Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Psalm 4 - A psalm for the end, a psalm for victory, a psalm for invitation.

AELW 10:45

"because he [King David] is so certain, he does not say “invitation” (which can fail with many), but “victory,” as if to say: “This psalm is so efficacious a stimulus that it makes him so sharp that he will without a doubt achieve the victory.” For that reason it was rightly made “for victory,” as if in a war the soldiers were animated with so much ardor that victory might without a doubt be taken as a foregone conclusion. Hence it can be said: This drum is not simply a stimulus, but it is efficacious and perfect; it causes the accomplishment of that to which it incites and the achievement of the goal. For the same reason some read “for the end,” namely, what is intended by the stimulus, and the end must be pre-understood or be in view at the same time, so that in one statement all three are understood: לַמְנַצֵּחַ, the invitation [effectively inviting] to the victory and the intended goal, as if to say: “He invites in such a way that its goal will not be left unattained.” Therefore it is an invitation “for the end” and the intended “victory,” that is, efficacious and relevant and bringing about the attainment of the goal. Therefore all of these expressions make good sense: “A psalm for the end,” “a psalm for victory,” “a psalm for invitation.” Hence the psalm says the same things."

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