Charles Gordon Cumming

“ Clothed is Yahwe he hath girded himself with strength.
—Psalm 93:1.
My God thou art exceeding great,
With honor and majesty thou art clothed,
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment.
—Psalm 104:1.
There is but one instance in the Assyrian Hymns, when the beauty of the god is the delight of the worshipper. This is somewhat akin to the feeling of the mystic:
Fruit which hath created itself, of lofty form beautiful to look upon, in whose being one cannot sufficiently state oneself. —Hymn to Sin No. 5. ”

“ Unique in the group of eschatological hymns is Psalm 82. It has no call to praise, no summons to the Israelites, nor to the nations, nor to the physical universe, to rejoice at God’s appearing; it does not even announce that God has become king. What it does is to single out from all the momentous events of God’s final victory on earth one scene, but the description of that one scene is of itself such as to kindle hymnal enthusiasm and to give the psalm the atmosphere and character of a hymn.
God takes his place as judge in the council of the gods (verse 1) . ”

“ Religion arose out of a consciousness of need, and a feeling that there was a power to meet that need. In Babylonia, as in India and elsewhere the hymn of praise is often but little more than an introduction to a petition. The singer tells the Deity that He is wise and then asks for wisdom; or strong and asks for strength, or rich and asks for material blessings. Praise is suspiciously close to flattery and far from disinterested. In Israel also it is believed that the Deity desires praise. There is no profit for Yahwe in the death of the psalmist, since the dead praise not Yahwe. ”

“ The announcement of the momentous fact, that at last Israel’s God has actually ascended his throne to take to himself power and sovereignty over the earth, does of itself inspire hymnal enthusiasm. Quite probably the abruptness of the announcement corresponds to the suddenness and unexpectedness of the event itself. However hymns beginning with the shout: “Yahwe is king” sometimes follow up that announcement with a summons to praise Yahwe. Indeed the very fact that Yahwe has become king is reason why men and nations should be called upon to praise him. ”

“ They help us to understand the prominence given to the attributes of Yahwe as a mighty god of war. They prove the antiquity of the conception of God as king and judge, shepherd and father. They reflect crude and crass ideas of the divine wisdom, power, and mercy. Against the background of the Assyrian hymns one gains a juster appreciation of the developed Hebrew doctrine of God, the omnipresent, the omniscient, the omnipotent, whose eternal plan is to be fulfilled, who will cause truth and righteousness to prevail in the earth, who is to be universally and eternally adored. ”

“ Most mighty one who is like thee who rivals thee?
Nergal who is like thee who rivals thee?
With the change of the invocation from “Lord” to “Most mighty one” to “Nergal” the lines undoubtedly grow in intensity until the name Nergal, which is held back until the third line, would be thundered forth in that third line with the greatest enthusiasm. Here again it seems highly probable that a choir chanted the refrain: “Who is like unto thee, who rivals thee?” The second part of this hymn consists of eighteen lines in couplets and triplets in praise of the word of Nergal. ”

“ Psalm 8 takes a unique position among the Old Testament hymns of praise. It is addressed altogether in the second person to Yahwe, and to that extent takes on the form and nature of a prayer. But it has no suggestion of a petition, nor does it make any definite effort to express gratitude. It has something of the reflective attitude, as it seems to ponder over man’s place in the universe, but it is assuredly not a teaching nor a wisdom psalm. It has been maintained by some scholars that the first two and last two lines were meant to be sung by a chorus, while the body of the hymn is a solo. ”

“ The Assyrian could conceive of one god as supreme among the gods; the Hebrew came to think of Yahwe as the only God, the altogether Spiritual Being, freed from the contamination of polytheism. The Assyrian exalted his god to the high heavens; the Hebrew emancipated Yahwe from any possibility of identification with sun, moon, or star, or any natural force. The Assyrian attributed to his god great power to bless or curse; the Hebrew attributed power to Yahwe, but dissociated him from all magical practise. ”

“ There is a natural line of development from the psalm of faith to what may perhaps be called teaching or wisdom psalms. The believing psalmist assumes that God is in complete control of all the circumstances of life, and is convinced that God will protect him from all evil and give him success. This assumption of faith then becomes for many the all important, fundamental law of life, and as such it must needs be taught to youth. ”

“ With Ea, in the multitude of the gods, is thy council preëminent.
57 With Sin in the heavens thou see’st through everything.
Given thee has Bel, thy father the black headed race, all living creatures,
The living creatures of the field he has entrusted to thy hand.
Assyrian hymns of class I can be divided into two portions, the first portion, the invocation, the second portion, the ascription of praise. It is especially the invocation in which the court style is seen. Every member at the court of a monarchy has an official title, be that member king, queen, prince or noble. ”

