Oracle Psalms

Rise up, God, judge the earth, for all the nations belong to You. 
Psalm 82:8 

What are the Oracle psalms and what can we learn from them? Let’s start first with a definition of what this type of psalm is. They are songs which report a decree from God and the content of them often are about divine judgement. They also usually conclude with a prayer for God to carry out His decree. An example of this psalm can be found in the 82nd Psalm. This psalm is a very interesting one and one that is referenced by Jesus (John 10:34-36). It begins by reminding us that God is the one who is sovereign over all. This is both a declaration and a warning to those who judge unjustly against those who lord themselves over the people as though they were God. They have abused their God-given authority by judging with partiality, promoting wickedness, and neglecting those in need.

The call to God in this prayer is for Him to rescue the poor and oppressed from the power of those who have neglected their duty and perverted justice. These judges are described as thoughtless, neglectful in their duty. So, what is the decree from God? We find it in verses 6-7 as one of God’s magistrates they were provided with a level of authority and rule over His people. And as great of a privilege that they have been given, they are given a memento mori, a warning or reminder of death. These gods are, in fact, not God. Both in the manner with which they execute justice, God executes perfect justice, and in the fragility of their lives, God is eternal. As John Calvin put it, “for God, in appointing you his substitutes, has not divested himself of his own sovereignty as supreme ruler. Again, he would have you to remember your own frailty as a means of stirring you up to execute with fear and trembling the office intrusted [sic] to you.”

In a previous post, I had mentioned how the second half of the Psalm genres generally deal with how the people of God live. They are not merely expressions of the heart, but actions of the hand. Given that premise, how is it that the Oracle psalms exhort a specific type of behavior from God’s children? Firstly, it reminds leaders that their authority is God-given; with no transfer of divinity into themselves. They are still man and will have to give an account before the Lord. Secondly, it reminds us that God has commanded these leaders to act justly and care for those in need. Even when those poor and needy do not come in succor (request for assistance or support in times of hardship and distress) they are still accounted guilty for their negligence. Finally, we are reminded that God is a most holy God and that He will come to judge the world. Leaders, just like everyone else, must live Coram Deo, before the face or in the presence of God, understanding that all that we do ought to be for His glory as we are always under His gaze. The Oracle psalms remind us that the decrees of God are not in vain, and that we are to live in holiness.

Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez

Please subscribe and share this blog with all of your friends To subscribe, click on the "Subscribe" button at the top of the blog page (https://aogalvez.blogspot.com/)
****************************************************
These articles follow the current Bible Reading plan for Overflow Ministries. If you would like to join the reading plan, simply download the plan here: Overflow Reading Plan

You may follow Overflow Church @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity
or on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/OverflowChurchTX/

If you would like to read the previous articles in the series, you may find them below:
1. Psalms
2. Hymns
3. Community complaints
4. Individual complaints
5. Individual songs of thanksgiving
6. Royal psalms
7. Torah psalms
8. Oracle psalms
9. Blessing psalms
10. Taunt songs
11. Songs of trust

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Balance

Image
"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV) This past weekend (Month even) has been a very busy one. It often happens that when life ramps up, we cut the unimportant things out of our lives in order to accomplish the tasks we identify as most critical. To all my followers, I want to apologize for my having cutting this portion of my life out for a period of time and I will do my best to have more consistency. A years ago, the United States Army deployed a digital "fitness" test to its soldiers and certain respondents received a message that read, "Spiritual fitness may be an area of difficulty. You may lack a sense of meaning and purpose in your life. At times, it is hard for you to make sense of what is happening to you and to others around you. You may not feel connected to something larger than yourself. You may question your
Read more

Satisfaction

Image
“…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11b (NIV) This has been a very busy month for me in terms of traveling around. I returned home from Brazil after a long three weeks and, after two days, I now find myself back in a hotel in the great city of Duncan, Oklahoma. Although it is slightly inconvenient to me, in terms of my schedule for studying the word, prayer, and working out to live in a hotel for almost a full month, I have found great comfort in the words from the apostle Paul. A man who has murderous attempts on his life, been imprisoned on multiple occasions, beaten up, shipwrecked three times, and bitten by a snake was able to find a state of contentedness regardless of what situation he was in. Talk about finding complete joy. This is the same joy that the beloved disciple wrote of many times for other believers to embrace. And this is a joy that over the years I have learned to develop and enjoy. That no matter what situation I find
Read more

Light

Image
“And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 (ASV) Darkness is not a real thing. Cold is also not a real thing. They are just words that we have made up to define the conditions of an environment or state of existence at a specific period or periods of time. What do I mean then when I say that they are not real things? Well, what I mean is that the darkness that we see (or cannot see because of) is not because it is overwhelming, but because it lacks light. Darkness is the absence of light. When light comes into existence, because light is something real, darkness is expelled. That’s the same with cold. Cold is simply the absence of heat. It is not that it is cold and then at some point it shifts to being hot. It is simply that the heat that exists is too miniscule that it cannot bring warmth to anything. In verse five, we read that God is light, but not a weak source of light
Read more