Monday
4, 1:18-22   Prayer for deliverance

18 And now with all our heart we follow you; we fear you and seek your presence.  19 Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in your patience and in your abundant mercy.  20 Deliver us in accordance with your marvelous works, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.  21 Let all who do harm to your servants be put to shame; let them be disgraced and deprived of all power, and let their strength be broken.  22 Let them know that you alone are the Lord God, glorious over the whole world."

Verse 21 is an imprecatory line, asking God to do what he promised to do to the wicked, but the poem as a whole is not imprecatory. The poet promises that he and the people will follow the Lord, that they will fear him and seek him. The structure of verse 18 is one of many examples that show that the poem is not a Hebrew composition. However, strictly speaking, the composition is also not truly an example of Greek poetry (according to Aristotle's definition), but rather of a song, or more precisely, a prayer. There is no plot, nor character development, but simply exhortation. Yet there is something that Aristotle insists upon for true poetry. "It is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened, but what may happen-- what is possible" (Poetics VIII:4). And although the song begins with the history of Israel's fall and captivity, the poet's interest is in what all of creation should do in response to God's good will, love, and providence. 

In verse 20, the true aim of the works of the Lord is expressed clearly, for "deliver us" is followed by the request to God to bring glory to his name. Giving glory to God is the end purpose of all works, which include all things done by God, and good works (works of faith) done by man. 

Returning to the imprecatory verse (21), the imprecation is milder than most of those found in the Psalms. The author simply asks that shame and disgrace be brought onto the Lord's enemies, and that their strength should be broken. Significantly, this verse is one of the few in the song and the first thus far that follow anything like Hebrew parallelism, with "put to shame" synonymous with "be disgraced," and "deprived of power" also synonymous with "strength be broken." But the first half of the verse echoes Jeremiah 50:12, and the second half of the verse also somewhat echoes Jeremiah 51:30, and therefore the parallelism may be more in the source material than in the current context. 

In verse 22, the author prays that God will make it known that he alone is the Lord God, glorious over all the world. This is similar to the conclusion of Psalm 72 (:19), and something like it appears in Sirach 36:14, although it is unusual for the apocryphal books to quote or allude to one another. But the point is clear: The Lord alone is truly God, and he is glorious over the whole world. 

In Christ,
Pastor Tim Smith