How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? (Psalm 79: 5)
In three of the four psalms assigned for today God is angry.
Above God is 'anaph. God is breathing hard.
In Psalm 80 it is asked, "How long will you be angry with the prayer of your people?" The Hebrew is 'asaph, to be furious, to fume, and to smoke.
"Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has he in anger withdrawn His compassion?" is the question of Psalm 77. The Hebrew is 'aph which suggests flared nostrils or a contorted face.
In seeking to understand God we depend on our human experience. There is no other option. Because we are created in God's image this is not entirely hopeless.
But we may be inclined to confuse our most common characteristics for the character of God. We are quick to fret and fume. Another frustrates us and we breath hard, our nostrils flare, and our face may twist in fury.
We also feel compelled to love. But we are seldom as quick or as sure in loving. In loving we are often shy. In love we are gentle. In love - true love - we whisper, we smile, we enjoy the quiet of being together.
It is - it would seem - easy to be angry. It is difficult to love. When I consider the nature of God it makes sense that what I share of divine character will require care and discipline to find and claim.
In three of the four psalms assigned for today God is angry.
Above God is 'anaph. God is breathing hard.
In Psalm 80 it is asked, "How long will you be angry with the prayer of your people?" The Hebrew is 'asaph, to be furious, to fume, and to smoke.
"Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has he in anger withdrawn His compassion?" is the question of Psalm 77. The Hebrew is 'aph which suggests flared nostrils or a contorted face.
In seeking to understand God we depend on our human experience. There is no other option. Because we are created in God's image this is not entirely hopeless.
But we may be inclined to confuse our most common characteristics for the character of God. We are quick to fret and fume. Another frustrates us and we breath hard, our nostrils flare, and our face may twist in fury.
We also feel compelled to love. But we are seldom as quick or as sure in loving. In loving we are often shy. In love we are gentle. In love - true love - we whisper, we smile, we enjoy the quiet of being together.
It is - it would seem - easy to be angry. It is difficult to love. When I consider the nature of God it makes sense that what I share of divine character will require care and discipline to find and claim.
posted by Didymus | 4:21 AM
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