I pursued my enemies, caught them,
turned not back till I wiped them out.
I smashed them, they could not rise,
they fell beneath my feet.
...
I crushed them like dust in the wind,
like mud in the streets I ground them.
You saved me from the strife of peoples,
You set me at nations' head,
a people I knew not served me.
...
The God who grants vengeance to me
and crushes peoples beneath me,
frees me from my enemies,
yes, from those against me You raise me,
from a man of violence you save me.
turned not back till I wiped them out.
I smashed them, they could not rise,
they fell beneath my feet.
...
I crushed them like dust in the wind,
like mud in the streets I ground them.
You saved me from the strife of peoples,
You set me at nations' head,
a people I knew not served me.
...
The God who grants vengeance to me
and crushes peoples beneath me,
frees me from my enemies,
yes, from those against me You raise me,
from a man of violence you save me.
My biggest problem with Psalm 18 doesn't come from borrowed imagery, but from the actions it might inspire. This image of God, swooping down out of the heavens, thundering, shooting arrows and lightning bolts, is terrifying - a God who can grant victory to this one man or people over another. This psalm is all about military victory, but also about conquering - "a people I knew not served me". In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it endorses conquering other people! It scares me that some may read this psalm and find in it God's approval or support for their actions.
It also puzzles me that this psalm, which is mainly about destruction, includes the phrase "from a man of violence you save me." Well, this person may have been saved from defeat and from being the subject of violence, but his victory certainly turns him into someone who inflicts violence on others.
During Passover we tell the story of the Exodus, including the part when the Jews were able to cross through the parted waters of the Red Sea. When the Pharoah's armies tried to follow them, the sea closed back in and drowned them all. In our haggadah (the order of service for the Passover seder) there is a passage which says that a celebration was taking place with the Jews on the other side as they watched the Egyptians drown, and God said to Moses, "Do not celebrate, for they are my people, too." The God presented in Psalm 18 goes directly against this image of a compassionate God. What's frightening is that anyone could claim this destructive God is on their side! We only have to look at recent history (and present events) to see why this idea is so dangerous.
i like your comments, but i do think that a lot of the violence was just a sign of the times. from what i know of other world religions, it seems that god(s) usually start out being really wrathful and powerful, but then they gradually become more benevolent. this is probably a sign of civilizations learning to live more peacefully with surrounding nations.
ReplyDeletealso, the exodus was probably even more emotional for moses because he had grown up basically as an egyptian: it was his own (adoptive) brother that he was going against! i think this passage shows that the israelites were moving away from this belief in a terrifying god to a more compassionate one, echoing their own transition from constant war towards striving for peace (they'd had more than their share of wars at this point).