Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 6: Composition of Psalms 3-8would expect to find a cluster of psalms that share similar themes withoutexpecting them to be connected sequentially to form any sort of narrative. 1336.3.3 Themes in Psalms 3-8There are certain thematic threads that run through Psalms 3-8. By means ofa careful inductive analysis of the six psalms in my corpus, I have identifiedthe following as important themes:• Enemies see Table 6.11• God’s disfavour see Table 6.12• God’s favour see Table 6.13• Salvation see Table 6.14• Protection see Table 6.15• Prayers see Table 6.16• Righteousness, joy and praise see Table 6:17133 I must emphasise that these are my deductions from reading Brueggemann’s (1991)article. He does not explicitly discuss the use of a thematic approach to the editing of thePsalter, but as I reflected on his article in the light of my study, I inferred that his insights implythis kind approach. I do not claim to be presenting Brueggemann’s stated views on thismatter, only my reflections inspired by his insights.273