To the chief musician upon Aijeleth Shahar,
A Psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me,
and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not;
and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy,
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee;
they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered;
they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn;
they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 "He trusted in the LORD that he would deliver him;
let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him."
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb;
thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb;
thou art my God from my mother's belly.
11 Be not far from me;
for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me;
strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths,
as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
and thou hast brought me into the dust of the earth.
16 For dogs have compassed me;
the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me;
they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones;
they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them,
and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD;
O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword;
my darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth;
for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
JW: It is composed that David was a type of Christ, and that many passages of the Psalms, though literally understood of David, yet had a further and mystical reference to Christ. But there are some other passages, which were directly, and immediately intended for, and are properly to be understood of the Messiah; though withal there may be some respect and allusion to the state of the penman himself. And this seems to be the state of this Psalm, which is understood of the Messiah, by the Hebrew doctors themselves, and by Christ himself and by his apostles. And there are many passages in it, which were literally accomplished in him, and cannot be understood of any other. In this Psalm David speaks of the humiliation of Christ, ver. 1-21; of the exaltation of Christ, ver. 22-31.
1: 'My God' - Who art my friend and father, though now thou frownest upon me. The repetition denotes the depth of his distress, which made him cry so earnestly. 'Forsaken' - withdrawn the light of thy countenance, the supports and comforts of thy spirit, and filled me with the terrors of thy wrath: this was in part verified by David, but much more fully in Christ. 'Roaring' - my outcries forced from me, by my miseries.
3: 'But thou art' - just and true in all thy ways, this he adds to strengthen his faith, and to enforce his prayers, and prevail with God for the honour of his holy name, to hear and help him. 'Inhabitest' - whom thy people are perpetually praising.
6: 'A worm' - neglected and despised. 'People' - not only of the great men, but also of the common people, which doth not so truly agree to David as to Christ.
7: 'Shoot out' - They gape with their mouths, in mockery. This and the next verse are applied to Christ, Matt. 27.39, 43.
14: 'Water' - My spirits are spent and gone like water which once spilt can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water. 'Bones' - I am as unable to help myself, and as full of torment as if all my bones were disjointed. 'Wax' - melted, through fear and overwhelming grief.
20: 'Darling' - Heb. my only one; his soul, which he so calls because it was left alone and destitute of friends and helpers.
Because of its length I may need to even break this down into more posts than just two, but I wanted to include this whole section for context. It seems that no other Psalm in the Psalter has more darkness and despair yet more hope and thanksgiving than this one. Perhaps my thinking is only this way because it appears more vividly than any other Psalm to apply to Christ and his Passion. This section (v. 1-21) is the darkness and despair.
Now here I have a bit of a bone to pick with Wesley. Maybe not so much with him because he probably only relays here (as in many cases) what the tradition he was accustomed to had handed on to him. But I think there has often been a gross misreading of this Psalm, verse 1 in particular, because of how people read the cry of dereliction (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) from the cross. What is the picture that is drawn in (most) evangelical renderings of this statement? That the Father (literally) turned his back on the Son because he couldn't look at the sin that was on his Son. But if that's how we take what this means when Jesus roars it from the cross, then we have a divorce between verse 1 of this Psalm from the rest of the Psalm, verses 2-21, in particular. Can you show me where in this Psalm there is reference to the Lord not coming through because of any sinfulness or wrongdoing that the Psalmist has done? And if we have the image of a Father who literally turns his back on his Son in the moment of the Son's greatest despair, then what sort of portrayal of the Trinity are we advocating? I'm not suggesting that Jesus in the cross doesn't deal with God's wrath, but because that takes place, we shouldn't automatically read that into everything that pertains to Jesus' death. Let's let this Psalm and other passages that refer to the cross speak on their own terms. I think there's a better option.
Sure the Psalm was more literally fulfilled in Christ than any person or group in history. But this Psalm is the cry of the righteous innocent calling upon the faithfulness and justice of God and asking why He hasn't come through to the rescue in this case. The garments of the faithful are shredded and divided among the enemies of God all the time. Innocent people are and have been oppressed countless times in history. Many people die alone, being rejected and despised, or worse, ignored by the people. Maybe Jesus, in making such a loud cry in his greatest moment of desperation, is resonating/empathizing with the suffering of the righteous ones through all of time. "Where are you, God?" There's much more about this passage I want to wrestle with, but since this is a blog and not a thesis, I'll save some more for later. With that, watch this video from Jars of Clay's 'Oh My God'...notice that amongst those who say this, the artist says "Saviors always say..."
18 February 2011
16 February 2011
Psalm 21
To the chief musician,
A Psalm of David.
