BOOK OF PSALMS 5

only cast himself, in total penitence, upon God’s mercy. Man’s moral obligations (Psalms 15; 24:3-5) and loyalty to the law (Psalms 19:7-11; 119) are fully accepted. Throughout, there is the revelation of a strong personal relationship that encourages prayer and praise and invites trust. THE AFTERLIFE The Psalms maintain the traditional Hebrew view of Sheol as the abode of the departed, without distinction between the good and evil, where all but mere existence has perished. The chief complaint of the devout man was that, in Sheol, all meaningful relationship with God ceased (Psalms 6:5; 88:10-12). However, it was recognized that, since God was almighty, even Sheol was not exempt from his reach (Psalm 139:8). Added to this was the preciousness and strength of fellowship with God, which could not be terminated even by death. Psalms 16:9-11; 49:15; and 73:23-26 well illustrate this insight. The Psalter, therefore, witnesses to an important transitional phase in Israel’s belief. UNIVERSAL RECOGNITION OF GOD Passages like Psalms 9:11; 47:1-2, 7-9; 66:8; 67; and 117:1 call upon all nations to acknowledge and praise God and show an awareness of his sovereignty over all nations. But this universalism does not appear to involve any desire to convert the heathen nations and, indeed, it is balanced by strong particularistic elements. God’s covenant relationship with his people and his mighty deeds on their behalf are the chief items for which the praise of all nations is summoned (Psalms 47:3-4; 66:8-9; 126:2). As elsewhere in the OT, the role of Israel is passive; her continued existence witnesses to God’s faithfulness and brings glory to him. LASTING VALUE Whatever the emotion of the psalmists, be it bitter complaint, anguished lament, or joyous exultation, all the psalms reflect one or other of the many aspects of communion with God. The reader may look “into the heart of all the saints” (so said Luther) as they faced life’s experiences in the awareness of a God who was all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. The strength of that personal relationship with God that typified OT worship at its best is exemplified here, and the many echoes of the psalms elsewhere in Israel’s literature show the powerful influence of these testimonies on the faithful. The fact that, almost invariably, little specific detail is given of the psalmists’ actual conditions has made it easier for the Psalter to become the universal hymnbook and devotional treasury of God’s people, in both public and private worship, until and including the present day. Modern life, materially, is vastly different from that of ancient Israel, but God remains unchanged and so do the basic needs of the human heart. The Holy Spirit, therefore, can still use this spiritual treasury as a means of revelation and communication between God and man. Few books in the Bible have exercised so profound an influence or been so widely used.