The third paper on the Psalms was given by Gordon Wenham (Old Testament Tutor, Trinity College,
Bristol). He used no headings so here is his conclusion and the questions we discussed.
Conclusion
In
this
paper
I
have
tried
to
sum
up
some
of
the
key
arguments
in
my
book
Psalms
as
Torah.
I
have
drawn
attention
to
the
power
of
song
to
imprint
on
the
mind
and
be
memorable.
This
in
itself
would
give
the
Psalms
great
influence
in
moulding
the
ethic
of
those
who
pray
and
sing
them.
But
I
applied
the
insights
of
Donald
Evans
on
the
performative
power
of
liturgical
texts
to
the
Psalter
to
develop
this
argument.
In
that
most
scholars
agree
that
the
Psalms
originate
as
texts
for
worship,
and
were
certainly
used
later
by
Jews
and
Christians
in
their
worship,
this
use
gives
them
peculiar
potency.
Reciters
of
the
psalms
are
making
both
a
public
commitment
to their
sentiments
and
affirming
to
God
these
same
truths.
If
the
worshipper
does
not
assent
to
the
ideology
of
the
psalm,
he
has
the
choice
of
offending
his
fellow
worshippers
by
his
silence,
or
insulting
God
by
his
hypocrisy
by
mouthing
words
he
does
not
mean.
Thus
liturgy
compels
assent
more
powerfully
than
sermons
or
laws,
stories
or
proverbs.
This
is
the
reason
why
the
ethic
taught
by
the
psalms
has
been
so
influential
and
why
biblical
scholars
should
have
paid
more
attention
to
it.
In
the
rest
of
the
paper
I
have
tried
to
pick
out
some
of
the
distinctive
emphases
of
the
psalms’
ethical
teaching.
Of
course
most
of
the
fundamentals
are
shared
with
the
rest
of
Scripture,
but
a
comparison
with
the
Ten
Commandments
proved
instructive.
We
noted
the
very
strong
emphasis
on
the
misuse
of
the
tongue
on
the
one
hand
and
on
the
other
the
absence
of
commands
to
observe
the
Sabbath
or
other
great
festivals
despite
the
fact
that
a
goodly
number
of
psalms
would
be
suited
to
such
occasions.
Other
leading
emphases
include
the
appeal
to
justice,
especially
its
formulation
in
the
lex
talionis.
Worshippers
pray
that
God
will
prove
his
just
sovereignty
by
punishing
the
guilty
in
a
way
that
matches
their
crime.
Those
who
suffer
at
the
hands
of
the
mighty
and
find
no
redress
are
often
the
poorer
and
weaker
members
of
society,
so
like
the
Pentateuch
the
Psalter
especially
advocates
care
for
the
poor
as
well
as
praying
for
divine
intervention
on
their
behalf.
In
this
way
the
righteous
are
taught
to
imitate
their
creator
in
his
concern
for
the
oppressed
and
their
plight.
Questions
- Does your church use the Psalms in worship? Why?
- Have you considered the power of liturgical texts as a means of teaching?
- Do you agree with Griffiths about the performative value of the Psalms?
- What do you see as distinctive about the Psalter’s ethical teaching?
- Is the principle of the lex talionis, exact retribution, defensible today?
- Should the imprecatory psalms be used in Christian worship?
- Do we highlight the last judgment in preaching? Can it be made palatable and believable?
The format was again for the writer to presnet his paper which Gorodn Wenham did firstly drily adn then with some emotion as he came to the imprecatory psalms.
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