Tag Archives: Psalms

A Psalm for Sunday – Psalm 7

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Read Psalm 7

In this psalm David takes refuge in God from those who pursue him. His pursuers are graphically depicted as a ravenous lion seeking to tear his life to pieces and drag him away (vv. 1-2). This “pursuit,” however, may be understood as metapPsalm 7horical, in light of verses 3-5, and David is actually facing a trial of false accusation. Thus in verse 1 David cries for deliverance, but in verses 3-5 he prays that if he is indeed guilty of “this”—the following clauses appear as a list of things he is accused of—then let the enemy triumph over him and trample his life into the ground. In this way David protests his innocence against the false charges brought against him, and cries out for deliverance on the basis of this innocence.

Verse 6, again recalling the prayer of Numbers 10:35 (cf. 3:7), is an appeal to God to rise up and execute judgement in his favour. He longs for a solemn assembly with the people gathered around God who is exalted above them, and seated as a judge in his court. For the Lord is a judge, says David, and again he asks for vindication on the basis of his innocence, “according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me” (v. 8). His prayer is that the righteous God would judge righteously, putting an end to the wicked while establishing the righteous (9). Confidence in his own innocence, and confident in the righteousness of God, David confesses his trust that God is his shield and thus his saviour (10-11).

Verses 12-16 portray the judgement that will befall the wicked if they do not repent. The imagery used of God comes from the military: his sword is sharpened, his weapons prepared, his bow ready with flaming arrows (12-13). The text does not actually say he uses the weapons, however, and verses 14-16 suggest a historical form of judgement in which the evil one prepares for others, returns upon one’s own head. The one who digs a pit for another will fall into it; their mischief and violence will come down on their own head.

The final verse of the psalm is a dedication or vow of praise. It is noteworthy that David at this point has not yet been vindicated, and indeed may never be vindicated from the accusations hurled at him. Nonetheless, assured of his own innocence, and trusting in God as his refuge, the anxiety with which the psalm began finds a resolution, not in actual deliverance from the trial, but in assurance of God’s care and vindication.

*****

There are several points of theological interest in this psalm. The first concerns the identity and person of God. The twin petitions with which the psalm opens are addressed to “O Lord my God.” David’s God is the Lord, a righteous God and a righteous judge who tests the hearts and minds of all, and sits in judgement over the people—including David, vindicating the righteous and holding the wicked accountable for their deeds. God tests the hearts to distinguish the violent and deceitful from those who walk with integrity.

The final words of the psalm are not only the climax of the psalmist’s vow of praise, but a description of the divine identity: Lord Most High. This use of the divine name recalls Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram in Genesis 14:19, in the name of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. The psalm asks, therefore, not only what kind of world we live in, but whose world we live in, and so provides an insight into the primary context in which our existence takes place: this is God’s world.

Verses 14-15 seem to suggest that there is a form of natural moral order in the world in which the righteous and the wicked “get what is coming to them.” Care is required here, for it is possible to envisage this as some kind of impersonal moral force which removes God’s direct and personal agency from the picture. Is it simply a matter of tit-for-tat, of what-goes-around-comes-around? Or is God personally engaged with the people he has created and sustains? Unquestionably, the psalm teaches the latter, and God’s judgement is an inevitable aspect of God’s righteousness. According to Craigie (103),

Evil eventually functions like a boomerang, bringing back upon its perpetrators the wickedness planned for others. and there is a sense in which the boomerang of human evil may be identified with the “sword” and “fiery shafts” of divine judgement; God was primed to act against the unrepentant sinner, but the nature of his action was simply to direct the consequences of evil away from the innocent and turn them back upon the perpetrators.

This raises two important questions, however. First, experience suggests that justice is not fully done in this life: some seem to escape the justice their deeds deserve, while others’ apparent innocence or goodness goes without vindication or reward. Judgement within the parameters of history does not always appear. Although this psalm does not raise or address this question, elsewhere in the Bible it is plain to see that God’s role as judge transcends the bounds of history. Numerous passages, especially in the New Testament, depict a final judgement when God’s justice will be fully realised. This subject is deeply unpopular or even frightening in some circles, but this psalm will not allow us to ignore or marginalise the idea of divine judgement. The New Testament certainly deepens our understanding of the subject, and causes us to consider divine judgement through a christological lens. Nevertheless, the spectre of a final judgement remains as an inescapable feature of human existence understood in biblical terms.

