Psalms 27 and 36: The New Eden and the Land of the Living

READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART XXI

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Psalms 27 and 36

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Psalms 27 and 36 share some themes.  Many psalms share themes, of course.  Yet writing this series of blog posts properly does require breaking off portions that are not too big.

Psalm 27 is purely individual.  The pious psalmist, beset by foes, trusts God.  He expects that God will preserve his life.  The psalmist anticipates remaining

in the land of the living

–not dying and going to Sheol.  In the last verse, the psalm changes voice; the singular first person–I, me, and my–addresses the reader.

Hope for the LORD!

Let your heart be firm and bold,

and hope for the LORD.

–Robert Alter

For the sake of thoroughness, I mention a dissenting interpretation of “the land of the living.”  Mitchell J. Dahood’s translation has

the land of life eternal

instead.  Hayyim denotes eternal life in Daniel 12:2. Dahood follows that usage and draws it back into the Late Bronze Age.  I find this argument unconvincing.

As we turn to Psalm 36, we read that crime, perversity, or transgression (depending on the translation) speaks within the heart of a wicked person.  This is the kind of human being who plans iniquity and lacks regard for God.  This person, like the “benighted man” of Psalms 14 and 53, fears no divine consequences of actions.

In contrast, we read, God is kind and just.  God grants the needs of beasts and human beings alike.  God is the fountain of life and the source of light.  The imagery is Edenic.  The wicked cannot reside in such a setting, so they cannot oppress the righteous in the new Eden.

We do not live in the new Eden, though.  We reside in the land of the living, but many wicked people do, too.  So, until we arrive in the new Eden, may God deliver the oppressed from oppressors.  And may they repent of their iniquity.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST

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