David's Psalms

As we began to talk about how the psalms fit into religion, and reflected on David's psalms, I was immediately intrigued. I think the psalms are a wonderful read because they are poetic and meaningful and I truely appreciate the background stories on David that we discussed. Also, here is a clip of Robert Alter talking about his translation of the psalms:

http://audio.nextbook.org/podcast_feature688.mp3

David was a messiah in the eyes of God, or literally translated he was "the chose one". Upon reading Samuel 16.14-23 and Chronicles 16, the story behind David's psalms gave the songs meaning and helped me to better understand the moral implications of the Bible. I went back and re-read psalm 51 and 18, both of which are David's Psalms. In psalm 51 the adultery David commits with Bathsheba, is announced in the beginning. An individual asks for forgiveness and is granted it, just as David was for his adultery. The psalm ends with David as a role model for repentance. He helps others to find a way to be free of their sin by asking God for forgiveness. David is an important figure in God's eyes and in the eyes of those who read the psalms.

Psalm 18 is named A Song for David and some suggest he might have been the author of this particular psalm. It is a song about the celebration of God's power because he has saved the author in military battle and in life. God provides comfort here for enemies in battle and presumably off the battle field.

David has written many psalms to commemorate an event in his life for the pleasure and comfort of God's followers. He has powerful experiences to show the goodness of God when he is on your side. He also helps to bring people back after sin. This ties in very well with our definition of religion as a spiritual finding and a group feeling. It also provides an ethic in which God rewards those who follow and punishes others.