Week 5

Psalm 139 … The glory of God gives life its fullness!

I sit down to write this on the feast of St. Irenaeus (June 28th). A reading for the hour of Vigils for the Divine Office today is taken from his 2nd C writing. He says:

" The glory of God gives life; those who see God receive life. For this reason God, who cannot be grasped, comprehended or seen, allows himself to be seen, comprehended and grasped by human beings that he may give life to those who see and receive him. It is impossible to live without life, and the actualization of life comes from participation in God, while participation in God is to see God and enjoy his goodness".

In a way, this is something of the same dilemma or reality that faces the psalmist in Psalm 139. How do we ponder or "see" or know God? We learn elsewhere in Scripture that "No one sees God and lives"…and then we are told "Happy/blessed are the pure of heart, they shall see God"! Ponder for yourself this week as you reflect on this psalm…How do I "see" God?

The psalmist here considers only a partial view of this reality. One is invited to reflect on God's unfathomable knowledge. It is quite personal because it is about God's intimate knowledge of the individual…of us! Such knowledge is total! The psalmist makes use of " merisms". This is like an inclusion eg: "behind and before me" … and all that is between! A bit of knowledge of the geography of the land of Israel will inform one that "the wings of dawn" ( is east) to the "the farthest sea" (is in the west)... and included in this expanse is all the distance between. "If I go up to the heavens…If I lie down in Sheol" … and every place in between these extremes. Totality is implied in the use of such a literary device.

We are also invited to ponder God's penetrating knowledge of us, his nearness. How do you feel praying these words? Is it a comforting presence or something of a threatening presence? Recall Jacob at the Jabbok (Gen 32). Then ponder Moses who pleads for God not to leave them in the howling wilderness but to accompany Israel on their journey (Exodus 33) . We have a little glimpse into the diversity of the biblical tradition that does not allow one idea to remain without some other to balance it. Such a reverence for the tradition keeps us from literally taking one position over another. In the final read, we are struck with the mystery of God who is beyond our human grasp yet whose hand is upon us and whose eyes see us constantly. This is the attitude of the psalmist in this prayer. Vs 17-18 in the Grail reads:

" To me, how mysterious your thoughts,

The sum of them cannot be numbered!

If I were to count them, they are more than the sand;

To finish, I must be eternal like you."

These words reflect the thoughts of Isaiah in Ch 55: 8-9 and the comment of Job when he says "I have dealt with things I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know" (Job 42:3).

This is a familiar psalm; one well known and loved. How do you feel about the final verses of this psalm? (vs 19-24). We might be inclined to just delete these from our prayer! There is a temptation, when reading Scripture, to take what affirms and comforts us and skip past the troublesome words. These too are the word of God! So we are invited to be formed by this word of God! Some commentators say that the key to understanding this psalm is in these verses!

Probably the psalmist is writing about those of the faith community who have abandoned the tradition. Perhaps the setting is Exile or the Diaspora where acceptance of other gods and foreign ways has become prevalent. The word "way" is used frequently in the psalms. It suggests figuratively the direction one takes in life. It is about choices. We find the word "way" or "path" in vs 3 and vs 24. Recall our reflection on Psalm 1? There we also touched on this idea of the 2 choices: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. The Psalmist here separates himself from the lot of those who reject God. He knows he has made the right choice. Yet he also realizes, as many of us do, that he has no control over this choice he has made! The "way" of God is never so certain or clear. It is marked by the mystery of God's presence. The ways of this God are what he defines in vs 1-18, whose ways are not our ways! All of this demands absolute faith and "seeing" without seeing. The psalmist (and we) do not control God's coming and going! Isn't that the tendency? How comfortable or uncomfortable are we in surrendering this or in upholding what we know to be the truth of our faith?

In vs 1, the psalmist makes an observation about God's penetrating scrutiny. At the end in vs 24, the words are repeated, but this time, as a prayer. Here is a tested faith that is willing to walk in hope and in the presence of so great a mystery.