Tag Archives: God as protector of the vulnerable

Psalm 146 The Praiseworthy God

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King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst

Psalm 146

1 Praise the LORD!
 Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
 I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
 in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
 on that very day their plans perish.

5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
 whose hope is in the LORD their God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
 the sea, and all that is in them;
 who keeps faith forever;
 7 who executes justice for the oppressed;
 who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
 the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the strangers;
 he upholds the orphan and the widow,
 but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever,
 your God, O Zion, for all generations.
 Praise the LORD!

Bolded words have comments on translation below.

The psalter closes with five psalms that begin and end with the familiar Hebrew word Hallelujah (NRSVue Praise the LORD!). These final five psalms form a closing note of praise on this songbook of the faithful people. Throughout the experiences of the individual authors in various times, the underlying belief in the praiseworthiness of the LORD the God of the people has remained present. The questions of faith, the laments and heartbreaks, of the psalms all await God’s answer and resolution but even in the darkest moments the LORD is the one who the psalmists cry out to. Now as we move towards the conclusion of the psalter these final psalms send us out praising the LORD with all our being[1] for the duration of one’s entire life.

Psalm 146 moves from praising the LORD with all one’s being and days to the antithesis: trusting in rulers and human beings. Human leaders are necessary throughout society. Yet there is a tendency that continues in society to make leaders a source of ultimate trust. I am writing these words on the day of a midterm election in the United States where leaders and parties have attempted to portray themselves as trustworthy and their opponents as wicked. In this psalm the contrast is between the reliable and unending governance of God and “the transient incompetence of human governors.” (Mays, 1994, p. 440) Many religious leaders throughout history have stated that whatever we place our trust in is our god. Martin Luther, for example, in his Large Catechism framed it this way:

A “god” is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need. Therefore, to have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in that one with your whole heart. As I have often said, it is the trust and faith of the heart alone that make both God and an idol. If your faith and your trust are right, then your God is the true one. Conversely, where your trust is false and wrong, there you do not have the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God. Anything on which your heart relies and depends, I say, that is really your God. (Luther, 2000, p. 386)

The psalm quickly turns from the foolish path of trusting in princes and mortals to the wise path of those whose help and hope is the God of Jacob. The Hebrew ‘asre (NRSVue happy) is a very common word in wisdom literature contrasting the wise path that leads to happiness/contentment/blessedness with the foolish path that leads to ruin. Those who trust in mortal perish, those whose hope is in God prosper.

The psalm then focuses on who this trustworthy God is and the character of God. The LORD is the creator of the heavens, the earth, the seas, and all that inhabits all these domains. This God who is the creator of all is a God who keeps faith forever. Many of the actions of keeping faith involve God’s care for the vulnerable: providing the justice for the oppressed, food to the hungry, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, lifting up those who are bowed down, watching over the strangers, and upholding the orphan and widow. This LORD of justice loves the righteous but brings the wicked to ruin (a traditional wisdom literature contrast). In contrast to the transient incompetence of human rulers, the LORD of justice who cares for the vulnerable will reign forever. This creator of heaven and earth, sea and all who fill them is worthy or praise, and the psalmist ends as they began: Hallelujah (Praise the LORD).

[1] The Hebrew nephesh translated ‘soul’ by the NRSVue does not have the sense of ‘soul’ as something separate from bodily existence that is characteristic of Greek thought. The Hebrew idea is something closer to the essence of life.

Psalm 140 Deliver Me From the Poisonous Words of Violent Ones

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King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst

Psalm 140

To the leader. A Psalm of David. 

1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers[1];
  protect me from those who are violent,
 2 who plan evil things in their minds
  and stir up wars continually.
 3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
  and under their lips is the venom of vipers.  Selah

 4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
  protect me from the violent
  who have planned my downfall.
 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
  and with cords they have spread a net,
  along the road they have set snares for me.  Selah

 6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God;
  give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
 7 O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
  you have covered my head in the day of battle.
 8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
  do not further their evil plot.  Selah

 9 Those who surround me lift up their heads;
  let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
 10 Let burning coals fall on them!
  Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
 11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
  let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

 12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy
  and executes justice for the poor.
 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
  the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 140 is the poetic prayer of an individual asking God to deliver them from violent adversaries. The Hebrew of the poem divides into four roughly equal parts (divided by the word selah) with a closing statement of trust.[2] The first two sections use the metaphors of venomous snakes, warfare, and hunting to describe the actions of the violent ones to the God who can deliver the psalmist. The central section turns away from the violent ones to the God who delivers the psalmist in the midst of battle. The fourth section asks for God’s judgment on these evil and violent opponents before the final two verses again return to the God who maintains the cause of the needy.

The enemies are identified only as evildoers, violent, and wicked. Although the psalmist utilizes the metaphor of warfare it is likely that the enemies’ actions may be primarily verbal with the focus on the tongue and lips in the serpent imagery and the hiding of traps for a hunter. That does not mean that the threat is not ominous. The enemies may be attempting to ensnare the psalmist through their word games in court or poison their reputation. These violent ones are stirring up conflict and evil, planning the downfall and entrapment of the faithful psalmist.

God is named at the beginning of each of the first two sections, but in the central section the name of God is called out four times.[3] The LORD is the psalmists God, and then the psalmist asks their God to hear their supplications. The word translated supplications comes from the verbal root hanan which is translated “showing favor” in Psalms 111, 112, and 123 and is part of the self-description of God in Exodus 34:6. The psalmist declares their allegiance to their God and God’s description of Godself before returning to the military metaphors where God clothes them for battle and delivers them. The psalmist closes this section by appealing to God to not grant the desires of the wicked, but instead to hear the appeals of the righteous one.

In the fourth section returns to the enemies that have risen against the psalmist. This section again returns to the verbal themes with the mischief of the lips being turned against those who speak violently against the psalmist. Now the psalmist asks God to judge them with burning coals, falling into the pit. Ultimately the psalmist asks that evil would hunt down these violent, wicked ones. As with all cries to God to judge the enemy, the enemy resides in God’s hands and not the psalmist.

The psalmist closes with a note of trust which calls again on God as the one who protects the needy and poor. The psalmist trusts that their current situation where the wicked and violent successfully oppress the righteous will not last. God hears the cry of the vulnerable and defends them. God will not allow the wicked to prosper indefinitely. The psalmist looks forward to the day when they can give thanks to the LORD for the way God has delivered them from this moment of trouble.

[1] “The Hebrew word is ‘ra, most often translated as “evil.” The word “evil” in English carries an ethical, moral tone that, while appropriate for Ps. 140, is probably not as appropriate as malicious, which means, “having, shown, or cause by malice; spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful.”” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 968)

[2] Clifford Allen noted that verses 1-3 contain twenty-three Hebrew words, ending with selah; verses 4-5 contain twenty-three words, ending with selah; verses 6-8 contain twenty-four words, ending with selah; verses 9-11 contain twenty-three words with verses 12-13 as a closing statement of trust. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 967)

[3] In English translations the capitalized LORD indicates that the four letters of the divine name are behind the translation (YHWH) with vowel markings indicating it is to be spoken as Adonai (Lord). In verse seven the second Lord is the Hebrew Adonai.