Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 (NRSV)
...
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 is part of a psalm that is an individual lament, although some scholars think it might be a Royal Psalm.
Deuteronomy 32 is an example of another “early” psalm. Psalm 46 has similar thoughts. The Psalm is a reminder of how much courage and strength one can receive in the house of worship. The writer of Psalm 91 marvelously heaps up several descriptive names and other appellations for God. I will make note of them as they occur. The dating of the psalm is difficiult. Many scholars consider it an “early” Psalm. However, the use of ancient divine names does not indicate that this psalm is itself ancient; its language and concepts elsewhere suggest a composition from later in Israelite history. The psalm is not likely archaic but rather archaizing. In any case, central to the message of both testaments is that our security is in God’s presence and providence. Psalm 91 gives assurance that God walks with us through our fears and troubles; as we entrust our lives to God, we abide under God’s protective care. The New Testament sees the ultimate fulfillment of God’s providence in God’s present and future kindnesses to us in Jesus Christ, as we trust and follow him.
Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-13 is part of a segment that is a promise of divine protection and human steadfastness.
1 You who live in the shelter (seter “covering” or “hiding-place” or “that which obscures,” such as dark clouds in Job 22:14) of the Most High (‘elyon),[1] who abide (lun/lin)[2] in the shadow of the Almighty (shaddai).[3] Interpreters wonder how literally or figuratively one should understand the opening words of this psalm. Some traditional commentators understand “the shelter of the Most High” to refer to the temple, with this psalm being part of the temple liturgy (perhaps an entrance or departure psalm). The language may also refer to the less concrete spiritual state of those whose lives consistently reflect the divine. One need not force a decision on the question; the psalm has provided comfort across cultures and centuries in part because of its wide (and not overly specific) applicability. These persons 2 will say to the Lord (Yahweh), encouraging worshippers to personalize their address to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress. The Lord as “refuge” (protection/shelter) appears in verses 2, 4 and 9 (see also Psalm 5:11-12; 14:6b; 61:1-4; and especially Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”). The Lord as “my fortress” appears in verse 2 (see similarly Psalm 31:3 [v. 4 in Hebrew]; 71:3; 144:2. One can also see II Samuel 22:2). My God (‘Elohim), in whom I trust (batach).” [4] The second verse of the psalm reinforces the idea that those entering or leaving the temple may have sung it. The verse appears almost instructional. The declaration of Yahweh as refuge and fortress (or similar acclamation) may have been obligatory on certain occasions for pilgrims or, even more likely, for the resident temple personnel. The sentiment expresses the essence of Hebrew belief: trust. It has the sense of feeling securely confident in God’s capable hands. In combination, the strong God-terms enhance Psalm 91’s theme of God’s protective care. We can find the image of Yahweh as shelter regularly in the psalter (e.g., Psalm 27:5; 31:21; 61:5; etc.) and is the consummate place of refuge for the devout Israelite.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High (‘elyon) your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. We ought to pause here and ask ourselves a simple question: Really? This is not true. No matter what life path you choose, bad things will accompany you. Yet, is that the direction this psalm is asking us to ponder? 11 For he will command his angels (mal’akim) concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Angels appear in early Israelite literature (e.g., Genesis 19:1, 15; 28:12; 32:2; Exodus 3:2-4, all from the JE tradition), their function there is almost exclusively that of divine messenger. Their role as intermediaries between humans and an increasingly transcendent God expanded in later biblical literature (e.g., Daniel 10:13), reaching its fullest form — as guardian angels — in the Intertestamental and New Testament periods (although the idea may reach back as far as earliest Babylonian times; cf. Weiser, 1962, p. 611). Angels are soldiers in God’s heavenly army. They are fearsome warriors, equipped with weapons like flaming swords. Remember that every time an angel visits a person in the Bible, the first thing the angel says is “Fear not!” That is because, in every case, the poor recipient of the visitation is cowering in fear and has very possibly lost control of one or more bodily functions. No, you do not really want to meet an angel. Not in a dark alley, nor anywhere else. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. God promises the friend of God care and protection by guardian angles, an idea preserved in early Babylonian times. These verses give rise to the belief many have in “guardian angels.” God’s angels can be dangerous, not just helpful; yet here they do look after the one who trusts in God (they will “guard [watch over and take care of] you in all your ways”). However, a cautionary note comes from the citation of this passage by Satan in the temptation of Jesus stories recorded in Matthew 4:5-7 and Luke 4:9-12. It may well be that Satan has some favorite passages because they can trip us up if we do not pay attention. In this case, Satan tempts Jesus to test God, to try to force God to act; Satan suggests that it is okay to engage in imprudent behavior, then, in so many words, to trust God to take care of you anyway. That would be impudence, not genuine faith. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. Isaiah 11:6-9 promises a day when lions and snakes will not harm them. The imagery may echo such mythic images as Yahweh’s crushing of the multiple heads of the twisting sea-monster, Leviathan (Psalm 74:14), or the cursed relationship between humans and serpents in Genesis 3:15 (“‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.’”). The same constellation of imagery, stripped of its violence, may also be in the background of the “peaceable kingdom” envisioned in Isaiah 11:8, “The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.” Along with the ending of the gospel of Mark (16:18), such verses have been used in some religious circles to justify such high-risk worship practices as snake-handling (which claimed the life of a Kentucky pastor as recently as 2014). Much confusion has come from equating misfortune with punishment. Evil does befall those who trust in God, and the book of Job, among other canonical writings, challenges the notion that evil can be attributed to divine punishment or a lack of faith. The writer of Psalm 91 is expressing the sense of utter security that comes from faith in God.
Psalm 91: 14-16 shows that divine assurance confirms and reinforces the divine promise. 14 Those who love or obey (Deuteronomy 30:16-20; John 14:15; I John 2:5-6 and 5:2-3a) me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. Deliverance comes to those who know (by personal experience) the majestic name of the Lord (the totality of who the Lord is and what the Lord can do). This affirmation of help for people who do certain things introduces a condition to the help the Lord offers. 15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. The life of prayer sustains communion with God. God goes so far as to honor those who are trusting and obedient; that is an astounding statement, as the usual pattern is for human beings to honor (give glory to) God!; but see I Samuel 2:30 (“those who honor me I will honor”). The twinning of human “call” and divine “answer” appears frequently in Scripture. Elijah will call on the name of the Lord, bids the Lord to answer with fire from heaven, the Lord does so (I Kings 18:24, 26, 37-38). David called upon the Lord at the altar and the Lord answered with fire from heaven (I Chronicles 21:26). The psalmist pleads with God to answer him when he calls (4:1), calls upon God because God will answer (17:6), and asks the Lord to answer when the congregation calls to the Lord (20:9). The people called upon the Lord in distress and the Lord answered (Psalm 81:7). The psalmist called upon the Lord in the day of trouble and the Lord answered him (86:7). Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were among those who called iupon the Lord and the Lord answered (Psalm 99:6). The Psamist called upon the Lord in a time of distress the Lord answered (118:5) and on the day the psalmist called the Lord answered (138:3). A time is coming when the people shall call upon the Lord for help and the Lord will answer (Isaiah 58:9). In fact, before the people call, the Lord will answer (Isaiah 65:24). The Lord bids uipon the prophet to call upon the Lord and the Lord will lanswer (Jeremiah 33:3). The psalmist called iupon the Lord in a time of distress and the Lord answered (Jonah 2:2, part of a prayer for deliverance). The remnant will call upon the Lord and the Lord will answer (Zechariah 13:9). 16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. The blessing of the Lord embraces reality and salvation. The idea of salvation as a privatized translation of a person from earth to heaven is exceedingly rare in the OT (the cases of Enoch, Genesis 5:24; Ecclesiasticus 44:16; 49:14; and Elijah, II Kings 2:11, are the exceptions proving the rule). For a similar viewpoint to Psalm 91, see Psalm 37:25 ff., where the psalm-writer has never known God to forsake the righteous and expresses confidence that the Lord will keep safe those who are faithful. For a parallel, see Romans 8:28, where God works everything for good to those who love God.
As much as we find comfort in such convictions, we may find ourselves arguing with it as well. We rightly ask how realistic such a point of view is, in the light of all the troubles of the world and of individual and community lives, even for faithful people. We need only to note the promise of Jesus in Matthew 5:10 of persecution for those who follow him. We might also note the words of Jesus to one who wanted to follow him, but Jesus notes his own homelessness in the world (Luke 9:57-58). Even other psalm-writers vigorously question God about why things are the way they are. Psalm 73 is a mixture of puzzlement and confidence in God; there are several parallel themes and even wording to portions of Psalm 91.
My first reaction to Psalm 91 is to argue with it. In particular, I want to remind the writer that evil does befall those who trust in God, and the book of Job, among other canonical writings, challenges the notion that we can attribute evil to divine punishment or a lack of faith. This world, imperfect as it is, envelops us in its imperfection. The dangers of this life are simply part of the world in which we live. We all know people of faith who have experienced suffering and difficulties far out of proportion to anything they have deserved. As Jesus noted, “The rain falls on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).
Yet, another part of me understands the direction in which the writer points us. The old gospel song, “Trust and Obey,” picks up on some of these ideas. He offers an assurance of God’s protection for those who place their trust in God. He uses two ancient names for Israel’s God — Elyon (“Most High”) and Shaddai (“Almighty”). Most of us know what it is like to long for a safe home. The San Diego Union-Tribune on January 30, 2006 contained the following article. “Fire broke out about 3 a.m. yesterday in a mine in central Canada, forcing some 70 miners trapped underground to retreat to emergency refuge rooms stocked with oxygen and supplies, a mine official said. Late last night, a rescue team reached one of the rooms, made sure everyone was safe, then closed them back inside until the air inside the mine could be cleared of toxic gases, said Marshall Hamilton, a spokesman for Mosaic Co., the Minneapolis-based firm that operates the potash mine. ‘In those refuge stations, they can seal themselves off and there’s oxygen, food and water,’ Hamilton told CBC Radio. ‘And they can stay in there for at least 36 hours.’”
Many mines have these “refuge rooms.” Some expensive homes have refuge rooms — rooms to which the occupants can flee in the event of an intrusion or natural catastrophe.
The journey of life is a perilous trip. Life offers its own share of dangers, not to mention the challenge of being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. There is refuge — refuge in God. Sometimes, we may need that “refuge room” so that we can hunker down and receive divine protection. However, I suspect that most of the time the protection God offers is one that helps us stay engaged with the enemy, or with dangerous circumstances, so that we can forge ahead. While all else is falling around us (verse 7), still we forge ahead safely. Indeed, we have the promise that God will show us the path toward salvation (verse 16).
Charles Spurgeon, in referring to the word “abide” in verse 1, says it means a promise to pass the night with us. It suggests a constant, continuous dwelling. It does not mean a little lodge or a tent; it means a strong fortress. If God is your spiritual home, God will be a refuge for you, whenever the storms of life hit you. If such storms have not come your way yet, let me assure you, they will come. All of us want to feel safe. We have fear and anxiety that the world will not have what we need to sustain in us. One of the great lessons in our lives is that we cannot rely upon the world to give us the type of safety and relief from anxiety for which we long. Our deepest fear and anxiety, however, relates to the quest for meaning and purpose. Our inner lives are at risk, along with everything else. We may fear that key decisions in our lives, such as choice of spouse, choice of beliefs, and choice of career, have somehow showed themselves to be the wrong choices. We have lived our lives with these choices, but looking back, we wonder if they were the right choices. Yet, God invites us to find our way home. If we are to find the meaning, purpose, and direction of our lives, we will need to find our spiritual home in God. This psalm is for wanderer's in search of a home. This psalm is for those who have a home now, but the home is such a mess that you need to find a new one. The psalm addresses us in a personal way. We are the ones who need to find refuge in God by calling upon God.
[1] The name for the deity that appears first in this psalm, ‘elyon, is from the Hebrew root meaning “to go up” or “to ascend,” and is identical to the adjective from that root, meaning “high,” “upper” or “highest.” The theophoric is an early name for Israel’s God, rooted in Canaanite divine names. It can appear alone, as here, or as part of a binomen, such as El Elyon (“El Most High,” Genesis 14:18, 19, 20, 22; Psalm 78:35); Yahweh Elyon (“the Lord Most High,” Psalm 7:18; 47:3); Elohim Elyon (“God Most High,” Psalm 57:3; 78:56).
[2] Meaning “to lodge” or “to pass the night” (e.g., Genesis 28:11). The verbal form used here, the Hithpo’el, is uncommon with this root, occurring only one other time in the OT (Job 39:28); this is one of the clues of a later date for this composition.
[3] An unknown root (see the many guesses in BDB, 994-95); it, too, is found in the earliest strata of biblical literature and it also appears to be an Israelite adaptation of a Canaanite original. It also frequently appears as the binomial “El Shaddai” (Genesis 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 48:3; Exodus 6:3; etc.
[4] This verb appears 48 times in Psalms
No comments:
Post a Comment