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Writer of Fancy: The Playful Piety of Jane Austen
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
INTRODUCTION
Hope is a spring of human action. We do what we do because we hope to accomplish something by our actions, and when we are truly hopeless we do nothing at all. Scripture teaches us that we raise our children in hope, as well as in faith and love. But what should we hope for in our families?
THE TEXT
“Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. . . .” (Psalm 128).
STRUCTURE
The Psalm is structured in two panels. Each begins with a reference to fear of Yahweh (vv. 1, 4), then continues to describe the blessing that comes on the one who fears Yahweh (vv. 2, 5a). Verse 3 begins with a reference to the man’s fruitful wife, and verse 5b extends this to the bride of Yahweh, Jerusalem. And each section ends with a reference to children (v. 3b, 6a). The Psalm ends with a pronouncement of peace upon Israel.
FEARING GOD
Psalm 128 describes blessings that the Yahweh brings to a home. But the presumption of these blessings is stated in verses 1 and 4. These blessings are not for everyone, but for the man who fears Yahweh. Proverbs tells us the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Fearing Yahweh means turning from evil (Proverbs 3:7; 16:6) and walking in uprightness (Proverbs 14:2) without envy for the wicked (Proverbs 23:17). The Lord promises to reveal His covenant to those who fear Him (Psalm 25), and also promises life (Proverbs 14:27).
FRUITFULNESS
The main blessing promised to the man who fears Yahweh here in Psalm 128 is fruitfulness in his home. He will prosper from the labor of his hands, with no one plundering or taxing away his goods. His wife is fruitful, and fruitful like a vine, which produces grapes that produce wine. A wife at the heart of the house is like having a feast of wine at the heart of the house. His children are olive shoots, flourishing young trees that will grow into productive fruit-bearing trees. Olive oil is used for burning; children like olive trees are lights in the world. Olive oil is for anointing; children are priests and kings in training. The overall portrait is of the home as an orchard, a restored garden. The man who tends his garden in the fear of Yahweh will enjoy its produce. And in verse 5, the Lord extends the promise to Jerusalem. If Jerusalem and Zion fear Yahweh and walk in His ways, they too will prosper, flourishing like a garden.
HOPE
But this is not always the way it seems. Teeming with small screaming needy children, a home doesn’t always appear to be a garden. When your wife is frazzled at the end of a long day, she doesn’t appear to be a fruitful vine in the heart of your house. A man who gets testy at his kids doesn’t look like the man who fears the Lord. This is where hope comes in: The Lord gives us a portrait of a flourishing home, and we are to muck around in the mud in hope that the Lord will produce a harvest. Persevere, and he will.
HELP FOR HOPE
The older, established families at Trinity have an important opportunity for ministry to the many younger families here. You have been through it. You’ve had the bad days; you’ve dealt with the discipline challenges; perhaps you’ve felt despair that your kids are going to come out OK. But you also have seen the Lord fulfill His promises. You are living illustrations that hope does not disappoint. Look for opportunities to encourage the younger families in hope.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 6:48 am
The following is largely inspired by Jon D. Levenson’s Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel.
In his novel, The Death of Ivan Illych, Leo Tolstoy tells the story of the life and death of his title character. Ivan Illych is a government lawyer who has devoted his life to advancing his career. He lives, he thinks, just as he should, doing everything that he is supposed to do, living life correctly. That doesn’t mean he’s happy. He’s not. He married in order to advance socially and vocationally, but soon after his wedding virtually abandoned his wife for work. As his wife became irritable and demanding, he made his work more and more the center of gravity in his life. But he still believes he is doing everything just the way it should be done – devoting himself to work, pursuing a prestigious transfer to St Petersburg, periodically redecorating his home.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, April 8, 2007 at 2:11 pm
INTRODUCTION
Twice in Acts, an apostle uses Psalm 16 as a proof text for the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2:25-28; 13:35). Psalm 16 is an Easter Psalm.
