Psalm 13:1-2

A couple weeks ago, I heard Psalm 13 and discovered a small feature in the first two verses:

1 How long, O LORD?  Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me?  2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

The repeated "how long" is an example of anaphora, and in its use here, it gives a sense of duration.  Things have been going on in this same way for some time, and the Psalmist wonders when there will be a change.

Psalm 113:3

Last month, Concordia University Wisconsin tweeted Psalm 113:3:

#PassageOfTheDay "From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised!" - Psalms 113:3 pic.twitter.com/aPZQ4cocmc

— Concordia University (@CUWisconsin) March 19, 2020

I'd realized before that "from the rising of the sun to its setting" is a merism, but I had been thinking about it merely temporally:  from morning to night.  The paraphrase "from east to west" made me realize that it can also be taken spatially:  all over the world.

Psalm 28:7

Within the span of one week last month, I ran across references to Psalm 28:7 in two different hymns:  "Be Thou still my strength and shield" in LSB #918 "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer" and "You are my strength, my shield, my rock" in LSB #734 "I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name" (which KFUO posted on Instagram).  Psalm 28:7 is "The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

I noticed that there's a bit of alliteration:  "my strength and my shield."  While only slight, this illustrates that God is steadfast and immovable.

For what it's worth, the same feature is present in German:  "Der HERR ist meine Stärke und mein Schild; auf ihn hofft mein Herz, und mir ist geholfen.  Nun ist mein Herz fröhlich, und ich will ihm danken mit meinem Lied."