For there the lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. The notes explain some of the words with a star by them. Twentysix is the numerical value of the tetragrammaton. Psalm 3 is the 3rd psalm of the book of psalms, generally known in english by its first.
Sukkoth, one of the festivals of the jewish faith, including passover, which. It is as if the dew of hermon were falling on mount zion. This book contains four devotionals on each of our selected psalms as. He knew by experience the bitterness occasioned by divisions in families, and was well prepared to celebrate in choicest psalmody the. Psalms 107150 in one file or download in r tf format psalm 107. The psalm to read before rosh hashanah my jewish learning. Psalm 3, written by king david, exalts and praises unity.
These songs were most likely sung by pilgrims as they made their way to jerusalem to celebrate a number of annual religious festivals, including passover. Here is my reflection on a verse from psalm 3, at three verses, one of the shortest psalms in the book. We just celebrated the 240 th anniversary of the united states. A tiny thing such as this points to the weakness of that version. A word list at the end explains the other words that have a star. At three verses, this is one of the shortest psalms in the psalter. It is like the dew of hermon, which falls on the mountains of zion. Often mistakenly attributed to the new testament, it is actually one of the psalms of david, as indicated in its superscription v. He knew by experience the bitterness occasioned by divisions in families, and was well prepared to celebrate in choicest psalmody the blessing of unity for which he sighed. Oil, running upon aarons head and down into his beard and onto his garments, was good and pleasant. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. This psalm addresses a question that concerns all religious people.
The jewish publication society jps has been the preeminent publisher of books at the heart of jewish culture in the english reading world for over 125 years. Jps books include the jps tanakh, the most widely read english translation of the hebrew bible, esteemed bible commentary, and hundreds of scholarly and popular works of history. Psalm 3 is fourteenth of the fifteen songs of ascents in book five of the psalter. An easyenglish translation with notes about 1200 word vocabulary on psalm 7. Psalms 3 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The superscription attributes the psalm to david, but that superscription was omitted by the rsv, perhaps indicating some reluctance on. Oh, how good, how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in harmony. Introduction the art of reading remains the paradigmatic practice of literary criticism, even and perhaps especially on this, the thither side of theory.
Bible commentary on the book of psalms, chapter 3, by dr. Psalms 3 commentary james burton coffman commentaries. The psalm imparts blessing and life to gods people. Psalms 3 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. And typically as you know lament psalms arent really upbeat. As the temple in jerusalem was the high place for the jewish people, so easter is the high point of the gospel. The name of the month has been understood to be an acronym for the hebrew verse i am my beloveds and my beloved is mine. Psalm 23 30 literary commentary t he lord is my shepherd is probably the bestknown statement in the book of psalms. Appendix b the structure of the book of psalms editors note. I think of it as a message from the divine, plucking at whichever one of my heartstrings that needs plucking at that particular moment.
God is interested in unity and wants us to be united in love so that his spirit can dwell in the church and in us and families as wellin a place where there is disunity,the spirit of god is far. According to jewish mysticism, rain is a sign of god showering his. Free bible commentary on the book of psalms in easy english. Psalm 3 complete jewish bible cjb 3 0 a song of ascents. Psalm 3 is the 3rd psalm of the book of psalms, generally known in english by its first verse, in the king james version, behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Davids choice of these two metaphors extends the idea of good and pleasant. Wicked counsel itself is not imputed unless carried out via walking in the flesh as opposed to walking in the spiritual council of god rom. It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even aarons beard, coming down. We see no reason for depriving david of the authorship of this sparkling sonnet. The recitation of psalms sacred songs or hymns in times of distress, uncertainty and thanksgiving provides comfort, as they reflect a personal relationship with god. There is a wide range of jewish literature to study along with classical or modern commentaries, such as torah, prophets, psalms, mishnah. Psalm 3 song nkjv behold, how good and how pleasant it.
Psalm 3 when brothers dwell in unity a song for pilgrims ascending to jerusalem. In order that i could analyze the psalm 3, denominated psalm of the fraternity or of the concordance, i divided the work in two parts. World wide study bible psalms 3 christian classics. While there is a fair amount of support for that idea in. Blessings of unity psalm 3 godwin sathianathan duration. How good and how pleasant it is that siblings dwell together. Psalms 3 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. Psalm 3 begins with an exhortation to behold that is, to take notice. Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty. It is no less grateful and refreshing than that holy anointing oil, which was strongly perfumed, and diffused its fragrance all around, to the great delight of all present, when it was poured upon the head of aaron, at the time of his consecration to the priestly office, so plentifully, that it ran down his face, even to the collar or. During elul we read psalm 27, to david the lord is my light, twice daily.
Elul is the month of preparation and shofar blowing. In fact, one of the central aims of berlins interpretation of psalm 3. The goodness and pleasantness of brethren dwelling together in unity. A word list at the end explains all the words that have a star. The superscription attributes the psalm to david, but that superscription was omitted by the rsv, perhaps indicating some reluctance on the part of translators to accept davids authorship. But there is, in words of torah and postmosaic scriptures, an allegory and a figure, and in the words. Walk, stand and sit could imply moving, being stationary and resting. Zion, the blessings of the lord were coming down upon them, in their unity of purpose and worship. It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even aarons beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. This psalm is a brief encomium on unity and brotherly love, which, if we did not see the miseries of discord among men, we should think needless. These hebrew words are familiar to anyone who attends synagogue regularly. We cannot say too much, it were well if enough could be said, to persuade people to live together in peace. The psalm is a regular part of jewish, catholic, anglican and protestant liturgies. This psalm was penned by david, as some think when all the tribes of israel united and chose and anointed him king over them, 2 samuel 5.