THE TEXT
“Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.’ As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.. . . .” (Psalm 16:1-11).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, April 2, 2007 at 8:47 am
Dahood takes “righteous” in Psalm 118:15, 19 as “victory.” The joyful shouting is heard from the tents of the victorious, and the gates are the gates of victory. He cites Isaiah 41:2 and 49:24 as other texts where this nuance of ZDK comes to the fore.
The meaning could be: a) Victory is vindication. When God grants victory, He publicly demonstrates that His people are in His favor, in the right, having a righteous status before Him.
Or b) That the victory is an act of justice. The tents of the victors are the tents of the righteous because they have put the world right by defeating the wicked.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 9:45 am
More notes, taken from or inspired by Michael Dahood’s Anchor Bible commentary.
1) Dahood makes good sense of the entire Psalm by assuming that it moves from a place of battle and victory (vv. 5-14), to the victory celebration in the tents of the war camp (vv. 15-18), and then the army returns to the city (v. 19) and the temple (vv. 26-27). This also makes sense of the connection of this Psalm with Palm Sunday: Jesus has been in confinement, surrounded by enemies, but His Father has delivered Him and brought Him to Jerusalem, where the crowds greet Him in a triumphal procession.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 9:26 am
More or less random notes on Psalm 118.
1) The Psalm has an interesting, clumpy, arrangement. It begins and ends with the identical exhortation to “give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, for everlasting his lovingkindness” (vv. 1, 29). The opening four verses are linked with the repetition of the refrain “everlasting His lovingkindness.” Verses 5-7 are linked wtih the repetition of “Yahweh is for me,” and verses 8-9 are identical apart from the final word (v. 8: ADAM; v. 9: NADYB, “noble ones”). Verses 10-12 all end with the identical clause “In the name of Yahweh I truly will cut them off.” Verses 15-16 repeat the phrase “the right hand of Yahweh” three times, and both verses 17 and 18 speak of death.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 7:16 am
INTRODUCTION
On Palm Sunday, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem as the King, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-10 (Matthew 21:5; John 12:15). But the gospel writers mention Psalm 118 in this connection as well (Matthew 21:9, 42; Mark 11:9; 12:10; Luke 19:38; 20:17; John 12:13). On Palm Sunday, Jesus is the “One who comes in the Name of Yahweh” (Psalm 118:26).
THE TEXT
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, ‘His mercy endures forever.’ Let the house of Aaron now say, ‘His mercy endures forever.’ Let those who fear the LORD now say, ‘His mercy endures forever. . . .’” (Psalm 118).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 10:54 am
In English, Psalm 19:2 is arranged in a neat parallel structure:
A. The heavens
B. tell
C. the glory of God.
A’. The firmament
B’. proclaims
C’. the work of his hands.
In Hebrew, the verse is chiastic:
A. The heavens
B. are telling
C. the glory of God.
C’. The work of his hands
B’. announcing
A’. the firmament.
Let’s think about this.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 8:07 am
What is the message of the imprecatory Psalms? That Christians have an excuse to be mean-spirited, vicious, and vengeful? That Christians should distribute curses and blessings in equal measure? That Christians get to be macho and talk tough?
No. The main message of the imprecatory Psalms is the message of Jesus. Do not fear those who kill the body, Jesus says. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. When Jesus appears after His resurrection, His first words are nearly always “Peace, do not fear.” This is the message of the imprecatory Psalms: Fear not.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at 7:33 am
Are imprecatory prayers appropriate for the children of Abraham? If so, then they are appropriate for us, for Paul says in Galatians that we are all “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” and that if we “belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.”
Are imprecatory prayers appropriate for the anointed one? If so, they are appropriate for us, since we are all anointed in the Anointed one, christs in the Christ.
Are they imprecatory prayers appropriate for Jesus? If so, then they are appropriate to us, for Paul says that, in and with our Head, we the Body are Christ: “even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” Paul says that we are the Bride of Christ, so joined to our husband that we are “one flesh” with Him even as husbands and wives are “one flesh” with one another.
