Calvary Baptist Bible College & Seminary

A REFLECTION ON PSALMS HIGHLIGHTING

THE CREATOR-CREATION DISTINCTION
IN VARIOUS LITERARY CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE PSALTER

By
Nissi Candace Reegan

Old Testament Introduction – II#20220

Lect. Kamcha Haokip
February 28, 2023
 INTRODUCTION

The Psalm without a doubt is a book that conveys the author’s emotions to the reader
most profoundly. Psalms were and are of key importance in the daily life of the Christian and
in Christian community worship. Psalms enriches the contemporary Christian's daily life and
deepens the church's community worship in hearing God's word. Considering the genre of the
book itself, poetry, is meant to convey not only the author’s thoughts but also his emotion and
we see this playing out very admirably in each Psalm. Since the authors of the Psalms were
humans like you and me, it possible for us to empathize and sympathize with their
circumstances and emotions.
The Septuagint refers to this book as psalmos, which is the Hebrew equivalent for mizmôr,
which is the formal name for a song that is performed using musical instruments. So loosely
speaking the book of Psalm can be looked at like a reference for hymns for the Israelites.
Psalms is by nature a poetic book and one can perceive the poetry even in languages
other than Hebrew. The psalms are poetry that aim to convey the author's experience to the
reader rather than just recording it. Craigie (1983: 36) distinguishes between the two modes
of literature: “Whereas the language of prose is utilized primarily toward direct
communication, poetic language is characterized by a more transcendent quality.” The
authors of the psalms have written these psalms in order to convey a large amount of feelings,
circumstances and themes. 
Although the psalms were written by varied authors over a period of time, it was
written within the Jewish context. Therefore, much of Israel’s culture and history can be seen
from this book. As Hassel Bullock rightly puts it “There is no better way to enter the spirit of
Israelite history and the faith of this people of antiquity than through this book.” This book
truly draws the attention away from man and teaches us to worship God for his being and his
nature. The hymn writers have emphasized the character of God which enabled not just the
Israelites but even us to just break into worship of the creator God. The theology of the
psalms is extremely profound and touches every aspect of God's character. The writers of
psalms have used various figures of speech like anthropomorphism and zoomorphism to
describe the greatness of God.
This book has been written for an extended period of time by several different authors
and therefore it is difficult to classify the psalms in the book.
One of the reasons the psalms are so beloved is that they reflect the complete gamut
of human emotions in front of God. This great diversity of emotion and perspective is the
source of the Psalter’s richness for believers. The Psalter provides voice to many different
people's faith struggles, theological discoveries, and liturgical testimony. For this and other
reasons, even though more than two thousand years have passed since they were penned, the
psalms remain vital to the lives of Christians and Jews alike.
As John Goldingay has aptly put it, the “Psalms make it possible to say things
that are otherwise unsayable.” At times the psalms give us words to express anguish that we
cannot bring ourselves to express. At other times they allow us to express the joy we feel, but
to do so in a theological register. And at still other times, we do not sing them because they
say or feel what we already believe or feel, but because by speaking them we can come to
believe what they say, feel what they feel, and trust where they trust.

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 The Creator- creation distinction manifested in The Psalms

As I read through the whole collection of Psalms, I began to see a certain similarity in
each Psalm. Every Psalm despite its classification seemed to speak about a Supreme Being.
Each Psalmist has either praised, worshipped, lamented or thanked God, which in their case
was Yahweh. Thus depicting a distinction between the Creator and the creation. Let us
consider an example from

Psalm 8.
1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name  in all the earth, You have set your glory
in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a
stronghold  against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your
heavens,   the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4  what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You
have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned the with glory and honor. 6 You
made them rulers  over the works of your hands;  you put everything under their feet: 7 all
flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord,    how majestic is your name in all the
earth!

