Week 4 Prompt Blog: Ethics of the Psalms

The vivid literary imagery employed in the Pslams is what makes them so powerful; however, this imagery can also make it difficult to pull away clear messages without having to decipher them. Much of the ethical teaching of the Psalms is communicated through personal reflection to God, or personal praise of God, and from that we see an ethical stance develop.
This ethical stance is cearly rooted in Judaism. In Psalm 18, the author recieves God's aid in a dire time of need and then goes on the explain why he was saved. In verse 23 he refers to his keeping and upholding of God's "laws" and "statutes". These laws and statutes most likely refer to the extensive Hebrew law by which people were supposed to adhere. These numerous regulations, laid out across Leviticus and the rest of the Torah, are not seen in Christian tradition (because of the new covenant Jesus created). Additionally, in Psalm 50:14 God calls his people to give sacrifice. This is another Hebrew tradition, discontinued by Christians after the new covenant.
Despite the extensive Hebrew law, and the depiction of God as a violent enemy of the wicked, the ethical stance of the Psalms may seem unlivable. However, the Psalms are filled with examples of God's chosen begging to be forgiven in such a way that they seem to believe they will be. In Psalm 51 "David" gives a heartfelt cry for forgiveness for his sins with Bathsheba. During this Psalm he refers to a purification ritual, showing the Hebrew people did believe they could be purified and forgiven. Psalm 25:7 gives an even more extreme case of forgiveness. In this passage the author is not only asking for the forgiveness of a single sin, but for all the crimes and offenses of his youth. Pslams such as these give the hopeful message that with an honest eart and a desire to be in God's favor, the Hebrew ethic described in the Pslams can be a livable one.