Monthly Archives: July 2025

Psalm 117 The Goal of all the Peoples

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Tarnov literary and art school, Miriams Tanz, Miniatur aus dem bulfarischen Tomic Psalter (1360-1363)

Psalm 117

1 Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!

2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!

This is the shortest psalm in the psalter, but as James L. Mays states, “it thinks on a grand scale.” (Mays, 1994, p. 372) The people of Israel were never a world empire, nor were they a people who aggressively attempted to spread their beliefs and worship practices to the world around them. Yet, they do believe that the LORD is the God not only of Israel. The LORD created the heavens and the earth and all the peoples of the world. Just as the psalmist has encouraged the people gathered to worship to join in the hymn of all creation, now all the peoples of the nations are invited to participate in the end for which they were created: the praise of the LORD.

The motivation for the nations and peoples turning to the LORD in praise in this short psalm is not the acts of God but the character of God. The steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness (‘emeth) of God are a frequently used pair of attributes that are rooted in God’s self-description in Exodus 34: 6-7. These attributes of the LORD are great[1] and powerful enough is the psalmist’s imagination to evoke a scene where all the nations of the earth join in proclaiming Hallelujah! (NRSV Praise the LORD)[2]

The apostle Paul quotes Psalm 117:1 in Romans 15:11 with several other references to the nations (Gentiles) praising God. This psalm helped shape his vision of a world where every knee could bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11) Yet before the evangelistic movement of the early Christians into the nations there exists within the Jewish imagination a vision of a world where the nations join with them in their praise of God. Ultimately the telos[3] or end/goal of all humanity is the praise of God and in this psalm, we get to envision the world where all the nations are engaged in their proper work of praise.

[1] Brueggeman and Bellinger note that the term “great” in Hebrew is better translated might or strength with a military connotation. The term has the meaning of the strength to work one’s will. (Bellinger, 2014, p. 503)

[2] Hallelujah is the Hebrew word for praise (hallel) and shortened form of the name of God (yah) joined together.

[3] I’ve written about telos when working through the Gospel of Matthew in Perfection and Blamelessness in the Bible. I like the way Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt capture the idea of telos  in The Coddling of the American Mind. “Aristotle often evaluated a thing with respect to its “telos”—its purpose, end, or goal. The telos of a knife is to cut. A knife that does not cut well is not a good knife.” (Haidt, 2018, p. 253)

Psalm 116 The God Who Delivers From Death

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The Last Supper by Pascal Adolphe Dagnan-Bouvret

Psalm 116

1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.

2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.

4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, save my life!”

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.

6 The LORD protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

9 I walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

10 I kept my faith, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”;

11 I said in my consternation, “Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,

14 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.

16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.

17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD.

18 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,

19 in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 116 is the song of praise of one who has been delivered from the power of death. Throughout the psalms the LORD is the one who delivers the life (nephesh)[1] of this faithful one from the power of death. This individual praise has been brought into the practice of the Passover meal where the community now praises the LORD’s rescue of them from their death in Egypt. For Christians this psalm is traditionally read on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) in connection with the last supper. In both the religious practice of Jews and Christians this psalm echoes a repeated theme in the psalms of a God who ransoms or save the life of the individual or people from the powers of death.[2]

Even though Deuteronomy 6:5 with its command, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” is one of the central commandments, and a part of the Shema which the people are to regularly recite, the psalms rarely refer to loving the LORD. J. Clinton McCann highlights three other psalms that reference loving God (Psalm 5:1; 32:23; and 40:16) (NIB IV: 1148) but even Psalm 40:16 refers to “those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD.” The NRSV and many other translations begin this psalm by stating “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.” Yet, these translations deviate from the Hebrew which has the LORD as the subject of the verb hear. Nancy-deClaissé-Walford captures this in her translation, “I love because the LORD hears.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 858) The rescued one is able to love because the LORD is one who saves from the time of trouble, who hears and inclines the ear of God to the one who calls upon God throughout their life.

God is the one who sustains life, but death is a constant threat throughout this poem. Death and Sheol are parallel terms for this realm or entity which attempts to lay hold of this faithful one. It is mythologized into a living being or force that can encompass with snares or afflict with pangs. This resonates with Paul usage of a personified death which is the last enemy to be defeated in 1 Corinthians 15:26. The LORD is the one who rescues the life of one who has been pulled close to the realm of death and has restored them to life. Now they walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

Even though this psalmist kept their faith in God in their time of distress other may have viewed this as a judgment from God like Job’s dialogue partners or like the enemies encountered in other psalms of lament. (Bellinger, 2014, p. 501) The psalmist may have had to dispute others who viewed their misfortune as indication of unfaithfulness or sin and who in the psalmist’s words were liars. Instead of receiving compassion from others, this one at death’s door may have received condemnation or even seen others plot to take advantage of his physical distress. Yet the psalmist’s faith was in a God who delivers from the snares of death and returns them to life.

