Mrs. Gnu’s father died of pneumoconiosis (miner’s disease) in 1976 at the age of 59. After his death a slip of paper fell out of his Bible on which he noted that the good Lord had told him that he was going to die soon and something more wonderful was coming. He said nothing about this to the family. Young Gnu who was by his bedside when he died wondered how and why he seemed so at peace in his final days.
Psalm 48:14 has given a number of Bible expositors and Hebrew scholars a headache. It says, “For this is our God. He will be our guide to/until death”. Most scholars react to this statement like John “you-cannot-be-serious” McEnroe.
Surely the Psalmist did not mean God will guide us even to death. Only the King James AV sticks with the words the Hebrew text to death. Practically all subsequent translations change it to forever. One scholar writes that to death “cannot be legitimately extracted from the present text” – Gnu wonders why? The words to death are there in black and white in the Hebrew text – “nor would such an expression of personal faith form a natural conclusion…” Aha! This scholar cannot accept a translation that does match his understanding of the whole psalm. (For the other ingenious but possible arguments for not accepting to death, see the extract in the footnotes below. It’s an insight into how scholars spend their time.) Yes, there are some mistakes made by copyists in the transmission of the Bible. However, in Psalm 48 the psalmist expresses his absolute confidence in what God has done for his people and that generations to come will be told and hear of it forever (verse 13). His praise will continue to be heard in the furthest bounds of earth (v.10) and for all time to come. Then comes verse 14, the punchline. God will lead us even to death. Think about it! Death will never stop the broadcasting worldwide of God’s wondrous works.
All this the psalmist lays out in a poem. Don’t ever forget that psalms are poems not doctrinally and meticulously formulated articles of faith. But they tend to express deep convictions. (Some of them are murderous!) We have all come across those in the Bible, (Moses, Elijah, Paul, Jesus) and probably in our own lives, who have an awareness or premonition that the end of their lives is near. Coming to terms with death is a tremendous liberation for living life more fully day by day, rather than living in fear. God gives us each day to live as fully as our strength allows. In fact, it seems, according to another psalmist, that our lives are fully “recorded in his book” before we were born (Psalm 139:16). We’ve got a good idea of what’s written there. We are “ordained to do good works” says the blessed apostle. Let’s get on with it and live our lives to the full.
So there’s a thought! God will guide us even to death whether or not we are aware of when it’s coming, although he may choose to tell us. Is our faith strong enough to swallow that? Whether you are a monarchy fan or not, Queen Elizabeth II was a person of strong faith. She appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday and died on Thursday. I wonder….
If you are a royalist, don’t forget to pray for Mrs O’Neill, Sir J. Donaldson (N. Ireland effectively has two first ministers!), Mr. Drakeford, Ms. Sturgeon and Ms. Truss. Her late Majesty will no doubt look down upon you from on high with great pleasure as they were most likely regularly in her thoughts.
Footnote:
Here is one scholars explanation of verse 14:
“…..he will be our guide even unto death] Beautiful as is the thought, He (emphatic—He and no other) will be our guide unto death (or, in death, or, over death), it cannot be legitimately extracted from the present text, nor would such an expression of personal faith form a natural conclusion to this wholly national Psalm. Possibly the words ‘al mûth (rendered unto death) should be read as one, with different vowels, ‘ôlâmôth, ‘for ever.’ So the LXX and Symmachus. Possibly the words are the remains of a musical direction like that of Psalms 9, ‘al muth labbçn, meaning ‘set to the tune of mûth,’ or that of Psalms 46, ‘set to ‘Alâmôth,’ which has been placed at the end of the Ps. (as in Habakkuk 3:19) instead of at the beginning, as is the rule in the Psalter, or which has been accidentally transferred from the beginning of Psalms 49. In this case the clause he will guide us seems incomplete, (though he will save us in Isaiah 33:22 offers an exact parallel), and we must either with Delitzsch suppose that the concluding words are lost; or, with Bickell, Cheyne, and others, transpose words from the first line to the second, and read For (or, That) such is God [Jehovah] our God: He will guide us for ever and ever. Cp. Isaiah 25:9.
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