“ With the growth and organization of empire there developed, in the exaltation of one god to a supreme place, a tendency toward monotheism; and with the inevitable interchange of religious ideas a gradually increasing similarity in the attributes and prerogatives of the chief gods. Especially is it to be recognized that hymnal enthusiasm tends to blot out for the time the consciousness of other deities, and to exalt in wisdom and power and goodness the deity which is being worshipped, so that for the moment the attitude of the worshipper may be practically that of a monotheist. ”

“ It is perhaps a question whether verses 3-8 are a soliloquy, or whether they are addressed to the psalmist by the priest. In either case the psalmist has the assurance that Israel’s God, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, will keep him everywhere and at all times, secure from evil.
In Psalm 91, verses 1 and 2 state the general truth that the man who trusts God is happy:
Blessed is the man, who dwelleth in the secret place of the most High,
Who abideth under the shadow of the Almighty,
Who saith of Yahwe, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God in whom I trust.” ”

“ Who is exalted in heaven, thou alone art exalted;
Who is exalted on earth, thou alone art exalted.
This couplet is followed by eight lines in praise of the word of Sin, expressed however in the second person, not the third. Unfortunately, the translation of four of the remaining lines is so uncertain that no conclusion can be drawn from them as to the nature of the whole psalm. However, the petition at the close is a general one in behalf of temple and city, and the calling upon the various gods of the pantheon to placate Sin is a recognition of the supreme place of that deity. ”

“ If the righteous were not certain to prosper in the world, why should men be righteous? Would not the righteous become wicked and the moral foundations of life crumble? The petition in verses 4 and 5 requesting Yahwe’s favor for the good and his punishment for the wicked, while properly no part of a teaching psalm, are further recognition that actually certain of the facts of life contradict the psalmist’s theory. ”

“ Undoubtedly there were also in Israel eschatological hymns, which issued the great call to praise in varied and impressive ways, following up the call to praise with the momentous announcement of Yahwe’s assumption of world government. Of such hymns Psalm 47 is a representative. It calls the peoples to the praise of Yahwe in verse 2 and announces the great fact of his newly accepted kingship in verse 3:
All ye peoples, clap your hands,
Shout to God with the voice of triumph,
For Yahwe most high is to be feared,
A great king is he over all the earth. ”

“ Out of the experience of affliction as expressed in the psalms of lamentation and petition, and out of the further experience of deliverance as expressed in the psalms of testimony and thanksgiving, develops a serene faith and confidence over against the perplexities, the perils, and the conflicts of life. One characteristic element in the Psalm of Lamentation and Petition is the affirmation of faith in Yahwe. That affirmation of faith gradually develops until it becomes the entire theme of the psalm. ”

“ It is interesting to recall that one of the earliest, if not the earliest of all the Hebrew hymns, that sung by Miriam and the Hebrew women, celebrated a victory:
Sing ye to Yahwe, for he hath triumphed gloriously,
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
—Exodus 15:21.
It is the same strong national spirit that flames forth in confidence of the great final victory in Psalm 68:2, 4:
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;
Let them that hate him flee before him,
But let the righteous be glad ”

“ Psalm 116 is the testimony of a man who has been sick unto death. In anguish and despair he prayed: “O Yahwe save my life.” Yahwe heard his prayer, restored him to health, and accordingly he is in the temple to pay his vows, to offer up his sacrifices of thanksgiving and to give his testimony in the presence of all Yahwe’s people.
Again Psalm 30 is the testimony of a man who had once been very prosperous, but who by the loss of Yahwe’s favor had been brought low. Near unto death, he cried unto Yahwe, pleading that his death could not profit the Deity since the dead in Sheol praise not God. ”

“ Lord, leader of the Igigi, I am obedient to thy word. [33]
Strong one, glorious one, begotten of Nunammir
Who art clothed with sublimity, powerful one I will praise thy name. [34]
On the other hand there is but one example of the actual use of the first person plural in the hymnal introductions:
Father Enlil with song majestically we come,
The presents of the ground are offered to thee as sacrifice. [35]
It is not contended that the hymnal introductions are strongly individual in character, showing the marks of individual originality and genius ”

“ The God must sound abroad his own glory. Beyond that, however, is the fact that in every religion a god must be, to a large extent, an unknown deity. His self-manifestations can be only occasional, and never clearly apprehended by man, so that when the god appears, man must necessarily ask: “Who art thou?” and the deity must reply, as did Ninib and Belit and Ishtar: “I am ...” These self-introductions of deity inevitably recall to the mind of the Old Testament student Yahwe’s introduction of himself to Moses in Exodus 3:6 ”

