Trusting YHWH. Lorne E. Weaver. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Lorne E. Weaver
Издательство: Ingram
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Религия: прочее
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781498290449
Скачать книгу
joyful faith of those journeying up to the temple rings out in a series of fifteen remarkable psalms, commonly referred to as the Psalms of Ascents or Steps, or simply, the Pilgrim Psalter (Pss 120–134).

      I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of יהוה (Ps 122:1);

      I lift my eyes to you whose throne is in heaven (Ps 123:1);

      As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so יהוה surrounds [his] people both now and evermore (Ps 125:2);

      When יהוה restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like people renewed in health (Ps 126:1);

      Unless יהוה builds the house, its builders labour in vain (Ps 127:1);

      Happy are all who fear יהוה, who conform to [his] ways (Ps 128:1);

      The blessing of יהוה be on you! We bless you in the name of יהוה (Ps 129:8);

      For יהוה is love unfailing, and great is [his] power to deliver (Ps 130:7);

      Israel, hope in יהוה, now and for evermore (Ps 131:3);

      Arise, יהוה, and come to your resting-place, you and your powerful Ark (Ps 132:8);

      Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary and bless יהוה, may יהוה, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion! (Ps 134:2,3).

      Fourteen, the Davidic dynasty, too, came to be seen as the agent of God’s designs and the bearer of God’s promises. For the ancient cultures of the world of the Hebrew Bible, the king or ruler–the sovereign—was commonly viewed as embodying the presence of the divinity being worshiped. It is not surprising therefore that with important modifications reflecting Israel’s faith in the divine mystery, the nation’s royal line is celebrated in several psalms as having received a kind of divine adoption:

      I shall announce the decree of יהוה: ‘You are my son,’ he said to me; ‘this day I become your father. Ask of me what you will; I shall give you the nations as your domain, the earth to its farthest ends as your possession (Ps 2:7);

      יהוה, the king rejoices in your might: well may he exult in your victory (Ps 21:1);

      God has enthroned you for all eternity; your royal sceptre is a sceptre of equity. . . . I shall declare your fame through all generations; therefore, nations will praise you for ever and ever (Ps 45:6f.);

      I shall establish your line for ever; I shall make your throne endure for all generations (Ps 89:4);

      יהוה says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies my footstool’ (Ps 110:1).

      Fifteen, there is the height of irony and ambiguity which attaches to the biblical tradition since the kings and their officials were often the very oppressors of the people. This oppression by the kings of Yhwh brought the continued judgment of the prophets—and Yhwh! It was only when the Davidic line no longer ruled in postexilic times that this theme could more fully establish itself as part of the nation’s confession of faith and hope. During this period, the theme of God’s kingship over all creation emerged-

      Sing a new song to יהוה. Sing to יהוה, all the earth. Sing to יהוה and bless [his] name; day by day proclaim [his] victory (Ps 96:1, 2);

      יהוה has become king; let the peoples tremble; יהוה is enthroned on the cherubim; let the earth shake. יהוה is great in Zion; [he] is exalted above all the peoples (Ps 99:1,2);

      It is good to give thanks to יהוה, to sing psalms to your name, Most High, to declare your love in the morning and your faithfulness every night (Ps 92:1,2).

      Israel’s self-understanding of its covenant with יהוה was beginning to extend to all the world. This is one of the Psalter’s greatest legacies. The various poets of the ancient psalms are of one mind. This is all the more amazing when one remembers that we are dealing with many texts, some of which are separated by nearly a millennium of history—from oral transmission, to their composition, to final editing and reception into the Hebrew biblical canon.