses, only the first and the last two make it into the new psalm in 1 Chronicles 16. Ironically, none of the verses that give this psalm its identity--sin, judgment, divine compassion, protection, and deliverance--makes it into 1 Chronicles 16.

Psalm 96 is a third hymn of praise. After a call to praise in vv. 1-3, the reasons for praise are given in vv. 4-6, namely Yahweh's superiority over all other gods. A second call to praise takes place in vv. 7-9, followed by a proclamation that Yahweh is king and judge of all the earth both now and in the future (vv. 10-13). This psalm is included between Psalms 105 and 106 in 1 Chronicles 16. The only omitted lines are 10b, "he will judge the nations with equity," and 13b, "he will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth." The Chronicler may have found it more appropriate for the people to hope for some manifestation of Yahweh's sovereignty in nature than for them to declare Yahweh's sovereignty in history convincingly before their political and military masters.