Threads from Henry's Web

Tag: good

  • Psalm 119:91 – Servants

    Psalm 119:91 – Servants

    By your ruling they stand firm today,
    For all things are your servants.

    I’m using “ruling” for the Hebrew word mishpat which I usually render “judgment” because I believe what is in view here is the determination, the result of the judgment, not the process of judgment. God faithfulness/truth and God’s word stand firm because that is God’s will.

    Law here is a reflection of God’s character, who God is. Psalm 119 is not just a long ode to law and order, as it is sometimes seen, but rather it is a song of praise to God’s self-revelation in law, in creation, and in care for God’s people.

    Often we try to absolve God of the problems that we observe in the universe. One of our key methods for doing this is free will. “God wouldn’t have wanted that, but what can God do? Free will!” I’m a believer in free will. But to whatever extent we do have free will, that freedom is also a gift, a ruling if you will, of God. If you make a decision, God sovereignly decided to let you do it.

    I form light and create darkness.
    I make wholeness (shalom) and create evil.
    I, YHWH do all these things.

    Isaiah 45:7 (my translation)

    Now there are a variety of translations, particularly of the second line. Shalom can rightfully be translated in a number of ways, but in general we should see it as reflecting God’s ideal, and that which is not. One of the Dead Sea Scrolls reads tov here, generally translated “good.” That would match the tree from which Adam and Eve are not to eat, the tree of the knowledge of good (tov) and evil (ra).

    It seems clear to me that God is taking responsibility for everything in the created universe, as the one who created it. Everything is God’s servant, whether it wants to be or not.

    Within all that, we are still called to choose. Knowing that God is sovereign does not excuse us from action. We are to do good and resist evil.

    In what way are you God’s servant?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)

  • Psalm 119:68 – Doing Good

    Psalm 119:68 – Doing Good

    You are good, and you act in goodness.
    Teach me your statutes.

    If you find the turn from God’s goodness, to “teach me your statutes,” you may not have been following the Psalm thus far. One of the themes here is the value of God’s self-revelation in the form of laws and instructions.

    The Septuagint (LXX) of this verse transfers the second instance of good, the active one, to the second part of the verse: “You are good, and in your goodness teach me your statutes.” This makes the teaching function of the law part of the goodness of God.

    The parallel terms of the verse apply “goodness” to God’s statutes. This is not the way we usually think of goodness. Rules are annoying things you have to live with. They are not blessings for which we should be grateful.

    This is a very human response. Just consider our response to traffic laws. If a cop stops us and gives us a ticket, we’re complaining about the stupid laws and generally feeling much put on. If there’s a really slow speed limit in a neighborhood, we’ll often complain that it is ridiculously slow. If we lived in that neighborhood, however, we’d likely be advocating for slow speed limits and effective enforcement.

    8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

    Deuteronomy 4:8 (NRSVue, quoted from BibleGateway)

    This is one of the most difficult “heart” things. It is hard to regard the law as a blessing while at the same time realizing we are not perfect. Far from it! But the law itself is a call to greatness, a greatness that is a gift of God and not a personal achievement.

    Try to think of a rule today that is a real blessing in your life. Do you keep that rule?

    (Featured image generated by Jetpack AI.)