READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART XXXV
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Psalms 47, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99
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Psalms 47, 93, and 95-99 are kingship psalms, for they refer to God as king.
God is sovereign over the created order, time, and all nations. God is the God of the covenant. YHWH is the sole deity; the false gods are “ungods.” The Jews are the Chosen People, yet YHWH is no mere tribal or national deity. Gentiles come into the fold, too.
The eschatological vision and high poetry of these psalms may prompt the same sigh of disappointment as do promises that the Kingdom of God is at hand in the New Testament. One may recall the lament of Alfred Loisy (1857-1940), from 1902:
Jesus came proclaiming the kingdom, and what arrived was the Church.
Yet Psalms 47, 93, and 95-99 hold up hope:
And the hope of these psalms is important, for without this powerful transformative symbol, the pitiful regimes of the present age claim to be, and seem, absolute and eternal. Thus, without this disruptive metaphor, oppressive regimes seem to be eternally guaranteed. It is not different on the American scene with our absolutizing of military capitalism. But we live in hope, because this metaphor keeps all present power arrangements provisional. They are all kept under scrutiny and judgment by this one who will finally govern.
–Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary (1984), 151-152
One function of eschatological vision is to provide a standard against which to measure the current world disorder. The eschatological standard reveals how far regimes, institutions, and societies fall short of the divine ideal. Therefore, one has a solid basis on which to confront these subpar regimes, institutions, and societies. One can say conclusively that we all answer to God, sovereign in everything and everyone.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 9, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JULIA CHESTER EMERY, UPHOLDER OF MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF EMILY GREENE BALCH, U.S. QUAKER SOCIOLOGIST, ECONOMIST, AND PEACE ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF GENE M. TUCKER, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHANN JOSEF IGNAZ VON DÖLLINGER, DISSIDENT AND EXCOMMUNICATED GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, THEOLOGIAN, AND HISTORIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP II OF MOSCOW, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA, AND MARTYR, 1569
THE FEAST OF THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, U.S. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST EVANGELIST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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