The cup of salvation may have originated as a part of the drink offering or in an offering of thanksgiving for well being[3] but this reference to the cup of salvation likely led to the use of this psalm with the fourth cup at Passover. For Christians the linkage of the Passover with the Last Supper led to this being the traditional psalm on Maundy Thursday. Yet within the psalm this line is a part of the psalmist’s thankful reaction to the deliverance they have received. They pay their vows and the celebrate ritually what God has done for them.

Verse fifteen is a verse that is often used in a way that is opposite to its original intent. The NRSV’s translations Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones makes it sound like the death of the faithful is something God welcomes when the entire direction of the psalm is about a God who rescues from death. The Hebrew yaqar translated as “precious” also has the meaning of costly or weighty. The NJPS translates this verse as grievous in the LORD’s sight. The word for faithful ones is hasid which are those who practice hesed or those who imitate God’s practice of steadfast love. Throughout the psalm the self-disclosure of God’s character in Exodus 34:6 as merciful and gracious…abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness is echoed in the Hebrew vocabulary of the psalm. For example, in verse five several of these same terms for God echo in this psalmist’s description of God.

For the psalmist the experience of rescue from the snares of death demonstrates the character of God. The psalmist lives in gratitude for the ability to love and live again. The come in worship and exaltation to the house of God and echo the Hallelujah (Praise the LORD) that the hallel psalms are named for. In knowing the deliverance of God, they have come to a fuller appreciation of the character of the God who delivers from death.

[1] The Hebrew nephesh is often translated ‘soul’ (as in verse seven and eight in the NRSV) but the modern concept of soul does not communicate the concept of nephesh. Nephesh is the essence of life or the center of life. Even in this psalm which discusses the place of the dead (Sheol) the contrast is between life and death, not life and afterlife.

[2] Psalm 30:3; 33:19; 49:15; 56:13; and 86:13.

[3] Although the offering of thanksgiving for well-being outlined in Leviticus 7:11-18 does not have a drink element with it.

Psalm 115 Trusting God Above All Things

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The Parable of the Talents, depicted by artist Andrei Mironov. Oil on canvas, 2013 Shared under CC-SA 4.0 http://artmiro.ru/blog/creative_commons/2015-07-04-244

Psalm 115

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

3 Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their throats.

8 Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.

11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.

12 The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;

13 he will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great.

14 May the LORD give you increase, both you and your children.

15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

16 The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings.

17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence.

18 But we will bless the LORD from this time on and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

Martin Luther when talking about the first commandment explained the commandment on having no other gods by stating, “We are to fear, love, and trust God above all things.” Psalm 111 ended with “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Now Psalm 115 centers on trusting the LORD. Chris Tomlin’s contemporary Christian song “Not to us” takes the first verse of this song and constructs a song around the first half of the verse, but if we were to construct a modern song based on the central idea of this psalm it would use verses nine through eleven as the chorus. Structurally this psalm centers on the call for Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the LORD to trust the LORD who will help and protect them.

The psalm begins with a call for the name of the LORD to be given its proper glory, honor, and respect. On the one hand, this does reflect the proper posture of humility for the worshipper of the LORD and calling on the actions of God and the actions of the worshipping community to be solely for God’s glory. On the other hand, throughout the Hebrew Scriptures when the people call upon God to act for the sake of God’s name they have frequently been unfaithful and unworthy of God’s redemption and rescue. The argument is frequently made by the people that the disaster that has come upon them has brought dishonor to the reputation of God. The psalmist knows that the LORD is a God of steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness. Yet the nations look at Israel and wonder where is their God? They may be looking upon the disaster that has occurred among the people and wonder if the LORD is absent or impotent. The psalmist protests that God is able to do whatever God pleases and that God rules from the heavens and unlike their neighbors in Canaan or Babylon they do not need, nor are they allowed to create, images of silver or gold.

The faith of Israel was centered on the God who forbade the constructions of images that would attempt to capture the image of God. The mocking of idols here resonates with Isaiah’s taunts in Isaiah 44: 9-20 which come from the time of the Babylonian exile. The faith of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim creates a worship space that looks very different from many other religions. My congregation sits next to a large Hindu temple and their worship space is configured around the images that are central to their practice. The world of both Canaan and Babylon (and oftentimes the practice inside Israel and Judah) were filled with alternative ‘gods’ and alternative ways of worship and practice. These practices of worshipping other gods also led to a different way of relating to the world and the neighbor. For the Jewish people their faith was a faith tied to the law (Torah) which envisioned a very different society than most societies we are aware of in the ancient world.

