INTRODUCTION:
An essay on Psalms might at first seem out of place in a subject entitled “Mission in the New Testament.” However, as Graeme Goldsworthy says, “starting a biblical theological enquiry in the Old Testament is not simply a function of chronology. It is more importantly an implication of the gospel.”[1] The context of this paper is the Old Testament as the forerunner of the New Testament. Our examination of the place of the nations in Psalms will treat the Psalter from its own (OT) theological perspective. However, it must be kept in mind that Psalms forms part of the theological foundation of the New Testament writers.
Methodology & Definitions:
Much ink has been spilled in fierce and specialised debates over the Sitz im Leben of individual psalms. It is not the intention of this paper to attempt to resolve such issues[2]. The method of approach to this question will be largely inductive and canonical. It will treat the psalms in the context in which they find their final form: as the songbook of Israel's worship. As W. J. Dumbrell says, "Whatever the origin of...individual psalms may have been, they finally all become cultic in the sense that Psalms now represents in its final form the hymnbook of the second temple."[3] A. H. Harman also warns against what he calls an “atomistic” approach. “Individual psalms...cannot be interpreted rightly when viewed in isolation. They have to be interpreted in relation to the psalms as a whole in order that we may have a balanced understanding of their theology. Likewise, the teaching of the Psalter has to be integrated with the other Old Testament data or else an unbalanced interpretation results.”[4]
Therefore, in examining the place of the nations in Psalms, one must view the Psalter wholistically, and in its wider context within the Redemptive History of Israel[5], as well as outlining various themes concerning the nations[6] by reference to particular psalms in which they occur.
1. THE PARTICULARITY OF GOD’S CHOICE OF ISRAEL IN THE PSALMS.
THE ZION THEOLOGY OF THE PSALMS:
We must begin by recognising that the very definition of “the nations” as a concept in Psalms, takes as its reference point God’s particular covenant choice of Israel as his special nation. Goldsworthy notes: “the nations represent the mass of humanity which, while it is in rebellion against God, still falls within his plan of grace. In the early stages of revelation the emphasis is a rather negative assessment of the nations. They contrast with the favoured status of the elect nation Israel.”[7]
Ironically, to understand the place of the nations in Psalms, we begin then, not with the nations themselves, but with Israel. As Legrand observes: “the universalistic texts of the Old Testament cannot be studied in isolation. Any attempt to separate them from the more general context of the election [of Israel] will only distort them. Thus we must begin with an examination of the theme of election - even if, at first glance, it seems to run counter to that of universal mission.”[8]
The Psalter expresses the special status of the Jewish people most explicitly in its Zion theology. Both Israel and the nations are described by reference to how they relate to YHWH through his throne on Mount Zion.
The term "Zion" occurs 41 times in 31 psalms. Related and synonymous terms[9], take the total to at least 55 psalms (ie more than one in three) which allude directly to Zion theology. It must also be kept in mind that if the Psalter is the songbook of Zion itself, that is, of Temple worship and festivals, then in some sense every psalm relates to the theology of Zion[10].
There are some psalms, however, which have been specially designated by commentators as "psalms of Zion"[11]. These "present the theological claims which undergirded ancient Israel's beliefs about Zion."[12]. Together with some of those designated "Royal Psalms"[13], and others[14] which speak extensively of the nations, these will form the bulk of our investigation[15].
The theology of the songbook of Zion is Covenantal theology. Psalms is the hymnbook of the Covenant people. Therefore, we begin with the covenant particularity of Israel in their distinction from the nations as God’s Holy People.
Zion The World’s Only Holy Mountain:
Sacred mountains were common all over the ancient world. The association of a high place with the meeting place of heaven and earth is inevitable. The Psalmists sometimes use the terminology and motifs of pagan Canaan when speaking of Mount Zion as a holy mountain[16]. However, the psalmists do not think of Zion as one of many sacred sites. Rather, Zion is the only true meeting place of heaven and earth. It is holy, not because of its traditional use as a Canaanite high place, but because of YHWH's choice of it as his dwelling place. As Ollenburger says, "it is essential to keep in view that everything...said about Zion, and everything that took place within the Jerusalem cult, depended upon the prior notion of Yahweh's presence there."[17] The Psalms consistently see YHWH, not as the tribal god of the Hebrews, but as the Creator and Owner of all the earth. This theological universality conditions the particularity of Zion as the centre of Israel’s worship. Zion is a holy place because the Creator of the whole earth dwells there amongst his chosen people[18].
