If in a spirit of gratitude you wish to teach how one should make a spiritual offering to the Lord, sing Psalm 29.Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms
The first line of this psalm says, depending on your translation, "Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones..." (or O Heavenly beings or "sons of gods"). The literal translation of the word is 'elim which is the plural of the word for "god." However you slice it (and there are a lot of ways to slice depending on which experts you are reading) it is undeniable that the original reference was to pagan gods.
We can look at this short psalm as proclaiming the glory of God and his power over creation but that understanding of speaking to the pagan gods in the beginning gives the whole thing a real "in your face, you pagan gods!"
I like it. I like it a lot.
| Lebanon Cedar |
It is clear, however, that Israel employed terms like this—'elim ("gods"), bene 'elim ("children of the gods"), and related uses of 'elohim ("gods") and bene 'elohim ("children of God/the gods, heavenly beings, cf. Job 1:6, 2:1)— because she was immersed in a culture dominated by polytheistic belief systems and often struggled with pressure to conform. We know that Israel struggled with the temptation to worship gods other than Yahweh down to the exilic period, at which time (and only then) did absolute monotheistic belief in the existence of Yahweh alone take root firmly in the exilic community.
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The pinnacle and climax of the theophany comes at the height of the storm's power, as all those gathered in the temple worship Yahweh with a loud acclamation of "Glory!" With this shout the worshipers fulfill the call of the opening verses: "Ascribe to the Lord ... glory and strength ... due his name." This cry of acknowledgement is wrested from them almost against their will as the blasting, crashing, flashing display of divine power cannot be denied. All tremble! All worship! All know the glory of Yahweh!
Psalms vol. 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)
Seeing the psalm as a declaration against the pressure to conform to other beliefs makes me think of my own struggle to keep secular society from getting a good hold on the way I think. I have to shake off certain modern attitudes repeatedly to keep the right attitude toward God.
Maybe that's why I love what the comment above says about the "blasting, crashing, flashing display of divine power" which is the glory of God. Reread the psalm with those two ideas in mind and you might become as fond of this psalm as I have.
So glad you liked it. I always wonder if I am the only one reading the psalm series — though it is good because it keeps me working my way through them. :-)
ReplyDeleteI never could get into them but going through them like this has made a big difference. :-)
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