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD;
and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessing of goodness;
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it to him,
even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation;
honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever;
thou hast made him exceedingly glad with thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in the LORD,
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies;
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger;
the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee;
they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength;
so will we sing and praise thy power.
JW: A thanksgiving for blessings received, ver. 1-6; an expression of confidence in God, ver. 7-13.
The subject of this psalm is the same with the former, both being made for the peoples use, concerning the king. Only the prayers there used are here turned into praises for the blessings received in answer to their prayers. And as David was an illustrious type of Christ, so in many of these expressions he looks beyond himself to Christ, in whom they are properly, and fully accomplished.
3: 'Prevent' - Crowning him with manifold blessings, both more and sooner than he expected.
4: 'For ever' - Thou gavest him a long life and reign here, and after that didst translate him to live with thee for ever. But this was more eminently fulfilled in Christ, who asked of his father, life, or to be saved from death, Heb. 5.7, though with submission to his will: but his father, though he saw it necessary to take away his temporal life, yet instantly gave him another, far more noble, even the perfect possession of an everlasting life both in his soul and body, at his right hand.
5: 'Glory' - his fame or renown. 'Salvation' - by reason of those great and glorious deliverances which thou hast wrought both for him, and by him.
11: 'Thee' - against God, not directly, but by consequence, because it was against David, whom God had anointed, and against the Lord's people, whose injuries God takes as done to himself.
'Prevent' meant something quite different in the time that the King James was written and even when Wesley was writing than it does today. When you hear 'prevent' you're likely to conjure up the idea of keeping something from happening. Hence, it often carries with it a negative aspect in that an action is taken in order to avoid a certain situation or consequence. Now in some sense, this was true even in the 17th and 18th century English usage, but then there was often a positive sense, which we see in the case here. 'Prevent' literally has a positive sense, "Go before." If you're familiar with the theology of the Wesleys in any way, you're likely aware that we are immediately taken to 'prevenience' or 'prevenient grace.' John Wesley more frequently termed it 'preventing grace.' It's the grace that goes before. And here it went before the king, crowning him with manifold blessings, both more and sooner than he expected. Has God not done something similar to you? to me? to us? Take note of this: the blessing is older than and went before the curse. That's good news!
I wonder if St. Paul had this Psalm in mind, particularly verse 5, when he said the following: Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6.14). My mind was also brought to the last stanza of 'How Deep the Father's Love for Us':
I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom,
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Wesley equated 'glory' in verse 5 with 'fame' or 'renown.' Our fame, our glory, our boast is only in God's salvation. It came from above, not from within ourselves. But the thing I believe we can do in light of this is to receive the honor and majesty that God has graced us with instead of groveling in our past sins. We should always have a readiness to repent, but if we only look to the past, then we will miss out on the future to which Christ wants to take us. That future is honor and majesty, for Christ has brought us into his royal lineage. Praise be unto God!
I also like what Wesley says on verse 11, that God takes actions done against his people as actions done against him. I think St. Paul was aware of this: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? I would imagine that the cross plays into this too. Christ, after all, was not just bearing our sins, but our pains, infirmities, and so on.
A Psalm of David.
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD;
and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessing of goodness;
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it to him,
even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation;
honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever;
thou hast made him exceedingly glad with thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in the LORD,
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies;
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger;
the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee;
they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength;
so will we sing and praise thy power.
JW: A thanksgiving for blessings received, ver. 1-6; an expression of confidence in God, ver. 7-13.
The subject of this psalm is the same with the former, both being made for the peoples use, concerning the king. Only the prayers there used are here turned into praises for the blessings received in answer to their prayers. And as David was an illustrious type of Christ, so in many of these expressions he looks beyond himself to Christ, in whom they are properly, and fully accomplished.
3: 'Prevent' - Crowning him with manifold blessings, both more and sooner than he expected.
4: 'For ever' - Thou gavest him a long life and reign here, and after that didst translate him to live with thee for ever. But this was more eminently fulfilled in Christ, who asked of his father, life, or to be saved from death, Heb. 5.7, though with submission to his will: but his father, though he saw it necessary to take away his temporal life, yet instantly gave him another, far more noble, even the perfect possession of an everlasting life both in his soul and body, at his right hand.
5: 'Glory' - his fame or renown. 'Salvation' - by reason of those great and glorious deliverances which thou hast wrought both for him, and by him.
11: 'Thee' - against God, not directly, but by consequence, because it was against David, whom God had anointed, and against the Lord's people, whose injuries God takes as done to himself.