THE COVENANT SEPARATING ISRAEL FROM THE NATIONS:
Abraham: separation by grace, for blessing:
By graciously choosing Abraham out of a fallen and rebellious world, YHWH’s plan and purpose to bless the world would be realised. This was foundational to the religion of Israel. “The call of Abram comes as an order... to get out of the world and its commitments (Gen 12:1-9)! But after Babel this is the only kind of call that makes sense. Nothing else will do in a world of rebellion. All prospects for blessing hinge on Abram’s recognition that a barrier exists between himself and the world.”[19]
The literatures of other nations display similar beliefs to Israel’s about the uniqueness of their national identities. Widbin observes, however, that “what distinguished Israel ...was her conviction that she owed her entire history - not just the beginning - to the gracious initiative of Yahweh on her behalf.”[20]
These beliefs appear in connection with Abraham in Psalm 47 and Psalm 105. The context is the relationship between YHWH, his people, and the nations.
Psalm 47, an “enthronement Psalm”, celebrates YHWH’s kingship over all the earth. The Psalmist exults in the particular and gracious salvation of Israel. God has saved & sustained them, simply because he loved them. “He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.” Further, the Psalm stresses God’s rule from Zion[21]. Yet the psalm displays an equal knowlege that God’s purpose in choosing Abraham’s descendants was to bless the whole earth. He acknowleges that the nations have a share in the promises to Abraham. “The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.” And the Psalm begins with this exhortation: “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
Psalm 105 exhorts in verses 5-11:
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: ‘‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”
In Abraham, as in the Exodus, “they wandered from nation to nation,” and YHWH protected them from the nations. He did this because “he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.”
Both these Psalms evince a belief “that the life of Abraham mirrors the experiences of Israel”[22] and that “it was in her calling alone that God would work to achieve his purposes for the world.”[23] They connect the Promise to Abraham with God’s rule over the nations by Creation, and with his Redemption of his people in the Exodus[24]. The Psalmists identify the God of Abraham by the covenant name he gave to Moses at the burning bush: YHWH.
Moses: Separation by Grace for Holiness
It is appropriate to mention at this point the overwhelming predilection of the psalmists for using God's covenant name. The Tetragrammaton occurs in Psalms about eight hundred times, an average of about five times per psalm! Only eighteen psalms don't contain the name YHWH[25], the name given to Moses, the name of the God who covenants with Israel at Sinai[26].
Other references to the Mosaic covenant abound. Moses is mentioned nine times, Aaron also nine times, the covenant itself about twenty times, and the Ark twice[27]. Psalm 99 ties together the God who is King in Zion with the God of the Exodus and the Judges. The LORD is enthroned "between the cherubim", a clear reference to the Ark of the covenant. Verse 6 declares, "Moses and Aaron were his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name..." and verse 7: "He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them." The psalm demonstrates a continuity in the psalmist's mind between the theology of the Law and the historical books, with that of YHWH's enthronement on Zion as King of all the earth.
The Holiness of Israel and the “uncleanness” of the Nations:
The adjective "holy" occurs forty-three times in Psalms. About two thirds of these occurrences refer to Zion, that is, to the mountain and/or the temple[28]. Holiness conveys the fundamental concepts of otherness, uniqueness, separation and purity[29]. The Israelite concept of holiness was already conditioned by the Levitical cult when Zion was conquered by David. It is inextricably tied up with the Levitical laws; laws enabling sinful Israel to live in the presence of a holy God without being consumed. The way Israel related to God did not fundamentally change with the erection of the 1st and 2nd temples.
Mt Sinai the paradigm for Tabernacle and Temple:
The setup of both Tabernacle and Temple pointed back to the first holy mountain - Sinai. When God told Moses how Israel would worship Him on Sinai, He stressed the necessity for Holiness and Consecration. There is a gradation from the Glory Cloud at the top of the Mount, to the Mountain itself, to the bottom of the mountain. Limits of approach are set, and particular rituals (Exodus 19:14,15) ordained for the people to consecrate themselves. The priests and elders in Exodus 24 are allowed to go up the mountain and worship from a distance, eating a fellowship meal in God's Presence, and seeing something of His glory: but only after burnt offerings are made and Moses has inaugurated the Sinai covenant in blood. Moses alone is allowed to talk with God face to face and behold His Glory more fully.
