King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst
Psalm 140
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers[1]; protect me from those who are violent, 2who plan evil things in their minds and stir up wars continually. 3They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s, and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah
4Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent who have planned my downfall. 5The 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
6I say to the LORD, “You are my God; give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.” 7O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer, you have covered my head in the day of battle. 8Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot. Selah
9Those who surround me lift up their heads; let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! 10Let burning coals fall on them! Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise! 11Do not let the slanderer be established in the land; let evil speedily hunt down the violent!
12I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy and executes justice for the poor. 13Surely 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.
1O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. 3You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. 5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? 8If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. 11If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and night wraps itself around me,” 12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. 17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.
19O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me— 20those who speak of you maliciously and lift themselves up against you for evil! 21Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 24See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139 is a paradox. The first eighteen verses in poetic and beautiful imagery describe the psalmists experience of being fully known by God. The language of the final six verses describes the psalmist’s reaction to the jarring reality that there are many who oppose the ways of God. Many readers of this psalm are surprised at the sudden change from the sense of wonder and awe in the first three stanzas of the psalm to the imprecatory voice of the final stanza. Most readers may be familiar with the first eighteen verses while the final six will rarely appear in the worship of most churches. Some scholars feel that these verses were later added into the beautiful and comforting message of God’s full knowledge and encompassing of the speaker, but I feel the psalm makes sense as we have received it as I will share below.
A key word in this psalm is “known/knowledge” which occurs seven times (vv. 1-2, 4, 6, 14, 23 twice) and while the seven occurrences may be random, Hebrew poetry like to utilize numerical occurrence to make a point. Seven is traditionally a number of completeness. So, in addition to the thematic complete knowledge of God it may also be structurally reinforcing this message. (NIB IV: 1235) The verbs attributed to God including “know,” “search,” and “test” often appear in imagery when God is described as a judge, and this image of God is often used when one is calling on God for intervention or help. (Mays, 1994, pp. 426-427) Throughout the psalm the psalmist wrestles with the reality that they are known, searched, and tested completely by God and yet the wicked ones who resist God’s way still endure and God is called to judge these ones who the psalmist ‘hates’ (see below).
In the first stanza God knows the psalmist’s thoughts, words, and actions completely. Whether the psalmist is coming or going, waking or sleeping, standing or sitting, God knows their path, their thoughts, and even the words that have not left their mouth. They live their life surrounded by God’s presence and comforted by God’s touch. They respond in an appropriate sense of awe and wonder that the God who created the heavens and the earth can know them. The psalm is not interested in constructing a doctrine of omnipotence and omnipresence but instead deploys its language to try to express their wonder that God knows them, comforts them, is present with them and protects them.
The second stanza continues the wonder at God’s presence throughout the creation. The most surprising line of this stanza is that the psalmist includes God’s presence in Sheol, a place in other psalms where people are cut off from God’s hand (Psalm 88). Yet, for the psalmist even this place where God had been thought absent God is present. Heaven to Sheol, from the rising sun to the farthest edges of the sea, and even in the darkest night they are seen and known by God. There is nowhere in all creation, the heavens, the earth and under the earth, where they can escape God’s spirit or God’s sight. For the psalmist this is an awe-inspiring reality but primarily in a comforting rather than an ominous sense.
The third stanza turns the reflections to God’s deep involvement throughout the duration of their life. The beautiful language of God knitting the psalmist together in their mother’s womb, shaping and forming them for their life in God’s presence and protection. They wonder at their body and mind created by the hand of God and the days of their life are numbered according to God’s plan. The psalmist is less concerned with an idea or predestination than poetically describing the wonder at their life shaped by God’s hands and lived within God’s presence.
It may be a paradox, but for me the first three stanzas set up the final stanza. The psalmist looks upon God’s active presence in their own life and experience and then turns outward to the world where injustice and wickedness persist. The language does not seem to indicate that the psalmist is personally under threat or attack but instead seems to be broken-hearted by the ways in which others are treating God and God’s commandments. They are heartsick by the idolatry and injustice they see at work in the world and they call upon the God who is profoundly present throughout their life to extend that presence throughout the world and judge the wicked and those who oppose God’s ways. The language of ‘kill’ and ‘hate’ are jarring to our ears. The word translated ‘hate’ (Hebrew sane’) refers to an emotional aversion to something or someone. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 966) Throughout the psalms and wisdom literature in the bible the wicked pose a threat, leading astray others from following God’s way and threatening the peace of the society. The psalmist in their own way is calling on God for God’s will to be done on earth. The God who is present throughout the life of the psalmist and whose spirit is present throughout the world is asked to judge the earth and be as deeply involved throughout the creation as they perceive God being within their own life. Like the other psalms calling on God to judge an enemy, the enemy is committed into God’s hands. Yet the psalmist joins those throughout the generations calling upon God to establish God’s justice on earth and to heal the society from the damage done by the wicked, the bloodthirsty, those who speak maliciously, and who rise up against God.
1I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; 2I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted your name and your word above everything. 3On the day I called, you answered me; you increased my strength of soul.
4All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth. 5They shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. 6For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he perceives from far away.