'Prevent' meant something quite different in the time that the King James was written and even when Wesley was writing than it does today. When you hear 'prevent' you're likely to conjure up the idea of keeping something from happening. Hence, it often carries with it a negative aspect in that an action is taken in order to avoid a certain situation or consequence. Now in some sense, this was true even in the 17th and 18th century English usage, but then there was often a positive sense, which we see in the case here. 'Prevent' literally has a positive sense, "Go before." If you're familiar with the theology of the Wesleys in any way, you're likely aware that we are immediately taken to 'prevenience' or 'prevenient grace.' John Wesley more frequently termed it 'preventing grace.' It's the grace that goes before. And here it went before the king, crowning him with manifold blessings, both more and sooner than he expected. Has God not done something similar to you? to me? to us? Take note of this: the blessing is older than and went before the curse. That's good news!
I wonder if St. Paul had this Psalm in mind, particularly verse 5, when he said the following: Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6.14). My mind was also brought to the last stanza of 'How Deep the Father's Love for Us':
I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom,
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Wesley equated 'glory' in verse 5 with 'fame' or 'renown.' Our fame, our glory, our boast is only in God's salvation. It came from above, not from within ourselves. But the thing I believe we can do in light of this is to receive the honor and majesty that God has graced us with instead of groveling in our past sins. We should always have a readiness to repent, but if we only look to the past, then we will miss out on the future to which Christ wants to take us. That future is honor and majesty, for Christ has brought us into his royal lineage. Praise be unto God!
I also like what Wesley says on verse 11, that God takes actions done against his people as actions done against him. I think St. Paul was aware of this: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? I would imagine that the cross plays into this too. Christ, after all, was not just bearing our sins, but our pains, infirmities, and so on.
14 February 2011
Psalm 20
To the chief musician,
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary;
and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings;
and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart,
and fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners;
the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the LORD saveth all his anointed;
he will hear him from his holy heaven
with the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen;
but we are risen, and upright.
9 Save, LORD! Let the king hear us when we call.
JW: A prayer for the king, ver. 1-4; the king and the people rejoice in God, and pray for his help, ver. 5-9.
5: 'Rejoice' - Hereby they shew their confidence in God, and their assurance of the victory.
6: 'Now' - We are already sure of victory by the consideration of God's power and faithfulness and love to David, and to his people. They speak as one person, because they were unanimous in this prayer. 'Saveth' - will certainly save. 'Strength' - This shews how God will hear him, even by saving him with a strong hand.
7: 'Remember' - trust in it.
9: 'Let the king' - God, the supreme monarch, the king of kings, and in a peculiar manner the king of Israel.
Briefly, I'll echo Wesley's recognition of the spirit of the Psalm moving from confident petitions, to, dare I say, an audacious rejoicing in the knowledge of the forthcoming deliverance/salvation of God. Think about the audacity it takes for someone to rejoice in salvation and redemption in the midst of this broken world. Ungrounded in reality it can lead to escapism, but focused on the fact that there is still something to be done, this is the power of God in God's people!
Broadening the horizons beyond what Wesley saw immediately, I read this Psalm like many others: through the lens of the cross and resurrection of Christ. Call me a broken record if you will, but I think this is the best way for Christians to read Scripture, because ultimately Scripture points us to an event...a Person, rather. Scripture calls us to "Remember the name of the LORD our God."
In this Psalm I'm imagining the disciple whom Jesus loved, in his Gospel, 21.8-9: "The the other disciple [the one whom Jesus loved], who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead." Can't you hear John saying, "Now I know that the LORD saveth his Anointed...with the saving strength of his right hand"?
I love Wesley's very brief comment on the "remember" of verse 7: trust in it. Fred Craddock, in his commentary on Philippians for the Interpretation series, stated something I've not forgotten: To be a Christian is in large part an act of memory. When Jesus says, "When you partake of this bread...(and) cup, remember me," he's asking for something more than recollection. If it were recollection he were after, then we in the 21st century would have some difficulty, wouldn't we? It's an active remembrance that is calling us to trust in him, in his sacrifice, and ultimately in the deliverance that he has enjoyed from the grip of death and will bestow to us in the forthcoming resurrection of our own! Accordingly, we can have the audacity to rejoice in God's salvation and have the confidence that the King of kings indeed hears us when we call!
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary;
and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings;
and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart,
and fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners;
the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the LORD saveth all his anointed;
he will hear him from his holy heaven
with the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen;
but we are risen, and upright.
9 Save, LORD! Let the king hear us when we call.
JW: A prayer for the king, ver. 1-4; the king and the people rejoice in God, and pray for his help, ver. 5-9.
5: 'Rejoice' - Hereby they shew their confidence in God, and their assurance of the victory.
