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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART IX

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Psalms 9 and 10

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Psalms 9 and 10 were originally one text.

Psalm 8 tells us that God created human beings “little lower than divine,” to use the translation in TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures.  Yet, in the same translation, we read in 9:20-21:

Rise, O LORD!

Let not man have power;

let the nations be judged in Your presence.

Strike fear into them, O LORD;

let the nations know that they are only men.

That attitude differs mostly from “little lower than divine.”  So be it.  Why should all psalmists have agreed with each other?  Sometimes I disagree even with myself.

Psalms 9 and 10 are impatient.  They affirm the justice of God, such as we have encountered already in this series.  For example, the wicked fall into their own traps (9:16-17 and 10:10).  Yet we read passages such as 10:1, from Robert Alter’s translation:

Why do You stand far off, O LORD,

Turn away in times of distress?

The psalmist uses the metaphor of king, judge, and warrior for God.  The psalmist thinks that he must implore God to enforce divine justice.  That feeling is ubiquitous, for so are violence and exploitation.  Injustice covers the land and victimizes the vulnerable.  Why does God stand by and not act more often?

I offer no easy answers for that difficult question.  As I write this post, Russian forces are waging an unjust war in Ukraine.  Also, a portion of the United States body politic sides with Russia against Ukraine.  Dictators do have their fan clubs, after all.  We recall from a previous post that, in God’s order, right makes might, not the other way around.  Yet Putin and the Patriarch of Moscow are allies.

A comparison of translations of Psalm 10 reveals different tenses in verses 17-18.  For example, Robert Alter uses the present tense while TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures uses the future tense.  Does God listen to the poor, or will God listen to the poor?  Either way, the orphan and the wretched/downtrodden need a champion, so that nobody will oppress them any longer.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 15, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE NINETEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF THOMAS BENSON POLLOCK, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF FRED D. GEALY, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF HENRY FOTHERGILL CHORLEY, ENGLISH NOVELIST, PLAYWRIGHT, AND LITERARY AND MUSIC CRITIC

THE FEAST OF JOHN HORDEN, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF MOOSENEE

THE FEAST OF RALPH WARDLAW, SCOTTISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST

THE FEAST OF ROBERT MCDONALD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND MISSIONARY

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  Hannah Before Eli

Image in the Public Domain

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PART II

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1 Samuel 1:1-2:11

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I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart;

I will tell of all your marvelous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing to your Name, O Most High.

–Psalm 9:1-2, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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In Hannah’s culture, infertility was a curse and a source of humiliation for women.  Several Biblical authors wrote of formerly barren women, including Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and the mother of Samson, as well as Hannah.  (See Genesis 21:1-8; Genesis 25:19-26;l Genesis 30:1-2, 22-24); and Judges 13:2-3, also.)  In each case, the offspring entered the world with a divine purpose.  Samuel, in particular, provided moral guidance to his people.  Many people ignored him, but he continued to offer the moral advice.

Elkanah, despite being a kind man and a loving husband, seems to have been oblivious to the bad blood between Hannah and Peninnah.  He favored Hannah (“charming” or “attractive”) and had children with Peninnah (“fertile” or “prolific”).  The double portion of the sacrifice Elkanah gave to Hannah contrasted with the portions he gave to Peninnah, his sons, and his daughters with her.

Hannah was pious.  Her manner of prayer at Shiloh was unusual; moving one’s lips yet not speaking was a rare method of praying in that culture at the time.  The priest Eli mistook her desperation and her way of praying for intoxication.

Hannah asked.  God granted.  Hannah kept her word.

Grace is the foundation of this story.  Grace is free yet not cheap; it carries obligations.  Grace also transforms despair into thanksgiving and creates a better future out of a bleak present.

The Song of Hannah (2:1-10) is a later text.  It mentions a king in verse.  That reference to a monarch cannot be contemporary with Hannah, whose lifetime preceded the Israelite monarchy.  The themes fit her circumstances, though.  And, if the text reminds you, O reader, of another song, you may be thinking of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), modeled on the Song of Hannah.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 14, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROFT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF JOHN BAJUS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, JR., EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMNODIST; AND HIS NEPHEW, JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, III, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MUSICIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941; AND JONATHAN MYRICK DANIELS, EPISCOPAL SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR, 1965

THE FEAST OF SARAH FLOWER ADAMS, ENGLISH UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER; AND HER SISTER, ELIZA FLOWER, ENGLISH UNITARIAN COMPOSER

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READING 2 KINGS 22-25, 1 ESDRAS, 2 CHRONICLES 34-36, EZRA, AND NEHEMIAH

Above:  The Rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem

Image in the Public Domain

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PART XVI

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Nehemiah 3:1-4:17

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Rise up, O LORD, let not the ungodly have the upper hand;

let them be judged before you.

–Psalm 9:19, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, enjoyed having as much power and authority as he did.  Power had shifted in the region after the fall of Samaria and the demise of the Kingdom of Judah.  When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, Sanballat had much power and influence in the former Judah.  The governor of Samaria preferred to maintain the status quo.  Nehemiah and his effort to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls threatened the status quo.

Interestingly, Sanballat may have practiced Judaism, at least formally.  His name was Akkadian–“Sinballit.”  Sin/San was the Akkadian moon god.  Ballat/Ballit meant “has given life.”  Sanballat, the existence of whom other ancient sources has verified, had two sons with Hebrew names.  If Sanballat did observe Judaism, at least officially, his opposition to Nehemiah was ironic.  Sanballat’s alliances with Gentiles betrayed the faith he professed.

All of this is consistent with human psychology.

One may easily speed-read through the list of workers on the walls, just as one may do–or even skip–other long lists of names in the Bible.  I understand why; the plethora of names interrupts the narrative.  Nevertheless, consider, O reader, that someone considered those names worth remembering.  These are the names of courageous people and community-builders.  These are the names of faithful people.  These are the names of people worth holding in high esteem.  These are the names of instruments of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 9, 2020 COMMON ERA

PROPER 14:  THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT EDITH STEIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN AND PHILOSOPHER

THE FEAST OF SAINT HERMAN OF ALASKA, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONK AND MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT

THE FEAST OF JOHN DRYDEN, ENGLISH PURITAN THEN ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC POET, PLAYWRIGHT, AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF MARY SUMNER, FOUNDRESS OF THE MOTHERS’ UNION

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weight, importance, consideration.

Above:  Icon of the Annunciation

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Second Sunday of Advent, Year 1

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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

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Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning;

grant that we may in such wise hear them,

read, mark, and inwardly digest them,

that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word,

we may embrace, and ever hold fast,

the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 107

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Isaiah 55

Psalm 9:1-14

Romans 15:4-13

Luke 1:18-35

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Do we seek to glorify ourselves?  Many people have.  Many do.  Many will.  Human glory, however, is fleeting.  According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (1962), human glory means,

Often methods of seeking self-glorification entail harming others.

We ought to seek to glorify God instead.  We should be humble before God, not boastful.  God glorifies the faithful.  God, who is trustworthy, provides more richly for us than we can provide for ourselves.  From God we receive what we need, not necessarily what we want.  If we are wise, we acknowledge the limits of our understanding, and we thank God for granting us what we need.

Who was St. Mary of Nazareth by herself?  And who was she in God?  She became the Theotokos, the Bearer/Mother of God incarnate.

Each of us, in a less dramatic way, can bear the light of God wherever we go and whatever we do.  That is a high calling, one to accept.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 9, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HARRIET TUBMAN, U.S. ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCES OF ROME, FOUNDRESS OF THE COLLATINES

THE FEAST OF JOHANN PACHELBEL, GERMAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT SOPHRONIUS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH

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For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Above:  The U.S. $100 Bill

Image in the Public Domain

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Ecclesiastes 9:1-12 or Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Psalm 9:11-20

Galatians 5:1-26

Matthew 6:22-34

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–Galatians 5:14-15, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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As I write repeatedly, the Law of Moses contains both timeless principles and culturally specific examples thereof.  One of these timeless principles is the Golden Rule.  It is short, sweet, and to the point.  One might, with verbosity, attempt to work around it, but the Golden Rule remains golden and wonderfully succinct.  It is also difficult to live up to much of the time.

Another timeless principle of the Law of Moses is that all of us depend entirely on God and partially on each other.  We are therefore interdependent and responsible both to and for each other, as well as to God.  These points underpin much of the content of scripture assigned for this Sunday.

Often we violate the Golden Rule in the name of looking out for ourselves.  We imagine vainly that we must and can rely on our own resources.  That attitude is the origin of much evil.  But, in Christ, we are free, by grace, to become people who uphold a high standard of radical love–even sacrificial love.  The servant is not greater than the master, after all.

May we, while seeking to follow God, care more about being loving and compassionate than about confirming our biases.  May we seek to love, not to be right in our own eyes, with their frequently defective moral vision.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 22, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT DEOGRATIAS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CARTHAGE

THE FEAST OF EMMANUEL MOURNIER, PERSONALIST PHILOSOPHER

THE FEAST OF JAMES DE KOVEN, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF THOMAS HUGHES, BRITISH SOCIAL REFORMER AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/22/devotion-for-the-eighth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a-humes/

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Above:  Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Ecclesiastes 7:1-4, 11-18 or Ezekiel 34:1-10

Psalm 9:1-10

Galatians 4:1-16

Matthew 5:38-48

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As Koheleth and Jesus tell us, the way of the world is that righteous people suffer, both the righteous and the wicked prosper, and God is in control.  The combination of those three statements might seem incongruous.  Throughout the Book of Psalms righteous people cry out to God for deliverance from oppression.  Often they are understandably angry, but Christ tells us to pray for our persecutors and to love our enemies.  Interestingly, nowhere does the Hebrew Bible command anyone to love one’s enemies, and, as we have read previously in this series of posts, God prospers that the wicked change their ways and find mercy.  Yet many of the wicked refuse to repent, so the divine deliverance of the oppressed becomes bad news for oppressors.

The call to radical love thunders off the pages of the Sermon on the Mount.  We are to trust in God, not ourselves, and be so loving as to seem foolish to many.  Such love breaks the cycle of anger, resentment, revenge, and violence.  We, as inheritors, by grace, and adopted members of the household of God, are free to do that, if we dare.

May we dare accordingly.  Then we, by grace, will be suited for our purpose, or, as Matthew 5:48 puts it, perfect.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 21, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, AND JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH, COMPOSERS

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE AND HIS GRANDSON, SAINT CONRAD SCHEUBER, SWISS HERMITS

THE FEAST OF SAINT SERAPION OF THMUIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a-humes/

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Above:  Joshua and the Israelite People

Image in the Public Domain

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FOR THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)

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Lord of all power and might, you are the author and giver of all good things:

Graft in our hearts the love of your name,

increase in us true religion,

nourish us with all goodness,

and of your great mercy keep us in the same;

through Jesus Christ or Lord.  Amen.

–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 139

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Numbers 27:12-14a, 15-20, 22-23

Psalm 9

Acts 18:24-19:6

John 10:1-10

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The theme of empowerment by God continues in these readings.  This empowerment might help one be a faithful follower of God or a leader of people; it is essential in both circumstances.  We human beings have little difficulty setting traps then stumbling into them.  We cannot save ourselves; only God can do that.

This brings me to John 10:1-10.  We need the Good Shepherd, for, bereft of Him, we become figurative food for predators.  We can recognize and follow Jesus via divine grace.  Will we?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF FELIX MANZ, FIRST ANABAPTIST MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON, FOUNDRESS OF THE AMERICAN SISTERS OF CHARITY

THE FEAST OF SAINTS GREGORY OF LANGRES, TERTICUS OF LANGRES, GALLUS OF CLERMONT, GREGORY OF TOURS, AVITUS I OF CLERMONT, MAGNERICUS OF TRIER, AND GAUGERICUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF JOHANN LUDWIG FREYDT, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR

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Book One: Psalms 1-41

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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The psalter of the Septuagint contains 151 psalms.

I have written based on all of them, in numerical order.  I have retained the Hebrew numbering system, not that of the Septuagint.

Although I have no theological reticence to venture into textual territory that, according the United Methodism of my youth, is apocryphal, I do have limits.  They reside in the realm of Orthodoxy, with its range of scriptural canons.  Beyond that one finds the Pseudipigrapha.  Psalm 151 concludes the Book of Psalms in The Orthodox Study Bible (2008); so be it.

The Hebrew psalter concludes with Psalm 150.  In other psalters, however, the count is higher.  In certain editions of the Septuagint, for example, Psalm 151 is an appendix to the Book of Psalms.  In other editions of the Septuagint, however, Psalm 151 is an integrated part of the psalter.  There is also the matter of the Syraic psalter, which goes as high as Psalm 155.  I have no immediate plans to ponder Psalms 152-155, however.  Neither do I plan to read and write about Psalms 156-160 any time soon, if ever.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 23, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARTIN DE PORRES AND JUAN MACIAS, HUMANITARIANS AND DOMINICAN LAY BROTHERS; SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, HUMANITARIAN AND DOMINICAN SISTER; AND SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN COPELAND, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

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Also in the Greek:  Psalm 151

151

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POST III OF LX

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The Book of Common Prayer (1979) includes a plan for reading the Book of Psalms in morning and evening installments for 30 days.  I am therefore blogging through the Psalms in 60 posts.

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 226

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Psalms 9, 10, and 11, taken together, cover a wide range of emotional and spiritual territory.  Psalm 9, a lament, contains conditional thanksgiving; the Psalmist makes gratitude to God contingent upon God fighting his enemies.  The author of Psalm 10 wonders why the arrogant oppressors have free rein and God stands distant from human troubles.  There is no thanksgiving, conditional or otherwise.  In Psalm 11 the Psalmist trusts in God unconditionally.

Unquestioning faith in God is not my style.  Yes, I trust in God most of the time.  During those times I still harbor doubts and questions.  I identify with the authors of Psalms 9, 10, and 11 at different times of my life.  I, as an intellectually honest monotheist, lack the luxury of dualism, whereby I thank one deity for all the good and blame another figure for all the evil.  God is, to borrow an expression, in the dock.  This is the theological problem of God and evil, with which great thinkers and lesser philosophers have struggled for thousands of years.

I am not so vain as to classify myself as a great thinker; St. Thomas Aquinas I am not.  I do  pass along one germane conclusion, however:  We human beings live in the territory bounded by divine grace and providence on one frontier and our free will on the other.  In this context we have many excellent and difficult questions for God.  May we dare to ask them faithfully and honestly–sometimes even angrily.  Do we imagine that, if we do, we are keeping any secrets from God?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 31, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

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