Posts Tagged: Hebrew participles

“Fatherly Care and Sovereign Rule”

On November 18, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

            “Bless the LORD, O my soul,

                        and all that is within me,

                        bless his holy name!   Bless the LORD, O my soul,

                        and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,

                        who heals all your diseases,   who redeems your life from the pit,

                        who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,        who satisfies you with good

                        so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

(Psalm 103:1–5 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version)

https://accordance.bible/link/read/ESVS#Psa._103:1-5, accessed 11-18-2019.

I am being besieged by Psalm 103:2-3 right now.  The preacher at the church we are attending quoted it in his sermon yesterday.  This morning, the “3-Minute Retreat” put out by Loyola Publishing used Psalm 103:2-3 as the basis of their daily meditation.

Motyer comments insightfully about Psalm 103.  “The blend of changeless fatherly care and endless sovereign rule is the distinctive stress of this psalm.”[1]  I need both of those things right now: fatherly care and sovereign rule.  The changeless and endless modifiers are also very important.

All the verbs in verses 2-5 (except for “renews” in verse 5) for what God does for us are participles.  In Hebrew, participles often suggest continual action that flows out of the character of the one who is acting.  God is continually forgiving, continually healing, and so on.

The retreat master for the 3-minute retreat writes, “God’s compassion is abundant. There are times in life when we feel so unlovable, so unforgiveable that we want to hide. We may think that if we just ignore what is going on in our lives, ignore what needs healing and forgiveness it will just go away. Thankfully, God does not act that way. Rather, God waits patiently to receive us and to forgive us again and again. This is why our souls sing out, ‘Bless the Lord, my soul.’ ”

Yes, right now, I would very much like to hide.  But there is nowhere to hide.  (I try to hide in the refrigerator.  I eat when I’m stressed and when I am depressed.  Of course, I like to eat anyway.)

Perhaps I could try hiding in God.  Now there’s a thought!

[1]J.A. Motyer, The Psalms, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition; ed. D. A Carson et al.; Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 551.

https://accordance.bible/link/read/IVP-NB_Commentary#6838
, , , ,

“Of Cover Ups and Mercy”

On May 1, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, English Standard Version)

“You’re only as sick as your secrets.”  (Twelve-step saying)

I want to live a H.O.T. life: Honest, Open, and Transparent.  Sad to say, I don’t always.  I think I’ve opened up to those who need to know about my big struggles.  However, not so much on little things.  At least, I want to think they are little things.  And, in any case, little hidden transgressions have the same tendency as termites and cancer: They eat away at us from their places of concealment.

And let’s face it.  This world is not really geared for honesty, openness, and transparency.  Neither is any of us.  We play at hide and seek when we’re young.  As we get older, it’s not a game anymore.  We work at hiding—and hope that no one finds us.

In Proverbs 28:13, the Hebrew words translated “confesses” and “forsakes” are participles.  Participles are verbal nouns. In other words, they are a cross between nouns and verbs.  In Hebrew, when participles have a verbal thrust, they often suggest repetitive action that flows from the very character of a person.  They often suggest a continual or repetitive action.

If this is true of the participles in Proverbs 28:13, the verse could be unpacked in the following manner:

“Whoever makes a habit of concealing his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who makes a habit of confessing and forsaking them will obtain mercy.”

Now, we are really good at confessing the wrong-doings of other people.  However, Proverbs 17:9 says that this is precisely what we ought not to do.  In fact, the same words are used for concealing transgression as in 28:13!

The word for “forsaking” is a strong word.  It is used in Genesis 2:24 for a man forsaking his father and mother to marry his wife.  It is also used of divorcing a wife.  Sometimes, we think that it is enough to confess our sins.  It isn’t.  We need to forsake them.

And, as much as I would like to believe it—and as much as you would like to hear it—this is not a one shot deal.  When people come to faith in Christ, that is only the beginning.  That’s when the real battle begins.