7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. 8The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Psalm 138 utilizes themes common throughout the book of Psalms as it thanks and praises the God the psalmist follows with their whole heart. To follow the LORD with one’s whole heart is not merely a matter of belief but also behavior. The heart in Hebrew thought is not the seat of emotion but the seat of will and intention. The first stanza of the psalm begins with the heart, the seat of will and intention, and ends with the nephesh (NRSVue soul) which is the center or essence of life and being. ‘Heart’ and ‘soul’ they give thanks, sing praise, bow down, and call upon the LORD their God.
This psalm, like many portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, are not monotheistic as we conceive, but view the LORD the God of Israel as the God above all gods. In the midst of a pluralistic world where others worship other gods the psalmist sings the praise of the God above all gods. This God whose name[1] and ‘word’[2] are exalted above everything is the God worthy of thanks, praise and bowing down to. The LORD is known by the central descriptions of God’s characters: ‘steadfast love’ (hesed)[3] and faithfulness (‘emet). The LORD is a God who answers when the psalmist calls and they are strengthened in courage and ‘strength of soul’ in response.
The praise of the LORD expands from the psalmist in the first stanza to ‘all the kings of the earth’ in the second. The ‘words’ of the LORD have now spread to the nations and these mighty one join the psalmist in singing of the glory of God. Throughout the psalms there have been times when the praise of God has been echoed throughout the creation but here the emphasis is on the nations not only praising the glory and power of the LORD but also the ways of the LORD. Central to the way of the LORD is the care of the lowly who God regards. The mighty and haughty may find themselves distant from God but the lowly and vulnerable are seen and protected by God. The kings of the earth in honoring the ways of God would also turn to practices which protect the vulnerable and lowly.
Even though the psalmist appears to be delivered in the first stanza, the final stanza returns to God protecting them in the midst of trouble. Thematically this stanza is similar to Psalm 23 preserving the faithful one in the midst of trouble and delivering them from their enemies. The hand of the LORD is a central feature to these final two verses, appearing three times. The psalmist is the work of the hands of God but also asks God to stretch out the hand in protection and deliver with the right hand. The LORD fulfills God’s purposes, and the psalmist echoes the refrain of Psalm 136 ‘your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.’ J. Clinton McCann Jr. summarizes the psalm nicely when he states:
The psalmist is able to present his or her whole life to God, because the psalmist trust that it is God’s character to manifest “steadfast love” (hesed) and “faithfulness” (‘emet). (NIB IV: 1232)
The psalmist’s wholehearted and embodied thanks, praise and worship points to a future reality when all the king and nations of the earth join in the celebration of the ways of God. They entrust themselves to the God of steadfast love and faithfulness who walks with them in the midst of trouble.
[1] The name of the LORD is a central idea in Hebrew thought and lies behind the commandment on honoring God’s name and keeping it holy. The temple, for example, is ‘a house built for the name of the LORD.’ The name of the LORD can refer to the presence of God but with the understanding that all the earth cannot contain the presence of the LORD.
[2] The Hebrew term for ‘word’ throughout this psalm is not the normal debar but instead from the verbal root ‘amar. Nancy deClaissé-Walford indicates this is more of an emphasis on voicing of the word and perhaps ‘sayings’ is a more accurate translation of this less common word. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 960)
[3] For more about the hesed of God see my comments on Psalm 136.
1Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD! 2Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the LORD. 3May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
Psalm 134 is the final song of ascent where the pilgrims have arrived at their destination, and they are invited to do what they came to Zion to do: praise the LORD. This short psalm is only twenty-four words in Hebrew, but five of those words are the name of God: YHWH (LORD)[1], another three are a title for God (maker of heaven and earth), and three more are the Hebrew verb barak (bless). In the first two verses God is the focus of the actions of praise and blessing as the pilgrims enter into the space of worship. In the final verse the direction is reversed as the pilgrims are sent forth with a blessing, presumably spoken by a priestly figure, as they leave Zion and return to their homes.
In the previous psalm, the unity of the people was celebrated as they came to their destination and now all the gathered ones are called to participate in the actions of blessing the LORD the God of Israel. The actions of the worship are kinetic involving the lifting up of their hands within the holy space, but barak originally meant “to kneel” and that may also be a posture of worship expected within the movement of the psalm. (NIB IV: 1217) The people have made the effort to journey to the house of the LORD, a holy place where God’s presence dwells, and now their actions are now a part of their offering of obedience, homage, and trust to their God.
Within the flow of worship there is a time to be gathered and a time to be sent. One of the actions of sending is a benediction, a final blessing. Within my congregation I typically utilize either a trinitarian benediction or the Aaronic benediction from Numbers 6: 22-26. The brief benediction, which ends Psalm 134, and by extension the songs of ascent, is designed for the pilgrims who have come to Zion but now must return to their own towns or nations. The benediction seeks the blessing of the LORD upon those pilgrims, and wherever they go they are in the dominion of the maker of heaven and earth, yet the blessing emanates from this holy space in Zion where God’s presence rests. They came to this place to offer their blessing and worship to their God, and they are sent back into the world bearing God’s blessing upon them.
