Tehillim 108 | The Connection to Psalm 57 and Psalm 60

Yesterday we began the fifth book of Tehillim. The fifth book is the book of praise and thanksgiving. Hallel HaGadol (said at the Seder on Pesach), the Egyptian Hallel (said on Rosh Chodesh and Yom Tov), and the verses of  Pesukei Dezimra – all come from the fifth book of Tehillim. After dealing with the establishment of David’s kingdom and the many ups and downs he experienced in his life, and after engaging with the weighty theological questions of the people of Israel in the third and fourth book, the fifth book leads us toward redemption and the Messianic era, and toward the praise and thanksgiving that come with them. It seems that in a certain sense, we can view the fifth book as something relevant even in the present. Just as many psalms contain both hardship and difficulty alongside praise and thanksgiving — even when it’s unclear whether the poet has already been redeemed or not — we, too, can experience times of distress and struggle alongside moments of confidence, redemption, and uplift. The structure of the entire book of Tehillim reflects these same fluctuations.

Psalm 108 is composed entirely of parts of psalms we’ve already encountered. Verses 2–6 appear, with slight variations, in Psalm 57:8–12. And verses 7–14 appear almost word for word in Psalm 60:7–14. Radak comments on this: “This psalm is entirely said twice... and it is repeated here — we do not know why. And perhaps, because there it was said regarding the matter he mentioned... concerning David himself, and this psalm is said about the days of the Messiah...” Radak suggests that Psalms 57 and 60 reflect the original historical events, whereas our psalm is spoken in the Messianic era. It would seem that this aligns with the nature of the fifth book: a book of praise for the Messianic era. In the Messianic era, we return to the events of the past, recall them — and through them, we praise God.

Rav Yoel Bin-Nun points out that our psalm quotes from Psalms 57 and 60, but selects primarily the verses of praise, omitting most of the descriptions of distress. The later perspective of salvation, oriented toward the future, emphasizes above all the uplifting verses.