The poem consists of two stanzas. The first stanza starts with a focus on the glory of
God in creation and ends with a question about the value of humanity. The second stanza
answers this question by affirming that God has crowned humanity with glory and ends with
a discussion of the various creatures over whom humans have been given responsibility. The
entire psalm is centered on the question in vs 4.
The author in this this Psalm is positioned on the earth as a mere mortal, and he is
looking skyward as he begins to praise God. Filled with awe and wonder, he begins by lifting
up Yahweh’s name. He praises Yahweh’s strength and power against the enemies. He then
considers the creation. David is looking at the celestial bodies and is filled with veneration for
the creator of these. Overcome by the vast expanse of creation, the psalmist is led to ask the
searching internal question about the purpose of human existence: What are human beings
that you remember them? Or mortal persons that you attend them?
David, here is celebrating the Creator God. God here is king of creation. Human
beings are celebrated as the royalty of God’s creation, who have been commanded by God to
govern nature in the same responsible way that kings are commanded to govern nations. As
one reads through this psalm they will observe that, the Creator-creation distinction is quite
distinct.
The various psalms can be categorized by literary types, indicating the different
subject matters they addressed or the various styles in which they were written. Through the
remainder of this paper, I seek to demonstrate this theme through each of the literary type.

Wisdom Psalms

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 These instructive psalms provide practical guidelines for godly living and give
direction for righteous living in the pursuit of God’s will. The Book of Psalms begins with a
Psalm of Wisdom through which the Psalter maps the future as a choice between one of two
different paths,
Psalm 1- Man's submission to God's Word.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that
sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates  on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree  planted by
streams of water, which yields its fruit  in season and whose leaf does not wither—  whatever
they do prospers. 4  Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the
righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked
leads to destruction.

The poem consists of four stanzas that are carefully constructed upon a basic contrast
between the wicked and the righteous. Psalm 1 functions as a two-part introduction to the
Psalter. Because of this, its message of the two paths has significance beyond the mere
boundaries of Psalm 1. The reader is invited to read the entire book of Psalms as a guide to
life in God — a life that the psalm describes as happy. Psalm 1 bears witness to the belief that
the road of our own choosing leads only to our own destruction. Psalm 1 sees hope in a
different path, the path defined by God’s instruction.
Perhaps one might be wondering, how this Psalm demonstrates the Creator-creation
distinction. I would argue that it certainly does. In this Psalm, King David is contrasting, the
life of a happy man and a wicked man. He demonstrates that a happy man is one who submits
himself to the Word of God.
Even though David is not explicitly stating the distinction between God and man, we
can glean from this psalm that man is dependent on God for both orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
A man who submits himself to God’s counsel is happy, else as the Psalmist states he is like
the chaff which the wind blows away. All of this goes to show that man cannot exist
independently of God. The Creator- creation distinction can be observed by man's submission
to God's Word.
God has revealed Himself through His Word, and He expects us to live according to
it. The profound wisdom found in the Bible cannot be derived from man’s intellect. It teaches
us the ways of life, which we in our depraved being can never achieve independently of God.
Thus God is superior to man even in knowledge. Man can never achieve this knowledge
without God allowing us to. All we can do as God’s created beings is simply submit to the
Word of God. This how one can observe the Creator-creation distinction in the Wisdom
Psalms.

Royal psalms.

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 The Royal Psalms describe the coming messianic rule of the Christ, these regal
psalms portray him as the undisputed sovereign King over heaven and earth. I contend that
even Messianic Psalms carry a sense of the Creator-creation distinction in them. I will
demonstrate this through,

Psalm 2- God is our Supreme King.

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth
rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3
“Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 4 The One enthroned in heaven
laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his
wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 I will proclaim the
Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You
will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore,
you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and
celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead
to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge
in him.

The entire Psalm revolves around one thought i.e. “who rules the Earth?” The
Psalmist begins by asking a question. He is amazed at the fact that mere human beings
conspire and plot in vain.
According to Psalm 2, the issue is never really an issue. God reigns in heaven and
extends heaven’s will downward into our sphere through the work of Israel. And yet, says the
psalm, there are many who, do not recognize God’s grandeur. But Psalm 2 also bears witness
to the faith that God’s reign, hidden and invisible though it may appear now, is the only true
reality. God is active here and now, the psalm confesses, even if God’s reign is not yet fully
visible.
The nature of the Psalm itself is one that portrays him as the undisputed Sovereign
King over heaven and earth. The Psalmist is describing the Messiah as “The One enthroned
in heaven.” Even though David is not certain that Jesus is The Messiah, he has put his faith in
God and has been made aware, that the Messiah is indeed the only King Forever.
David as he writes this psalm is a king, a king of an entire nation, Israel, perhaps a
well-renowned king globally in that time. Yet, despite his wealth, power and authority, he
knows that his kingship is restricted to his mortal life, he is made aware that there is a king
far more superior to him.
King David has clearly distinguished between God, the creator and man, the creation
in this psalm quite explicitly. David has asserted this distinction by not only differentiating
between God’s rule and man’s rule, but has also shown that man’s is sustained by God.

