Impending Judgment on the Oppressive Wicked and Interim Promises for the Righteous

This corporate prayer psalm reflects life between promise and fulfillment. Here, God’s people live in the midst of, not away from, danger. Although there are no explicit liturgical references, the movement of the psalm makes best sense as a liturgy. Some scholars consider this psalm a mixed type because it combines a corporate prayer (vv. 1–7), wisdom traditions (vv. 8–13), and individual testimony, which appears to derive from a thanksgiving ceremony (vv. 17–19, 22). But the speaking “I” who confesses the Lord as “my God” (v. 22) refers to “the LORD our God” in the very next verse. He thus serves as a spokesperson for a participating group (perhaps a liturgist representing the congregation). As explained bel…