Figure 1.
The Tabernacle was a portable Mt. Sinai, and the Temple used the same paradigm. The same elements of Divine Rule; Sacrifice; Consecration; Revelation; and Fellowship; are present in its elaborate rituals. The same gradation of proximity to God, from Holy to common to unclean, is seen in the progression from Most Holy Place to Holy Place to Courtyard to Israelite society to outcasts from society and finally to the unclean nations[30].
Zion, the Temple of the Psalms, follows this pattern. Holiness is only predicated of Zion and Israel because it is first predicated of God. The psalmist declares in Psalm 99:9, "worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy." The holiness of God flows from his Presence, sanctifying his sanctuary (28:2; 47:8); his temple (5:7; 11:4; 65:4; 68:5; 79:1; 138:2); his anointed king (16:10); his mountain and city (2:6; 3:4; 15:4; 48:1; 87:1; 99:9); his land (78:54); and heaven itself (20:6; 89:5-7).
Therefore, though Zion was probably a pagan cultic centre before its conquest by David, it is not for that reason that the site is holy to the psalmists[31]. It only becomes so because of YHWH's presence in it. The cult of Zion is the cult of the tabernacle, not of the Jebusites. The centre of Israel's worship and the symbol of God's Glory dwelling among them was the Ark of the Covenant, wherever it was housed. Zion became holy by the tabernacle being erected there. When the Temple was built the site took on an intrinsic cultic significance which outlasted the Ark itself[32].
YHWH's glory filled the Temple, and his holiness radiated from the sanctuary, sanctifying Temple, Mount, City and Nation. The term Zion came in time to be applied to all these, as its usage in the psalms illustrates. As we move from the Sanctuary outwards, we move from the Holy to the Clean to the Unclean. The place of the nations in Psalms is almost entirely at the Unclean end of the scale[33]. In this way, Israel[34] was separated from the nations, and stood between the nations and God. The Jews were holy to YHWH by the covenant. Zion was seen as a Holy Island in the chaotic sea of uncleanness of the fallen World around[35]. Salvation for the nations must involve them coming out of the World into Zion to worship YHWH on His terms.
Zion and the Davidic Covenant:
Zion as the LORD's dwelling from which he rules the nations intersects with his choice of the house of David through the promises of 2 Samuel 7. God promised to David: i) continued "Rest" for Israel from her enemies (v7); ii) the "Seed" of David, called God's son, who will build God's House (11-16); and iii) David's house and kingdom will be established forever (11-16). In Psalm 89, God calls these promises his covenant with David[36].
The Biblical Theology work of Graeme Goldsworthy et al[37] is helpful in placing the Davidic covenant within the framework of the progressive revelation, throughout Old Testament redemptive history, of God's plan for a return to Eden. When this framework is kept in mind the particularity of the Covenant from Abraham to David may be reconciled with the universality of God’s purposes for the other nations, and for all of Creation.
Psalm 78 is particularly instructive. It demonstrates the unity and continuity of Sinai with Zion. Derek Kidner has called it "From Zoan to Zion," as it "reviews the turbulent adolescence of Israel from...slavery in Egypt to the time of David."[38] Goldsworthy's framework of People, Place and Rule, derived from the Abrahamic promises, is helpful. The Davidic covenant both fulfils temporally and binds together the earlier covenants, without which it would not be possible to have God's people living in God's place under the Rule of God's Messiah-king[39].
Until things took a downhill turn after Solomon, many might have thought that the earthly manifestation of the Davidic covenant was the fulfilment of the promises to Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. In particular, that God gave David rest from the enemies of Israel and domination over the other nations, meant the Gentiles were in their “right place” as subordinate to the godly nation of Israel.
God has installed his Messiah king on Zion to rule over the nations:
God's universal rule is not just symbolised by the ritual and songs of the Temple. God has installed a human vice-regent on Zion. The nations will be judged by how they relate to this Messiah king. The king is seen as YHWH's son. This is not an ontological relationship like the Egyptian kings. The Israelite king is son by adoption. He is chosen and appointed by YHWH[40]. He is functionally YHWH's son because he prosecutes YHWH's judgements. Because YHWH is the Creator and Sustainer of all the earth, those judgements are on the whole earth. Psalm 2:1-7 says:
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together
against the LORD and against his Anointed One...