6: 'Now' - We are already sure of victory by the consideration of God's power and faithfulness and love to David, and to his people. They speak as one person, because they were unanimous in this prayer. 'Saveth' - will certainly save. 'Strength' - This shews how God will hear him, even by saving him with a strong hand.
7: 'Remember' - trust in it.
9: 'Let the king' - God, the supreme monarch, the king of kings, and in a peculiar manner the king of Israel.
Briefly, I'll echo Wesley's recognition of the spirit of the Psalm moving from confident petitions, to, dare I say, an audacious rejoicing in the knowledge of the forthcoming deliverance/salvation of God. Think about the audacity it takes for someone to rejoice in salvation and redemption in the midst of this broken world. Ungrounded in reality it can lead to escapism, but focused on the fact that there is still something to be done, this is the power of God in God's people!
Broadening the horizons beyond what Wesley saw immediately, I read this Psalm like many others: through the lens of the cross and resurrection of Christ. Call me a broken record if you will, but I think this is the best way for Christians to read Scripture, because ultimately Scripture points us to an event...a Person, rather. Scripture calls us to "Remember the name of the LORD our God."
In this Psalm I'm imagining the disciple whom Jesus loved, in his Gospel, 21.8-9: "The the other disciple [the one whom Jesus loved], who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead." Can't you hear John saying, "Now I know that the LORD saveth his Anointed...with the saving strength of his right hand"?
I love Wesley's very brief comment on the "remember" of verse 7: trust in it. Fred Craddock, in his commentary on Philippians for the Interpretation series, stated something I've not forgotten: To be a Christian is in large part an act of memory. When Jesus says, "When you partake of this bread...(and) cup, remember me," he's asking for something more than recollection. If it were recollection he were after, then we in the 21st century would have some difficulty, wouldn't we? It's an active remembrance that is calling us to trust in him, in his sacrifice, and ultimately in the deliverance that he has enjoyed from the grip of death and will bestow to us in the forthcoming resurrection of our own! Accordingly, we can have the audacity to rejoice in God's salvation and have the confidence that the King of kings indeed hears us when we call!
11 February 2011
Psalm 19
To the chief musician,
A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech,
and nigh unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
and his circuit unto the ends of it;
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever;
the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than the honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned;
and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors?
cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me;
then I shall be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.
JW: The book of the creatures shews us the power and Godhead of the Creator, ver. 1-6; the book of the scriptures shews us his will, the excellency thereof, ver. 7-11; a prayer against sin, ver. 12-14.
1: 'Heavens' - They are as a legible book, wherein he that runs may read it. 'The glory' - His eternal power and Godhead, his infinite wisdom and goodness.
3: 'Heard' - or understood...the heavens are such an universal teacher that they can speak to all people and be clearly understood by all.
4: 'Line' - This expression is very proper, because the heavens do not teach men audibly or by speaking to their ears, but visibly by propounding things to their eyes, which is done in lines or writings.
5: 'Bridegroom' - gloriously adorned with light as with a beautiful garment, and smiling upon the world with a pleasant countenance. 'Chamber' - in which he is poetically supposed to have rested all night, and thence to break forth as it were on a sudden.
6: 'The ends' - His course is constant from east to west, and thence to the east again. So that there is no part of the earth which doth not one time or other feel the benefit of his light and heat.
7: 'The law' - The doctrine delivered to his church, whether by Moses, or by other prophets. Having discoursed hitherto of the glory of God shining forth in the visible heavens, he now proceeds to another demonstration of God's glory, which he compares with and prefers before the former. 'Perfect' - completely discovering both the nature and will of God, and the whole duty of man, what he is to believe and practice, and whatsoever is necessary to his present and eternal happiness. Whereas the creation, although it did declare so much of God as left all men without excuse, yet did not fully manifest the will of God, nor bring men to eternal salvation. 'Converting' - from sin to God, from whom all men are naturally revolted. 'Testimony' - His law, so called because it is a witness between God and man, what God requires of man, and what upon the performance of that condition, he will do for man.
8: 'Rejoicing' - By the discoveries of God's love to sinful men, in offers and promises of mercy... 'The eyes' - of the mind, with a complete manifestation of God's will and man's duty, both of which the works of nature and all the writings of men discover but darkly and imperfectly.
12: 'Who' - Thy law, O Lord, is holy and just and good. But I fall infinitely short of it. 'Cleanse' - Both by justification, through the blood of thy Son, and by sanctification thro' thy Holy Spirit. Though the first may seem to be principally intended, because he speaks of his past sins. 'Secret' - from the guilt of such sins as were secret either: from others, such as none knows but God and my own conscience; or from myself, such as I never observed, or did not discern the evil of. Pardon my unknown sins, of which I never repented particularly, as I should have done.
