An Atheist Explores the Bible Part 103: In Which We Spot Jesus’ Plagiarism, And A Norwegian 80’s Pop Group Is Condemned (Psalms 36-40)

Psalms 36-40
In Which We Spot Jesus’ Plagiarism, And A Norwegian 80’s Pop Group Is Condemned.

Welcome to another instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bible version).

In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the King James Bible, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.

For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/2F8f9JT

For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP

And now:

Psalms 36

“He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.”

Here is another of those psalms whose theme is the deliverance of the psalmist from wicked men, and the contrast between those who do not fear God and live a righteous life versus those who do and will experience the protection of God. There’s some nice imagery used here – the shadow of God’s wings, the fountain of life and so forth. Also there’s an intriguing element to the first verse, the line that says “The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes” – emphasis on “my” heart almost seems to imply that the psalmist is not asking for protection from external wickedness, but from becoming one of these liars and flatterers himself. Which, to me, seems like a more humble attitude to take. Given that there seem to have been as many psalms about how sinful and undeserving the singer is as there have been those that have been a bit holier-than-thou, I wouldn’t be surprised to find both attitudes within the same psalm.

Psalms 37

“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”

This must be one of the longer psalms so far, but it’s a pretty good one. Its theme is a familiar one – that the wicked will pass away and be destroyed by their own devices, the righteous just need to have faith in God and patience, and they will prosper in the end. The psalm is long because it rephrases that theme in different ways throughout, but as a poetic device this serves to reinforce its message and it works quite well. Broadly, I suppose, I can agree with that sentiment, in my moments where I’m more forgiving of human nature. Tyrants and criminals do eventually pass, either through the actions of others or by natural causes, and societies as a whole will generally work to prevent such people from acting, where society has some kind of power to do so. However, a lot of innocent people will usually suffer with no recourse or justice before this happens. That doesn’t mean, however, that a fair and safe society is not something that should be striven for.

And, what’s this in verse 11 “the meek shall inherit the earth”. So, Jesus was not only quoting psalm 22 when suffering on the cross, he’s cherry-picked elements of this one for the sermon on the mount. He was evidently a fan of the psalms, it’ll be interesting what else crops up.

Psalms 38

“There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.”

Okay, this one I’ll give to the Monty Python and the Holy Grail God. This one is a “forgive me this and forgive me that and I’m not worthy” psalm. Well, more specifically the psalmist is sick and seeks God’s help, and much like Job’s friends he assumes that it must be due to some punishment from God. Possibly the sickness is metaphorical, a sickness of the spirit, and could certainly be taken that way if desired. There’s a reference to bones again.

Psalms 39

“LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.”

There’s a mix of themes in this psalm. In the middle verses, the psalmist speaks of how short the lifespan of mankind is, therefore to hoard riches is a pointless vanity (well, maybe, but it makes the short lifespan more comfortable, I’d say). But either side of this there is talk of being dumb with silence and keeping his mouth with a bridle. I can’t be sure if this is an exhortation to “speak no evil”, or if the psalmist is trying to hold back questioning God about why life is s short – it kind of reads as both. The psalmist ends by asking God for strength. As I said, a strange mix of themes that don’t quite gel.

Psalms 40

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”

The theme of this psalm seems to be one of salvation – the psalmist gives thanks to God for bringing him out of “an horrible pit” and putting “a new song in [his] mouth”. The psalmist sings the praises of God in response to this (and also some of the usual self-abasement). I thought it was interesting in verse 6 that implies that God does not desire burnt offerings and sacrifices. It possibly refers specifically to the salvation of the psalmist, but could equally be attributed in general, although as I recall from Samuel and Chronicles, there were still large numbers of offerings made to consecrate the temple, and as thanks for the return to Jerusalem. Ah well. I like verse 15 as well “Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha”. Yes, don’t you just hate it when people say “Aha!” to you?