Second, is anyone actually righteous? What are we to make of David’s bold claims of righteousness in this psalm? Probably we should understand them not as a claim of perfect sinlessness or absolute righteousness, but as a protestation of innocence in the face of the particular accusations hurled against him by his adversaries. What hope, then, do any of us have if God indeed is a righteous judge, testing the hearts and minds of all people? Who, possibly, could stand unblemished in his presence? Nevertheless there is hope. Judgement is prepared against those who do not repent (v. 12), whereas God saves the upright in heart, and blesses those who take refuge in him (v. 1; cf. 2:12; 5:11). The upright in heart acknowledge the righteousness of God and God’s claim on their lives, and turn to God for mercy and salvation.

A Psalm for Sunday – Psalm 6

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Read Psalm 6

The early church categorised Psalm 6 as one of seven “Penitential” psalms, and sung it in worship on Ash Wednesday. Apart from the first verse it is not really a psalm of penitence, but a desperate cry for help, a prayer for healing in the midst of life-threatening illness. David’s illness has reduced him to weariness, perhaps even to a place where his prayer is no more than a moan accompanied by tears. Some might say it isPsalm 6 not prayer at all; others would say it is the truest kind of prayer.

Kidner suggests a simple structure for the psalm which highlights David’s utter weariness:

a)      Vv. 1-5 … 10 strophes, many petitions
b)      V. 6a … the central strophe
c)      Vv. 6b-10 … 10 strophes, no petitions.

The first verse may be interpreted in several ways. Perhaps David understands his sickness as sent by God, a direct result of God’s displeasure, and so pleads for God to relinquish his anger. Or perhaps he thinks that his illness is something allowed by God, and so pleads that God not be angry with him for requesting its removal. Either way he seeks a gracious rather than an angry God. This becomes explicit in verse two: Be gracious to me O Lord … Heal me, O Lord. Verses 2-3 speak of his bones and his soul being dismayed. It is perhaps better to think of this as two ways of saying “my whole being,” rather than a focus on inner being and outward being. To the very depths of his being, and in the totality of his being, David is greatly dismayed. Verses 4-5 show why: his illness has brought him to the brink of death, and so his cry is a desperate plea to God for rescue, for salvation, for deliverance.

But you, O Lord—how long? Return, O Lord! Jürgen Moltmann has rightly emphasised that suffering occurs on multiple levels: the physical suffering occasioned by illness, violence or oppression, and the spiritual suffering that arises from the sense that in our suffering, we have been abandoned by a God who does not care. David’s words are a plaintive cry that God “return.” He is convinced that God does indeed care, and appeals to his covenant love. Yet it is evident that he must pray day after day and night after night, drowning his couch with his tears: the answer has not come immediately.

But the answer does come at some point, according verses 8-10, where David’s desperate faith becomes defiant faith. His enemies, perhaps taking advantage of his illness, undermine his leadership and add to his grief. Has David been healed, or at least turned a corner so that he is on the road to recovery? It is impossible to know with any certainty. The past tenses in verses 8b-9a indicate that his confidence that his prayer is heard, but the future tenses in verse 10 suggest that he is still looking forward to recovery and vindication. The Lord has “returned” and so his enemies will be “turned back.” He is no longer dismayed, but his enemies will be dismayed. He may not yet have been healed, but his prayer has opened a vision of victory. This is not a manufactured confidence, but a confidence grounded in the covenant love of God and received in a prayer that persists in the face of doubt and anxiety, and waits for the light of hope.

There are two echoes of this psalm in the New Testament. First, in John 12:27 Jesus says, “Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour.” This appears to be an echo of verse 3-4, but whereas David cries to be saved from the hour of his death, Jesus accepts the prospect of impending death as the very purpose of his coming. Craigie rightly notes that we “perceive the pathos of the psalm most clearly when it is read in the context of the passion” (96).

