Editorial: Speaking God’s language: biblical faithful theology part 2
In last month’s editorial we considered Psalm 119: the writer finds satisfaction and delight, not just in ordering life around God’s word, but knowing him through communicating with him in his language. This month we continue with some more reflections on this wonderful Scripture.
Theology and authority for the ordinary believer
Some Psalms, for example Psalm 1, speak in the third person – “blessed is the person who loves God’s word.” Psalm 119 is in the first person, speaking to another in a relationship, essentially saying: “I love your communication with me, God. I love your ways, your ideas, your character which you’ve revealed to me here”.
The “I” is the ordinary person who loves and follows God. There is a humility in recognising the need for God’s help in understanding and obeying God’s word:
33 Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees,
That I may follow it to the end.
34 Give me understanding so that I may keep your law,
And obey it with all my heart.
There is no sense that this sustained meditation on following the Lord by means of engagement with his word is the preserve of an academically trained theologian or pastor. Nor is there the idea that such a relationship can only happen by dependence on a religious professional. “Teach me, Lord”, spoken by an ordinary person, means that anyone made in God’s image and redeemed to new spiritual life is capable as an individual of reading the Bible, relating to God directly and basing life on his principles. This can be seen as the radical foundation of protestant democracy in its best sense. The translation of the Bible into local languages, the teaching of literacy and development of education for all, the assumption that people from all backgrounds can flourish and participate in making a contribution to community and nation, all comes from the idea of the individual made in God’s image having the potential to relate to him directly.
The result is that healthy churches continue to promote individual and group Bible reading, and encourage those aiming to follow a Psalm 119 way of life to take part in ministries of various kinds including church governance, disciple-making and Christian witness in the wider world. And so, we have seen standing up against the heretical teachings of bishops, and against unjust laws in society faithful lay people and clergy who are not “big names” in Christian circles:
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame…
99 …I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
This should not be seen as arrogant lack of submission to authority, but rather a confidence that the Lord is the ultimate authority; that he has revealed his principles in his word, that human authorities are accountable to him. The Jesus movement of the first century which caused believers to leave the synagogues, the Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries which caused believers to challenge and separate from the hegemony of the corrupt church of Rome, and now, in the 21st century, the realignment of Anglicans and other denominations around faithfulness to God’s word rather than loyalty to institutions – none of this would happen without the conviction that God operates through faithful believers with the Bible. It is here that truth is guarded and broadcast.
Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches that God has given pastors and teachers to the church. This isn’t to keep faithful people in semi-ignorance and dependence, with leaders being intermediaries and mediators between humanity and God, a role which only they can play because of their higher level wisdom and knowledge. Rather, the role of the bishop and the pastor should be to assist and encourage the process of growing into maturity. The church isn’t just a flock, it’s a body, each part being nourished and doing its work, under Christ as the head. As every member can say personally, with the Psalmist:
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path,
the faithful people of God are not constrained by mission traditions suitable for previous eras and different contexts, nor do they feel directionless as Archbishops resign or don’t inspire confidence, or as former respected clergy are shown to have been guilty of secret sins and even crimes. Institutions and leaders may fail, but we can be confident that God’s word is a completely trustworthy guide for troubled times.
The humble people of God follow the Lord as he leads, illuminating the path with his presence:
135 Make your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
In the Gospels, the carpenter from Nazareth makes the extraordinary claim that his words are these decrees, statutes, precepts that Psalm 119 talks about. The challenge for us is that it’s not enough to know these words. In order to build the house on the rock, the faithful people of God put them into practice (Matthew 7:24), and come to the speaker of the words, in order to have life (John 5:39-40).
(See also News and comment 25 February 2025)