We tend to think that mercy is about God’s kind treatment of us when we’ve messed up.  That’s true.  But there is another, harder truth: Mercy is also given to those who confess and forsake their transgressions.

I’m not saying that living a HOT life is easy.  However, honesty, openness, and transparency set us up to receive mercy.  And that is hot!

, , , , , , ,

“CONSISTENCY IN LIVING AND THE RIGHT TO WORSHIP”

On November 3, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer 
“Psalm 15:1 A psalm of David. LORD, who may be a guest in your home? Who may live on your holy hill?

  2 Whoever lives a blameless life, does what is right, and speaks honestly.

  3 He does not slander, or do harm to others, or insult his neighbor.

  4 He despises a reprobate, but honors the LORD's loyal followers. He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.

  5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money. He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. The one who lives like this will never be upended.” (New English Translation)

“Psalm  15:

1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? 

2 ‘Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. 

3 ‘Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor;

4 despise the despicable. ‘Keep your word even when it costs you, 

5 make an honest living, never take a bribe. ‘You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this.’” (The Message)

 

The story is told of a pastor who showed up for Sunday morning worship, only to find a long line of people waiting to enter.  They were being questioned by one of the deacons, and then they were being turned away.  No one was entering.

When the pastor got to the door, he was really angry.  “What are you doing?!” he asked the deacon.  It was not a question; it was an accusation.

The deacon calmly explained, “Oh, pastor, I’m asking people how they have lived this week.  Only those who have made a serious attempt to live the Christian life are being allowed in.”

“Oh!” said the pastor, somewhat mollified.  He started to walk past the deacon to enter the sanctuary, but the deacon put out his arm to stop him.  “No, pastor, I’m sorry, but you can’t go in either.”

At this point, the pastor awoke from his dream.  Or was it a nightmare?

Now, in a sense, the story is way off-base.  Jesus welcomes sinners of all kinds, even us religious ones.  Jesus came for riff-raff like you and me.  In fact, even those of us who are the most riff-raffy are greatly beloved and accepted.

In another sense, perhaps the story of the pastor’s dream is pretty biblical.

Take Psalm 15, for example.  Scholars often refer to as an “Entrance Torah/Teaching.”  Some have argued that the worshipers asked the questions in verse 1, and the priest or temple official (or officials) responded antiphonally with vss. 2-5.  Only after this could people enter in order to worship in the temple.

I don’t know if that is true.  Maybe so, maybe no.  But what is true is that this psalm closely links our worship with our daily lives.  Whether we’re telling the truth, honoring the right people, being kind and generous—these matters are radically important when we go to worship God.

And it’s not just a matter of external “good deeds.”  Notice vs. 2.  In Hebrew, it sets forth as one of the entrance qualifications “speaking the truth in his heart.”  There is a profound truth implied in that little phrase: We always lie to ourselves first.  Real worship begins with telling ourselves the truth.  We all delight in telling other people the truth about their lives (or, at least, what we think is the truth about their lives.) However, it is recognizing the truths about ourselves that is part of the qualification for worship.

The Hebrew in vs. 2 is very interesting.  Each of the verbs is a participle—“living” (literally, “walking”), “doing” and “speaking.”  In Hebrew, participles sometimes suggest ongoing or continual action that flows out of the very being of a person.  This verse may be reminding us that their needs to be a consistency to our lives.  This is a consistency of both doing and being.

The ending of verse 5 also has a participle.  This may serve to drive home the point that, if we do not wish to be “shaken,” we need to be unshakably consistent in our daily living, if we wish to worship God in a meaningful fashion.

So, does this amount to “salvation by our own works”?  I don’t think so.  In point of fact, I believe that there is only One Person since the Garden of Eden who really had the right to worship God in the temple or anywhere else, and that his name is Jesus.  He is the only qualified worshiper.  He opens the door for the rest of us rag-tag worshipers.

However, Psalm 15:2-5 still stands guard over true worship.  If we want to worship God, we had better at least be striving to be consistently people of integrity.

, , , , , , ,
Follow on Feedly