Psalms 61 and 62: Refuge and Responsibility

READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART XLV

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Psalms 61 and 62

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Psalms 61 and 62 are similar yet different from each other.

The first half of Psalm 61 is an individual lament addressed to God.  The text affirms divine status as a refuge “when my heart is faint.”  God is, poetically, an impregnable fortress during times when one’s life is under threat from enemies.

The second half of Psalm 61 is a prayer for the king, perceived as being closer to God than the commoners were.  Perhaps the second half of Psalm 61 interprets the foes in the first half with the enemies of the kingdom, as if the psalmist feels threatened by national foes.  Alternatively, we have a composite psalm.

Psalm 62 expresses trust in God and addresses both the community and the psalmist himself.  As in previous psalms, violence functions as a metaphor for slander.  Yet God is a refuge for the faithful and falsely accused.

So far, we are in familiar territory in the Book of Psalms.  Most comments I could make would be extremely repetitive.

Psalm 62 concludes on the affirmation that God repays people according to their deeds.  This is consistent with Ezekiel 3:16-21; 14:12-23; 18:1-32; and 33:1-20, in the context of the Babylonian Exile.  Yet intergenerational reward and punishment is the position in Exodus 20:5-6.  I make no attempt to harmonize the two positions or to ignore the discrepancy within canon.  I also agree with Ezekiel and Psalm 62, given the caveat of forgiveness of sins.

Personal integrity is a recurring theme in the Book of Psalms.  Some texts address how to maintain it.  Other psalms give voice to victims of slander and emphasize innocence.  So, in this context of individual responsibility before God, reward or punishment according to one’s deeds fits theologically.  Lest one lapse into the excesses of Western, rugged individualism, though, individual responsibility coexists with collective responsibility in the Bible.  May you, O reader, consider that, too.  To ignore or to minimize one form of responsibility before God is to commit an error.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 19, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SARGENT SHRIVER AND HIS WIFE, EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER, HUMANITARIANS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALESSANDRO VALIGNANO, ITALIAN JESUIT MISSIONARY IN THE FAR EAST

THE FEAST OF CHARLES WINFRED DOUGLAS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, LITURGIST, MUSICOLOGIST, LINGUIST, POET, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND ARRANGER

THE FEAST OF HENRY TWELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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