By Jeremy Bell
Here is my personal study on Psalm 35 according to my motif analysis, taken from my book Psalms in Motif Analysis. I have taken the elements of the analysis of the Psalm and grouped them together. So, the entirety of the Psalm will be posted, but in a different order. My hope is to share insights as to what the author intended to convey. This is a theologically sound practice, though good theology does not rely on one observation point alone. Take time to read the Psalm, pray on it, and test it in scripture to gain a good understanding of what God is saying through the author.
Music is Math
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz is quoted as saying, “Music is the pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.” A scale is any set of notes ordered by pitch, or sound frequency, within one octave. Notes are pitches that are the audible representation of a wave, or sound frequency. When a sound frequency is doubled, the human ear hears the same not, but higher in pitch, or exactly one octave. The reverse happens as well, when the sound frequency is halved, the pitch lowers exactly one octave, but it is the same note.
Scales are configurations of notes that have been mathematically ordered, though this is done through audible awareness. Music is math, it is science, it is emotion, and it is physical. Music is explainable and a mystery all at once, something that is easily known and touches the inner soul. It is often said that music heard in a major key produces happy sounding music. In a simplified way, this means that 4 semitones up from the root of the scale is a note, or a sound frequency, that is an even multiple of the root. This is referred to as a major third as it is usually the third note of a scale. This is mathematically pleasing, like 4 divided by 2. It’s nice because there is no remainder, no decimal points.
Brains Like Harmonious Math
In fact, when a note is played there are overtones included, though they are not typically obvious. Even sound frequency multiples like this one are heard and felt and this is called a harmonic. When the actual third is played with the root it is satisfying, our brains like it. Sort of like enjoying the perfection of division without remainders. Or for some of you right now it’s like when you enjoyed music without knowing it was related to math.
But sometimes music is sad and makes us feel that way. This is often produced by lowering that third note. It is three semitones over the root, it is not an even sound frequency of the root, and our ear knows it. This becomes more like solving a math problem of 13 divided by 5. For many of us, our brain starts to hurt at this point. This musical expression produces the same feeling. In fact in modern terminology, we are singing the blues.
From my analysis, Psalm 35 is a simple verse form Psalm. A verse is one idea that still has a breakdown of pattern, but those patterns are contained in one idea. I have identified 3 distinct sections, or elements. These sections are much like the sections of a piece of music, each related, but distributed in a pattern throughout the Psalm. 1 verse existing in 3 distinct elements.
Here is Psalm 35, grouped according to my motif analysis.
[ Psalm 35 ]
Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and stand up for my help.
Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me.
Tell my soul, “I am your salvation.”
Unrighteous witnesses rise up.
They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
They reward me evil for good,
to the bereaving of my soul.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.
I afflicted my soul with fasting.
My prayer returned into my own bosom.
I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother.
I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue my soul from their destruction,
my precious life from the lions.
I will give you thanks in the great assembly.
I will praise you among many people.
You have seen it, Yahweh. Don’t keep silent.
Lord, don’t be far from me.
Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God!
My Lord, contend for me!
Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness.
Don’t let them gloat over me.
Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor.
Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
Let them be as chaff before the wind,
Yahweh’s angel driving them on.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
Yahweh’s angel pursuing them.
For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me.
Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
Let destruction come on him unawares.
Let his net that he has hidden catch himself.
Let him fall into that destruction.
But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together.
The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it.
They tore at me, and didn’t cease.
Don’t let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me;
neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes.
Don’t let them say in their heart, “Aha! That’s the way we want it!”
Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”
Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity.
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh.
It shall rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you,
who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him;
yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?”
Like the profane mockers in feasts,
they gnashed their teeth at me.
For they don’t speak peace,
but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me.
They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
Let those who favor my righteous cause shout for joy and be glad.
Yes, let them say continually, “May Yahweh be magnified,
who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!”
My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long.
The Blues
Blues music is an entire genre centered around this dissatisfaction. In blues the third is lowered and so are other pleasing harmonics. Masters of the blues abound and hearing great blues is sound frequency music to the soul. Blues touches the inner pain of suffering and betrayal. Blues expresses the inner frustration of life against us and not knowing how to get out of it. The story of the blues is a snapshot of pain, helplessness, low down, beat up, being taken advantage of, and the needy position of the self. It is some of the most beautiful music known because every human is connected by the same message because every human has experienced the blues of life.
Jesus experienced the blues of helplessness, betrayal, having been taken advantage of. But the blues are a snapshot, a moment of sound frequency, not all of life and not all of existence. Throughout history God has modulated that third note and has continued to make promises to do that again throughout existence. He has a plan to magnify His glory in perfect harmony throughout His perfect harmonically created creation. When Jesus came, all that was needed to accomplish His plan was completed. Through faith in Jesus and by Gods’ grace, God calls people, and they respond and become His people in His kingdom. They were once living the life of a lowered third and Jesus raises them up and they become an even harmonic.
Harmonics Continuous in Time
This is not a one-time event, though, there is a starting point. Living harmonically is every moment, day by day thing. The Christian modulates between the lowered third and the harmonic third regularly. It takes other Christians to lift each other up and if you are a Christian, it takes you too! The Psalms have been preserved for us to remember that God wants to lift us up, that He will do that through others even though sometimes others let us down and even betray us.
It is Gods’ help, with Jesus as the root, that gives a Christian hope. Without Jesus life is a lowered third. Beautiful music is made out of the lowered third, but it is a snapshot with a sad ending. Life in Jesus may contain lowered thirds, but he will ultimately raise them all into a beautiful composition, a harmony of sound frequency, filled with perfect harmonics and eternal life that continues in hope. This is a music score written from The Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Unity in the Bible Truths About God.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.