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
"I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, "You are my son; today I have become your father."
The earthly king on Zion is the LORD's Anointed, protected and blessed by him[41]. He is instrumental in YHWH's rule over the kings of the earth. How YHWH judges them depends on how they relate to his king on Zion. "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry..."
Later psalmists grapple with the tension created by the failure of the Davidic line to meet the conditions of the Davidic covenant. They try to weigh up the conditional and eternal aspects of God's promises. The differences between Psalms 89 and 132 illustrate this. This tension produces an increasing stress by the Psalmists on the eschatological nature of God's rule from Zion, with its implications for the place of the nations in God's plan.
2. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE PSALMS AND THE PLACE OF THE NATIONS
ZION IS THE SEAT OF GOD'S RULE OVER ISRAEL AND ALL THE EARTH:
We see a prominent theme emerging in the theology of the psalms: Zion as the seat of YHWH's universal divine Kingship. "How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!" proclaims Psalm 47:2[42]. God's kingly rule has several aspects. He rules over Israel. He rules over the nations of men. He rules over all creation. His enthronement on Zion is seen in the psalms as sacramental or symbolic of his rule from the heavenly throne[43].
His rule over creation often appears as a triumph over primordial chaos[44]. The language appropriated is that of A.N.E. myths about the defeat of Tiamat. This is apparent in Psalm 89. It also sometimes appears in forms borrowed from Canaanite Baal hymns, where YHWH, not Baal, is the one who wields the mighty elemental forces of nature such as lightning, wind and rain. This adapting of pagan hymnic themes emphasizes "as Old Testament hymns often do, that "this One," known in Israel's past, is the sum of all that has ever been claimed for any other god."[45]
This universality from Creation in the theology of the Psalter balances its belief in God’s exclusive covenant with Israel. God owns all the nations, and all the nations, not just Israel, owe their origin to him. “Israel’s conviction about her common origin with the nations was as fundamental as her belief in the exclusiveness of Yahweh...and if as Master of the universe Yahweh holds exclusive rights to judge all nations, including Israel (Amos 1:3-2:16), then the possibility of divine mercy is open to all who repent,” observes Widbin[46]. Further, although Israel owes their entire history to YHWH’s redemptive grace in a way that makes them unique[47], the histories of the nations are still under God’s providential care. The Psalms see God’s righteous dealings with the nations not only as a past Creation event or a future eschatological judgement, but also in terms of present, temporal judgements for or against various nations in history[48].
JUDGEMENT AND SALVATION FOR THE NATIONS IN THE ESCHATOLOGY OF THE PSALMS:
If no more were said, we might conclude that Psalms sees the place of the nations in God’s plan entirely in terms of victory by the Lord’s Anointed over the goyim who are held in thraldom to Israel as some kind of “master race” over them. However, the Psalms balance the sanctity of Zion and the exclusion of the nations in judgement, with complementary visions of their inclusion with Israel in God’s salvation. Israel’s sanctity was never meant by God to be an end in itself. It was to issue in the sanctity of the nations[49].
Psalm 89, like Psalm 2, greatly exalts the Davidic Messiah. The Psalm extols the power YHWH has given him to protect Israel from her enemies[50]. As in Psalm 2, he is God's son. However, as the Psalm continues, what McConville calls “the extravagant, unqualified terms of vv 1-37,” give way to “the familiar tones of the Psalm of Lament”[51] in vv 38-52. It is an incipient eschatology that the writer (or redactor) is producing, by grappling with the apparent contradictions of his situation[52]. He recalls God's mercy in His eternal covenant with David. Yet, he agonizes (38-45), God seems to have renounced his covenant with David. There is a complete reversal of the theologically “correct” political order of Psalm 2. The nations, instead of submitting to the Messiah, are trampling on him. The Psalmist doesn't fully understand, yet he trusts God to keep his word, and calls on him (46-52) to remember his lovingkindness (hesed - his covenant faithfulness) to David.
