Monthly Archives: January 2024

Overview of the Psalms

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The Book of Psalms | Fr. Roman's Blog | St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church

Throughout the Psalms, a myriad of different themes are shown, but there are five fundamentals which are used throughout the whole book. They are: sovereignty, hierarchy, law, sanctions, and future. They could also be written as: God, man, ethics, causation, and time, or sovereignty, representation, law, sanctions, and inheritance. Used extensively in other forms of literature, many societies base their institutions off of these five fundamental points. 

Sovereignty is discussed in the Psalms to display God’s rule over all of creation and David’s faithful worship of God. In Psalm (18: 1-3), “I will Love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverance,” it proclaims David’s love of God. Continuing on: “The earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the hills were moved because he was wrought and smoke went up out of his nostrils,” this displays God’s power over his creation.

Similar to the book of Genesis, hierarchy is explained in the Psalms. “The kings and rulers set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bonds asunder. The Lord shall have them in derision. Be wise of ye kings, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord. Blessed are they that put their trust in the Lord.” Therefore, God is the supreme ruler of the earth and his anointed are second, and he also warns earthly kings and rulers to serve the Lord. 

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord.” Ruling in terms of law, God obliges men to follow the Law of the Lord and not to partake in evil acts and follow evil men. 

Sanctions are God’s punishments for setting yourself against God or against righteous men. God brings both positive and negative sanctions. “The ungodly are like chaff which the wind driveth away. The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. The foolish shall not stand in their sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”

“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my cup.” Time and the future are used to show the inheritance that men who keep God’s law will get. 

Introduction to Proverbs

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King Solomon Writing the Book of Proverbs.

In the opening verses of Proverbs, the writer King Solomon, son of King David, provides an overall view of his goal, making Proverbs the only book of the Bible with a formal introduction. He also gives counsel to his son, saying: “A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” Solomon states that in order to have knowledge, you must fear the Lord and the wicked are foolish because they do not trust in God. In chapter one verses 8-19, Solomon gives his son more advice, telling him to not walk in the counsel of the wicked and do not consent to their enticing. 

The material in the Proverbs is similar to that of the Psalms, except the Psalms is written in the form of a song. Just like the Psalms stated many times, verses two and three of Proverbs are about the positive and negative sanctions God can give us. Because it is good for your soul, verse two advises the reader to stay away from the wicked and have wisdom. Chapter three starts with Solomon commanding his son to always keep the law and let his heart keep God’s commandments. 

The first section of the book of Proverbs is mainly focused on wisdom. Referencing it again in chapter five, Solomon says that wisdom is ethical and parents must teach it to their children. Wisdom also brings honor, grace, and life. Chapters six and seven tell the reader to be motivated and labor like an ant for the Lord, and hold up the lamp of law and let it shine bright. 

Themes of the first chapters of the Proverbs are mainly wisdom and sanctions, similar to Psalms. The writer King Solomon, also known as “Solomon the Wise,” focuses much more on wisdom than his father King David did in the previous book. 

The Great Flood

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Picture depicting the ark floating on the flooded Earth.

Genesis 6-9 describes God’s judgment regarding mankind’s sin and His punishment via the Great Flood. It also explains Noah’s relationship with God, his family, and the animals he brought with him on the ark. 

In the time of Noah, the human race was almost totally and completely depraved. Genesis chapter 6 states, “the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually.” God grieved, however, he decided to destroy the Earth because he saw nothing but heinous sin. Even in the midst of all this sin, one man, Noah, and his family found grace with God. Opting to show the holy man mercy, God instructed him to construct an ark that would keep, not just his family, but also seven pairs of every “clean” animal safe during the coming armageddon. Noah did as God commanded him and eventually the ark was completed. 

After boarding with his family and the animals, heavy rains began to fall on the face of the Earth. The storms didn’t cease until the whole planet was flooded, killing every living being outside of the ark. 150 days later, Noah sent out a dove. If the bird didn’t return, that would mean it had found dry land, but if it did, that meant the land was still covered with water. The first time Noah sent the dove, it came back, having not found any land. The second time, it returned but came bearing an olive branch, suggesting that trees were sticking above the surface of the ocean. And the third and final time, the dove didn’t return at all, telling Noah the water had receded far enough for him and his family to exit the ark. 

After leaving the massive ship, God demanded all men and beasts to multiply and promised to never flood the Earth again. The symbol of this covenant would be the rainbow, which would be shown periodically to remind men of His covenant. The ark that had saved Noah would come to represent God’s grace and the dove would stand for the peace God made with mankind. 

Even though most of people perished during the Great Flood, God still showed his mercy and love for man by saving Noah and his family and promising to never flood the Earth again. The Great Flood account, as described in Genesis 6-9, is one of the most crucial events of world and religious history.