Tuesday 16 August 2022

Psalm 30

Background

For centuries the authorship of Ephesians was never questioned; it said Paul in the introduction so it must have been written by Paul. However, for just over a century, biblical scholars have been questioning this assumption and have suggested the author is someone writing in the style of Paul. This is an argument that would take longer to discuss than I have space, but it is worth noting because it draws our attention to how different this book is to the other letters in the New Testament. For ease, I am going to stick with the traditional view that it was written by Paul.

Ephesians is a book that is written without a specific purpose. It does not address any one situation or issue, but is a general letter of teaching and guidance. It is most likely that this was a circular letter that was written to be circulated amongst more than one church, which explains its lack of intimacy compared to Paul’s other letters.

In the original scroll, the opening section of Ephesians from verse 3 onwards was one long sentence of 202 words (I didn’t do the counting but relied on the commentary by Darrell Bock, who did count it). It was divided later into its current form with shorter sentences by translators. If it were in the Old Testament, we would call it a psalm. This is Paul’s psalm of praise recounting and retelling all that God has done through Christ. It may not have the poetic flow of the traditional psalms, but it is still draws us into the glorious nature of God. It tells of God who had our blessings prepared even before the foundations of the earth were laid, God who adopted us through his son, God who sealed our adoption with the Holy Spirit. No wonder Paul began this section with 'blessed', today I would write ‘God is Good’ and that would be an understatement.

 To Ponder:

• If you were to write your own psalm of praise to God, how would you start it and what would you include? If you get the chance today, why not have a go.
• How do you feel about God thinking of you before the world was even created? How does this idea challenge your beliefs and understanding of God?
• Don’t forget to keep praying for the person you thought about on Sunday.

 Prayer

Creator God, since the water covered the earth and there were no stars in the sky you have loved us. Forgive us for the times that we have turned our back on your love. Help us to remember all that you have given us through Christ. Amen.