The post-exilic Temple had no longer the same Royal connection with a reigning Davidic king, and the concept of Zion as the future, eschatological seat of rule of God's Messiah grew in prominence. This is the canonical setting of the Psalter, and any interpretation of later psalms must consider this developing realisation of the eschatological aspects of God's promises concerning the nations[53].
It is not just the failure of the Davidic line that leads to an eschatological outlook. It comes from Creation itself. The Psalmists believe in the Creator God who has a plan for the whole of his Creation. T. H. Robinson said long ago, "An Eschatology is the natural consequence of a cosmogony."[54] Robinson shows how the psalms use truly eschatological language, because they are not simply national, but universal in scope; they deal with cataclysmic disaster and salvation on a cosmic scale.
The psalms make Zion the centre of the world. As in Amos, it is from there that God's judgements on the nations proceed. Though sometimes this has a temporal, present aspect, it is finally eschatological[55]. At its most theologically advanced points, the Psalter places both judgement and salvation for the nations in the realm of eschatology. Robinson says, "in...places we do seem to catch the reflection of a definite belief in a final judgement which shall follow on the enthronement of Jahveh." He cites Psalms 7 and 76 as examples[56]. McConville points to Psalm 87 “with its roll-call of nations ‘who know me’ (v.4)” as a “clear hint that the theology of Zion will not finally be exclusive.” The Psalm declares:
1 He has set his foundation on the holy mountain;
2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: Selah
4 ‘‘I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me—
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush— and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”
5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said, ‘‘This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her.”
6 The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: ‘‘This one was born in Zion.” Selah
7 As they make music they will sing, ‘‘All my fountains are in you.”
ZION’S MISSION TO THE NATIONS - IN THE INDICATIVE NOT THE IMPERATIVE
The later Psalms see both the judgement and salvation of the nations as an historical/eschatological act of YHWH himself[57]. The incorporation of the Gentile nations in Psalm 87 is the work of God. The Psalms do not envisage Israel as “a nation of evangelists and foreign missionaries...There is an absence of any notion that Israel should...engage in ‘cross-cultural’ or foreign mission...Even the alleged missionary focus of Psalm 67 emphasises that God himself must act for the nations to be blessed.”[58]
Psalm 77, in recounting what God has done for His People, says: “Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Israel.” Israel did have a mission to the nations in the sense of bearing witness[59] to the great works of God in saving them. Psalm 105 begins “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” But as McConville states, “the nation of Israel witnesses to the saving purposes of God by experiencing them and living according to them. The function of Israel in the purposes of God to bring salvation to the nations is in the indicative, not the imperative.”
Israel was to live according to God’s saving purposes and glorify him by being Holy to him in the land he gave them, and keep his laws[60]. Part of this involved how they related to the nations. They were to relate negatively by being separate: not taking on their religions and immorality[61]. They were to relate positively by worshipping YHWH, living righteously, and treating the aliens among them as they treated their fellow Israelites[62]. Though this did attract individual Gentiles to the worship of YHWH at Mount Zion, the wholesale conversion of the nations is eschatological in the Psalms.
The eschatological outlook of the Psalms is that salvation for Israel will come from Zion, through YHWH's chosen Messiah. It will entail vindication of God's chosen people, judgement and blessing upon the nations, and an eternal kingdom of peace. It is universal in scope, being apposite with the universalism of Israel's cosmogony: the Creator of all the earth will recreate the situation of Eden, where all evil is done away with, all rebellion crushed, and God's People live in security in his Land, under his Rule.
CONCLUSION:
From the viewpoint of New Testament theology, the songbook of the second temple is only the penultimate setting of the Psalms. Psalms found its ultimate expression in the liturgy of those who worship "Great David's Greater Son". The post-exilic community were beginning to discover that meaning, and it is not invalid to use epithets such as "Messianic" or "Eschatological" of some psalms.
The Psalter as a corpus provides a theology of Zion and the Nations which is progressive and dynamic, yet internally consistent and compatible with the rest of Old Testament revelation. The Psalmists see God’s rule as King of the universe extending from Zion to the ends of the earth. He has installed his Messiah as a human vice-regent, whom he adopts as a "son", and through whom blessing and curses will come to the nations. Salvation for the nations in Psalms must involve their “coming in” to worship God in the Holiness of Mt Zion, submitting to His rule over them through his Messiah.