The polemic against idols is, as James Mays reminds us, “to chastise and correct the congregation itself in support of the first and second commandment.” (Mays, 1994, p. 367) The congregation of Israel was to focus on its own practices and be an example for the nations. Yet, Israel just like people of faith of all times struggled to trust in the LORD above all things. The psalm takes the people back to the heart of their faith, trusting the LORD who helps and protects them. There will always been temptations to trust in one’s acquired wealth, work, alliances, connections, or physical or military strength. Israel was never a world power with a large enough military to stand against the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek, or Roman empires in their times. Throughout their history they were looked upon as an oddity. Both Jews and early Christians were sometimes viewed as atheists because they had no images for their God and they refrained from the practices of their neighbors to attempt to remain faithful to their God.

The heavens are the LORD’s but the earth has been given as a gift to human beings. One of the aspects of biblical faith is the understanding of the earth and our place within it as a gift. The God who created the earth continues to provide for not only the faithful ones but all the people and creatures of the earth. Those who fear the LORD know trust that they will experience God’s blessing of provision in both their fields and their families.

The psalm closes with the note that the dead do not praise the LORD. Throughout most of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) there is no view of the dead going to heaven or hell. When a place of the dead is mentioned, it is often utilized to bargain with God because the dead cannot praise God.[1] The focus of the Hebrew Scriptures is on life being lived in covenant with God and trusting that God will provide for that life.

This psalm is about trust and praise being directed toward the God of Israel. From the perspective of the scriptures this is the way of a wise life. Those who follow idols and their ways are foolish. It is a call for those who have directed their trust and praise elsewhere to repent and return to the path of wisdom. Idols do not need to be the creations of gold and silver that the psalmist references. In the United States we are taught in multiple ways to ensure our security through wealth, power, fame, education, and work. None of these things are evil, but when our trust relies on these things instead of the LORD our faith is misplaced. The psalm shares a similar concern with Joshua at the end of his time leading the people where he challenges the people to choose which path and which gods they will follow. “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) was Joshua’s challenge which the people answered that they also would serve the LORD. The people of Israel as well as the church continually has to remind itself that serving the LORD is very different from the alternative visions of faith present in the world. The psalm reminds me that we are to fear, love, and trust God above all things.

[1] See also Psalm 6:5.

Psalm 114 The Awesome God of the Exodus

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Dr. Lidia Kozenitzky, Painting of the Splitting of the Red Sea (2009) available from http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Effib

Psalm 114

1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5 Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

This second “Egyptian Hallel” psalm[1] praises the power of the LORD the God of Israel’s being. Throughout this short poem the nations, the waters, and the land all respond and tremble at the LORD’s presence. Nowhere in the poem does God act, except indirectly in the final verse. The background of the poem is the exodus narrative and the creation narrative. The LORD is the God of creation with power over the waters and the mountains, but also the God of the exodus who brought the people out of Egypt and into the promised land.

The poem is built on parallel expressions: Israel/house of Jacob; Judah/Israel; sea/Jordan; mountains/hills; and rock/flint. Each line doubles the reaction using these parallel expressions and intensifies the effect of the poem’s praise. The people’s experience of the power of the LORD goes back to the experience of God taking the people out of Egypt and making them into a sanctuary (Hebrew qados– devoted, set apart) (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 851) and dominion. The exodus narrative is the obvious reference alluded to throughout the poem and yet in poetic function the event becomes transformed to the creation’s reaction to the presence of the LORD among God’s people.

The opening verse informed the reader of the poem that the reference was the exodus and now in verse three the poet uses a set of parallels to bracket the biblical narrative of the exodus event. The sea which looks and flees from God references the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14 while the crossing of the Jordan once it has turned back references the end of the journey in Joshua 3. The sea and river become things that flee[2] from the LORD’s presence among the people of Israel. The God who exercised control over the deep in creation is now feared by these waters which bracket the story of the exodus.

The mountains and hills, unmoving and permanent, now become like rams and lambs in their rapid motion. Psalm 29 used a similar image of Lebanon and Sirion fleeing before the LORD, even using the same term ‘skip’ although in that psalm the metaphor is a calf and a wild ox. Habakuk also utilizes a similar image of the hills and mountains being shattered and sinking at the appearance of the LORD.[3] This reaction of both the waters and the immovable rock of mountains and hills is caused by the presence of the LORD. The earth models the proper response by trembling.[4] Creation itself models that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).

Although it should be clear throughout the poem that the people, the waters and the mountains are all responding to the God of Jacob, God is mentioned explicitly for the first time in verse seven.[5] The poem concludes by bringing the imagery of rock and water together with an allusion to God’s provision of water via Moses striking the rock at Rephidim in Exodus 17:1-7. The God who moved over the depths in creation and formed the seas, the rivers, the rocks, hills and mountains becomes known to God’s people who come to know God’s impact on the world as God brings them out of Egypt, providing water in the wilderness, and passing them through the waters of the Jordan into the promised land. The people and the earth tremble before the fearful presence of the LORD in their midst.

[1] Psalm 113-118 are often called the Egyptian Hallel psalms because they are recited on the Passover meal on the eighth day of Passover. They are the psalms used to celebrate God’s actions to take their ancestors out of Egypt.

[2] Psalm 77:16 uses a similar imagery.

[3] Habakkuk 3:6.

[4] Psalm 97:4 also has the earth trembling in reaction to the LORD’s lightning.

[5] In the NRSV in verse 2 God is mentioned in verse 2 when Judah became God’s sanctuary, but the Hebrew is simply Judah became his sanctuary (the third person singular pronoun is attached to qados the word for sanctuary.

Psalm 113 The God On High Who Lifts The Lowly

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Window on the south wall of St Andrews just outside the Feilden chapel, by Henry Holiday and depicting Holy Women of the Old and New Testaments: Sarah, Hannah, Ruth and Esther in the top four panels and the Virgin Mary, Elizabeth, Mary of Bethany and Dorcas in the lower. By Rodhullandemu – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73469366

Psalm 113

1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations and his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

The God of the songs and stories of Israel is a God who turns the world upside down. The LORD of Israel is the one who is high above all nations and lords yet this God raises up the “triad of the wretched” (Bellinger, 2014, p. 490) the poor, the needy, and the barren. This is the LORD on high who lifts up the lowly. Psalm 113 echoes this paradoxical reality in Hebrew thought: the LORD is high above all things, and the LORD looks down and sees the lowliest of all things.

Psalm 113 begins and ends with Hallelujah (NRSV Praise the LORD!). Unlike the previous two psalms it is not an acrostic, instead it is a short poem with two easily discerned parts. In the first four verses the praising and honoring of the LORD is the focus. Verse five forms pivot where the psalmist asks, “Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high.” The final four verses consider how this LORD who is seated on high cares for the lowly.

The praise of the LORD in the first four verses continually mentions the LORD and the name of the LORD as the focus of the praise of the servants of the LORD. The name of the LORD, enshrined in the commandment to “not make wrongful use the name of the LORD your God,” (Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11) is critical to the proper reverence of the God of Israel. Names in the ancient world were powerful things and this God whose name is to be praised at all times (from this time on forevermore and from the rising of the sun to its setting) was due the reverence afforded to the name of the LORD.[1] This God who is above all things and whose name is worthy of reverence is seated on high.

The LORD on high lifting up the lowly is easily seen in the English translations, but when the Hebrew is rendered in a more literal translation[2] the parallel is even clearer as J. Clinton McCann Jr. shows:

A more literal translation captures the effect; God “makes God’s self high in order to sit,” (v.5b) “makes God’s self low in order to see,” (v. 6a) “causes the poor to arise” (v.7a), “makes exalted the needy…to cause them to sit with princes.” (NIB IV: 1139)

God intervenes in the life of the poor, the needy and the barren woman. God uses God’s position and power to lift up the lowly. This is the God of Sarah. Rebekah, and Rachel in the book of Genesis, these formerly barren women who became the joyous mothers of children. This is the God of the exodus who took a poor and needy people out of their captivity through the wilderness into the promised land. This is the God who hears the song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2) and Mary (Luke 1:46-55) which both share common themes with the second half of Psalm 113.

Psalm 113 in modern Jewish life is the first of the “Egyptian Hallel” psalms which are utilized in the Passover celebration. It is possible that this was the psalm that Jesus and his followers sang before they went out to the Mount of Olives after the Last Supper (Mark 14:26). The Psalm resonates strongly with many of the themes of the ministry of Jesus, just as it resonates with the story, songs, and the law. As Deuteronomy reminds the people:

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribes, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10: 17-18)

This short psalm captures a central theme of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures: the paradox that the God who is high over all things sees and lifts up the lowly.

[1] The four letters of the divine name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14 are behind the English translation of LORD in all capitol letters. The practice of translating this LORD comes from the practice of using the vowel pointings for ‘Adonai” (Hebrew lord) on the consonants in Hebrew so that the reader knows not to utter the name of the LORD the God of Israel.