[1] The divine name is formed by four Hebrew letters transliterated as YHWH, often pronounce Yahweh, but is spoken as Adonai (Lord) when read by a cantor in the space of worship. This is due to the commandment about not taking the name of the Lord your God in vain. That is why most English translations will translate these four letters as LORD in all capital letters to indicate the name of God is behind the translation.
Consecration of Aaron and His Sons, illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents.
1How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
Bolded words have notes on translation below.
This short psalm utilizes two images of fluids flowing down as a metaphor for the good and pleasant experience of unity among kindred. Every world religion I am aware of utilizes familial imagery and then expands the imagery of family to the expectations of community life. Here within the pilgrims coming into Jerusalem and reciting these songs of ascent they are surrounded by other travelers who have come from other towns and perhaps other countries. Yet, for the Hebrew people they were all children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were all an extended family. They were all kin.
As the travelers move towards the temple the first good and pleasant image remembers the anointing of Aaron as the high priest for the people. The pouring of oil on the head is common in the ancient world and had both provided moisture to the scalp and skin as well as a pleasant odor. Yet oil is precious and the image here is of fine oil being used lavishly. The oil flows down (Hebrew yored) from the hair to the beard to the collar of the robes. The anointing of Aaron is imagined as a special and lavish event, and the pilgrims going up to Jerusalem are joined to this good and pleasant memory from the past as they come together in unity to worship the LORD in Zion.
Mount Hermon is roughly 200 kilometers north of Jerusalem and the snow and water that collects there is the source of the Jordan River. The water from Hermon flows down (NRSVue which falls on)[1] to the mountains of Zion as God provides life for the land and people. The LORD utilizes both the normal events of rain and snow and the ritual events of anointing priests to provide a good and pleasant place for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to live in unity and prosperity forevermore.
Adele Berlin suggests that the imagery of Psalm 133 may invoke a hope for the reunification of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah by poetically having the “dew of Hermon” in the northern kingdom flow to Zion in the heart of Judah. (NIB IV: 1214) Whether the psalmist imagines a reunification of Israel and Judah is uncertain, but within the context of a pilgrimage to Zion the bonds of family are extended to new kindred from different starting points but sharing a common destination. They all come together to experience the good and pleasant reality of kindred living together in unity under God’s blessing.
[1] This is the same Hebrew verb yored utilized in verse two for the oil flowing down to Aaron’s beard and robes.
King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst
Psalm 132
A Song of Ascents.
1O LORD, remember in David’s favor all the hardships he endured; 2how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 3“I will not enter my house or get into my bed; 4I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, 5until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6We heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. 7“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool.”
8Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. 9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy. 10For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. 12If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.”
13For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation: 14“This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it. 15I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread. 16Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy. 17There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 18His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”
This thirteenth song of ascent is significantly longer than the other fourteen songs in this collection and is the only song to link both Zion and the Davidic line together. Both the LORD and David in this psalm are given a dwelling place as the events of 2 Samuel 6-7 are reimagined in poetic form. The first half of the psalm references the return of the ark of the covenant from Kiriath-jearim to the tent David established for it in Jerusalem and David’s desire to build a permanent home for God’s presence (2 Samuel 6:1-7:3). The second half of the psalm remembers response of the LORD to David through the prophet Nathan, promising to establish a house (lineage) for David (2 Samuel 7: 4-29). This song of ascents reminds the pilgrims of how Jerusalem became Zion, the dwelling of the LORD, and the house of David.
The psalm begins by asking the LORD to remember David and the hardships he endured. Although many of the events of the psalm reflect a particular moment early in David’s reign there is also the sense that the hardships may involve the hardships that have come upon the line of David. The language of ‘remember’ and ‘hardships’ echoes the end of Psalm 89, another royal psalm that contrasts the lofty promises of the beginning of the Davidic line with the later reality of the line seeming to be a dead stump.[1] The line in verse seventeen where God causes a horn to sprout for David may also indicate that the monarchy has ceased to exist and the rising of a horn, a symbol of power and vitality, is “the restoration of something that has been destroyed” as in Ezekiel 29:21 (NIB IV: 1212). Yet, whether the pilgrim is entering the city of David where the line of David still has its throne, or a city without a Davidic king, the speaker is reminded of the original David who brought the ark of the covenant, and by extension the symbolic presence of God, into Jerusalem.
In 2 Samuel when David becomes king over all of Israel one of his first actions is to conquer Jerusalem and make it the seat of his power. Shortly after this he moves to bring the ark of the covenant from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem. Ephrathah is the region around Bethlehem where David’s family comes from and Jaar is likely Kiriath-jearim where the ark has rested since its return by the Philistines. In 1 Samuel 4 the Ark of God is captured by the Philistines, but wherever the ark rests among the Philistines it brings them affliction. The Philistines eventually return the ark to Israel at Beth-shemesh and then shortly move it to Kiriath-jearim during the early years of Samuel serving as judge of Israel.[2] David has brought the ark of the covenant to a tent in his new capital city and desires to build a house for the Mighty One of Jacob.[3] David has created a temporary space where the LORD can dwell among the people and desires to create a permanent space, a task that will fall to his son Solomon.