Paul knew something of the union of Christ and His church. When Jesus confronts him on the road to Damascus, he asks, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Paul knew from the moment of his conversion that an assault on the church is an assault on her Head.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, September 3, 2006 at 7:23 am
Psalm 144:12 asks that the Lord make “our daughters as corner pillars cut after the pattern of a palace.” “Pattern” is TABNIT, the noun used to describe the pattern that Moses sees on the mountain and later guides the building of the tabernacle. “Palace” is HEYKAL, the word used for the temple.
While sons are to grow as plants (v. 12a), daughters will be made according to the pattern of a temple/palace, a dwelling place.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, April 20, 2006 at 4:29 pm
Psalm 71:19-20 shows the connection between the righteousness of God and the resurrection of the dead. The Psalmist praises God for His righteousness that reaches to the heavens, a righteousness manifested in the “great things” God has done (v 19). Verse 20 follows with a description of one of the great things that God has done and will do: He will deliver the Psalmist (or “us”) from troubles, and will “bring me [us] up again from the depths of the earth.” Raising the dead manifests the righteousness of God. These verses, then, provide additional background (with other Psalms and Isaiah) to Paul’s understanding of the “righteousness of God” as revealed in the gospel of Jesus’ resurrection.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 at 8:04 am
Keil and Delitzsch point out that Psalm 110 is structured as three sets of seven clauses. Each of these sets of seven consists of a “tetrastich together with a tristich.” These three sets are verses 1-2, verses 3-4, and verses 5-7.
Verse 1 is the first tetrastich (Lord says; Sit; Until I make enemies; footstool for Your feet), followed by the tristich of verse 2 (Heb order: scepter of power; Yahweh will stretch from Zion; rule in midst). The second cycle begins with the tetrastich of verse 3 (Thy people volunteer; in holy array; from womb; youth like dew), and the tristich begins with the name Yahweh (Yahweh swears; not turn back; priest forever). The final set of seven is the most clear in English translations, but the division of tetrastich and tristich is less clear. The whole section begins with the third use of the name Yahweh (v 5), and the beginning of the tristich is marked by the repetition of the verb “shatter.”
The heptamerous structure is a general reference back to the creation week, but perhaps there are more extended connections with the days of creation. The first and the last sequence ends with an emphasis on sabbatical rule and exaltation: “Rule in the midst of Thine enemies” and “He will lift up the head.” And, if we consider Hebrews’ interpretation of the Melchizedekan priesthood, which emphasizes that the priest is seated rather than standing, the middle section may also end on a sabbatical note. The first clause of each section may also contain an allusion to the first day of creation. The Psalm opens with the speech of Yahweh, and the first clause of the section section begins with a reference to the “day” (v 3). Verse 5, which begins the final sequence, clearly refers back to the proclamation of verse 1. This suggests the possibility that other stiches would match up with the creation week. The central (4th day) clause in the second sequence, for instance, refers to youth like the dew, an image that may be related to imagery of rule (cf. 2 Sam 23:4). There may well be others. There may not.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, May 22, 2004 at 8:26 am
A Footstool for His Feet, Psalm 110:1-7
INTRODUCTION
Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven to take His place at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:3). This past Thursday marked the fortieth day after Easter, and on this Sunday the church has commemorated this event.
THE TEXT
?The Lord said to my Lord, ?Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.?E The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. . . .?E(Psalm 110:1-7).
STRUCTURE
The Psalm is patterned as three sets of seven clauses. Verses 1-2 make up the first sequence, verses 3-4 the second, and verses 5-7 the third. This pattern alludes to the creation week, suggesting that the installation of the Lord at the right hand is the beginning of a new creation. The first and the last section begin with the name Yahweh and a reference to the ?right hand?Eof Yahweh (vv. 2, 5), and both include references to the power of king to conquer enemies (vv. 1-2, 5-6). The name ?Yahweh?Eis used three times (vv. 1, 2, 4).