The New Testament writers are quite unequivocal about the identity of this One. Jesus, the Messianic son of God, David's seed, has succeeded where the earthly line of David failed. The Davidic covenant, as exemplified in the theology of the Psalms, encapsulates the earlier covenants and brings them tied together in a bundle to the feet of Jesus, who has been enthroned as God's eternal ruler in the city of New Jerusalem.
Israel’s duty was to be obedient to the covenant, and by their holiness make Zion attractive to the Gentiles. In the New Testament, the movement of mission to the nations is outward, not inward[63] - “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...” This will involve not bringing the nations to the Temple, but bringing the Temple to the nations. The Temple is Jesus[64], and Jesus by His Holy Spirit is present with believers as they go out. The New Testament turns the Zion theology of the Psalms inside out. The Holy of Holies bursts out to those outside the camp.
The New Testament writers are unanimous in presenting the gospel of the death and resurrection of the Christ as the means of bringing God’s salvation to the nations[65], breaking down the clean/unclean distinctions. There still remains a future, eschatological aspect of God’s plan for the nations, but the One through whom it takes place is now revealed[66]. The end point of the Psalms is Psalm 150, with its exalted vision of praise: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” John, the writer of Revelation, casts Jesus as the cause and recipient of that universal praise: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!”[67]
ENDNOTES:
1 G.Goldsworthy, "The Great Indicative: An Aspect of a Biblical theology of Mission" in The Reformed Theological Review Vol.55 Jany-Apr, 1996 No.1, 2.
2 Whilst Gunkel, Mowinckel, Kraus, Weiser and others may be referred to in interpreting particular psalms, a discussion of the source and form critical controversies their work engenders would be an unnecessary diversion.
3 W. J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel, (Baker Book House: Grand Rapids), 208
4 Allan M. Harman, "The Continuity of the Covenant Curses in the Imprecations in the Psalter" in RTR vol 54 May-Aug 1995, No.2, 72.
5 This essay mainly refers to the Law and earlier historical books for the wider theological context of Psalms. A fuller treatment would also make more reference to the Prophets, which is not possible here because of space. However, for a good introduction to the subject, see G.McConville, "Jerusalem in the Old Testament," chapter 2 in Jerusalem Past & Present in the Purposes of God (Ed: P.W.Walker; Paternoster Press, Carlisle U.K./Baker Book House Grand Rapids; 2nd edition joint publication 1994), 33-50.
6 As well as the three Hebrew words for 'nations', we will also consider the context and meaning of other expressions such as "kings of the earth," "the whole world," etc.
7 Goldsworthy, "The Great Indicative", 5.
8 Lucien Legrand, Unity & Plurality - Mission in the Bible (Maryknoll, NY:Orbis books, 1988), 8.
9 such as "Holy Hill", "Holy Mountain", "City of..." (...God;...of the great King;...of the LORD; etc), "Sanctuary", "Jerusalem", "Temple", "God enthroned", and others.
10 I acknowlege that there are many Psalms which mention the nations but do not directly mention Zion, viz Pss 7, 9, 10, 18, 22, 33, 44, 45, 47, 49, 56,57, 59, 67, 77, 80, 82, 83, 86, 94, 105, 106, 108, 111, 117, 148. However, the songbook as a whole must be treated within its postexilic context. The earlier psalms may reflect the theology of an earlier period of Israel's redemptive history, but it will be argued that this is not inconsistent with the theology of the 2nd Temple period. Although there is a progression of thought from earlier to later psalms in relation to the nations, the final viewpoint of the anthologist is Zion theology, and the post-exilic worshipper would see all the Psalms as part of a continuum from the promises to Abraham to the promises to David & his sons.
11 Pss 46; 48; 76; 84; and 87.
12 J. H. Hayes, Understanding the Psalms, (Judson Press: Valley Forge, 1976), 46.
13 Pss 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 61; 63; 72; 89; 101; 132; 144.
14 Such as 47, 78, 96-99 & 105.
15 A comprehensive study of every Psalm which mentions the nations is not possible in 4000 words, but the Zion and Royal Psalms, plus a few others, have been chosen as significant and representative.