Lament psalms

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 These highly emotionally charged psalms record the writer’s heart cry to God for
divine deliverance from trouble and pain.

Psalm 3- God our ultimate Deliverer

1  Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2 Many are saying of
me, “God will not deliver him.” 3 But you,  Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One
who lifts my head high. 4 I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5  I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. 6 I will not fear though
tens of thousands assail me on every side. 7 Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my
enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8 From the Lord comes deliverance. May
your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 3 comes under the lament psalm category. And as I read through, it appeared
strikingly different from the first two psalms at prima facie. King David is writing this Psalm
upon the occasion of his flight from Absalom. The psalm is both a powerful prayer for help
and a masterful work of art.
The major theological topic of this psalm is God's saving action. The psalmist's
opponents doubt that God can or will help him. The psalmist refutes this statement by
expressing faith in God's ever-present help.
Although it might appear that this psalm is pre-dominantly a lament, it can be
perceived that this psalm is no less a psalm of praises than a psalm of prayer for God’s help.
King David recognizes that he needs to draw his strength from God to fight his battles. He
recognizes that only God can defeat his foes for him.
The psalm offers a warning of the danger of arrogantly assuming that we know whom
God does or does not favor. To claim such knowledge is just as heinous a crime as denying
the existence of God or the ability of God to save. On the positive side, the psalm also offers
encouragement to those who hope for deliverance.
David has wonderfully expressed his praise for God through this psalm despite his
dreadful circumstance. Even though David is going through such an unfathomable situation,
he still does not make himself the center of his struggle. He begins by asserting his struggle
and proceeds to praise God for an ability that only God can possess. He praises God’s
strength and expresses an undoubted confidence and trust upon God. David has not even a
speck of doubt while calling upon the name of God. He knows that deliverance comes from
God alone and he has not only said this by his lips but demonstrated it through his life.
Several psalms show how David completely depended on God for ultimate deliverance.
The psalmist has very fittingly distinguished between God and man even in his
lament. He does this by asserting that only God can deliver or to put it in another way,
“Deliverance is the Lord’s”. This psalm truly teaches that man is functionally different from
God. Only God has the ability, strength and power to deliver the man.

Imprecatory psalms.

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 Motivated by fiery zeal for God’s glory, these provocative, and often controversial,
psalms invoke God’s wrath and judgment upon the psalmist’s adversaries who were God’s
enemies. The psalmist called upon the Lord to punish the wicked and defend him as he
carries out God’s work in the midst of his persecutors.

Psalm 7- Man’s dependence on God’s righteousness

1 Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 2
or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. 3 Lord
my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands— 4 if I have repaid my ally with
evil or without cause have robbed my foe— 5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let
him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. 6 Arise, Lord, in your
anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. 7 Let the
assembled peoples gather around you, while you sit enthroned over them on high. 8Let the
Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my
integrity, O Most High. 9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous
secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts. 10 My shield is God Most
High, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his
wrath every day. 12 If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string
his bow. 13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. 14
Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. 15
Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made. 16 The trouble they
cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads. 17 I will give thanks to
the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most
High.

