Psalms 48 and 49: This hymn of Zion about the city of great King is one of the few I've encountered so far with strong feminine imagery. The kings of the earth were frightened of the God on the great mountain so they trembled and shook and were overcome with pains like a woman in labour. (v. 6) When in labour, the focus is totally on the moment and how to deal with it and the only part of the future that's interesting is the coming baby. It's a particularly vivid image of the might and grandeur of God.
Yesterday I visited a Jewish funeral home for a story, and the funeral director explained how all Jews are buried the same way, with a simple white cotton shroud and in a very plain and inexpensive casket, reflecting that in death, our riches and wealth and status no longer matter. That's one theme in Psalm 49: "For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them." (v.17).
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How nice for Jews that their religion specifies such things. We Christians are left making all kinds of decision in our time of grief--burial or cremation, how expensive a casket ... without a lot of direction from our religious communities. AWJ
ReplyDeletePsalm 48 seems to be very much a psalm of the south kingdom of Judah after the north kingdom of Israel has fallen but before the city of Jerusalem falls to Babylon – maybe it refers to Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem. For me, the pains of a woman in labour do not refer to God but to the enemy nations, the kings that surrounded Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that there are three mentions of ransom in Psalm 49. In Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd but in Psalm 49, death shall be their shepherd – a shepherd that I am ransomed from by God.
IPF