Psalms 103:20:  “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.”

 

I don’t know if it just me or do others wonder about things like I do.  What I wonder about in this verse is David ordering the angels around.  Is he reminding the angels to praise or bless the Lord?   The word bless in this passage is simply baraku, which means to bless or make happy or to praise.  What is interesting is this word is a Piel imperative form.  It is not only a command but an intense command, do it or else.

 

I know it is poetry and David is just excited and saying “Come on angels, join in the fun, let’s dive in this praise pool together, bless be the ties that bind and all that.”  Well, perhaps that is what he is saying, poetry is poetry after all and I guess we can order the angels around and command them to do something that are already doing and have been doing and will continue to do when we are speaking poetically.

 

I have another idea, however, it is purely out of the box and off the reservation here so I am sure Christian Hebrew scholars will throw salt in the air if they read this but I think I might get an amen from some Jewish rabbis.  The word used for angels is melek which is the word for king, royalty, ruler, kingly messenger, teachers, prophet, angel and really anyone who takes on a leadership role to deliver as message or proclamation. Why do we plug the English word angel into this?  Well, tradition and the context seems to suggest it.  Yet, if we use the word teacher, prophet or even preacher  who are all messengers of God like the angels, who is to say that that cannot fit the context.  In fact I think it fits the context much better than speaking of a supernatural angel.

 

We have no record that David actually ever saw an angel, how much did he really know about angels.  Yet, he has seen prophets, teachers and preachers. As king he had his fill of messengers from God. Some were not really messengers of God but messengers of their own flesh claiming their message was from God.

 

I worked many years for Dr. Lester Sumrall and I remember how he would tell about some religious cult coming to his door.  He said: “I won’t call them a cult.  I simply say: ‘Praise the Lord, you love Jesus, you like to study His Word, then let’s just get down on our knees right now and have some fellowship in prayer.’”  He said they usually find some excuse to leave.  Then Dr. Sumrall said; “If they don’t want to get on their knees and pray and praise the Lord, I don’t want to hear any message they have about God.”

 

I think David had the same idea here.  I don’t believe he was talking about angels. It says angels that excel in strength.  The word strength is koach which is human strength and/or power.  This is not necessarily physical strength it could also be intellectual strength.  I believe David is calling all the great teachers into account and saying; “If you really are teachers and messenger of God then start praising Him and blessing Him.”

 

In our Western culture we place our teachers and preachers on high pedestals. If they have a mega church or a large television audience , if they have a PhD or degrees from a well-known school or seminary we will listen to them with awe.  We will heap honors upon them. We will have pastor appreciation days and weeks.   David did not look at the degrees or the audience of the great teachers, prophets, or preachers, he looked and watched them worship and praise God and if their hearts were not in it, he did not have much use for their message.

 

You know, I think it is time that we, like David, call our leaders into account. We demand that they praise and worship God.   If they are uncomfortable in doing it, I am not sure I want to hear their message.  I don’t want to hear the message of God from someone with a lot of charisma that can preach a good sermon and build a large audience.  I don’t want to hear a message from God from someone with a lot of academic degrees.  I want to hear a message from God from someone who loves God with all their heart, soul and mind. Who are just so in love with God that they are constantly praising him like the angels that excel in strength.  These are the messages that I want to listen to.  So bless the Lord you His teacher/preachers/scholars/prophets/angels (melek) that excel in strength (of numbers, book sales, membership rolls, television polls).

 

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