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Psalms and Song of Songs

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of Poetry
    31 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Poetic Structures
    22 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  3. Lesson Three
    Praise and Lament
    24 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    The Diversity of Psalms
    28 Activities
  5. Lesson Five
    Song of Songs
    20 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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Psalms and Song of Songs Poetic Structures In | Workbook: Chiasm in Psalm 11, Part 3
Lesson 2, Activity 8

In | Workbook: Chiasm in Psalm 11, Part 3

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You may have noticed that the Psalmist begins and ends this chiasm by referencing his relationship with God. The center of the chiasm (verse 4) locates God in a position of supreme authority, in both heaven and over the “children of man.”

Before God’s authority is addressed in verse 4, the wicked persecute the righteous. With God’s authority in place, the situations of the wicked and righteous are promptly reversed. The righteous are vindicated and those who persecuted them are punished.

Chiasm quoted with adaptation from: Robert L. Alden, “Chiastic Psalms: A Study in the Mechanics of Semitic Poetry in Psalms 1–50,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, JETS 17:1 (Winter 1974), p. 16.

VersesChiasm levelBrief summary
11:1a(YHWH my refuge)
11:2-3a   b     (Wicked persecute)
11:3b      c        (Righteous suffer)
11:4a         d            (YHWH rules in heaven)
11:4b         d’            (YHWH judges on earth)
11:5a      c’        (Righteous vindicated)
11:5b-6   b’    (Wicked punished)
11:7a’(YHWH the righteous) 

By mapping the hymn in this way, we’re able to neatly organize it and get to the heart of the theology of the Psalm. Relationship with God is the beginning and ending of the conversation and the context for the rest of the Psalm. The pivot of this relationship is the sovereignty of God in ways both visible and invisible. Around that pivot, the values of the world are turned on their head. The wicked are punished and the righteous are restored.