Read Psalm 121-125 at Bible Gateway.
The other day I said that Psa 121:1-2 and Psa 123:1-124:8 were the bookends of a chiastic structure. Something else revealed itself today:
FIRST THEME: Psa 121:1-2, I will lift up my eyes to my help, which comes from the LORD;
SECOND THEME: Psa 121:3-8, The LORD, the keeper and preserver of Israel;
Psa 121:3, He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber;
Psa 121:4, Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep;
Psa 121:5, The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
Psa 121:6, The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night;
Psa 121:7, The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul;
Psa 121:8, The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. {p}
THIRD THEME (Psa 122:1-9 central axis): Psa 122:5, The thrones of the house of David are set there for judgment;
FOURTH THEME: Psa 122:6-9, Peace be upon Jerusalem;
Psa 122:6, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you;
Psa 122:7, Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces;”
Psa 122:8, For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you;”
Psa 122:9, Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good. {p}
FIRST THEME REPEATED: Psa 123:1-Psa 124:8 chiastic structure: Unto You I lift up my eyes, our help;
SECOND THEME REPEATED: Psa 125:1-2, The LORD surrounds His people;
Psa 125:1, Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever;
Psa 125:2a, As the mountains surround Jerusalem; {n}
Psa 125:2b, So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever;
THIRD THEME REPEATED: Psa 125:3-5a, The scepter of wickedness shall not rest in the Land;
Psa 125:3a, For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous; {n}
Psa 125:3b, Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity;
Psa 125:4, Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts;
Psa 125:5a, As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity; {n}
FOURTH THEME REPEATED: Psa 125:5b, Peace be upon Israel;
Psa 125:5b, Peace be upon Israel! {p}
This is especially helpful to meditate on in light of the terror attacks against peaceful civilians worshiping in a synagogue in Jerusalem on Tuesday, and the rejoicing of Israel’s enemies at the news of the gruesome carnage. How can these psalms co-exist in a world where things like Tuesday’s carnage happen?
Messiah Yeshua was asked a similar question, when calamity likewise befell those who were peacefully offering their sacrifices:
There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Luk 13:1-3
He didn’t answer the question of “Why,” just as God did not answer it for Job. But, the Lord shall lead away the workers of iniquity, and peace shall be upon Israel, when Messiah Yeshua, the Root and Branch of David, establishes His throne there for judgment.
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