For David, death meant the end of God’s gracious gift of life (verse 5). Those who go down into Sheol—a kind of underworld in Hebrew thought—have not ceased to exist, but their existence is shadowy and insubstantial. In Sheol, there is no remembrance of God, no thanks, no praise, no worship. Kidner’s discussion of Sheol is worth reproducing in full:

Sheol can be pictured in a number of ways: chiefly as a vast sepulchral cavern (cf. Ezk. 32:18-32) or stronghold (Pss. 9:13; 107:18; Mt. 16:18); but also as a dark wasteland (Jb. 10:22) or as a beast of prey (e.g. Is. 5:14; Jon. 2:2; Hab. 2:5). This is not definitive language, but poetic and evocative; and it is matched by various phrases that highlight the tragedy of death as that which silences a man’s worship (as here; cf. 30:9; 88:10f.; 115:17; Is. 38:18f.), shatters his plans (146:4), cuts him off from God and man (88:5; Ec. 2:16) and makes an end of him (39:13). These are cries from the heart, that life is all too short, and death implacable and decisive (39:12f.; 49:7ff.; cf. Jn 9:4; Heb. 9:27); they are not denials of God’s sovereignty beyond the grave, for in fact Sheol lies open before him (Pr. 15:11) and he is ‘there’ (Ps. 139:8). If he no longer ‘remembers’ the dead (88:5), it is not that he forgets as men forget, but that he brings to an end his saving interventions (88:12; for with God to remember is to act: cf. E.g. Gn. 8:1; 30:22)
(Kidner, Psalms 1-72 (TOTC), 61-62).

David cries out for deliverance from this devastating reality of Sheol; Jesus embraces it—and opens a way beyond it for those who come to him, and take up the way of the kingdom. At this point the second New Testament echo of this psalm becomes relevant. In Matthew 7:23 Jesus, echoing verse 8, says, “Depart from me, all you who do iniquity.” Jesus’ embrace of the cross and of death and hell opens up the promise and way of resurrection, a hope beyond the hopes of David. But it is a hope for those who cling to him and choose the way of the kingdom.

Thus this psalm speaks to us at several levels of meaning. First, as a psalm dealing with the pathos of sickness and mortality, it reminds us of the certainty of coming death, and the brevity and fragility of life. Given modern medical advances and western cultural mores, it is often difficult for us to enter into the depths of David’s dismay at illness and the prospect of death – the hope of resurrection to eternal life in the presence of God had not yet emerged in Hebrew thought. Yet, our culture clings to life and youth with a desperation that betrays our casual dismissal of this awful reality. The psalm also reminds us of the suffering of those who are ill, and calls us to compassion and prayer, that the sick are not left alone in their suffering. But, set within a broader biblical context, this psalm also preaches the gospel, that there is indeed hope and healing for those who trust in Christ.

A Psalm for Sunday – Psalm 5

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Read Psalm 5

Psalm 5

The first couple of times I studied this psalm I identified the theme as “the righteous and the wicked”—a theme not uncommon in the psalms. But perhaps I was overly hasty; now I see more of the holiness and mercy of God.

What do you see as the theme of this psalm?

The psalm begins in verses 1-3 with a plaintive, urgent cry to God for help. Like Psalm 3, this seems to be a morning prayer (v. 3), and the psalmist, with inner groaning and outer cries, dedicates himself to prayer.

Verses 4-8 reveal the psalmist’s confidence that his prayer will be heard. This section is more about the character of God than that of the wicked. God is holy and takes no pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with God. The psalmist details what constitutes evil: boastfulness (pride?) and falsehood, bloodshed and deceit. Indeed the language here is troubling: God “hates” all who do iniquity, “abhors” those who speak falsely. We ought not blunt the force of this language, but neither should we regard it as univocal, taking it with the kind of literalness that treats it in isolation from the rest of the Bible. Certainly the text speaks of God’s uncompromising holiness, and his active disposition against all forms of pride, deceit and violence. Nevertheless it must be read in the light of other more central texts which proclaim the primacy of the divine loving and the divine mercy. God must be understood christologically, as the one who in Christ, loves all the world—see my very first post on this blog!

