Learning to Listen Part 4

Psalm 25

This psalm does not track a central theme

What I mean, is that we cannot say, “This is a psalm of praise,”
- or “Psalm of confession,” or “thanksgiving psalm,” or “supplication psalm”
• this doesn’t mean the structure of the poem is random,
◦ only that it doesn’t tell a story or develop a specific point
• nevertheless, there is a pattern to the psalm,
◦ but we don’t find it arranged in an obvious pattern
- the first Hebrew letter in the first word of the first verse is alef
(like 'A' is the first letter of our alphabet)
• the first letter in the first word of the second verse is bet
(like 'B' is the second letter of our alphabet)
◦ alef and bet are the first two letters in the Hebrew alphabet
◦ that’s what the poet used for the outline of the entire psalm
• it’s like the nursery rhyme, “A is for apple; B is for ball . . . .”
◦ except that two letters from the Hebrew alphabet are missing

There are several psalms that use this acrostic device
- Psalm 119 is the most radical example, supplying eight verses (each beginning with the same letter) for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet