Psalm 91: 1-6, a segment that continues to verse 13, are a promise of divine protection and human steadfastness. Using the first person, the poet addresses an audience, encouraging them to trust God so no harm will befall them. 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, a Canaanite epithet applied to the head of their pantheon),[1] who abide (lun/lin)[2] in the shadow of the Almighty (Shaddai, a Canaanite epithet applied to the head of their pantheon).[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. Verses 3-6, a segment continuing to verse 8, give several examples that serve to provide reasons the listener/reader can continue to trust the Lord for deliverance and protection. 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; 4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge. The wings of God may refer to the wings of the cherubim on either side of the Ark. They may also be a metaphor, the Lord gathering us under protective wings (as a hen does her chicks — see Jesus’ self-applied words in Luke 13:34). The Lord covers and protects the godly from danger. The faithfulness (emet, trustworthiness) of the Lord is a shield and buckler (a small round shield). Such trustworthiness on the part of God inspires our faithfulness. Biblical and Christian hope rests on faith. Therefore, hope in the prayers of the Psalms is always in God. The only sustainable hope is one that does not derive from our own vitality or depends on what perishes, but rather, hope directed to God and grounded in God.[5] In verses 5-6, we find the difference between belief and unbelief stated clearly. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, which could refer to demonic forces, or the arrow that flies by day, 6 or the pestilence (plague) that stalks in darkness, or the destruction (scourge) that wastes (ravages) at noonday. God always protects, whether there is no light or in the brightest light.
Psalm 91: 14-16 shows that divine assurance confirms and reinforces the divine promise. God responds to the poet, reinforcing the words of the poet, reassuring poet and hearer/reader of the protection of God. 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 as 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! However, 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 upon the Lord and the Lord answered (Psalm 99:6). The Psalmist 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 upon the prophet to call upon the Lord and the Lord will answer (Jeremiah 33:3). The psalmist called upon 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, a sign of the favor of God, 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. The psalm seems like it over-promises and under-delivers, a crucial mistake in business. This reading reeks of over-promising. Look at these promises. God will deliver us from pestilence (v. 3). We will not fear (v. 5). God will deliver those who love God (v. 14). God will protect “those who know my name” (v. 14). When we call out to God, God “will answer” us (v. 15). God will be with us in trouble; God will rescue us; God will honor us; and God will give us a long life (vv. 15-16). How amazing and wonderful — if only it were true! Experience teaches us that not all those who have loved God have been delivered. Not all those who have been faithful have been given a long life. And moreover, are we allowed to conclude that those of God’s children whose lives have been cut short were not faithful to God? No, of course not. 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. 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,” notices 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 are afraid and anxious 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 wanderers 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
[5]
No comments:
Post a Comment