13: 'Presumptuous' - from known and evident sins, such as are committed against knowledge, against the checks of conscience, and the motions of God's spirit. 'Dominion' - If I be at any time tempted to such sins, Lord let them not prevail over me, and if I do fall into them, let me speedily rise again.
14: 'Let' - Having prayed that God would keep him from sinful actions, he now prays that God would govern and sanctify his words and thoughts; and this was necessary to preserve him from presumptuous sins, which have their first rise in the thoughts. 'Redeemer' - this expression seems to be added emphatically, and with special reference to Christ, to whom alone this word (Goel) can properly belong.
This post has been lengthy enough, so I'm not going to add anything of significance. I thought it was worth posting each of the thoughts above by Wesley. I like especially how he couches his overview of the Psalm in terms of the "book" of creation and the "book" of Scripture. We would do well to realize that these two "books" are not in contrast with one another. All truth, including what is discovered through nature, is God's truth. So if something is discovered that seems contradictory to Scripture, then we need to assess our approach to interpreting both. We shouldn't force the Bible to say something that it is not. But the same also goes for study of the creation.
(Nerd alert: theological take - In reference to the question of whether or not Wesley has a stance on 'natural theology,' I think his interaction with this Psalm has an implicit understanding of prevenient grace. The way he describes the sun, in terms of everyone benefitting from its light and heat, sounds very much congruent with his understanding of prevenient grace, which he sees at work in John 1.9: 'the light which enlightens every man...' This note comes nowhere near to answering the question of 'natural theology' and Wesley, but this just stood out to me.)
04 February 2011
Psalm 18 (b): v. 20-50
To the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song, in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and he said:
...
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 with the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
28 For thou wilt light my candle; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried; he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken in my arms.
35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my feet.
39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41 They cried, but there was none to save them; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies; yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me; thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
JW: David...takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby cleared up, ver. 20-28; gives God the glory of all his victories, ver. 29-42; expresses his hope of what God would do farther, ver. 43-50.
[On verse 20:] 'Righteousness' - Just cause. The innocency of my actions towards Saul, from whose blood I kept my hands pure.
[On verse 23:] 'Iniquity' - from that sin which I was most inclined or tempted to.
[On verses 25-26:] 'Upright' - Thou metest to every one the same measure which he meteth out to others; and therefore thou wilt perform mercy and truth to those who are merciful and true to others. 'Pure' - free from the least mixture or appearance of unrighteousness, or unfaithfulness. 'Froward' - Thou wilt cross him and walk contrary to him.
[On verse 30:] 'Perfect' - His providence, though it may sometimes be dark, yet is always wise and just, and unblameable. 'Tried' - The truth of God's promises is approved by innumerable experiences.
[On verse 35:] 'Salvation' - Thy protection, which hath been to me like a shield. 'Held' - kept me from falling into those mischiefs which mine enemies designed. 'Gentleness' - Thy clemency, whereby thou hast pardoned my sins; thy grace and benignity.
[On verse 36:] 'Slip' - as [my feet] are apt to do in narrow and uneven ways.
[On verse 48:] 'Violent man' - from Saul, whom for honour's sake he forbears to mention.
[On verse 49:] 'Heathen' - David is here transported beyond himself and speaks this in special relation to Christ who was to be his seed, and of whom he was an eminent type, and by whom alone this was done. And therefore this is justly applied to him and to his calling of the Gentiles, Romans 15.9.
[On verse 50:] 'His king' - to the king whom God himself chose and anointed, and to all his posterity; and especially to the Messiah, who is called David's seed, Acts 13.23, Romans 1.3.
I suggested in the last post (on the first part of this Psalm) that it is quite appropriate to read this Psalm through the lens of Christ's cross, even though Wesley doesn't necessarily make the same connection. I think this is further demonstrated here, especially when it comes to the battle imagery that becomes quite vivid in this part of the Psalm. (Note: that the Psalms are in the poetic genre suggests that we should not be too rigid in our interpretation, to limit the range of possible meanings/interpretations to just one, but that there might be several ways of approaching it and each of those be valid.)
I took this picture in a visit to the hospital Carrie and I took when she was pregnant with Julianne. When I saw the sign, I thought about those places in Scripture that speak to the importance of 'clean hands,' one of which appears in verse 20 of this Psalm. Perhaps the most memorable is Psalm 24 (forthcoming post), on which a modern praise song is based. But I like in particular the way Wesley interprets 'clean hands' in this Psalm in reference to David not doing evil to Saul. This almost seems to set up a contradiction within this Psalm, doesn't it? That David doesn't actually do harm to someone aiming to harm him, yet there is the vivid battle imagery of pursuing enemies (esp. verses 37-42), using language of overtaken, consumed, wounded, fallen, subdued, given me the necks, destroy, beat, cast out...how do we reconcile these seemingly opposing ideas?