16 For example, Psalm 48 equates Zion with "the heights of Zaphon," a famous Canaanite sacred Baal mountain.
17 B. C. Ollenburger, Zion city of the Great King (JSOT: Sheffield, 1987), 23.
18 The concept of holiness will be further examined below under the Mosaic Covenant.
19 Widbin, 75-6.
20 R.B.Widbin, "Salvation for People Outside Israel's Covenant?" - ch. 5 in Through No Fault of Their Own? The Fate of Those Who Have Never Heard, Eds Crackett & Sigountos (Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1991), 75.
21 Though the name 'Zion' is not used in this Psalm, nevertheless "God is seated on his holy throne." Regardless of the original Sitz im Leben of this Psalm, this statement would have been understood by worshippers at the Second Temple to refer to God's rule from Zion.
22 Widbin, his footnote 3, 76.
23 Widbin, 76.
24 And with the Land and Rest given under David, as we shall see below.
25 By my own computer search of the NIV translation "LORD".
26 Of the 31 psalms that contain the name "Zion", the dwelling place of the God of all the earth, only 3 (51, 53, 65) don't call God YHWH.
27 Plus indirect references like Psa 99:1 and others.
28 The rest almost all refer to God himself, his holy arm, holy name, holy promise, etc, and are often set in a Zion context.
29 For a discussion of holiness in Israel, see for example G. Wenham, Leviticus, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
30 See figure 1
31 Contra Hayes, et al.
32 But even then, it was seen as somehow incomplete, and later Jewish eschatology contains the hope that one day the Ark will return.
33 With some notable exceptions, which we will examine below.
34 Or, more particularly in the later Psalms, Judah. Psalm 78 tells how Ephraim (Northern Israel) abandoned the covenant, and God abandoned them.
35 In some Psalms, specific nations who are part of Israel's past are contrasted unfavourably with Israel, such as in Pss 10:16; 135:11 (Canaanites); 79:1,6 (Babylon); and 135:7-9 (Egypt); but in Pss 2; 9; 46; 94:10; & 110 there are statements which seem to be universal in scope, with Israel on one side and the rest of the world on the other.
Heinz Kruze is not right when he says that the covenant of 2 Sam 7 "was personal to David alone...", [H. Kruze, "Psalm 132 & The Royal Zion Festival" (Vet Test 33, Jul 83, #3), 285]since the promise of rest for Israel firmly places it within the ambit of the Mosaic and Abrahamic covenants.
36 see Goldsworthy, Gospel & Kingdom, (Paternoster: Exeter & Flemington Markets, 1981); O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, (P & R: Philipsburg, 1980);
37 Dumbrell, Covenant & Creation.
38 D. Kidner, Psalms 73-150, (Tyndale OT comms series, Gen. ed. D. J. Wiseman, Leicester: IVP, 1975), 280.
39 See figure 2 below.
40 The anointing of the king by the prophets of God's Word is significant, but space prevents a treatment of it here.
41 See also Psalms 18:50; 21:3; 78:70; 89:18.
42 Psalm 48 describes Zion as "the city of the Great King." In psalm 84 the psalmist addresses God "O LORD Almighty, my King and my God."
43 Several psalms, the so-called Enthronement Psalms, (47, 93-99) are supposed by Mowinckel et al, to reflect their use at an hypothetical yearly enthronement festival. It is not appropriate here to discuss at length the relative merits of this position or of alternatives proposed by various scholars. However, if there was some sort of enthronement rite, its origin should be sought in the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem (as suggested by Psalms 24 & 132), rather than an annual recrowning inherited from Canaanite fertility rites. The enthronement psalms point to a liturgical setting celebrating the present and eternal reality of God's rule as King in Zion which "does not imply periodic interruptions in the exercise of his sovereignty or in the duration of his rule" (Ollenburger, Zion, 31) in the manner of rites connected to the annual dying and rising of a fertility god. That is, even though psalms may reflect pre- or non-Israelite forms, as the songbook of Israel, their theological meaning is never inconsistent with the faith of Israel revealed in the rest of Scripture. God is not contingent on Creation, but rules over it.
44 cf Psalm 29; 93; 132
45 H. H. Guthrie, Israel's Sacred Songs, (New York: Seabury Press, 1978), 92, italics his.
46 Widbin, 78.
47 See footnote 16 above.
48 So for example, Psalm 9:7,8.
49 It is worth noting here that in John's Gospel, Jesus incorporates this "sanctified for sanctifying others" role of Israel into his own mission as the One sent from God, and by implication passed it on to the mission of his disciples. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (John 17:16-19).
