The Themes of Exile and Return Are Seen Throughout the Psalms

The Poetic Exile

Given the theological severity of the historic exile, it is no surprise that emblems of exile and the hope for return would appear throughout the Bible. One thinks of the constant threat of enemies in Judges, the loss and return of the ark in 1 Samuel, Ruth’s departure and return, and David’s flights from danger.¹

The same dynamic is powerfully at work in the Psalms. The Bible’s poetic literature “functions to provide a pause in the storyline to reflect on the tragedy of the exile, its causes and significance.”² This is principally seen in the Psalter’s organization into five parts:

Book 1: Psalms 1–41
Book 2: Psalms 42–72
Book 3: Psalms 73–89
Book 4: Psalms 90–106
Book 5: Psalms 107–150

Gerald Wilson has argued that the psalms that begin and end each book serve as thematic “seams” that stitch the otherwise diverse psalms together.³ Thus a discernable pattern emerges that matches the narratological flow of the entire Old Testament, emphasizing exile and hope for return. The definitive turning points are the rise of David, crowning of Solomon, descent into exile, and rising of Israel out of exile into a new creation.⁴ For our purposes at this point in our study, books 1 to 4 tell the story of Israel’s exile out of the land.

Book 1 begins in a garden setting (Ps. 1:2–3) and describes the rise of the house of David as a response to the rebellion of the nations against God (Ps. 2). David’s ascension is a difficult one, however. He is a suffering king, often on the verge of death (Pss. 18:4; 22:1, 15; 23:4; 41:5). Yet he always comes out of the figurative grave to rule the nations (Pss. 16:10–11; 18:43; 22:19–21, 27; 23:5; 41:10).⁵ This brings us to the first “seam,” the climax of book 1. Psalm 41 concludes with these lines:

By this I know that you delight in me:
     my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
     and set me in your presence forever.
Blessed be the LORD. (Ps. 41:11–13)

The triumph over the “enemy” and the enjoyment of the Lord’s “presence forever” shows David’s role in bringing Genesis 3:15 to completion and reopening the door to Eden.

Yet Psalm 42, the first psalm of book 2, appears to have been written from exile, when the temple—that place of God’s presence—is a ruined heap, and the “enemy” taunts by saying, “Where is your God?” (Ps. 42:9–10, cf. Ps. 42:3).⁶ Thus, the last psalm of book 1 and first psalm of book 2 bring together the end goal of David’s reign—triumph over the enemy and entrance into God’s presence—and the ever-looming threat of exile. In other words, books 1 and 2 are stitched together with a yes-but-more seam. “Hope in God!” comes the cry (Ps. 42:5, 11; cf. Ps. 43:5).

Such expectations build higher by the end of book 2. Psalm 72 is the pinnacle of the Psalter the way 1 Kings 8–10 is the pinnacle of the historical books of the Old Testament, capturing the full vision of Genesis 3:15 and the nations’ return to Eden.⁷ Solomon is on the throne, ruling with justice and righteousness (Ps. 72:1–2). Sun, moon, and earth are invoked (Ps. 72:5–7) as this son of Judah has “dominion . . . to the ends of the earth” (Ps. 72:8; echo of Gen. 1:28) and victory over his “enemies” (Ps. 72:9; echo of Gen. 3:15), and tribute (particularly gold) and obeisance are brought by the nations (Ps. 72:10–11, 15; allusion to Gen. 49:10). The result, therefore, is that “the whole earth [is] filled with [the Lord’s] glory” (Ps. 72:19). In short, what David saw from afar at the end of book 1, his son Solomon realizes in a climactic way at the end of book 2.

Yet just like 1 Kings 11, book 3 of the Psalms begins with ominous words: “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped” (Ps. 73:1–2). It would appear that this psalm does not pertain directly to exile, but its placement at the head of book 3, right after the triumphant close to book 2, reminds us of Moses’s warnings concerning the heart, specifically how Solomon’s heart is described in 1 Kings 11. And indeed, book 3 does end with a dirge of exile in Psalm 89. The house of David is “cast off and rejected” (Ps. 89:38; cf. also Ps. 89:39, 44–45, 49). “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?” (Ps. 89:46) is a sad query given what we saw at the end of books 1 and 2. Now the Lord’s and Israel’s “enemies” mock (Ps. 89:51). Thus, the plea at the end of book 3 is “Remember, O Lord” (Ps. 89:50). As the covenant God had once “remembered” Israel in Egypt (Ex. 2:24), this new exile will necessitate a second exodus.

