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Saturday 26 March 2016

Ctrl-alt-delete, restart

I am ready to restart. When a computer runs for a long time it can be sluggish. I have been running for a long time - at least 10 years - on the Old Testament. Wonderful, engaging, source of obedience, a story that is plentiful with low-hanging fruit suitable for correction of wayward souls. But yesterday's robust singing of the Allegri Psalm 51 (the high C's were fabulous - the chanting in Latin rhythmic - who would have guessed it was possible here). Though out of its liturgical context (Ash Wednesday), this performance on Good Friday reminded me that there is more to the Bible for me than the OT. The word, Christ, was even redeemed for me for inarticulate reasons, perhaps by the singing of the reproaches.

That word Christ (along with words like soul and repent) is so misunderstood in some Christian circles. This is the anointed king of Psalm 2 and the head exceedingly wounded in Psalm 110. This Christ is in evidence in the human Jesus who over the years from dot to Chalcedon will come to be seen as the Son of God. There are no capital letters in Hebrew. Similarly Israel is the son, Israel is the servant, and Israel, all Israel must learn the character of obedience seen in this unique person Jesus who is their kin, our kin, and who is the libation poured out for the life of the world in Jerusalem, on the holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2)

I am also ready to restart blogging. Next up is a lovely bit of music (extracted from my article), just a line or two at a time, showing how beautiful and transparent the inscriptions of the Psalms are. These words, in the late 20th century assigned by scholars as late additions, are integral to the music of the Psalms.

I will not forget that I must also be a scholar, and sometimes distantly objective. But my objectives will be for opening up the Scriptures and hopefully, not to stand in front of them, so as to obscure the light that comes from the spaces between the words.

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