 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Tuesday, November 16, 2021 “The Lord is King…” Psalm 93Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14  Psalm 93The Lord is King; he has put on splendid apparel; the Lord has put on his apparel and girded himself with strength.He has made the whole world so sure that it cannot be moved; Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; you are from everlasting. The waters have lifted up, O Lord, the waters have lifted up their voice; the waters have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the sound of many waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, mightier is the Lord who dwells on high. Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness adorns your house, O Lord, for ever, and for evermore. (In Daniel’s long vision, monsters and all kinds of evil kings and kingdoms come up out of the sea. The fear of literal sea monsters was an ancient one in Israel and elsewhere. This Psalm, like others, asserts that God rules over all, including the “seas and all that is in them.” His kingdom is without limits of time or space.)  When I was searching for an image to add to this psalm, I discovered that literally dozens of images have used altered words to read: “Mightier than the waves of the sea is his love for you. Psalm 93:4” Now that is true. But it is NOT the text in any translation. And it is not the point of this psalm, either. Devotional art that distorts the text to make a different point is unworthy, cheap, and unhelpful. I do not know who did it first. But clearly many, many other artists and photographers are making a lot of money selling this sweet wall art to Christians, probably without ever having glanced at the actual text themselves. Sadly, it seems a lot of Christians don’t care either that the text doesn’t say this – or don’t know. And yes, it matters. Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14As I (Daniel) watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.  The vision of Daniel It is easy to see why Mark has Jesus quote part of this text about himself (Mark 14:62) as did Matthew (24:30.)By the time the gospels were written, Christians had already interpreted “one like a human being” who received “dominion and glory and kingship” as Jesus, the risen Lord. But when Daniel wrote this, Israel had already lived under foreign rule for nearly 400 years, and was suffering under the brutal rule of the Macedonian King, Antiochus IV who called himself “Epiphanes” (167-164 BC) (Epiphanes because he saw himself as an “epiphany” a “revealing” of god) He persecuted his Judean subjects, profaned the temple by sacrificing a pig in it, halted all sacrifices to God, and established a military garrison in Jerusalem. No foreign ruler had ever done this before. Jews were subject to state terror, enslavement, murder, and the attempted erasure of Jewish identity scripture and worship. Daniel as well as 1 and 2 Maccabees are our literary sources for this time. Daniel’s vision is one of hope: Readers can see ahead to the end of Epiphanes’ empire and ultimately of all empires, the sovereign power of God, and their own future king – but a kingdom given also “to the people of the holy ones of the Most High” (7:27) |
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