psalmist writes the words the Holy Spirit speaks directly here.40 (2) The words of 14:4 most likely are a quote from the One who looked down to inspect mankind (v. 2).41 (3) In Psalm 21 David begins by addressing and praising Yahweh (vv. 1–6); then he states a fact about his faith (v. 7). Another shift occurs in the following verses: we have what appears to be a divine oracle delivered to David (vv. 8–12).42 The last verse of the psalm shifts back to addressing the Lord (v. 13). (4) Some commentators have recognized 27:14 as a divine oracle that gives the Holy Spirit’s response to David’s prayer.43 (5) The first five verses of Psalm 101 present David’s resolve to live righteously, but the remaining verses (5–8) of the psalm seem to go beyond what David himself could ever do: knowing about secrets and proud attitudes (v. 5), watching over all the faithful (v. 6), and quickly destroying the wicked (v. 8). Is this a psalm that moves from David to the divine Messiah and His knowledge and actions? On the other hand this may be a case of an oracle from Yahweh after David made his pledge.44
Table 1.2 Possible Additional Direct Divine Quotations
| Psalm | Verses | Words | Hint |
| 2:10–12 | 3 | 26 | addressing kings (Who can do this?) |
| 14:4 | 1 | 12 | “My people” (Who can say this?) |
| 21:8–12 | 5 | 38 | “Your,” & “You” (Who can find and destroy?) |
| 27:14 | 1 | 9 | “Wait” (Who can require faith?) |
| 101:5–8 | 4 | 45 | “My,” “Me,” & “I” (Who sees and destroys?) |
| totals: | 14 | 130 |
Propositions
Recording 839 words of direct quotations from God, the108 verses in Psalms listed in the two tables provide us with some significant theological insight. First and obviously, we note that (1) God has indeed spoken to mankind in normal words that mankind can understand. Verbs that indicate ordinary verbal communication appear several times to introduce the quotations: אמר (’amar, “to say”; 2:7; 12:5; 50:16; 68:22; 90:3; 105:11), דבר (davar, “to speak”; 2:5; 60:6; 89:19; 108:7), קרא (qara’, “to call”; 50:4). David used the noun נְאֻם (ne’um, “declaration”; 110:1) once.
Many of the quotations occur in situations where the psalmist is petitioning or otherwise speaking to God and God enters into a dialogue with him. Thus we may say that (2) God sometimes answers the prayers of saints directly with His word. The so-called “answering oracle”45 occurs in 12:5; 27:8; 32:8–9; 60:6; 108:7–9, and elsewhere. In Psalm 12 David has cried for help, and he gets an answer. In Psalm 27 David says, “hear” (v. 7), and he gets an answer. In Psalm 32 David testifies, “Thou art my hiding place” (v. 7), and the Lord speaks to him.46 In Psalm 60 David says, “save” and “hear” (v. 5b), and God answers! In Psalm 108 David praises Yahweh (v. 3) saying, “Be thou exalted,” and God speaks to him. The significance of this for us is that when we pray to God, we need then to open our Bibles and read, expecting the Holy Spirit to guide us to some verses and illumine our hearts that He is answering or speaking to us from the Scripture.
These direct quotations include cases when (3) God has spoken directly about His plan. In Psalms this is especially the case concerning the Davidic Covenant. Two of the longer quotations contain the specific promises God made to David: 89:19b–37 and 132:11–18, the latter focusing on the Lord’s plans for Zion as “a lamp for David” (v. 17). In Psalm 2 the Lord states His blueprint for the messianic kingdom (vv. 6–9). In 46:10 Yahweh declares His plan to be universally glorified in the earth,47 thus frustrating all His enemies’ conspiracies (v. 6a). That plan God has not hidden from the wicked.
Furthermore, (4) God has spoken directly to the wicked to warn them about the coming judgment. Yahweh communicates to the rebellious kings in wrath (2:5) and informs them that the Messiah will “dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (v. 9b). Psalm 105:15 reports what God said to a pagan king about Abraham (Gen. 20:7). In Psalm 50, where the second and third longest quotes appear, He admonishes His people who have been mistaken about the place of sacrifices (vv. 7–15); then Asaph records what God explicitly said “unto the wicked” (v. 16), and we have 62 words from God that describe their sins and warn of their judgment (being torn to pieces, v. 22). Significantly, God reveals the possibility of deliverance from the coming destruction for a person who repents by changing his way (v. 23).48 In another psalm by Asaph God speaks directly to the boastful wicked (75:4), warning them (v. 5) and declaring His judgment (v. 2). The most alarming statement to the wicked is the one God the Son makes in 101:7–8.
God also has something to say to the saints. (5) The Lord encourages the righteous by directly promising to rescue them. When David prayed for help, he heard God tell him what He would do for the one in need of salvation: “Now I will arise …; I will set him in the safety for which he longs” (12:5b, NASB). David knew the value of that promise because God’s words are “pure” (v. 6).49 The certainty of such promises is enhanced by God’s faithfulness in the past: the Lord testifies directly about how He rescued Israel from Egypt (81:6–7, 10a). God promises deliverance from “the depths of the sea” (68:22) and victory over enemies (v. 23).50 In Psalm 91 after the psalmist reassures the one who trusts in the Lord (vv. 9–11), suddenly God speaks with no introduction to promise delivery in answer to prayer (vv. 14–16).51 Indeed, God proceeds beyond His act of rescuing by pledging that “the horns of the righteous shall be exalted” (75:10b).
Additionally, (6) God has words of instruction for the saints. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (32:8). He directly tells them not to harden their hearts as the Israelites did in the wilderness (95:8). On the positive side is the instruction to “wait on the Lord” (27:14).
We could make a further claim that (7) God has something