Psalm 7 is a prayer for help. The psalm is the prayer of one who seeks God in order to
receive refuge, deliverance, and vindication. When read in the original context, it can be
observed that it goes beyond just a cry for help.
The psalmist’s invitation to be examined by God is paralleled by Job’s similar
demand for examination (Job 31). Just as Job argues that any sin that he may have committed
certainly does not match the magnitude of the suffering that he endured, so also the psalmist
of Psalm 7 seems to be facing punishment that is “out of scale.” "Neither the Book of Job nor
Psalm 7 are concerned with self-righteousness. Rather, both are primarily concerned with
God's righteousness. The psalmist, like Job, lays the case with God, expecting God to be a
"righteous judge." Even though the psalmist preserves his own righteousness in relation to the
specific matter at hand, he submits his case to the Judge, whose righteousness is his only
secure shelter.
Through this psalm, the psalmist has wonderfully demonstrated that we pray not
because of who we are or what we are; we pray because of whose we are and what God is.
God is man’s standard of righteousness. He is outside of creation, he goes beyond the time,
space, and matter continuum. He is ontologically different from us.
God is distinct from man in the sense that man can never be as righteous as God, He
alone has the right to judge man, because He is righteous. God further assures us that He will

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surely judge the wicked and bring every act of man under judgement. Thus we can see the
distinction between the Creator and creation in this psalm as well.

Thanksgiving psalms.

These psalms express a profound awareness of deep gratitude for God’s abundant
blessings, whether individual or national.

Psalm 30- God alone is worthy of man’s praise

1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies
gloat over me. 2 Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. 3 You, Lord,
brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. 4 Sing
the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts
only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing
comes in the morning. 6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” 7 Lord, when
you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was
dismayed. 8 To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 “What is gained if I am
silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.” 11 You turned my wailing into
dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your
praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalm 30 is a classic example of a type of praise psalm known as the psalm of

thanksgiving. The psalm depicts a circumstance in which a victim has emerged from a dark
period of distress and is now in the brilliant light of safety. He attributes his salvation to the
Lord and thus returns praise for his deliverance. Even though the psalm is the prayer of an
individual, a corporate setting is implied. Having passed through crisis, the psalmist rises up
before the congregation and calls others to join in his praise of God.
The central idea of Psalm 30 is that the God of Israel is a God who delivers. As a
result, God is deserving of praise. The psalm emerges from a background of pain and misery.
Yet the psalmist wants us to focus on the living God who took him out of the depths of grief
into the fresh air of dawn, not only on the anguish from which he has escaped. The psalm
exhorts us to live lives that celebrate and provide joyous testimony to the reversals and
Easters that only Israel's God can create. The psalmist provides evidence to his confidence
that there was an even more concrete reality at work in, with, and under the physical fact of
his rescue from a difficult period of struggle – God.
As we read this psalm we will have to reconcile not just the psalmist's declaration that
this God exists, but also Psalm 30's assertion about the essential essence of this God. God’s
nature is to be a God who saves, one who intervenes in order to spark a basic reversal in the
affairs of God’s people.

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 The psalmist has quite explicitly made a distinction between man and God in this
psalm. Upon reading, we see that he has continually asserted praises to God. The psalmist’s
confidence in God has resulted in him bring uplifted from his enemies and he is praising God
and thanking Him for his deliverance. Furthermore, David is aware that his “bad”
circumstances had been orchestrated by God Himself (vs 5), yet he continues to thank and
praise God for delivering him from those circumstances.
Man is unlike God in that he can only praise and thank God for His Sovereign deeds.

Pilgrimage psalms.

These festive psalms foster celebration and praise for God as Israel recalled the
Lord’s goodness to them as they traveled to Jerusalem for their annual feasts.

Psalm 46- God, a Shelter and Refuge

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore
we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a
river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in
uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the
God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has
brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and
shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am
God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord
Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The first, Psalm 46, is a community hymn which is more specifically classified as a
“psalm of confidence” or a “song of Zion.” While the psalm never specifically mentions the
city of Jerusalem or uses the word “Zion,” its content and structure suggest that it was sung
liturgically by the community of Israelites — perhaps at a time of threat to the security of
Jerusalem sometime in the preexilic period — as a confirmation that God was enthroned in
Jerusalem and would protect the people of God from all threats.
In the midst of the natural and political upheaval in which they lived, the picture of
God as their warrior gave the ancient Israelis with a compelling imagery of protection and
defense.
Slow or stop the tumult and conflict; pause for a moment and ponder the God of the
Israelites, God says in v. 10. In v. 11, we are reminded that the LORD of hosts is with us; the
God of Jacob is a fortress for us. The Lord of Hosts will bring peace to the ends of the world.
In the midst of our turbulent, chaotic contemporary world, Psalm 46 reminds us that
God can quiet the roaring seas and shaking mountains, transforming them into rivers of life
and peaceful living places. All we have to do is remain still and acknowledge the God who is
with us.