A continual theme of the scriptures is God’s desire to dwell among God’s people and the tabernacle, the ark, and later the temple are all dwelling places for the presence of God to rest among the people. A place where the priests and the people can orient their sacrifice, worship, and praise. Zion as a city becomes the place where the faithful ones can come to seek God’s presence and the stability provided by the kings of David’s line who are charged with providing a place of security for both the people and the house of God.
In verse eleven the LORD becomes the actor and in response to David’s actions provides a line for David. The LORD is now the one who chose Zion and chooses to dwell in the midst of the people there providing both provision and protection. Yet for the promise of a son of David remaining on the throne in Jerusalem is contingent upon their obedience to the covenant and decrees. The hope of both Jerusalem and the line of David is the presence of God among them. As the pilgrims enter the city of God, they can remember the hopes of the past and the promise of God’s presence.
In 2 Chronicles 6: 41-42 as Solomon prays over the temple he closes with verses eight through ten of this psalm. Solomon and the kings who followed after him would often fail to keep the covenant and the decrees of God and even the temple would later be polluted by practices and images to other gods, but throughout the scriptures is the image of the God who desires to dwell among the people as well as the desire for peace and security provided by a faithful ruler. Pilgrims across the generations have come to places where God’s presence was promised to dwell in order to worship, praise, and offer their gifts to God and be recalled to the way of life God calls the faithful to practice.
[3] An early epithet for the God of Israel which appears initially Genesis 49:24 during Jacob’s blessing of Joseph. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 935)
Statue of a mother with children at the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa. Photo by Alessandro Giudice CC by SA 4.0
Psalm 131
A Psalm of Ascents. Of David.
1O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 2But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me. 3O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time on and forevermore.
This short psalm is striking for its central metaphor where the faithful one is a dependent child and LORD is the mother who is the safe and comforting place the child goes to. Jesus will later tell his disciples
Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.Matthew 18: 3-5
Humility plays a central role in both the posture of the psalmist and the posture that Jesus is encouraging in his disciples. The hearers are encouraged to have, “Utter trust in and childlike dependence on God for life and the future.” (NIB IV: 1209) The first verse points to the humble and childlike stance of the psalmist, while the second verse introduces the central metaphor of the childlike speaker and the mothering God who comforts and quiets the speaker’s being, and the third verse expands this posture to Israel whose hope is in the nurturing presence of God.
The heart in Hebrew thought is not the seat of emotion but the seat of will and direction, so the heart not being lifted up is not about being in an exalted emotional state but instead the inner intention of the psalmist is to remain in one’s proper state. The eyes are the outward facing representation of this stance, and they are also not raised too high. The psalmist focuses on the simple things and rather than concentrate their will and striving on great and marvelous things, they rest in their dependence on God. The triple negative of the first verse demonstrates verbally the stance of humility the psalmist has towards God and the world. If this psalm comes from David, as its attribution indicates, it paints the picture of a king who understands their limits and who places honor where it belongs. The king becomes the child needing to be quieted by the nurturing mother God.
The use of feminine imagery for God is relatively rare in the bible, but it does occur. Isaiah uses a similar image of a mother and a nursing child:
Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will never forget you. Isaiah 49: 15
The psalmist has been calmed and quieted in their innermost being. The Hebrew nephesh, rendered soul by the NRSVue, is the most essential part of life and the self but it does not have the sense of soul that is separate from the body and continues beyond life.[1] The Hebrew gamal translated by the NRSVue as weaned can mean either ‘sated’ or ‘weaned.’ If the word is translated ‘sated’, the image of the child is that of an infant who is relaxing after feeding where the hands and legs relax and the child may fall asleep on the mother’s breast or look up at their mother with a satisfied look. If the word is translated ‘weaned,’ as most translations do, the child is coming to the mother for comfort, nurturing, and a loving embrace instead of food. Normally in the bible the context indicates that gamal be translated as a weaned child but here the context allows for either interpretation. With the theme of humility, I like the translation of ‘sated’ with a completely dependent infant on the mother for nutrition, care, and love but ultimately either translation serves the metaphor.
The psalm concludes with the expansion to the people of Israel. The declaration for Israel to hope in the LORD echoes the identical declaration in Psalm 130:5 linking the two psalms together in their conclusions. The God who provides rescue from the desperate situation is the same God who quiets the inner being of humble on like a mother comforts her child. In de Profundis (Psalm 130) the petitioner waits on the LORD more than one who waits for morning, but in Psalm 131 the comforted child can be at peace in the present moment and know that their hope for the future is in the steady, comforting mother-like love of God which calms and quiets them both in the present and forevermore.
[1] The Greek philosophical idea of soul, which many Christians assume is the biblical idea, where the soul is imprisoned in the body and is liberated at death is not the perspective of the Old or New Testament. This enters Christian thought through theologians in the church influenced by Neo-Platonic philosophy (like Augustine).
The message that James wants to impart to his readers is designed to be clear and practical. Yet, I always find myself amazed at what I discover in these reflections when I walk through a portion of scriptures, the connections that get made with other portions of the text, the ways in which there is depth and richness that a casual reader may miss. James, like most of the New Testament letters not attributed to Paul, were barely touched upon in my studies in seminary, nor have they been a part of my regular preaching or study. I was amazed at the ways the letter of James connects with the law, the prophets, wisdom literature, and the words of Jesus as he attempts to shape the faithful practice of his Jewish Christian audience.
