Psalm 37

[CHRISTINE77]

So I was standing at the bus stop this morning, and one of those cute Jehovah Witness girls came up to me. After exchanging some laughs, she asked me what do I think “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done” means in the Lord’s Prayer. I said, I can’t begin to know God’s will, but she said it this passage can be explained by Psalm 37, and read me this verse from it:

A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.

11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.

Then my bus came, so we couldn’t discuss it, but today I read the whole Psalm 37 and it’s quite interesting, because it is how God will destroy the wicked, and save those who take refuge in Him.

What are your thoughts on what “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done” means?

 

[JamestheOlder]

G-d’s will has been explained over and over, in Catholic teaching, as His desire to have us live happily with Him in His kingdom for all eternity. As Jesus said (and He really did speak as G-d), “My kingdom is not of this world”.

“Thy kingdom come (we await entrance to G-d’s kingdom while we are on earth); Thy will be done (for us to live with Him eternally)”.

How we get to the kingdom of G-d can be found (specifically) in the Epistle of James (living faith, made true by good works), the Gospel of John (Eat My Body, drink My Blood0 and one of the last Chapters in Matthew (What you did for the least of My brethren, you did for Me).

 

[PeterK]

Christine,
I think the comparison or connection is strained given the context of the two verses.

The context of Psalm 37 is a general reflection on judgement and life after death. We’re told that in the end, the poor/just come out good, the rich/wicked come out bad. With this scenario in mind, the Psalm makes the plea to “keep to the way” and “not be provoked” by the goings-ons of the rich.

In Psalm 37 it is difficult to understand the poor ‘inheriting the land’ except in an afterlife scenario, because the poor never inherit the land. They may be squatters on it, but they do not inherit it. “Inherit” must mean possession of some degree, and the poor possess little - that is what makes them ‘the poor’. Likewise, in this life, the rich are the owners of the land, so it must be in the afterlife when they will be totally dispossessed.

How does this then line up with* ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven’*?

Well if one reads ‘thy kingdom come’ as ‘there is to be death and judgement for all’, and then reads ‘thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ as ‘so do good and keep to the way (of God who is in heaven)’, then I guess there is some shared meaning.

However, strikingly absent from the Psalm is the majestic imagery in the Our Father of the all-powerful One with the ‘hallowed name’ who is obviously a king of an unstoppable ‘kingdom’ which is ‘coming’ and in which His ‘will’ is and will be done. The ‘majesty’ factor is missing. Also, totally absent from the Psalm is the idea of mercy - forgive us… as we forgive others. The poor/just are presented as wanting for mercy, and it does not seem to be offered to the rich/wicked in any measure.

The LORD’s continual assistance and care for the poor/just could be seen as* ‘giving them their daily bread’*, but even that seems to be shoe-horning a meaning into the context. Also, death could also be seen as a ‘deliverance from evil’ I guess.

So, while a couple verses tend to share some meaning, I would not go so far as to say Psalm 37 *explains *any part of the Our Father. Christ has clearly presented something fresh.

I’m glad you brought this Psalm up. I had not read it for a while and I really like it.
With verse 34, it hints at the Resurrection - a rare characteristic in the OT - “Wait eagerly for the LORD, and keep to the way; God will raise you to possess the land;…” NAB.

PeterK

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Christine,
I think the comparison or connection is strained given the context of the two verses.

The context of Psalm 37 is a general reflection on judgement and life after death. We’re told that in the end, the poor/just come out good, the rich/wicked come out bad. With this scenario in mind, the Psalm makes the plea to “keep to the way” and “not be provoked” by the goings-ons of the rich.

In Psalm 37 it is difficult to understand the poor ‘inheriting the land’ except in an afterlife scenario, because the poor never inherit the land. They may be squatters on it, but they do not inherit it. “Inherit” must mean possession of some degree, and the poor possess little - that is what makes them ‘the poor’. Likewise, in this life, the rich are the owners of the land, so it must be in the afterlife when they will be totally dispossessed.

How does this then line up with* ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven’*?

Well if one reads ‘thy kingdom come’ as ‘there is to be death and judgement for all’, and then reads ‘thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ as ‘so do good and keep to the way (of God who is in heaven)’, then I guess there is some shared meaning.

However, strikingly absent from the Psalm is the majestic imagery in the Our Father of the all-powerful One with the ‘hallowed name’ who is obviously a king of an unstoppable ‘kingdom’ which is ‘coming’ and in which His ‘will’ is and will be done. The ‘majesty’ factor is missing. Also, totally absent from the Psalm is the idea of mercy - forgive us… as we forgive others. The poor/just are presented as wanting for mercy, and it does not seem to be offered to the rich/wicked in any measure.

The LORD’s continual assistance and care for the poor/just could be seen as* ‘giving them their daily bread’*, but even that seems to be shoe-horning a meaning into the context. Also, death could also be seen as a ‘deliverance from evil’ I guess.

So, while a couple verses tend to share some meaning, I would not go so far as to say Psalm 37 *explains *any part of the Our Father. Christ has clearly presented something fresh.

I’m glad you brought this Psalm up. I had not read it for a while and I really like it.
With verse 34, it hints at the Resurrection - a rare characteristic in the OT - “Wait eagerly for the LORD, and keep to the way; God will raise you to possess the land;…” NAB.

PeterK

Thanks for your insights Peter. I thought the Psalm was a bit of a stretch too (but interesting!) , (JW’s are of course very much into end times philosophy). To me, thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven means trying to make our lives on earth like heaven. His will is that we would all follow Jesus and his ways and love each other and have faith in God. To me it is more of an immediate prayer of how to live our lives day to day, rather than end times speculation.

 

[PeterK]

Christine,

To me it is more of an immediate prayer of how to live our lives day to day, rather than end times speculation.

I agree.

I noticed I have a typo in my post and it won’t let me edit now.
I said…
The poor/just are presented as wanting for mercy, …
but meant to say…
The poor/just are not presented as wanting for mercy, …

PeterK