This is where I think the cross helps us. There were different sorts of enemies, weren't there? I mean on the one hand, there are the human agents that handed down and executed the death sentence (in which we have all taken part) upon Jesus. It is for these/us that Christ does not avenge himself, but cries, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." On the other hand, there is an unseen enemy that Christ pursues through his death: the evil one, the powers of darkness, death, sin... It is these that Christ overtakes, consumes, wounds, takes down, subdues, destroys, etc. Though Christ's hands were bloody in the battle, they remained clean in righteousness and forgiveness. Enemies surround us. The battle continues. But let's not forget this careful distinction. May we be the ones who, though we may be persecuted, cry 'Father, forgive!' yet also remain in hot pursuit to join Christ in the battle against evil and death, which we know will be finally extinguished. Forgiving and battling. Clean Hands Save Lives.
...
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 with the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
28 For thou wilt light my candle; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried; he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken in my arms.
35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them; neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my feet.
39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41 They cried, but there was none to save them; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies; yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me; thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
JW: David...takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby cleared up, ver. 20-28; gives God the glory of all his victories, ver. 29-42; expresses his hope of what God would do farther, ver. 43-50.
[On verse 20:] 'Righteousness' - Just cause. The innocency of my actions towards Saul, from whose blood I kept my hands pure.
[On verse 23:] 'Iniquity' - from that sin which I was most inclined or tempted to.
[On verses 25-26:] 'Upright' - Thou metest to every one the same measure which he meteth out to others; and therefore thou wilt perform mercy and truth to those who are merciful and true to others. 'Pure' - free from the least mixture or appearance of unrighteousness, or unfaithfulness. 'Froward' - Thou wilt cross him and walk contrary to him.
[On verse 30:] 'Perfect' - His providence, though it may sometimes be dark, yet is always wise and just, and unblameable. 'Tried' - The truth of God's promises is approved by innumerable experiences.
[On verse 35:] 'Salvation' - Thy protection, which hath been to me like a shield. 'Held' - kept me from falling into those mischiefs which mine enemies designed. 'Gentleness' - Thy clemency, whereby thou hast pardoned my sins; thy grace and benignity.
[On verse 36:] 'Slip' - as [my feet] are apt to do in narrow and uneven ways.
[On verse 48:] 'Violent man' - from Saul, whom for honour's sake he forbears to mention.
[On verse 49:] 'Heathen' - David is here transported beyond himself and speaks this in special relation to Christ who was to be his seed, and of whom he was an eminent type, and by whom alone this was done. And therefore this is justly applied to him and to his calling of the Gentiles, Romans 15.9.
[On verse 50:] 'His king' - to the king whom God himself chose and anointed, and to all his posterity; and especially to the Messiah, who is called David's seed, Acts 13.23, Romans 1.3.
I suggested in the last post (on the first part of this Psalm) that it is quite appropriate to read this Psalm through the lens of Christ's cross, even though Wesley doesn't necessarily make the same connection. I think this is further demonstrated here, especially when it comes to the battle imagery that becomes quite vivid in this part of the Psalm. (Note: that the Psalms are in the poetic genre suggests that we should not be too rigid in our interpretation, to limit the range of possible meanings/interpretations to just one, but that there might be several ways of approaching it and each of those be valid.)
I took this picture in a visit to the hospital Carrie and I took when she was pregnant with Julianne. When I saw the sign, I thought about those places in Scripture that speak to the importance of 'clean hands,' one of which appears in verse 20 of this Psalm. Perhaps the most memorable is Psalm 24 (forthcoming post), on which a modern praise song is based. But I like in particular the way Wesley interprets 'clean hands' in this Psalm in reference to David not doing evil to Saul. This almost seems to set up a contradiction within this Psalm, doesn't it? That David doesn't actually do harm to someone aiming to harm him, yet there is the vivid battle imagery of pursuing enemies (esp. verses 37-42), using language of overtaken, consumed, wounded, fallen, subdued, given me the necks, destroy, beat, cast out...how do we reconcile these seemingly opposing ideas?