Prior to coming to this reflection on James has been a series of reflections on a significant portion of the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament which have nurtured a love within me for the depth and riches of law, the history, the prophetic witness, and the wisdom tradition which all attempt to speak to the experience of the people of Israel with their God. When I worked through the Gospel of Matthew and Revelation several years ago, those reflections were shaped by the wisdom accumulated through those journeys, and now the same is true of James. I am thankful for both my own heightened awareness of the language of the scripture that the early Christians read but also for the patient work of scholars who dedicate their lives to the study of specific books. I was impressed by the richness that I had previously overlooked in James’s short letter to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora. Part of the paradox of scripture is that it can be both clear and practical and at the same time deep and profound.
James is attempting to cultivate in his hearers an authentic and living faith that is demonstrated through practices of compassion and mercy. Sometimes James can appear as judgmental to a casual reader, but fundamental to the witness of James is mercy. James does have some challenging words for our context, and his language is often like that of an Old Testament prophet, but sometimes the challenging words are the ones we need to wrestle with the most. This is a short letter, but it challenged me, it was like doing a steeper climb but for a shorter duration than my experience of some other books. This may be because I am more of a New Testament scholar than a Hebrew bible scholar, but I think it is also due to the wide number of topics James covers in this short letter. I am thankful for the witness of James and the way in which his attempts to cultivate a living faith in the communities he is writing to in his time continue to challenge us to an authentic living faith two millennia later.
1Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure during the last days. 4Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
James’s rhetoric may be harsh to many modern readers who were raised in a Christianity which has made its peace with the capitalistic and consumeristic culture of the United States. Over a century ago, Walter Rauschenbusch, one of the primary thinkers behind the social gospel movement which attempted to bring faith and action on behalf of the vulnerable together could say that James, “pronounces an invective against the rich which would seem intolerably denunciatory in the mouth of a modern socialist preacher.” (Moore-Keish, 2019, p. 166) Yet, James is not speaking in a language unusual to scripture. James’s language throughout his letter has been in concert with the law, wisdom literature, the prophets, and the teachings of Jesus. That it may seem “intolerably denunciatory” should give us pause. We may not inhabit a situation similar to the early Christians who James is writing to, but the discomfort should cause an honest dialogue about the world and the values we assume. Luke Timothy Johnson asks this question in an existential way when he states:
Perhaps the most serious question for Christianity in the present circumstance is whether it is any longer in a position to exercise the kind of prophetic critique of that outlook such as enunciated by James. Is it not the case that many churches are themselves so co-opted by the logic of envy and arrogance—if not strictly monetary terms, then in terms of membership and influence—that they cannot perceive that such is the way of the wisdom from below, which is earthbound, unspiritual, and demonic? (NIB XII:218)
From the very beginning of the story of Israel they were always intended to embody a different set of values and practices than Egypt and all the following empires of the world that surrounded them. The commandments, statutes and ordinances given to the Hebrew people were to create a society where the vulnerable were cared for. Many of the laws are specifically to limit the acquisition of excessive amounts of property and wealth at the expense of the neighbor. Throughout the letter, James has often referenced topics which mirror the language of Leviticus 19. Once again James speaks in concert with Leviticus 19:
You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. Leviticus 19:13
Likewise, Deuteronomy also states:
You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.Deuteronomy 24: 14-15
James’s tone is similar to the prophets and a person familiar with the language of the prophets will quickly pick up the language of the ‘day of the LORD’ utilized by the prophets even before the ‘last days’ are mentioned in verse three. Malachi is a good example of this language and in chapter three the oppression of hired workers and the vulnerable is tied with sorcerers, adulterers, and those whose words are false:
Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:5
Yet, the strongest resonance with this passage is in the words of Jesus:
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Luke 6: 24-25
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6: 19-20
The scriptures may be speaking in the same key, but we may hear this as dissonant in our context. Many people in our time and in James’s time would look at wealth as a positive thing and there is a significant thread in scripture where God does want the people to prosper. Yet, one of the dangers to the health of the community was the acquisition of large amounts of wealth (primarily in the form of land, but also in terms of money) by a few at the expense of the rest of the community, particularly the most vulnerable members of the community. I have said before that in the United States one of our greatest idols is security, the desire to be able to ensure our own future without needing either God or the community. Wealth has become one of the most important ways of keeping score in our society and the acquisition of more wealth is often seen as a goal which surpasses all other goals. James’s counter voice is that the very wealth that we have utilized to attempt to secure our future is corroded and moth-eaten. Our bank balance sheets and acquisitive lifestyles testify against us. Those who lived in pleasure at the expense of their employees, whether landowners who failed to pay the harvester or corporations who increased their earnings while failing to pay a living wage, have now become the Pharoah and his taskmasters who the cries of the laborers testify to God against. And God hears these cries throughout the scriptures.