The psalmist cries out, “But as for me…” (v. 7). Although the ascriptions of authorship in the psalms are not necessarily reliable (e.g. see verse 7: is David the author, seeing the temple was not in existence during his lifetime?), if the psalm does originate with David, we see also the mercy and lovingkindness of God, for David was a man who shed much blood, and trafficked in deceit, at least in the case of Uriah (see 2 Samuel 11). By his own account he has no right or place in the presence of God. Yet, by the abundant grace and mercy of God, there he is! I am reminded of a chorus we used to sing: Only by grace may we enter; only by grace can we stand. The psalmist dedicates himself to bow in reverence before God. He prays for God’s guidance, that he might walk in God’s ways (v. 8).

In verses 9-10 the psalmist’s foes come into view, and we hear now the content of his prayer: that God would judge them and cast them out. The language here is reminiscent of Psalm 1:5 where judgement is also portrayed in terms of collapse and expulsion.  The depiction of the foes in verse 9 finds echo in the New Testament in Jesus’ teaching that an evil heart issues in evil words and brings forth evil fruit (cf. Matthew 12:33-35), and in Romans 3:13 where Paul argues that all of us are sinners in need of the redemption that is in Christ.

In a final paean of praise, the psalmist celebrates the steadfast goodness and protection of God. These verses (11-12) recall Psalm 2:12 “Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.” Those who take refuge in God may rejoice, for God is their shelter and shield.

More than anything, this psalm focuses on who God is: Lord and Judge, holy, merciful and good. The psalmist addresses God as “My King and my God” (v. 2). But it also exhorts God’s people and calls them to a similar dedication: As for me! Just as the king bowed in reverence before the King, so too may we enter God’s house and bow in reverence. So too may we rejoice in God and pray, especially that God would lead us in his righteousness, and make his way straight before us.

Blessed are all those who take refuge in him!

A Psalm for Sunday Psalm 4

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Read Psalm 4

Psalm 4If Psalm 3 is a morning prayer, Psalm 4 can be read as an evening prayer. Further, just as Psalm 3 provides some insight into David the leader, so Psalm 4 does likewise, if Davidic authorship is accepted. In some sense, then, these two psalms may be read together, and perhaps, have been brought together in the Psalter for this reason.

The first verse opens the psalm with a passion-filled fourfold petition. Most English versions render the second phrase as “You have given me relief.” There is some scholarly debate about the correct interpretation of the Hebrew verb here, and Craigie translates the phrase as, “When I am in distress, give me room.” This seems to fit the verse better than the English translations which place a confession of relief in the midst of two desperate pleas. In Craigie’s translation, the whole verse is one sustained cry to God for help. In fact, it is stronger than that; the psalmist is telling God what to do: Answer me! Give me room! Be gracious to me! Hear my prayer!

What has happened to arouse this desperate cry to God? Some indication of David’s circumstances is found in verses 2 and 6a: David’s reputation is under assault, his leadership is questioned, his honour has been turned into shame. Although we do not know exactly what has occasioned this reversal of his fortunes leading to humiliation, some scholars suggest that the nation is facing difficulties and David is being blamed. Lies, vain words and empty rumours circulate. Indeed many are saying, “Who will show us some good?” Perhaps God’s goodness has departed and they want to see the leader replaced. Politics has not changed much over the millennia!

In the face of this trouble and false accusation David protests his innocence: “Answer me when I call, O God of my right.” He reminds himself—and his accusers—of the Lord’s protection. Verse 3 is beautiful: “But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.” David’s confidence is not grounded in himself, his strategic ability, his military prowess, or anything else belonging to him. His confidence is confidence in God, confidence grounded in God’s call and God’s faithfulness. The God who called and anointed him will also sustain and keep him.

Verses 2-5 are unusual, as though addressed to his opponents, even as they are being spoken to God in the midst of his prayer. Perhaps David is “processing” his stress in prayer to God. Perhaps he is formulating his response to his accusers in this environment of prayer. In any case he counsels his opponents:

  1. Stop listening to lies and empty words;
  2. If you are angry – do not sin! Search your own heart, keep quiet. The moment   your anger leaks out in words or actions you sin against the innocent;
  3. Rather, offer right sacrifices to God and return to your trust in God;
  4. Remember: the Lord sets apart the godly for himself, and listens to me when I call to him.