But there is, in words of torah and postmosaic scriptures, an allegory and a figure, and in the words of the wise and their riddles, but the primary meaning of the song of ascents is that it was said regarding the. David guzik commentary on psalm 3, which speaks of the goodness of unity among the people of god, suggesting how that unity can be maintained. The first one developed in a descriptive way tries to place two biblical figures inside of a historical context. Biblical commentary bible study psalm 15 introduction. Keeley and laura keeley, is a devotional book for the entire family designed to help parents explore the riches of the book of psalms with their children and teens. Psalm 3, is exactly what the church of christ jesus is lacking todaythe ministers of god lacks this, the members of church congregation lacks this. Greenstein, aspects of biblical poetry, jewish book annual 44 1986. It can mean sons having at least one parent in common, but it can also mean having common ancestors. The dew on hermon mountain or download in r tf format. These devotionals will help parents learn more about the psalms as they teach their children about praise, prayer, and lament.
If there be but one god, as god is one, so let them that serve him be one. While the torah presents itself as the divine word imparted to the people israel, the 150 poems in the book of psalms represent a range of human voices. Psalm 3 is located in a group of psalms in book five of the hebrew psalter that are. Is this psalm about the unity of groups of israelitesjews or all mankind i. It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on aarons beard, down on the collar of his robe. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers also to dwell together.
Psalm 20 is a very positive, upbeat kind of psalm even though it shares some characteristics with lament psalms. There are 150 psalms whose authorship is attributed to king david 10th century b. Bible matthew henrys commentary psalm 3 psalm 3 matthew henrys commentary. But jewish pilgrims would have thought of leviticus 8.
Remember the good times or download in r tf format psalm 44. How sad is it to see religion wearing a coat of divers colours. It is like the dew of hermon that settles on the mountains of tziyon. The following is a condensed, edited version of appendix one, preliminary suggestions on the structure of the book of psalms, taken from dr. Behold accords with the reference being to a meeting of the national brotherhood at the great festivals. It is like fragrant oil on the head that runs down over the beard, over the beard of aharon, and flows down on the collar of his robes. Jun 23, 2012 psalm 3 nkjv 1 behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Psalm 23, which begins with the words mizmor ledavid a song of david, is arguably the most famous of all the psalms. If it had not been the lord who was on our side, now may israel say. Joy through unity comes when gods people have all things in commonthe same beliefs and desires working toward a common goal.
Book 2 psalms 42 72 psalms 4272 in one file or download in r tf format psalm 42 and 43. The arizal taught that when reciting this psalm on shabbat, one should have intention that the first letters of the words ach tov vachesed yirdfuni add up to 26 alef1, tet9, vov6, yud10. Sep 02, 2019 psalm 3 is one of the fifteen songs of ascents shir hamaalot, and one of the three songs of ascents consisting of only three verses 1. Psalm 20 meaningmy experience in fact, i can recall a time when i was. In the greek septuagint version of the bible, and in its latin translation in the vulgate, this psalm is psalm 2 in a slightly different numbering system. Aaron, mentioned nominally, and david, that is considered as the author of the mentioned psalm. For there the l ord l has commanded the blessing, life.
Tal, dew, is a common biblical symbol of hashems bountiful blessings. For almost every psalm, alter gives an enlightening overview of its meaning and purpose, but the versebyverse comments, which often involve the intricacies of translation from hebrew to english, can be a bit tedious. A blessed man is to avoid these three specific groups of people. According to jewish mysticism, rain is a sign of god showering his abundant blessings freely from above. It was a time of celebration of our unity as a nation. An easyenglish translation with notes about 1200 word vocabulary on psalm 3.
Tehillim psalms chapter 3 tanakh online torah bible. On an even more kabbalistic level, there is another reason why we say this psalm on shabbat. Since the psalm is usually quoted in its king james translation or in one. For there jehovah commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. Ernest martins book, restoring the original bible, pp. Robert bellarmine 15421621, in a commentary on the book of psalms. Jul 28, 2015 the psalm begins with a blessing by way of disassociation. Just a note, there are two possible roots from which this word collar could be taken. Psalm 3 bible commentary john gills exposition of the.
A pilgrim song of david3how wonderful, how beautiful,when brothers and sisters get along. How good and pleasant it is when gods people live together in unity. Hebrew greek multitranslation make poster as the dew of hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of zion. Psalm 117, with two verses, is the only shorter psalm. Psalm 3 commentary by nancy koester working preacher.
Its not known when david wrote this psalm, however, some suggest it was written on the occasion of his anointing as king in celebration of the peoples unification under his reign 2 sam. This admirable zeal of this pious king condemns the indifference of those who leave the sacred places which are dependent upon their care in a condition of shameful, neglect, while they lavish all their care to make for themselves sumptuous houses. It may be seen, for it is the characteristic of real saints,therefore fail not to inspect it. The book of psalms sefer tehillim my jewish learning. This is the fourteenth of the socalled pilgrim songs, or songs of ascents. The jewish people sang psalm 3 to express their joy in coming together for worship at the temple, where god promised to meet them. Verses 2 and 3 describe what unity is like, comparing it to oil and to dew. This psalm was composed by david upon the happy occasion of the ending of the civil war between the two houses of saul and david. What follows is important and deserves our attention. Hermon, a 9200foot peak at the extreme northern portion of palestine, provided the major water supply for the jordan river by its melting snow.
111 1373 130 1571 831 445 1424 11 1034 1 903 734 50 499 944 1175 624 837 619 508 771 1096 1401 682 1207 307 480 582 1254 667 888 346 1223 747 330 941 835