By Jeremy Bell
This is Psalm 41 with notes on The Envelope of Sound. Faith, Hope, and Love, discovered in truth in the writings of a people God has preserved for thousands of years. The Nature of Joy is not defined by failing humans. It is experienced through a perfect God who restores relationship to any who would respond.
This is my personal study on Psalm 41 according to my 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 listed, 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.
The Envelope
A descriptive part of every sound wave that comes to the ear is the envelope, the envelope of sound. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. Musically this is more specifically referred to as the attack, the sustain, and the decay. For some sounds this is short lived, for others, it lasts a very long time. Electronically, each one of these parts has been isolated and is controllable. When I record my synthesizer melodies, I have power over the attack of the notes I’m playing, the decay, and the sustain. Because it’s electronic, I can even change these things after a recording.
When I first learned about sustain it was through piano lessons. The piano has a sustain pedal or a damper pedal. This was invented in the 1800’s to connect patterns together more smoothly when playing the piano. If you were to pluck a piano string with your finger with no damper pedal, the initial sound that starts the sound wave is the attack. This is the beginning of the envelope of sound. This can be a soft or harsh attack. You can do this with your hands by clapping really hard or very gently.
This decays in a natural way after a moment of sustain, where the sound is held for a time. The damper pedal rests on the piano strings to stop lengthy sustain because not all notes go together well. Thus completes the envelope of sound. This is control. Playing all the notes on a piano with no sustain control is just noise.
Pattern Control
Some patterns flow well into each other, however, and lifting the damper pedal allows for an added layer of sound beauty when the sustain is controlled by allowing it to last longer. This grew in popularity during the romantic period, and we are accustomed to it today and even mastering it in digital music. A talented musician not only plays the right notes, but they also master the envelope of sound. Composers will give direction in the musical score, but it is the musician who attacks, sustains, and decays the music with their instrument for the listener.
From my motif analysis, this is in simple verse form. 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. This may sound unclear, but it is visually represented in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization. You can find it here!
[ Psalm 41, Regrouped According to My Analysis ]
Blessed is he who considers the poor.
Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive.
He shall be blessed on the earth,
and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
By this I know that you delight in me,
because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me.
As for me, you uphold me in my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting!
Amen and amen.
Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed,
and restore him from his bed of illness.
I said, “Yahweh, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up,
that I may repay them.
My enemies speak evil against me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood.
His heart gathers iniquity to itself.
When he goes abroad, he tells it.
All who hate me whisper together against me.
They imagine the worst for me.
“An evil disease”, they say, “has afflicted him.
Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.”
Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
who ate bread with me,
has lifted up his heel against me.
Psalm 41 describes someone who has been attacked, is decaying, and looking for sustaining help from the master, the musician. A composition has many moving notes and chords along with the notations for addressing the envelope of sound. There are a series of envelopes with sustains of varying lengths that will end. But Gods’ composition of human life is one of attack, sustain, and no decay. Though death comes to all in this life, the spirit sustains through it and continues with no end. Death is an example of what should be, and how all human life is equal in divine authority. Death comes to all, wicked or righteous, king or poor, educated or dumb.
No one has the right or power to change the composer’s music. The great news for us humans is that the composer sent a musician to play His masterpiece. This musician experienced death like everyone else, but he rose from the grave to life. To anyone who has faith in him, he sustains in life in his presence forever. He has mercy for the humble and the melody he plays with those who trust in him is rooted in the essence of beauty defined.
Envelope Control
There are some who don’t want the musician’s help. The master musician, who has died and come back to life, has said that the sustain of their lives still exists, but it is in a decay that never ends and in fact is sustained in the envelope of sound in weeping and gnashing teeth. These people fool themselves that they can play the music with more control and beauty than the master musician. All humans experience envelopes of life. Attacks, sustains, and decays. These are envelopes that the composer has written to magnify His glory and point to hope. That these envelope packages have meaning and can be beautifully played together when they are played by the right musician.
Jesus was born 2,000 years ago and died. He rose from the grave and appeared to hundreds of people, teaching them, and fulfilling all the hope written about the Christ from the thousands of years before he was born. He still lives, giving his spirit to any who believe in him. His Father, the composer, has finished writing, though the composition is still being played. If you have come to the Father through Jesus the son, you still experience these envelopes of life that would feel better if they just didn’t happen, if they just did not have to be played in the first place.
Be Comforted
Be encouraged because you are in the hands of the master musician and the composer has written your painful sustain into an amazing piece of music that you will enjoy one day. The day is coming when your sustain will be without decay, look for that day and hold the faith. This envelope of sound is not in vain.
If you have not come to the Father through the son, now is the time. The composition is ending soon, and you have no real power to do anything about your eternal sustain. But God is calling you right now, this very moment. You can respond, and you can appeal to His mercy over His justice and live. In Gods’ kingdom, every tear will be wiped away, there will be no more weeping. Experience His forgiveness now through His son, Jesus. Give up your life for the eternal sustain in 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.