In 6b David returns to petition, echoing the words of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:26: “Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord!” (Compare also verse 1: “Be gracious to me!”) David is still telling God what to do! Craigie sees the petition continuing in verse 7 which he translates as “Put more joy in my heart…” It is worth noting that David is not praying for the destruction of these enemies, or for his own vindication. He prays rather that the light of God’s presence might shine upon all, and that his heart would be filled with joy. In so doing he comes to a place of peace and, trusting in God’s protection, is able to lie down to sleep (verse 8).

*****

Being the object of blame is difficult enough when we are in fact blameworthy; suffering blame and false accusation when we are in fact innocent of the charges is hurtful, stressful and demoralising. Faced with such distressing circumstances, the psalmist prays through to a place of peace.

Prays through. Now that is the language of old-timers in the faith! It refers to the persistence in prayer that holds fast to the biblical promises, which wrestles with all the fears, anxieties and doubts that are faced, until one-by-one they are brought under the reign of God’s peace. In this psalm David’s prayer is both urgent and bold. Whence cometh this kind of boldness in prayer that dares to tell God what to do? What is the difference between this boldness in prayer and an unholy arrogance that presumes to tell God what to do?

David’s boldness is born of a long association with God in prayer, devotion and worship, and apart from this association could be nothing but presumption. There is a knowledge of God which comes through study; there is also a knowledge of God which grows through association, fellowship, obedience, and interaction. David knew the Lord, trusted God, relied on his promise in Scripture, claimed it and prayed it, and rested in the faithfulness of the God who had called, chosen and set him apart. Sure that he was in the Lord’s safe-keeping, he laid down in peace and slept. The prayer has not—yet!—made any discernible difference to his circumstances—in the morning all the enemies will still be there. But having brought his concerns and processed his stress in prayer, David goes to sleep a peaceful man.

Psalm 3 for Leaders

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Read Psalm 3Psalm-3 and 2 Samuel 15:13-37

I wrote a short exposition of this psalm and its historical setting for yesterday’s post. There we noted that this is a devotional psalm, a morning prayer to entrust ourselves and our day to God in faith, trust and commitment. But there remains more to be said.

We noted the possibility that David sent the ark back to Jerusalem because he refused to presume on God’s grace and call, or to co-opt God for his own cause. Hidden in this narrative is a lesson for leaders, for Christian leaders are continually tempted to presume on the legitimacy and righteousness of their cause. Humbled, David allowed God to establish his position and cause – on this occasion, at least.

Yet David also obviously believed in God’s grace, and believed that God’s presence was with him even without the ark, and even in spite of the sin which had brought such terrible consequences into his life and family. When all around suggested that God had abandoned him, David continued to trust.

The narrative in 2 Samuel indicates that one of the means by which the Lord sustained David was via the great grace of faithful companions – not everyone around him was an enemy, and these friends could not help but be a means of support and encouragement for David.

David also acted, taking pragmatic steps in addition to his prayer. In 2 Samuel 15:31 David prayed that the Lord would turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. In verse 34 he sent his servant Hushai as a spy to thwart the counsel of Ahithophel. David’s act is not a sign of lack of trust in the God toward whom he had just prayed. Prayer often gives rise to corresponding action; divine wisdom often supplies a strategy. Salvation is of the Lord, but God often uses various means to accomplish his purpose or answer our prayers.

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31). This proverb, echoing the words of the psalm, shows that faith is not simply passive or inactive; a person of faith prays and trusts, and on the basis of that prayer and trust also works, the works being the fruit and evidence of the faith. Without divine grace and help, without the divine presence and blessing, there can be no victory, no matter how well dressed the horse and rider are. Nevertheless, although victory is of the Lord, there are still preparations to be made.

So in the morning we awake and we pray, calling upon the Lord for his help, protection, guidance and blessing, committing our day and our very life into his care, in accordance with his purpose. And then we go to work, trusting in the One to whom we have prayed, who also is our shield and salvation, our glory, and the lifter of our head.

