The Naphtali Exhorter: Psalms Menorah

(1)

The book of Psalms, chapters one hundred and eleven through one hundred and seventeen form a pattern which resembles the branches of a Menorah. The location and number of similar text extolling praise of the Lord mirrors the pattern of the arms of the lampstand found in the tabernacle which is described in Exodus 25:31-36:

"Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out,

base and shaft; its flowerlike cups,

buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it.

Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand--

three on one side and three on the other.

Three cups shaped like almond flowers with

buds and blossoms are to be on one branch,

three on the next branch, and the same for

all six branches extending from the lampstand.

And on the lampstand there are to be four cups

shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.

One bud shall be under the first pair

of branches extending from the lampstand,

a second bud under the second pair,

and a third bud under the third pair--six branches in all.

The buds and branches shall all be of one piece

with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold."

The first three Psalms, representing the lamps on the left, begin with the words "Praise Ye" or, "Hallelujah", by the Hebrews. The fourth, or center lamp, does not contain "Hallelujah". The final three "Praise Ye's" are at the end of the final three Psalms.

Psalms 111-117

Psalms 111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Psalms 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Psalms 113:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.

Psalms 114:1-8

When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,

Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back;

the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back,

you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

Psalms 115:18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

Psalms 116:19 In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalms 117:1-2 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

The first two of these Psalms, the hundred and eleventh and the hundred and twelfth, are known as companions as they both praise and give glory to the Heavenly Father. "Even in the number of verses, and clauses of each verse, it coincides with its predecessor, as also in many of its words and phrases." (1) They are known as alphabetical Psalms as the letters beginning each verse begin with each of the twenty-two consonant letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order. (2)

C.H. Spurgeons', The Treasury of David, calls Psalms 113 a circle psalm. "Praise ye the LORD. The music concludes upon its key note. The Psalm is a circle, ending where it began, praising the Lord from its first syllable to its last. May our life psalm partake of the same character, and never know a break or a conclusion."(3)

The center of this lampstand of verses contains the one hundred and fourteenth Psalm. It is an ode (3) to the redeemer of Israel. It speaks of the Exodus, a celebrated occasion for the Hebrew nation. The sea, the Jordan river, the mountains, and hills, the entire earth, tremble and react to the presence of the Holy God of Moses. No wonder that this Psalm would serve as the "base" of the lampstand. It represents a profound principle; The Lord is God over all creation.

The final three of the "Hallelujah" psalms, speak first, in 115, to the God of Israel, sovereign God of the universe, the one true God and not a mere idol. Second, in 116, the people call upon the Lord with thanksgiving, for mercy, protection, salvation in times of trial and trouble. Finally, the last of the seven psalms speaks of grace to the Gentiles. "The Hebrew word translated "peoples" refers to the diverse nationalities in the world." (4) This, the shortest of the psalms, is only one chapter from one hundred nineteen, the longest of the psalms. It begins and ends with "Praise the Lord". The first translates from Hebrew as "Hallelujah - praise the Lord" while the final praise is "shavah", meaning to boast or extol.(4)

As a collection, Psalms one hundred and thirteen through one hundred and eighteen were sung at Passover because they praise and worship the Lord as the Redeemer of Israel. They are joyful psalms, called the "Egyptian Hallel", and sung as the people entered Jerusalem, as they made their offerings, as they ate the Passover meal, and at the conclusion of Passover. "These Psalms are a remarkable celebration of the great acts of the Lord, in delivering His people from Egypt. They point forward to the deliverance that would come through the Savior, Jesus." (5) Mark Hicks states, "These were most probably the hymns that Jesus and his disciples sang in the context of their Passover. The theology of these songs is directly related to the theology of both the Passover and the Lord’s Supper." (6)

These psalms were among those that our Lord Jesus, Yeshua, would have sung as a boy in the temple, as He celebrated the Passover each year, and probably were those sung by He and His disciples at the Last Supper. We read in Matthew 26:30 "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

How appropriate that the structure of these psalms imitates the menorah in form. The lampstand was the source of light in the tabernacle. Yeshua, the Messiah and Christ, is the light of the world. "For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) Christ says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Take time to read through the entirety of these Psalms. Appreciate the word patterns which sybolize the lamps of the Menorah. Picture the mountains skipping like rams as the sea holds back and looks on. These were reactions to the mighty hand of the God of the Israelites, leading them out of Egypt and into Canaan.

Dwell upon the profound works of the Lord as He redeemed His people from the slavery and bondage in Egypt. Contemplate His might works and recognize His infinite plan for the nations who serve Him.

"Praise Ye the Lord,"

Ponder on His works and take "delight in them"! Study His "glorious and magestic" deeds. Remember His wonders. His covenant and "His righteousness endures forever"! His precepts are trustworthy and steadfast. "Holy and awesome is His name." "To Him belongs eternal praise!" (7)