Case Study on Psalm 101 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Study on Psalm ci - Term Paper precedentHistorical Analysis Psalm 101 was written for the occasion of the enthr anement of a Judahite king3 and the glorification of the Davidic kings example of virtue and righteousness. In fact, Psalm 101 is known as Davids mirror of a monarch4. It may have actually been written during the time _____________ 1Jerome F. D. Creach, The dower of the Righteous in the Psalms (2008) 107. 2James Douglas Grant Dunn, God-Talk for a Disillusi unrivalledd Pilgrim in Psalm 21, Eerdmas Commentary on the Bible (2003) 413. 3Michael L. Barre, The Shifting Forces of Psalm 101, The Book of Psalms Composition and Reception, vol. 99 (2005) 206. 4James Luther Mays, Psalm 101 The itinerary of Integrity, Psalms (1989) 321. when David was sworn in as king over all of Israel, and he wrote this as a pledge of allegiance to God5. This could have then taken place in 1002 BC6. Literacy Background Psalm 101 uses a number of poetic devices in order to convey the message o f royal conduct, virtue and integrity. Among these be metonymies like my house in the line I will conduct the affairs of my house/ with a blameless essence7. The word house here(predicate) does not necessarily recollect the house where one lives but rather the whole kingdom that one holds and rules, for it is a king that is assumed to be mouth in Psalm 101. Nevertheless, the use of the word house somehow implies that the king considers his own kingdom as something that is of his immediate responsibility. Another metaphor in Psalm 101 is the line I will drop to silence8 as a form of punishment. Putting someone to silence may mean something imposing a punishment on a criminal that will teach him a trying lesion and make him not commit the same wrongdoing ever again. Haughty eyes and proud heart9 are also two other phrases that speak of a persons section rather metonymically. Both haughty eyes and a proud heart only mean one thing pride. This pride is one thing that displeases God, and the fact that this verse on pride _______________ 5Barre, The Shifting rivet of Psalm 101, The Book of Psalms Composition and Reception, volume 99 (2005) 206. 6David M. Carr & Colleen M. Conway, An Introduction to the Bible Sacred Texts and imperial beard Contexts Composition and Reception (2010) 234. 7Ps. 1012, New International Version. 8Ps. 1015, 8. 9Ps. 1015. on slandering ones neighbor in abstruse10 implies that those who slander their neighbor are actually proud and haughty people. Nevertheless, the point is clean haughtiness and pride displeases God. Structural Outline of Psalm 121 The basic structure of Psalm 101 is funny because there is a problem where to mark off its second major division11. In fact, as discussed by Barre, the second line of verse 2 when will you come to me? does not seem to be a part of the first or the second stanzas for this particular line is a question of craving while the rest of the first and second stanzas are the kings promises to God. The first strophe, or verses 1 and 2, is all about the Psalters exaltation of the Lord and his desire to live the blameless life. The second strophe, or verses 3 to 5, is all about the description of the negative things that the Psalter or the king himself is supposed to do12. Among the people condemned here are those with faithless (Ps. 1013), those with perverse of heart (Ps. 1014), and those who slander their neighbor in secret