A Psalm for Sunday – Psalm 3

Scripture,

Read Psalm 3Psalm-3 and, for some additional background, 2 Samuel 15:13-37.

The title of the psalm locates its origin in a particular event in David’s life: his son Absalom has raised a coup against his father, and David and his companions flee from Jerusalem lest they be killed. David leaves weeping and barefooted, his head covered as though with shame (2 Sam 15:30). This is another incident in the terrible consequences which have befallen David in the aftermath of his adultery with Bathsheba and his consequent conspiracy to murder Uriah her husband. Perhaps God has deserted David, perhaps his blessing has departed? But – and this is critical – David refuses to allow the ark to accompany him. The ark was the symbol of God’s presence in the midst of Israel’s battle, the pledge of God fighting on behalf on his people – see the battle cry of Numbers 10:35-36. Rather, he sends the ark, Zadok the priest, and the Levites back into Jerusalem in an unreserved commitment of his life and future into God’s hands (vv. 24-29). Why would David send the ark back to the camp of his enemy? Is David deserting God?

The passage indicates that David hoped to hear news from Jerusalem, that the priests might function in some way as spies (vv. 32-36). But perhaps also, something deeper is going on here. Perhaps David is calling upon God to reaffirm and confirm his kingship in the light of Absalom’s challenge. David refuses to presume upon God or to co-opt God to his own cause. If David is Israel’s king, the Lord is King, and Israel is God’s people. David relinquishes his claim on the kingdom, and commits the welfare of the people into God’s hands, trusting that God has not abandoned him, nor annulled his call.

With this background in mind, Psalm 3 comes alive. In verses 1-2 David lifts up his worry to God: his enemies have increased, they are rising against him, they are saying that God has deserted him, that he has no help, no deliverance, no hope in God. Verses 3-6, however, express David’s confidence in God and his repudiation of their claim: he is not forsaken by God. He confesses God as his shield and glory, the One who lifts up his head, now covered in shame. David is so confident in God that he can lay down and sleep, assured of God’s protection: the Lord sustains me! Verse 7 is David’s petition, recalling the battle prayer of Numbers 10, and verse 8 brings the psalm to its conclusion with the confident affirmation that salvation, deliverance, victory and blessing belong to the Lord, and the Lord will give them to his people.

As in so many psalms, there is an evident change of tone when the psalmist shifts from complaint to trust. Craigie comments on this change which occurs at verse 3:

“The principle that is involved in this change of tone is one which is well established in the biblical literature. If one gazes too long upon the enemy and his might, the enemy grows in the mind’s eye to gigantic proportions … The hypnotic power of the enemy is broken when one turns one’s gaze toward God, who is able to fight and grant victory” (73).

There is much to glean from this short but wonderful psalm. From a historical-critical point of view, Craigie suggests that the psalm may legitimately be located in an event in David’s life, but that it then became more generally a “royal prayer for protection” in times of battle, and perhaps later became a part of Israel’s regular worship, and so was incorporated into the Psalter on this basis (Psalms 1-50, WBC, 72). By becoming a part of Israel’s regular worship, its scope and application was broadened and spiritualised: no longer was it simply a prayer for times of military engagement, but began to be used by God’s people whenever they were confronting all kinds of troubles or “enemies.”

Thus the psalm is a devotional psalm, a prayer of trust, faith and commitment. Kidner refers to it as an “evening prayer” (TOTC, 54), whereas Craigie more correctly I think, calls it a “morning prayer” (70; see verse 5 “I lay down and slept; I awoke“). The Lord has sustained us through the night and brought us safely to a new day, a day nevertheless, in which we face fresh challenges and opportunities, troubles, enemies and battles. Thus, we pray, and call on God to arise, and entrust ourselves to the One who is truly our glory and the lifter of our head, the source of all salvation, deliverance and help and blessing.

I wonder what might happen if we prayed this prayer each morning this week, committing our day and ourself to the Lord, and asking his help?