LORD AND MY LORD
By translating two different words with the same word, English translations make the first verse of this Psalm more obscure than it is in the Hebrew. In Hebrew, the first ?Lord?Eis ?Yahweh,?Ethe covenant Name of God, while the second is adon or adonai, which is not a name but a title, one that is used as a title for human masters or even husbands (Genesis 18:12; 19:2; 40:1; Ruth 2:13; etc.). Adonai can also be used as a title for Yahweh, as in Exodus 34:23 (?the lord Yahweh, God of Israel?E and Deuteronomy 10:17 (?lord of lords,?EHeb. adone ha?adonim). In many passages, a better translation for a phrase like ?Lord God?Ewould be ?Lord Yahweh?Eor ?Master Yahweh?E(e.g., Psalm 69:6).
In Psalm 110, David refers to someone as ?my lord,?Eand this someone is different from Yahweh. Who is David talking about? We know from the NT that David is talking about the Son of God, but who did David think he was talking about? There are two answers to this. First, David is certainly acting as a prophet here, looking forward to an ?Anointed One?Ewho is far greater than he himself is. The Psalm is directly Messianic and prophetic. Second, there is evidence in the OT of a Person who is distinct from Yahweh yet also somehow identical to Yahweh. This Person is sometimes identified as the ?angel of Yahweh?E(cf. Genesis 18; Zechariah 1:7-17). This is perhaps also identical to the ?Name?Eof Yahweh who dwells in the temple (1 Kings 8:16, 18, 20, etc.). Thus, David was conscious that, though he was the Lord?s anointed king over Israel, he was subordinate to the King enthroned above the cherubim.
VICTORY
Throughout the Psalm, the installation of David?s Lord at the right hand of Yahweh means victory. He is installed at the right hand until His enemies are made a footstool (v. 2), and he is to ?rule in the midst of Thine enemies?E(v. 2). From the right hand of Yahweh, he will ?shatter kings?Eand ?judge among the nations?Eand ?shatter the chief men over a broad country?E(vv. 5-6).
The NT teaches that this Psalm was fulfilled in Christ, and repeatedly refers to it in reference to Jesus?Eexaltation in His resurrection and ascension (Acts 2:34ff; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 1:13; 10:13). If this is so, then Ascension Day is victory day. The ascension of Jesus means that He begins to rule in the midst of His enemies, begins to judge the nations, begins to shatter kings. An eschatology based on Psalm 110 is an eschatology of victory.
PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK
At the center of the Psalm is the promise that Yahweh would establish David?s lord not only as a king, ruling with a scepter (vv 1-2) but also as a priest after the order of Melchizedek (v. 4). Melchizedek was the priest of God and king of Salem, who came and met Abram with bread and wine after the latter had won a battle (Genesis 14). In response, Abram showed honor to Melchizedek by giving him a tithe.
In the NT, this part of the Psalm is taken as a prophecy of Jesus, who serves as both priest and king (Hebrews 7). But the writer of Hebrews goes further to say that the establishment of Jesus as a ?high priest?Eoverturns the priestly order of Aaron. How does this work? The priestly order of Aaron was based on physical descent; only men who were in the genealogy of Aaron could serve as priests. But Jesus was a member of the tribe of Judah, which was not a priestly tribe (Hebrews 7:14-16). Yet Jesus was designated as high priest. The writer sees this as a sign that the entire Old Covenant order has been shattered (Hebrews 7:17-23). A ?fleshly?Efirst covenant, which depended on physical descent, has been replaced by a ?spiritual?Esecond covenant, which depends on the resurrection power of Jesus (v 16). Thus, the Psalm predicts a new order of priesthood, and a new order of the world.
Catechism for Little Saints
When did Jesus ascend into heaven?
Jesus ascended forty days after He rose from the dead.
What does it mean for Jesus to sit at the ?right hand?Eof God?
It means that He rules the nations and judges them, and will be victorious over all His enemies.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 at 11:14 am
Psalm 25:14 says that “the secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him, and His covenant He will cause them to know.” The parallel structure of the verse indicates that “secret” and “covenant” are describing the same reality, and the parallel comes out more strongly in the Hebrew since the phrases “to those who fear Him” and “to cause them to know” (Hiphil infinitive of yada’) are grammatically parallel constructions, an aspect of the verse that is hard to render in English.