The door back into to our true Edenic home is opened through the great end-times sacrifice of the coming Davidic priest-king.

Book 4 is then the book of exile itself. And right on cue, it opens with the only psalm written by Moses, Israel’s first redeemer (Ps. 90). Throughout, it emphasizes that God constantly “remembers” (Pss. 103:14; 105:8; 106:4) and constantly describes humanity’s end as “dust” (Pss. 103:14; 104:29; cf. Gen. 3:19) as well as Jerusalem’s current condition as “dust” (Ps. 102:13–14). Yet withMoses as the first author, book 4 generates the hope that Israel will return to the Lord and the Lord will return to them (Ps. 90:13). Book 4 also echoes Genesis 3:15 (Ps. 91:11–13), contains a wonderful hymn of creation (Ps. 104), and concludes by recounting the first exodus (Ps. 106). The final words are

Save us, O Lord our God,
     and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
     and glory in your praise. (Ps. 106:47)

That is where book 4 leaves the people of God—calling out to be gathered from among the nations because the house of David and the house of the Lord (in fact, all humanity) are in the dust of death.

To be sure, not every psalm revolves around exilic themes. But an aerial view of the entire Psalter demonstrates this wider topography. Books 1 to 4 of the Psalter are struck in the mold of exile from Eden and exile from the land.

The Poetic Return from Exile

The Psalter has the same glorious vision. When we left off with the Psalms, we heard Israel’s plea at the end of book 4 to “gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks” (Ps. 106:47). Book 5 then begins by repeating the words “gather” and “thanks.” Psalm 107:1–3 exults,

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
     for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
     whom he has redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands
     from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

Thus, book 5 is the book of return from exile. And while psalms attributed to David decreased over books 3 and 4, his psalms are back in force in book 5. Psalms 108–110, 122, 124, 131, 133, and Psalms 138–145 are all ascribed to David. The emphasis that emerges is that “the answer to the problem of exile is David.”⁸ Having been laid “in the dust” at the end of book 3 (Ps. 89:39), David is now literarily back from the grave.

The most important chapter in this section is Psalm 110. It is a kingly enthronement psalm (“Sit at my right hand”; Ps. 110:1) reminiscent of Genesis 3:15 (“enemies your footstool”; Ps. 110:1).⁹ And it is also a priestly psalm (“You are a priest forever”; Ps. 110:4).¹⁰ The upshot is that through the reinthronement of the house of David and a new sacrifice, Israel comes out of exile.

Finally, at the completion of this return from exile, creation itself breaks out in worship of God. The five psalms that conclude the Psalter, Psalms 146–150, celebrate a renewed earth singing praise to God in the language of return from exile and a new exodus. In Psalm 146:8, the “blind” see. In Psalm 147:2, the Lord “gathers the outcasts.” In Psalm 148:3–11, sun, moon, stars, creatures, mountains, trees, and “creeping things” praise the Lord, as do the “kings of the earth.” In Psalm 149:1, a “new song” echoes Moses’s song after the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 15:1–2). And in Psalm 150:1, laud is given to God specifically “in his sanctuary . . . in his mighty heavens.” The end is that “everything that has breath praise[s] the Lord” (Ps. 150:6). That term “breath” comes right out of Genesis 2:7. Thus, at the end of the exile, the purposes of Eden are accomplished!

As a whole, the Psalter tells the story from Adam to Solomon and the temple, down into exile, and finally looking forward to a new creation (just like the prophets) and, therefore, the restoration of all humanity. The door back into to our true Edenic home is opened through the great end-times sacrifice of the coming Davidic priest-king.

This article is adapted from Return from Exile and the Renewal of God’s People by Nicholas G. Piotrowski.

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