There has been a lively discussion on the identity of “the righteous one” James references. One common opinion is that the righteous one are the poor among the faithful who are perishing due to the injustice of their world. Another option is that the righteous one is Jesus and that the rich are somehow complicit in the crucifixion. I think it is likely that James is speaking in a manner reflected in Matthew 25: 31-46, where Jesus is met in the face of the vulnerable ones who are seen by the faithful but ignored by the unrighteous. These rich ones may feel like the world is being served to them as an all-you-can-eat banquet, but what James sees is a darker reality for those rich who live at the expense of others. They are like cattle in a feedlot being fattened for the day of slaughter. James believes, in concert with the rest of scripture, that the injustice practiced by the rich and powerful will be answered by God’s judgment.
James’s words are difficult to wrestle with in my context of an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas but they also are important. We live in a time of increasing disparity between those at the top of the economic ladder and those at the bottom. James’s words will probably never have a hearing among those in our culture who utilize their wealth to manipulate the political or tax system to benefit their own business or bank balance, but these actions, for James, at the expense of the vulnerable in society are a form of violence and murder. For those who claim the letter of James as a part of their scriptures and a witness to faith it presents several challenges. It reminds us that our security is not to be found in laying aside silver, gold, currency or any other type of possession but in the God who hears the cries of the vulnerable. James, like the law and the prophets, sees faith as embodied throughout the entirety of life and that a faith without works on behalf of the neighbor is a dead faith. Most in my community would have been considered wealthy in James’s world, and we often underestimate the gifts we have been given to steward on behalf of the community. The scripture does has positive witnesses to wealth, for example Job mentioned in the next section, but the danger of wealth is that it becomes central to our identity and the score card by which we measure success is that it becomes possible to justify practices which may end up being legalized violence and even murder against the most vulnerable in society.
James 5: 7-12
7Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Indeed, we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about, for the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 12Above all, brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
James now returns to the brothers and sisters of his community to encourage them to stand fast and endure as they await the coming of the Lord. These final two sections are full of proverbs for the community attempting to live faithfully in the world. The world is unjust and there are rich whose actions endanger the vulnerable in the community, but James trusts that God’s judgement is near. Patience may not be the best word for the Greek makrothymia. Translators have suggested endure, persist, withstand, or stand fast as possible alternatives which capture the more active sense of the word. James utilizes two images for endurance in parallel: a farmer waiting on the growing crop and the biblical image of Job. The long wait from planting to harvest would be a part of the life of the majority of people in James’s world and there is a reason for the prevalence of this image throughout the scriptures. This is the only utilization of Job in the New Testament, and Job, like Abraham and Rahab earlier and Elijah in the following section, is utilized as a representative figure for an idea. Job may not have been passive in dealing with his situation in the narrative of Job, but he does endure and the Lord rewarded Job for his endurance.
James echoes the saying of Jesus also reflected in Matthew 5: 33-37. I think many people would long for a world where truthful speech was the norm and one of the struggles of our digitally pluralistic society is that truthful speech may be indistinguishable from partial truths, obfuscations and maliciously told lies. As I think about the issues facing society: immigration, global warming, poverty, discrimination, and many others, it is amazing the number of both conspiracy theories and misinformation that are given equal space to information that is well thought out and accepted by those working in the various fields. Perhaps reflecting on the untruth operating on his own society in the mid-1930s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer could comment in Discipleship:
There is no truth towards Jesus without truth toward other people. Lying destroys community. But truth rends false community and founds genuine fellowship. There is no following Jesus without living in the truth unveiled before God and other people. (DBWE 4: 131)
Yet even churches and communities of faith can easily become places that do not value truth but rather seek either easy accommodation or avoiding controversial topics of conversation. Even organizations that expressly claim to value truth in their mission or value statements may, by their actions demonstrate a preference for a convenient lie.
James and Jesus imagine a world where truthful speech is the norm and God has drawn near. It may take patience to see the fruit of this trust, it may involve the endurance of Job, and yet underlying the faith of Christianity is a God who values truth, who protects the vulnerable, and judges the unrighteous. James attempts to strengthen his brothers and sisters scattered throughout the world who are attempting to live truthfully and persistently awaiting the promised harvest of God’s fields.
James 5: 13-20
13Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest. 19My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James continues with a set of final proverbs to encourage the community in their journey. Prayer is an overarching theme of the verses thirteen through eighteen and it is both the prayers of the individual and the community which enter James’s reflection. The suffering ones should pray, and asking God for what is necessary has appeared as a topic previously in James (1:5,6; 4: 2-3). It is likely that both the suffering and the cheerful are undergoing some struggles and it may be that in some cases the suffering are those who have not ‘taken courage’ while the cheerful have (McKnight, 2011, p. 433) but there will always be those whose suffering is more acute and those whose troubles are lighter. The individual may pray or sing songs of praise based on their circumstances, but the community also has a role in helping those in need. Those who are sick or carrying sins are to call the elders in the community. Much like the friends who carried the paralytic to Jesus (Mark 2: 1-12 and parallels) the elders carry the sick body or the sin sick soul to God that it may be healed. The fact that James can appeal to four people from the story of Israel (Abraham, Rahab, Job, and now Elijah) may be related to the Jewish nature of his community. Paul, whose primary audience was Gentile, can appeal to Abraham and Adam, universal figures, but James may have a fuller catalog of faithful figures he can reference by name and have a story associated with them. (Moore-Keish, 2019, p. 195) Elijah is portrayed as a character whose faithful witness and prayer did incredible things like the three and a half years without rain or the raising of the widow’s son. Yet, Elijah is also ‘human like us.’ In prayer the incredible things of Elijah are accessible to the faithful one asking for God’s healing or forgiveness for a member of the community.
