Nor with the shanks of man is he pleased

Ps 147

Lately I've been on a bit of a kick to memorise more Scripture. Which is a wonderful thing to do, and if you'd like to join me in memorising 1 John, just reply to this newsletter and I'll give you a guide to join the fun.

But I was also reading a few other things lately that got me thinking. Firstly, the rule of St. Benedict, which among other things reminded me of just how much monks sang the psalms, and that when Benedict laid down his rule, he was codifying what was late antiquity standard for monks (at least in theory) - to sing through the Psalter completely at least once a week.

Secondly, I'm reminded of a comment by Sarah Ruden in her introduction to Augustine's Confessions, in which she comments on how Scripture, and the Psalms in particular, became the language of Augustine. I think that's a very apt observation. Turns of phrase that we hear often, became part of our idiom-vocabulary, and we deploy them readily, consciously or not, as part of our own idiomology. This explains why a Benedict or Augustine or Maximus so often quote, or paraphrase, or adapt lines from Scripture, most of all the Psalms, including 'out of context'.

Then, in my own daily reading of the Psalms in Greek (a paltry one psalm a day!), I came upon this line that struck me:

οὐδὲ ἐν ταῖς κνήμαις τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εὐδοκεῖ

Ps 146:10b. (147 in English versions)

nor does [the Lord] take pleasure in the man's legs

Here is a great example of a verse that shouldn't be read out of context. Because it would be very easy to say, look - God doesn't like human legs! He hates thighs! And from that we could easily go on to incorrect theology about, oh I don't know, human sexuality being intrinsically sinful, or why bipeds are the result of the fall and we should have had tails like merfolk.

Here's the thing. Thinking across the sweep of Scripture, we should actually conclude that God does take pleasure in human legs. Because he designed and made humans in his own image, he made them good, and he delights in human creatures as his creation. He loves and takes pleasure in the human physical form, in a way that befits him as God.

And the verse isn't denying that at all. Because 10a parallels 10b with God not delighting in the strength of a horse. The combination echoes a repeated theme of the Psalms - God is neither impressed nor pleased with military prowess. In modern terms, God doesn't favour tanks, isn't in awe of fighter jets, takes no pleasure in long range missiles, and finds no joy in unmanned drone killings.

V11 is the answer/response. What or who does God delight in? Those who are in awe of him, and who hope in his hesed. Again, a motif of the Psalms suggests that militarism is the outcome of putting one's hope in military strength, and the alternative is placing one's hope in God, as sovereign, justicar, and defender. Because of his character, and his steadfast mercy-love.

All of which is a little reminder to me to read verses in context. But also, that one should stop to think about odd things one reads in the Bible. But also, that the only way to soak up a lot of Scripture is to spend a lot of time immersed in it.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash