Friday, October 2, 2009

The Law of God in the Psalms

It's that time of year again. The time when I have no time to blog, so I hack up an old essay. This one is on the Law of God in the Psalms. Enjoy

The Law of God in the Psalms is viewed as an entirely positive reality. Meditation of and adherence to this Law brings blessing for the nation of Israel, for her individuals and for her king. This positive assessment of the Law is not drawn entirely from the current experience of the Psalmist, but awaits vindication from YHWH. Nevertheless, the agency of YHWH at every stage of the Law, giving, enabling and vindicating is assured. The reliability of the Law, in the face of adverse circumstances is assured on the basis of YHWH’s own faithfulness and power. The concept of the sovereign power of YHWH's word in creation as an analogy to the Torah of God, though attractive, is exegetically unfounded. The role of the Torah of God is to personally guide his people to blessing under his sovereign rule.

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