Therefore will we not fear though the earth tremble,
And the mountains sink down into the heart of the sea.
Let its waters roar and rage,
Let the mountains shake with its violence;
Yahwe of hosts is with us,
A fortress for us is the God of Jacob.
The second division, verses 5-7, pictures the serenity of the new Jerusalem already enjoying what the old Jerusalem lacked, a river flowing through its midst, and protected by God in this great hour while the hostile nations rage without its walls. Finally the third division, verses 9-11, invites us to behold the evidence of the complete and final defeat of the enemies of God, the bows snapped, the spears broken, and the chariots burning up in fire. Also one is to hear the voice of God claiming forevermore his rightful and supreme sovereignty among the nations of the earth.
Unique among the psalms of confidence is Psalm 139. The psalmist marvels, in verses 1-6, at Yahwe’s complete knowledge of his earthly life; in verses 7-12, at the omnipresent power of Deity, from which there is no escape; in verses 14-16, at the divine wisdom manifested in the creation of the psalmist’s body and the complete determining of his life’s course, in verse 17 at the innumerable thoughts and purposes of God. Verses 19-22 descend to the commonplace in petitioning for the death of the wicked while the concluding verses 23-24 ask God that his heart be searched for the discovery of wrong and that he be divinely guided in the right way. It is perhaps possible to regard verses 1-18 as an expression of faith in Yahwe, introductory to the petitions 19-24 and so class the poem as a psalm of lamentation and petition, but the verses 1-18 seem to be relatively so much more important that it seems wiser to regard it as a psalm of faith.
Teaching or Wisdom Psalms
There is a natural line of development from the psalm of faith to what may perhaps be called teaching or wisdom psalms. The believing psalmist assumes that God is in complete control of all the circumstances of life, and is convinced that God will protect him from all evil and give him success. This assumption of faith then becomes for many the all important, fundamental law of life, and as such it must needs be taught to youth. Thus doubtless originated the wisdom psalms; of which we have in the Psalter 1, 112, 34, 78, 127, 128, 133, 125, 73, 37, 49.