Thus, there is a double parallel, first between “secret” and “covenant” and secondly between “fear” and “knowledge.” The latter connection is well-known from the Proverbs, which insist that the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. But the parallel of “secret” and “covenant” is unusual and revealing.
The word for “secret” is sod, and it is used in several passages to describe either a) an intimate conversation or secret plans or b) a circle of confidants, conversation partners, or friends who are told about plans. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, the word differs from other words for counsel or advice by its emphasis on confidentiality.
Amos 3:7 states that Yahweh reveals His “secret counsel” to the prophets (cf. Gen 18); the word here means something like “plans that are not yet revealed or accomplished.” The wicked conspire to make “secret plans” against the righteous (Ps 83:3). Jacob condemns Simeon and Levi for their violence, and says that his soul “will not enter into their secret plans” (Gen 49:6). Proverbs repeatedly warns against associating with one who would “reveal secrets” (Pr 11:13; 20:19; 25:9).
David complains about a treacherous friend, who turns against him after they had “had sweet counsel together, walked in the house of God in the throng” (Psalm 55:14 [Heb, v 15]), apparently using the word not only to describe the intimacy of their fellowship, but the company or circle of intimate friends and fellow worshipers of Yahweh. Job also uses the word in describing a circle of friends, complaining that all the “men of my secret counsel” have turned against him (Job 19:19). The assembly of worshipers at the temple is described as “the sod of the upright” in Psalm 111:1, where the word stands in parallelism to ‘edah (”assembly”).
The TWOT summarizes some of the other uses: “The wise and upright man who walks in the fear of the Lord will have God’s secret counsel . . . . He will associate himself with others who likewise fear God (Ps 89:7 [H 8]) and sing his praises (Ps 111:1). He will dissociate himself from evildoers (Gen 49:6; Jer 15:17) and pray for deliverance from their evil machinations (Ps 64:2 [H 3]). God himself will oppose wicked councils (Jer 23:18-22) and pour out his wrath upon their members (Jer 6:11) so that they have no place among the assembly of the righteous (Ezk 13:9)” (TWOT, vol. 2, p. 619).
Looking back at Psalm 25:14, we may draw out several lines of consideration. First, the Psalm might be indicating the connection between being in covenant and being given access to the prophetic council of Yahweh. The “secret counsel” is what Yahweh reveals to His prophets (Amos 3:7), and this is identified in Psalm 25 as the covenant itself. This makes sense in the case of Abraham, who is both recipient of the covenant promise and the first prophet in Scripture, to whom Yahweh reveals His plans to destroy Sodom. Second, the Psalm, and the use of the word in the OT generally, offers some suggestive insight of a kind of sociological nature. The word is used both of the “council of intimates” who are associated with Yahweh and the conspirators who develop secret plans against the righteous. We can hypothesize that membership in some “secret council” is a baseline human desire, the desire that C.S. Lewis described as the desire to enter the “Inner Ring.” If so, the proliferation of conspiracies and conspiracy theories in the modern world might be seen as a perverse reaction to the loss of access to Yahweh’s “Inner Ring.”
Finally, the verse in Psalm 25 holds some crucial implications for our understanding of “covenant” and “decree.” In a word, the Psalm equates the two: Yahweh reveals His secret plans (decree) to those who fear Him, which is to say that He makes known His covenant. This seems to support Barth’s view that the decree of God is not some plan hidden behind the covenant promise or some plan “more basic” or “deeper” than God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. Rather, the coming of the Word is the revelation of the decree; Jesus is the “decree made flesh” to dwell among us. In Jesus, the “mystery” has been revealed. We certainly don’t know exhaustively what God’s “secret plans” are, but we know plenty: that God intends for all nations to be blessed in the Seed of Abraham, that God has decreed that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, that every last event of history is moving toward the moment in which God will be all in all, and a whole lot more. Through Jesus, we know the end of the story, and that means we know much about the events leading to the end.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, April 5, 2004 at 8:29 am
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