50 The invincibility of Zion is a prominent theme associated with this, but space forbids further treatment of it. We must, however, agree with those who insist that Zion's inviolability is based on YHWH's residence there, not on Jebusite traditions.
51 G.McConville, "Jerusalem in the Old Testament," ch.2 in Jerusalem Past & Present in the Purposes of God (Ed: P.W.Walker; Paternoster Press, Carlisle U.K./Baker Book House Grand Rapids; 2nd edn joint publ. 1994), 31.
52 It is possible that the original Psalm, ascribed to Ethan the Ezrahite, ended at verse 37, and the following verses were composed after the fall of the first Temple. Thus Kidner, Psalms vol 2, 320. In that case, the exilic or post-exilic poet who fashioned the poem in its final form, is deliberately drawing a tension between what should happen according to traditional interpretations of the promises to David up to that time, and what actually was happening.
53 See B.S.Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (London: SCM, 1979) 14, and McConville, "Jerusalem in the Old Testament," 31.
54 Robinson, T.H."The Eschatology of the Psalmists"(in The Psalmists, Ed. D.Simpson et al, London: O.U.P., 1926), 87.
55 This is not to claim that every, or even most of the Psalms, see the judgement and salvation of the nations eschatologically in their original setting. But one must ask why the final anthologist would still include in the Psalter earlier psalms which spoke of a present, temporal rule by God's Annointed over the nations, when this was not his present historical situation. The most reasonable assumption is that he still trusts that somehow God will bring about that situation in the future, and that Israel is beginning to re-interpret those Psalms which spoke of the historical rule of David and his sons.
56 Robinson, 97. One might also add Psalm 73.
57 Though this has implications for NT theology, it does not mean that we should conclude, as some do, that Jesus did not expect a "mission to the Gentiles" by his disciples after his resurrection (For an example of this view, see S.G.Wilson The Gentiles & The Gentile Mission in Luke/Acts (Cambridge: C.U.P., 1973), chapter 1.
58 Goldsworthy, "The Great Indicative," 7.
59 Both actively and passively, though mainly the latter - as the recipients of God's redemption, as the nations watch YHWH's mighty acts of judgement done for His people - cf Psalm 98:2,3.
60 cf Ps 105:42-44: "He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for- that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws." The context of the Psalm is God blessing Israel and the nations through Abraham.
61 cf Psalm 81:8-10.
62 cf Psalm 94:4-7, which echoes the Law's many injunctions to Israel to look after the alien amongst them, such as Ex 22:21; 23:9,12; Lev 19:10,33,34; 23:22; 24:22; 25:35; Num 15:14-16; and Deu 10:18-19; 24:17-22; 26:12; 27:19.
63 That is, a shift from centripetal to centrifugal direction. For a discussion of this shift, and its implications for Christian mission, see Stott, "The Church's Mission in the World" Bibliotheca Sacra July-September 1988, 243-253; Legrand, Unity & Plurality - Mission in the Bible, 16; J.Blauw, The Missionary Nature of the Church: a Survey of Biblical Theology of Mission, (London: Lutterworth, 1964); or Goldsworthy, "The Great Indicative", 13.
64 See for example John 2:19-21.
65 See Matt 24:14; 28:16-20; Mark 13:9,10; Luke 2:32; 24:45-47; John 10:16; John 12:20-33; Acts 1:8; 9:15; 10:34-11:18; 13:48; 15:1-35; 17:16-34; Romans 1:1-16; 15:12; 16:26; 1 Cor 1:23-24; Gal 1:15-16; 2:1-8; Eph 2:11-3:12; Phil 1:5-14; Col 1:3-14; I Thes 1:4-2:16; II Thes 2:8-15; I Tim 3:16; II Tim 2:8-14; 4:17; Tit 1:1,2; 2:11-14; Phlm 6; Heb 2:8-12; 12:18-29; Jam 1:1; I Pet 1:1-25 ; 4:12-16; II Peter 1; I John 1; 4:14-15; 5:1-13; 2 John; 3 John 7; Jud 3;17-22; Rev 1:1-9; and many other places.
66 See for example, Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus is the One who will judge the nations.
67 Revelation 5:13