Pope Benedict on Psalm 135: as denoted by word "hesed," God's love is paternal, merciful
VATICAN - “God does not appear in the Bible as an immovable and implacable sovereign or some obscure and indecipherable being...he reveals himself as a person who loves his creatures, watches over them and follows their progress in history”: Pope Benedict XVI teaches on Psalm 135Vatican City (Fides Service) - Part one of psalm 135 as it is divided in the liturgy of Vespers is called «the great Hallel», that is the great and solemn praise sung by Judaism during the paschal liturgy. Dwelling in particular on the refrain - «Eternal is his mercy » - the Holy Father explained during the General Audience this morning that the word mercy “is a legitimate but limited translation of the original Hebrew word hesed which is part of the characteristic language used by the Bible to express the covenant between the Lord and his people … In this relationship, God does not appear in the Bible as an immovable and implacable sovereign or an obscure and indecipherable being, similar to fate, against whose mysterious power it is useless to fight. He reveals himself instead as a person who loves his creatures, watches over them and follows their progress in history and suffers the acts of infidelity with which the people often oppose his hesed, his merciful and paternal love.”
more...
posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 8:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home