A Latin Poem & Natural Theology

Literature, Theology, , ,

the-name-of-the-roseI came across this in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (15):

“My good Adso,” my master said, “during our whole journey I have been teaching you to recognize the evidence through which the world speaks to us like a great book. Alanus de Insulis said that
      omnis mundi creatura
      quasi liber et pictura
      nobis est in speculum
and he was thinking of the endless array of symbols with which God, through His creatures speaks to us of the eternal life. But the universe is even more talkative than Alanus thought, and it speaks not only of the ultimate things (which it does always in an obscure fashion) but also of closer things, and then it speaks quite clearly.”

This little Latin poem is half of the first stanza of a longer medieval work. The whole stanza is:
      Omnis mundi creatura
      quasi liber et pictura
      nobis est in speculum:
      nostrae vitae, nostrae mortis,
      nostri status, nostrae sortis
      fidele signaculum,

which translates roughly as:

     All the world’s creatures
     As a book and a picture
     Are to us as a mirror;
     in it our life, our death,
     our present condition and our passing
     are faithfully signified.

The poem derives from twelfth century Christian theologian and neo-Platonist philosopher Alain de Lille, and makes the simple point that observation of the natural world can inform understanding of our own life. But it does so only up to a point. This poem is like the book of Ecclesiastes: it can see the reality and inevitability of death, but cannot see resurrection. This is the limitation of all forms of natural theology: it requires the revelation given in Jesus and attested in Scripture if it is to speak the truth of our existence. Umberto Eco rightly suggests that God indeed speaks to us through created things of the eternal life, but only obscurely.

See Psalm 19.

A Psalm for Sunday: Praying Psalms 1 & 2

Scripture

To match Reuters Life! PHILIPPINES/DOOMSDAYOn May 21, 2011 my journal reads: “The world is supposed to end today, according to US preacher Howard Camping: but it’s a beautiful day!” There was a lot of media hype and ridicule around this announcement, which is to be expected. Ordinary people wonder how Christians can be so naive as to believe such nonsense. (I wonder why ordinary people would be so naive as to lump all Christians into one box. But that’s another story.)

At the time, I was meditating on Psalms 1 & 2 and discovered that many commentators link the two psalms together, believing that they form an introduction to the book as a whole, as well as a theological and devotional orientation for reading the Psalms. There are indeed a number of common elements which link the two psalms together. For example,
a) Psalm 1 begins with “How blessed” and Psalm 2 ends with it;
b) In both psalms “the way” of the wicked will “perish;”
c) In both psalms there is reference to “meditate” (in Psalm 2 the Hebrew word appears in verse 1 but is usually translated by a different English word, e.g. devise, plot, etc)
d) Both psalms speak of those who scoff or rebel against the way of the Lord.

Further, Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm which speaks of devotion to the Law; Psalm 2 is a prophetic psalm which speaks of devotion to the Lord and to his Anointed. Thus, in these two psalms we have the Law, the Prophets and Wisdom, as well as devotion to God, his Law and his Son. Both psalms portray the blessing of those who choose to ground their lives in the Lord: they shall be “happy.” In both also, there is peril for those who cast off the Lord and his ways: not just peril, but destruction.

In these two psalms, then,  we see the way of the righteous in the fear of the Lord. The correct attitude of the reader is set forth: one who delights in God’s law, who worships with reverence, who seeks refuge in God and walks in his ways. This God is Lord of history, enthroned in heaven, majestic in power, and judge of all. This God will not be mocked, but also invites all to a life which is blessed and full of promise.

My prayer on May 21, 2011 was:

“Father, help me to be a person who delights in your word and your will, who trusts you and takes refuge in you. Keep me from the corrosive effects of secular scorn and modern doubt, international power-games and personal mischief. Lead me rather to your Son; Lead me rather in worship and study, meditation and mission; for your Name’s sake.”

A Psalm for Sunday – Psalm 2

Scripture

Psalm 2 in HebrewRead Psalm 2

Historically, it is possible that this psalm was used in coronation ceremonies for the installation of a new king. In the psalm itself, the king (David?) is recalling his own coronation, perhaps in a time of trouble.