This is where I think the cross helps us. There were different sorts of enemies, weren't there? I mean on the one hand, there are the human agents that handed down and executed the death sentence (in which we have all taken part) upon Jesus. It is for these/us that Christ does not avenge himself, but cries, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." On the other hand, there is an unseen enemy that Christ pursues through his death: the evil one, the powers of darkness, death, sin... It is these that Christ overtakes, consumes, wounds, takes down, subdues, destroys, etc. Though Christ's hands were bloody in the battle, they remained clean in righteousness and forgiveness. Enemies surround us. The battle continues. But let's not forget this careful distinction. May we be the ones who, though we may be persecuted, cry 'Father, forgive!' yet also remain in hot pursuit to join Christ in the battle against evil and death, which we know will be finally extinguished. Forgiving and battling. Clean Hands Save Lives.
02 February 2011
Psalm 18 (a): v. 1-19
This Psalm presents a challenge for blogging by its sheer size (50 verses). Therefore, I will try to break up larger Psalms such as this one into 2 or more posts. I realize the disadvantage of this approach is that it may disrupt the flow or I may miss the message of the entire Psalm, but I plan on addressing the Psalm as a whole in relation to Wesley's interaction with the Psalm as a whole, which he does in his Notes.
To the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song, in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and he said:
1 I love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my strength in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about;
the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God;
he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
and fire out of his mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down;
and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;
yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place;
his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed,
hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice;
hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen,
and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke,
O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me;
for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity;
but the LORD was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
...
JW: David triumphs in God, ver. 1-3; praises God for his past deliverance, ver. 4-19; takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby cleared up, ver. 20-28; gives God the glory of all his victories, ver. 29-42; expresses his hope of what God would do farther, ver. 43-50. This Psalm with some few and small variations, is written, 2 Samuel 22.1-51. It was composed by David towards the end of his life, upon the occasion here mentioned...
Title of the psalm. 'Servant' - Who esteems it a greater honour to be thy servant, than to be the king of Israel. 'Saul' - after the death of Saul, and the conquest of all his succeeding enemies, and his own firm establishment in his kingdom.
[On verse 1:] 'Love' - most affectionately, and with my whole soul; as the Hebrew word signifies.
[On verse 2:] 'Rock' - to which I flee for refuge, as the Israelites did to their rocks.
[On verse 7:] 'Then' - then God appeared on my behalf in a glorious manner, to the terror and confusion of all mine enemies, which is here compared to an earthquake.
[On verse 8:] 'There went...' - All these seem to be figurative expressions, denoting the greatness of his anger.
[On verse 9:] 'Came' - not by change of place, but by the manifestation of his presence and power on my behalf.
[On verse 19:] 'Brought' - out of my straits and difficulties, into a state of freedom and comfort. So he ascribes all his mercies to God's good pleasure, as the first spring of them.
I haven't commented on any of the "titles" (or pre-scripts you may call them) of any of the Psalms on this series yet, but this one stands out to me on a couple of fronts. First is the entitlement of David as servant (or slave) as opposed to referring to him as king. Assuming this pre-script was added on by a later editor, I'm curious by this move. Perhaps it is a recognition that David really saw himself in this light; hence, the title would acknowledge David's humility. The second thing is "...enemies, and...Saul." Perhaps there's nothing to this and the extra mentioning of Saul's name is just to indicate that Saul was a significant enemy of David. But I'm inclined to think that David never put Saul in the category of "enemy" even after Saul's death (for instance, examine his kindness to Mephibosheth, a descendant of Saul). Even though Saul continually sought David's death, David always respected the king and even spared his life when he had the opportunity to take it. In any case, Saul pursued David as an enemy and that certainly plays into the context of this Psalm.
Look at the images of strength in the first three verses! I'm taken to Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God' in these verses. And David expresses a tender response, "love," to this strong God who is like a rock, a high tower, etc. God's strength...God's right arm is how we are saved from our enemy. So we, like David here, like the enslaved Israelites in Egypt before him (see Exodus 3.7), and like Christ after him (see Matthew 27.46, Mark 15.34), can cry unto the Lord in our distress and know that our cries are heard...even into [God's] ears.
We'll get more into the cry of dereliction ('My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?') when we get to Psalm 22. But I do want to mention here that I think it's appropriate to read verses 4-15 of Psalm 18 through the lens of the cross, and more particularly, to view the phenomena of the earthquake and clouds NOT as divine wrath against Jesus who had taken on our sin, but as divine sympathy with the righteous One who was suffering unjustly. To me, this has a much more theological and pastoral payoff than the notion that darkness means that God was showing his wrath against Jesus. It's more participatory. And that's not to say that we are saving ourselves, or that dying a righteous death is enough to undo all the sins we've committed. Rather, it's merely emphasizing what Paul did in so many places...union with Christ, even in his death and resurrection (see Philippians chapter 3). In that, then, we can see that verse 16 is the turning point, where God brings victory and deliverance and vindicates the righteous One by raising him from the dead. Notice the reference to waters, a reference we can clearly link with baptism, which is certainly about death and resurrection! And we are united to God in Christ through this. Death, indeed is a strong enemy, but God, our deliverer, is much stronger, and how about this: He "delights in" us!