The God who James witnesses to is a God who desires the return of the wanderer. James’s letter may continue to reference Leviticus 19:
“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. Leviticus 19:17
Or may be following Proverbs, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” (Proverbs 10:12) or simply the desire of God expressed throughout the law, the prophets, the story of Israel, the psalms, and the words of Jesus that express the desire for the prodigal people to return to their God. There is always a place for redemption among the people of God. As Jesus said after the parable of the lost sheep, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance (Luke 15:7).
Job (oil on canvas) by Bonnat, Leon Joseph Florentin (1833-1922)
James 4:1-10
1Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. 4Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks to no purpose? Does the spirit that God caused to dwell in us desire envy? 6But God gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James begins this portion of his letter with a set of militaristic terms which are to be at odds with the wisdom which comes from above which is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy (3:17). Yet, it is precisely these militaristic verbs of conflicts (polemos), disputes (mache), waging war (stateuo), commit murder (phoneuo), and conflict (polemeo) which are tearing the body apart. These warlike verbs are driven by cravings (hedone), want (epithymeo), and coveting (zealoo). Earlier James had linked cravings to temptation and temptation to sin and sin to death (1:14-15) and now these cravings, wants, and desires are dealing death in the body of the community. James uses this stark language to show how those he is addressing have adopted the values of the world rather than submitting to the wisdom of God.
James’s language is full of conflict-related terms, and he criticizes those who engage in disputes and conflicts, but I do not believe that James is provoking a conflict but instead identifying the conflicts that are already present in the body. It is possible that James is speaking of the war within you in a manner similar to Paul’s description of the internal conflict of Romans 7, but I find it more likely that James’s target is a conflict emerging externally within these early Christian communities. It is possible that the polemic (from the Greek polemos translated by the NRSVue here as conflict) is merely verbal and that the murder mentioned is merely metaphorical. Yet, this time before the Jewish war[1] was a time of factions and disputes within the Jewish community in Judea and Galilee and there may have been zealots (from the Greek zealoo translated by the NRSVue as coveting) who were engaged in violence to attempt to establish their vision of justice. There is a continual struggle in the Hebrew scriptures against those who seek their own pleasure/cravings (the Greek hedone where we get our term hedonic) and advantage at the expense of others in the community. Whether verbal or physical there is something rearing its head in the conflict of the community that represents the values of the world and not of God. Those called followers of Christ may be attempting to seize their desires through disputes and conflicts, and even when they do ask they ask merely for the hedonic things that the world values rather than entrusting their desires to God.
James leans into the prophetic language of adultery to speak of the unfaithfulness of these followers of Christ to the faith of Christ. As Scot McKnight illustrates:
Hosea was the first to speak of the covenant relationship of Israel with YHWH in terms of marital intimacy and marital infidelity (Hos 1-3, 9:1). His language was then picked up like variations on a theme, by Isaiah (54: 1-6, 57:3), Jeremiah (2:2;3: 6-14, 20) and Ezekiel (16: 23-26-38; 23:45). Both Jesus (Matt 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38) and the early Christians (1 Cor 6:15; 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:22-32; Rev 19:7; 21:9) carried on this tradition by using marital imagery for God’s people and referring to disobedience as relational, covenantal infidelity. (McKnight, 2011, p. 332)
James is not alone in placing the world (and its values) in conflict with God and God’s covenant values. 1 John uses very similar language:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world, for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever. 1 John 2: 15-17
Jesus would tell his followers that one cannot serve two masters, and although in Matthew’s gospel Jesus is placing God and wealth (mammon) in conflict (Matthew 6:24) here friendship with the word (and its values) is enmity with God. Those who James addresses are mistaking earthly things for heavenly things, worldly wisdom for divine wisdom.
Verse five and six have given interpreters a lot of struggles throughout history. Many readers have been confused because James appears to cite an unknown scripture with unclear Greek grammar. (Moore-Keish, 2019, p. 145) One possible solution which I find helpful is proposed by Scot McKnight that the scripture quoted is Proverbs 3:34 which actually is quoted in verse six, and the remainder of verse five is setting the framework for James quoting Proverbs. Another option McKnight mentions is the general theme of God’s jealous love throughout the scriptures. (McKnight, 2011, p. 336) This quote contrasting the proud (scorners in NRSVue’s translation of Proverbs 3:34)[2] and the humble who God grants grace to forms a pivot between James’s identification of the conflicts in the community and the distorted worldview that causes the conflicts and the actions of those who would follow the way of Christ.