“ The psalm is not then an eschatological hymn of praise, but rather an eschatological prayer.
Psalms 20 and 72 have distinctive positions in this group, since each offers up a petition in behalf of the king. In Psalm 20 the king had apparently presented his offerings and sacrifices at the sanctuary, and the priest prays, in verses 2-6 that God will remember the king’s sacrifices and grant him help in the day of trouble and all his hearts desires. Naturally, in the case of a king, the chief concern is that he should be victorious over his enemies whenever war should come. ”

“ The word of God is irresistible:
Counsellor, favorite of Ea, whose word cannot be withstood,
To whose powerful word the great Igigi give heed.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Thy word is proclaimed in heaven, and the Igigi prostrate themselves:
Thy word is proclaimed on earth, and the Annunaki kiss the ground.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
The word once spoken is not to be recalled. It is unalterable. It goes on to do that work which the deity hath pleased:
The exalted hero, whose word is unalterable. ”

“ Indeed according to Psalm 149 it means the most complete and vindictive vengeance of Israel upon the nations (verses 6-9) . However, in hymns broader and more generous of conception it means the establishment of a reign of righteousness and peace over all the earth, for which not only the peoples but the physical world itself will rejoice. The world is to be established so that it can not be moved. The earth will give her increase. Yahwe will bless his people and the very ends of the earth will fear him (Psalms 96:13; 98:9, 67; 82) . ”

“ Undoubtedly greater far than any of the preceding psalms is Psalm 90, which, transcending the limitations of the nation and the sect, laments the brevity and troubled nature of human life, and pleads for some knowledge of the plan of the eternal God, some permanency for human effort, some small measure of happiness in life’s brief day. ”

“ In some cases the prayer is much longer than the hymn, while in others the prayer shrinks to a very brief petition, couched in general terms. This has occasioned much confusion of terminology, some calling a poem a hymn, others naming it a prayer. It is necessary therefore at this point to attempt to distinguish clearly between the hymn and the prayer.
The purpose of the hymn is to praise the deity and the emotion behind the hymn is enthusiasm for the great and glorious god; for his power, for his wisdom, for his great achievements. ”

“ It is a hymn of thirty-seven lines, of which the first thirty lines welcome the god to his temple, while the last seven lines implore his favor for the cities of Nippur and Sippar and especially for Babylon and his temple Esagila:
Thy city Nippur cast not away let her cry to thee: O lord peace.
Sippar cast not away let her cry to thee: O lord peace.
Babylon the city of thy peace cast not away let her cry to thee: O lord peace.
Look graciously upon thy house look graciously upon thy city let them cry to thee: O lord peace. ”

“ Hymn to Sarpanitum.
Just as Shamash, Sin, and Ishtar are so closely associated with sun, moon, and evening star, so Ramman, in the two hymns written in his honor, is almost identified with the thunderstorm.
Yahwe is not identified, nor closely associated, in the Hebrew hymns, with any of the heavenly bodies, not even with the sun, but he, like the Assyrian deities, dwells in heaven, and his glory, as is theirs, is that of the stars. Of Yahwe it might have been said, as of Nergal and Ishtar:
Thou treadest in the high heavens, lofty is thy place. ”

“ Again the psalmist praises Yahwe for what he is in himself. His greatness is unsearchable. He is high above all Gods. His understanding is infinite. He is gracious and full of compassion. He is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works. He is good, his mercy is everlasting and his faithfulness is extended to generation after generation. His name is holy and to be revered. ”

“ These hymns are sung in contemplation of Yahwe’s great final victory. He has at long last appeared to judge the world; his mightiest enemies have suffered complete and final defeat. He has taken his rightful position upon his throne, and all nations acknowledge his authority. The physical world will now yield its abundant increase, and the divine reign of peace and righteousness will begin. Such hymns, fittingly called eschatological, are Psalms 96, 98, 149, 47, 99, 97, 93, 82.
One not inconspicuous difference in these eschatological hymns is in the call to praise. ”

“ The Assyrian does indeed ascribe to his god righteousness and mercy, but the Hebrew makes righteousness and mercy the essential attributes of Yahwe. In a word the hymnists of Israel at 156 their highest and best reflect the influence of the prophets, to which there was nothing comparable in Assyria.
One very important fact to be recognized is the emergence or development of the genuine hymn in Israel. ”