To the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song, in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and he said:
1 I love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my strength in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about;
the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God;
he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
and fire out of his mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down;
and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;
yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place;
his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed,
hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice;
hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen,
and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke,
O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me;
for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity;
but the LORD was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
...
JW: David triumphs in God, ver. 1-3; praises God for his past deliverance, ver. 4-19; takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby cleared up, ver. 20-28; gives God the glory of all his victories, ver. 29-42; expresses his hope of what God would do farther, ver. 43-50. This Psalm with some few and small variations, is written, 2 Samuel 22.1-51. It was composed by David towards the end of his life, upon the occasion here mentioned...
Title of the psalm. 'Servant' - Who esteems it a greater honour to be thy servant, than to be the king of Israel. 'Saul' - after the death of Saul, and the conquest of all his succeeding enemies, and his own firm establishment in his kingdom.
[On verse 1:] 'Love' - most affectionately, and with my whole soul; as the Hebrew word signifies.
[On verse 2:] 'Rock' - to which I flee for refuge, as the Israelites did to their rocks.
[On verse 7:] 'Then' - then God appeared on my behalf in a glorious manner, to the terror and confusion of all mine enemies, which is here compared to an earthquake.
[On verse 8:] 'There went...' - All these seem to be figurative expressions, denoting the greatness of his anger.
[On verse 9:] 'Came' - not by change of place, but by the manifestation of his presence and power on my behalf.
[On verse 19:] 'Brought' - out of my straits and difficulties, into a state of freedom and comfort. So he ascribes all his mercies to God's good pleasure, as the first spring of them.
I haven't commented on any of the "titles" (or pre-scripts you may call them) of any of the Psalms on this series yet, but this one stands out to me on a couple of fronts. First is the entitlement of David as servant (or slave) as opposed to referring to him as king. Assuming this pre-script was added on by a later editor, I'm curious by this move. Perhaps it is a recognition that David really saw himself in this light; hence, the title would acknowledge David's humility. The second thing is "...enemies, and...Saul." Perhaps there's nothing to this and the extra mentioning of Saul's name is just to indicate that Saul was a significant enemy of David. But I'm inclined to think that David never put Saul in the category of "enemy" even after Saul's death (for instance, examine his kindness to Mephibosheth, a descendant of Saul). Even though Saul continually sought David's death, David always respected the king and even spared his life when he had the opportunity to take it. In any case, Saul pursued David as an enemy and that certainly plays into the context of this Psalm.
Look at the images of strength in the first three verses! I'm taken to Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God' in these verses. And David expresses a tender response, "love," to this strong God who is like a rock, a high tower, etc. God's strength...God's right arm is how we are saved from our enemy. So we, like David here, like the enslaved Israelites in Egypt before him (see Exodus 3.7), and like Christ after him (see Matthew 27.46, Mark 15.34), can cry unto the Lord in our distress and know that our cries are heard...even into [God's] ears.
We'll get more into the cry of dereliction ('My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?') when we get to Psalm 22. But I do want to mention here that I think it's appropriate to read verses 4-15 of Psalm 18 through the lens of the cross, and more particularly, to view the phenomena of the earthquake and clouds NOT as divine wrath against Jesus who had taken on our sin, but as divine sympathy with the righteous One who was suffering unjustly. To me, this has a much more theological and pastoral payoff than the notion that darkness means that God was showing his wrath against Jesus. It's more participatory. And that's not to say that we are saving ourselves, or that dying a righteous death is enough to undo all the sins we've committed. Rather, it's merely emphasizing what Paul did in so many places...union with Christ, even in his death and resurrection (see Philippians chapter 3). In that, then, we can see that verse 16 is the turning point, where God brings victory and deliverance and vindicates the righteous One by raising him from the dead. Notice the reference to waters, a reference we can clearly link with baptism, which is certainly about death and resurrection! And we are united to God in Christ through this. Death, indeed is a strong enemy, but God, our deliverer, is much stronger, and how about this: He "delights in" us!
01 February 2011
Wesleyan take on Word & Table
Jonathan Powers is doing a splendid job of going through biblical, historical, and theological aspects of the relationship between the Word and Table (Communion) over on his blog, "Theology in Worship" with the tag line "A Debate." He asked me to provide a Wesleyan take drawing from some insights from Methodism's founder, John Wesley. You can read the post here. But be sure to check out the whole "debate" and other great insights he offers on his blog.
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