Tuesday 02 March 2021

Psalm 95

Background

The idea that the Holy One of Israel is a God of justice is a deeply rooted theological conviction in the Old Testament.  One of the particular ways in which God’s commitment to justice can be observed in the concern for the powerless. In the Old Testament the powerless are often portrayed using four repeated tropes: the widow, the orphan, the alien, the poor.

The God of justice is concerned for the widow and the orphan, for the alien and the poor,  i.e. for the powerless, because all too often they do not have a just or fair share of the world’s resources. Justice in Isaiah is synonymous with righteousness (cf. 1:21; 5:7; 28:17; 32:16).  [1]

It’s not clear who is the speaker in verses 10–11 who greatly rejoices in God. It’s tempting to think of the speaker as one of the powerless on whose behalf God has declared his love of justice and hatred of wrongdoing. In which case the robe of righteousness and garments of salvation for which the speaker gives thanks might best be read as purely metaphorical.

However, if the speaker were someone with power, a community leader of some kind, then the robes and garments referred to could be both literal and symbolic. The latter possibility provides a picture of one who holds power but does not use it for robbery or wrongdoing.

To Ponder:

• God loves justice and hates robbery. What do you hate and why?
• Stewart Clem in How to be an Angry Christian writes: "The proper emotional response to injustice is anger. A person who does not feel anger when witnessing injustice has been morally malformed." Do you agree?

 Note

 [1] For more on this view, see R W L Moberly, “‘Holy, Holy, Holy’: Isaiah’s Vision of God.” Holiness Past & Present. ed. S C Barton, A&C Black, 2003; and J Barton, Isaiah 1-39, Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.