[2] Translators have to make a difficult choice when rendering a language into another of how to balance the literal meaning of the words with the different syntax and expectations of the language they are translating into. A “wooden” or “literal” translation is often difficult to read or understand because Hebrew sentences often do not include elements that most English readers are used to.

Psalm 112 An Authentic Life Shaped by Wisdom

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The Presentation of the Torah By Édouard Moyse – Own work Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41893002

Psalm 112 

1Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments.
2Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
4They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.
6For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.
7They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
10The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Psalm 112 and Psalm 111 share a lot of commonalities. Both are acrostic poems with each cola beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. They share commonalities in vocabulary[1] with each other and with wisdom literature in general. If Psalm 111 is the beginning of wisdom then Psalm 112 would be a life lived in wisdom. The fear of the LORD[2] here leads to a delighting in the commandments of the LORD and a life that is authentic and in harmony with God, society, and the creation.

Like Psalm 111 and 113, the first word of the psalm is Hallelujah (NRSV Praise the LORD). The acrostic poem begins with the second word asre (NRSV happy) which is a common indicator of wisdom literature. Like Psalm 1, which also begins with asre we are examining the contrast between a righteous life in harmony with God’s will for the world and a wicked life in conflict with God’s will. The Hebrew asre often translated ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’ or even ‘contented’ but the concept in Hebrew thought is closer to ‘wholeness’ or ‘completeness.’ This integrated life is a life of shalom, itself a word that has a much larger function than the standard English translation of peace. The way of wholeness and completeness is the way of wisdom. Those who ‘fear’ the LORD greatly delight in the LORD’s commandments. This is not a burdensome set of commands but the boundaries which provide the safe space where an individual can live a whole and integrated life.

The blessings of this whole person reflect the ideals of Hebrew thought. Abraham when he begins his journey with God is promised descendants, a blessing, house, land and prosperity and through his household all the nations will be blessed. For the ‘happy’ ones who follow the way of wisdom their descendants are mighty, their generation is blessed, their households are prosperous, and their righteousness endures. The Hebrew scriptures trust that God will provide for the righteous ones who follow God’s ways. Those who fear, love, and trust the LORD above all things will find that they have enough and even an abundance beyond what they need.

These wise and righteous ones reflect the God who they worship and serve. In Psalm 111 the LORD’s righteousness endures forever, and in verse three now the righteousness of these ‘happy’ ones endures forever. In Psalm 111 God was characterized as gracious and merciful and now these ones who fear the LORD are also gracious, merciful, and righteous. They become the image of the LORD they fear, obey, and worship. They become a light that reflects the light of the LORD for the upright in the darkness of the world.

This life of faithfulness is a life of generosity. They do not hoard what they have but deal generously and lend. They distribute freely and give to the poor trusting that God will provide what they need. They conduct their affairs in justice/righteousness[3] and that justice/righteousness has a gracious and merciful character. Their practices remain constant throughout their lives and they are examples who are remembered of a life well lived. They trust in the LORD and even in evil/wicked times they remain secure in their trust. Their horn, which is reflective of power and status, is exalted in honor.

In classical wisdom literature duality these ‘happy’ ones are contrasted with the wicked. The wise and the wicked are opposing ways of life. The wise life is generous and merciful while the wicked one does not care for the poor, does not live generously, and may aggressively attempt to take advantage of both the vulnerable and the generous righteous ones. Yet, the anger and aggression of the wicked melts away before the sustaining power of the LORD that the wise ones fear. The desire of the wicked comes to nothing.[4]

The way of wisdom in the Hebrew scriptures is a way of life that lives in harmony with God’s commandments. The law and wisdom are connected in Hebrew thought. The law provides the vision of a society where the weak are protected and harmony and peace are possible. A way that is wise fears and reverences the LORD, the God of Israel and reflects the generous and merciful nature of that God. It trusts that even when the wicked seem to prosper that their foolish path will lead to their demise.

[1] Nancy deClaissé-Walford notes eleven key terms and phrases that occur in both relatively short psalms including: fear, delight in, upright, good, gracious, merciful, righteousness, remember, steady, give, and for all time. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 843)

[2] See the discussion of the Hebrew word yare translated fear in English in my notes on Psalm 111.

[3] The Hebrew tsaddik is a key idea in the Hebrew Scriptures. Both justice and righteousness emerge from the family of terms in Hebrew, like the Greek dikaios/dikaisune.

[4] This is the same word that ends Psalm 1, ‘abad which means to perish.