Ten imperatives occurring in a staccato manner provide the call to action in resisting the friendship of the world. James calls these Jesus followers to submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, purify, lament, mourn, weep, allow laughter to be turned to mourning, and humble themselves. Both James and 1 Peter use Proverbs 3:34 and then turn to imperatives to shape the proper actions of the community in similar manners:
In the same way, you who are younger must be subject to the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 1 Peter 5: 5-9
Submission to God and God’s will is a common theme in the Hebrew scriptures. The call to resist (anthistemi) has the military connotation to stand one’s ground, hence Ephesians uses this term:
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm (anthistemi). Ephesians 6:13
In Genesis, in the story of Cain and Able, Cain is instructed to resist sin:
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4: 6-7
Here James is telling these followers of Christ if they stand firm (resist) the devil that it will cause him to flee. Throughout the prophets there is a call to return to God, for example:
Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Zech 1:3 (see also Malachi 3:7)
James continues to draw together themes from throughout scriptures in an echo of Psalm 24:
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false and do not swear deceitfully.Psalm 24: 3-4
The idea of being double-minded, trying to be friends with God and the world, have been present throughout this section but here James utilizes the term first used in 1:7. James would likely agree with Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything, but the conflict at work in the community demonstrates to James that it is a time for mourning. As the prophet Joel could state to his community:
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God,for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. Joel 2: 12-13
I do not believe that James is intending to form a dour community but reading the signs of the times he feels that those who are laughing now will mourn when God’s kingdom comes and those who are mourning now will laugh (Luke 6:25). The people of God are to embrace humility (tapeinosis) in a way very different than the surrounding world. As Joel Green states, “Outside biblical useage, the terminology for one who is humble (tapeinos)or humility (tapeinosis) is generally negative.” (Green, 2025, p. 122) The New Testament thinks of this term very differently as Mary’s song illustrates when it declares that God has “looked with favor on the lowly state [tapeinosis] of his servant,” and ”lifts up the lowly [tapeinos]” (Luke 1: 48, 52)
Almost two millenia after James wrote his letter to these twelve tribes in the Diaspora, we still struggle to separate the ways of the world from the ways of God. Walter Brueggemann describes our plight in this way,
We who are not the richest nation are today’s main coveters….the central problem of our lives is that we are torn apart by the conflict between our attraction to the good news of God’s abundance and the power of our belief in scarcity—a belief that makes us greedy, mean and unneighborly. We spend our lives trying to sort out this ambiguity. (Moore-Keish, 2019, p. 145) quoting Brueggemann, “The Liturgy of Abundance and the Myth of Scarcity”
In a culture that promotes cravings (hedone), want (epithymeo), and coveting (zealoo) we also are called to submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, purify, lament, mourn, weep, allow laughter to be turned to mourning, and humble ourselves. Our faith tells us that God will provide what we need and yet the world tells us we must seize and secure our own future. James may be frustrated with his initial hearers yet I doubt his language would change much if he were able to address the followers of Christ scattered throughout the world today and divided by our own conflicts, disputes, and even wars.
James 4: 11-12
11Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another speaks evil against the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
James has already indicated at the beginning of chapter three that not many should be teachers because of the danger of the misuse of the tongue and the danger it can cause in the community. Now James instructs the not to speak against (Greek katalaleo, NRSVue speak evil) or judge (Greek krivo) their neighbor. James again echoes Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:1-5) when he commands his followers not to judge. The one lawgiver who can save and destroy is God (see Matthew 10:28; Deuteronomy 32:39) and followers of the way of Jesus are not to put themselves in God’s place where they are the judges of the law. The followers of Christ are to learn to be doers of the law and worry about the log in their own eye before they attempt to remove the mote from their neighbor’s eye. (Matthew 7:5).
13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” 14Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it commits sin.
In humbling oneself and submitting to God one learns the wisdom that one’s life is completely in God’s hands. The foolish person believes they are the master of their own destiny and like the rich young fool in Luke 12: 15-20 makes grandiose plans for a future that never arrives. James taps into the one of the fundamental insights of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs about the evanescent nature of life. Humanity is mist which appears for a little while and vanishes. This immediately calls to mind one of the favorite words of the writer of Ecclesiastes, the Hebrew word hebel (or hevel)[3]. This Hebrew word is where Abel’s name comes from in Genesis 4 and although most English translations render it as vanity it literally means vapor, smoke, mist. Humans for James and Ecclesiastes are hebel/hevel. Or as Proverbs can state, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” (Proverbs 27:1) and “The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” (Proverbs 19:21)
Language is important to James because it demonstrates that one understands one’s place within God’s world. Instead of claiming that one is the master of one’s future one submits one’s life to the will of God. To boast of one’s own self-security and future is the way of the world and in opposition to God.
Language is important to James, but it is not sufficient. Knowledge is also important but insufficient. Just as faith without works is dead for James, one who knows the right thing and does not act in accordance with that knowledge commits sin. James is attempting to form communities scattered throughout the world who can resist the ways of the world and carrying a living faith which can follow the way of Jesus faithfully as they await with patience the coming of the kingdom of God.
[1] Assuming the letter is from James the Just who dies in 62 CE or someone roughly contemporary to him.
[2] Often scripture quoted in the New Testament may be subtly different than in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures and this normally is because the New Testament will quote the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) while the NRSVue and most other English translations go back to the Hebrew text. Hebrew is a very different language than Greek or English and there is often shades of meaning that are unable to be fully captured in any translation.
[3] In Hebrew the letter ‘Bet’ can be either a ‘b’ or ‘v’ sound.
Sign of the Rose 