Saturday 09 September 2023

Psalm 119:1-16

Background

One could take ideas in this passage and compare them unfavourably to some 21st century British attitudes to marriage. However, it is important to appreciate the cultural context and specific focus of the passage in order to understand the original intent. It follows the call to Christian slaves to endure unjust treatment by non-Christian masters (2:18-25) and ‘in the same way’ (v.1) calls Christian women to respect the authority of non-Christian husbands. However, despite it being the norm for a husband’s religion to become the religion of the whole household, the passage is clearly not suggesting women should therefore abandon their Christian faith – instead they should ‘never let fears’ alarm them (by implication, this refers to fear of their husband’s authority). Instead, they should behave in an exemplary way within the culture of the time to ‘win over’ their husbands to the Christian faith.

The advice against ornate hair, jewellery and clothing is clearly addressed to wealthy women (most women could not afford any of these things) and so has the additional result of avoiding economic injustice within the Christian community – it is something like a standard school uniform being helpful so children whose households cannot afford expensive clothing are not discriminated against. 

It was unusual in Greco-Roman culture for a letter like this to directly address women at all, and equally unusual for men to be encouraged to ‘show consideration for’ their wives. The focus switches now to Christian couples, in which there should be a mutuality of consideration between husband and wife. That women are called the ‘weaker sex’ (v.7) was a social reality for the time. It is made clear though that Christian men and women have both equally received ‘the gracious gift of life’ in Christ and so, if a man fails to keep this in mind, it will ‘hinder [his] prayers’ – it will disrupt and warp his relationship with God. This idea is then expanded to apply to all followers of Jesus, who are to live in unity and love, being tender and humble with each other (v. 8).

To Ponder:

• How do you feel about the phrases in this passage which could jar with some 21st century attitudes to marriage? To what extent does thinking about the original context help with this?
• What are helpful Christian attitudes to fashion?

Prayer

God of grace, source of all love, we pray for all people who are in a marriage relationship, that they may live together in love and faithfulness. Help them to be patient, gentle and forgiving, that their marriage may reflect Christ’s love for all people. In all our relationships, help us together to experience unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Amen.