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 The Psalmist has expressed his emotions in this Psalm so profoundly. Not only does
the psalmist praise God for his faithfulness, but also recalls the goodness of God to him and
his people. This psalm is a wonderful reminder to each of us that God is good all the time and
we need not fear any troublesome circumstances, because The Lord is our Mighty Fortress.
Even when situation seem to go out of hand, God is in control, He is with us.
Perhaps it is about time we answer the question: “How is the creator-creation
distinction manifested in this psalm or any other pilgrimage psalms?” I would say that it most
clearly does.
This psalm encourage gladness and praise for God when Israel journeyed to Jerusalem
for their annual feasts, recalling the Lord's benevolence to them. Man is entirely reliant on
God for protection. God alone is man’s Mighty fortress and man in turn can do nothing but
praise and adore His might and ability to sustain His people.
Man differs from God in that he cannot fight his own battles; instead, God shields us.
Man in turn ought to respond by being still and trusting God.

Enthronement Psalms

These awe inspiring majestic psalms describe the majesty of God’s sovereign rule
over all his creation and the providential care by which he sustains, controls, and directs all
he has made.
Psalm 5- God is king of all
1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and
armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. 2 Your throne was
established long ago; you are from all eternity. 3 The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have
lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. 4 Mightier than the
thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea— the Lord on high is
mighty. 5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.

Psalm 46 is perhaps one of the most explicit assertion that the creator is distinct from
His creation.
This psalm is a declaration that whether or not there is a human king on the throne in
Jerusalem, the Lord is the supreme king, not only of Israel, but of all of the creation. Indeed,
this first of the enthronement psalms concerns only God and God’s creation. In that it is a
reflection of ancient Near Eastern creation myths where the god not only creates the world,
but has control over the chaotic waters.
This psalm begins and finishes with the proclamation that God is the creation’s king
and that kingship has existed from the beginning of time. That is well-established, and it is on
which we rely. God is in command, and the world serves God.
This first portion declares God to be King and then goes on to discuss the qualities of
his kingship. The king is clothed to demonstrate his position to all (vv. 1b, 1c). God is girded
with strength, implying that he is ready to fight evil.
Lastly, the world is secure because God is in charge and has been for all eternity (v.
2). Because God is the ruler of the universe, chaos and evil are under control.

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 It returns to the evident theme of God as king, this time praising God's decisions and
abode before asserting once more that God's dominion is set eternally.

CONCLUSION

The Creator-creature distinction is summarized beautifully in Westminster Confession

7.1. Though God is infinitely transcendent over the creature, He nonetheless condescended to
the image-bearing creature and offered Himself to the creature as the creature’s blessedness
and reward. Adam’s reward in relation to God under covenant was God himself. God is his
blessedness and reward.
The creator and creature distinction highlights the ultimate ontological difference
between the Triune God and the created. In His being knowledge, power, holiness, justice,
kindness, and truth, the Triune God is infinite, everlasting, and immutable.
And the creation created by God's sovereign will is not eternal, but temporal; it is not
infinite, but finite; it is not immutable, but mutable. In the Creator-creature relationship, the
separation between the two continues. While God is infinite, everlasting, and immutable
away from His relationship to the creation, He remains such in that relationship.
The creator-creature distinction and relation drives us to remember that the final,
eternal and unchangeable Triune God is not only the transcendent sovereign over the creature
but the one who in creation and in the voluntary condescension of covenant offered Himself
to Adam for His blessedness and reward. And after the fall, he comes to be the blessedness
and reward of every creature who is redeemed by Jesus Christ as the Last Adam. So that in
union with Jesus Christ as the Last Adam the Triune God is the blessedness and reward of the
church.

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