In verses 1-3 he reports and questions the posture of the surrounding nations and their rulers, who want their liberty from Israel’s rule. But the Lord mocks their pretensions for he has installed his own king upon Zion (vv. 4-6). We should note that verse 4 can be read as a human reflection on the divine response rather than God’s actual attitude toward these foreign rulers. The suggestion of verse 6 is that this is God’s own speech. Verses 7-9 continue this assertion with the direct claim that “He said to me…” The claims of this text are astounding: divine sonship and authority. Such claims were not unusual in the ancient world, and indeed have not been unusual in modern times either: kings not infrequently claim some kind of divine right to establish their rule. In this context, Israel’s king reminds the kings of the nations that he has supremacy by divine right and command, and so warns them to pay homage both to the Lord and to himself (vv. 10-12).

Thus at the historical level, the king reminds himself of the word of promise given to him at his coronation, and rests his assurance in that word. Those who rise up against him challenge the Lord who installed him as king. Surely this is in vain.

This remarkable psalm requires interpretation not only at the historical level, but also as prophetic. Since the earliest days of the church, the psalm has been read as referring to Christ, God’s Anointed, his Messiah (v. 2). In Acts 4:25ff. David is attributed authorship, and Herod and Pilate and even the people of Israel are seen as the nations who rage against God and against his Christ. Acts 13:33, Mark 1:11 and 9:7, and 2 Peter 1:17 all apply verse 7 to Jesus specifically. Revelation 12:5 and 19:15 apply verse 9 to Christ, and in Revelation 2:27, the ascended Jesus promises that his faithful followers will share in his rule of the nations.

It is really not surprising that the early church read verse 7 especially, as a prophetic text with an ultimate reference to Jesus, the divine Son. At the historical level ‘divine sonship’ applied to Israel’s king only metaphorically; to Jesus, it is a description of his true being and relation to God: to the very depths of his being he is the Son.  A number of modern translations render verse 12 as “Do homage to the Son,” or “Kiss the Son.” This is an unlikely but perhaps unsurprising translation.

In light of all this, the final verses of the psalm become an invitation to recognise God’s King, the true ruler of the nations to whom all authority has been given, and to submit to his authority with reverence and joy, that is, to Jesus Christ. This is not so much a threat as an opportunity: blessed are all who take refuge in him!

More on Psalm 1

Scripture

Yesterday I posted a short exposition of Psalm 1 which celebrates the blessed life of those who devote themselves to the love of God. But there is more to be said if we want to read the psalm well as a Christian.

tree-river_500561The psalm contrasts, as we noted, the two ways of the righteous and the wicked, and counsels the righteous not to “walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful’ (verse 1). The “walk, stand, sit” imagery is instructive, and may be understood in terms of a process of falling away from our delight in God.

It is also an implicit warning that the company we keep influences the direction and destiny of our lives. Care is needed here, however, for the psalm could become the basis of a completely unchristian form of life. Should believers separate themselves from all others they consider to be headed in the wrong direction? Should they have no relationship at all with the so-called wicked?

In today’s world that is probably impossible apart from a complete withdrawal into some kind of gated Christian sub-culture. This approach to Christian life has several fatal problems including (a) such Christian sub-cultures are often if not always sub-Christian; (b) it ignores the nature of psalm as a wisdom text, which portrays the truth it seeks to communicate in a boiled down and simple manner, rather than in a comprehensive and analytical manner. That is, the distinction between righteous and wicked portrayed here is not easily applied in the complexities of real life: the line of good and evil runs through every human heart, ourselves included. We simply cannot judge ourselves as righteous and others as wicked in black and white terms.

The truth the psalm communicates concerns the fundamental orientation and allegiance of our lives. The steadfast orientation of the righteous is toward God, even in the midst of a dark and hostile world, and in spite of our own continuing wickedness from which we must turn again and again.

Jesus is our guide here, for he managed to hold together love for God and love for the world. He was 100% in his devotion to God and he dined with tax collectors and sinners. He longed for the Pharisees to learn that God desires mercy and not sacrifice (Matthew 9:13; 12:7; cf. Hosea 6:6). A genuinely Christian approach to relationships will learn to love real people as Christ loved real people, though without walking in the ways of the fallen world.

The psalm is not so much a call for separation from the wicked as a picture of the blessing that accompanies those who choose the love of God. When we love God rightly and as the first object of our devotion, we may learn also to love the world as he does, and so follow in the path of the only one who is truly righteous – Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners.