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Psalm 25:14 says that \u201cthe secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him, and His covenant He will cause them to know.\u201d The parallel structure of the verse indicates that \u201csecret\u201d and \u201ccovenant\u201d are describing the same reality, and the parallel comes out more strongly in the Hebrew since the phrases \u201cto those who fear Him\u201d and \u201cto cause them to know\u201d (Hiphil infinitive of yada\u2019 <\/i> ) are grammatically parallel constructions, an aspect of the verse that is hard to render in English. <\/p>\n
Thus, there is a double parallel, first between \u201csecret\u201d and \u201ccovenant\u201d and secondly between \u201cfear\u201d and \u201cknowledge.\u201d The latter connection is well-known from the Proverbs, which insist that the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. But the parallel of \u201csecret\u201d and \u201ccovenant\u201d is unusual and revealing. <\/p>\n
The word for \u201csecret\u201d is sod <\/i> , and it is used in several passages to describe either a) an intimate conversation or secret plans or b) a circle of confidants, conversation partners, or friends who are told about plans. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament <\/i> , the word differs from other words for counsel or advice by its emphasis on confidentiality. <\/p>\n
Amos 3:7 states that Yahweh reveals His \u201csecret counsel\u201d to the prophets (cf. Gen 18); the word here means something like \u201cplans that are not yet revealed or accomplished.\u201d The wicked conspire to make \u201csecret plans\u201d against the righteous (Ps 83:3). Jacob condemns Simeon and Levi for their violence, and says that his soul \u201cwill not enter into their secret plans\u201d (Gen 49:6). Proverbs repeatedly warns against associating with one who would \u201creveal secrets\u201d (Pr 11:13; 20:19; 25:9). <\/p>\n
David complains about a treacherous friend, who turns against him after they had \u201chad sweet counsel together, walked in the house of God in the throng\u201d (Psalm 55:14 [Heb, v 15]), apparently using the word not only to describe the intimacy of their fellowship, but the company or circle of intimate friends and fellow worshipers of Yahweh. Job also uses the word in describing a circle of friends, complaining that all the \u201cmen of my secret counsel\u201d have turned against him (Job 19:19). The assembly of worshipers at the temple is described as \u201cthe sod <\/i> of the upright\u201d in Psalm 111:1, where the word stands in parallelism to \u2018edah <\/i> (\u201cassembly\u201d). <\/p>\n
The TWOT summarizes some of the other uses: \u201cThe wise and upright man who walks in the fear of the Lord will have God\u2019s secret counsel . . . . He will associate himself with others who likewise fear God (Ps 89:7 [H 8]) and sing his praises (Ps 111:1). He will dissociate himself from evildoers (Gen 49:6; Jer 15:17) and pray for deliverance from their evil machinations (Ps 64:2 [H 3]). God himself will oppose wicked councils (Jer 23:18-22) and pour out his wrath upon their members (Jer 6:11) so that they have no place among the assembly of the righteous (Ezk 13:9)\u201d ( TWOT <\/i> , vol. 2, p. 619). <\/p>\n
Looking back at Psalm 25:14, we may draw out several lines of consideration. First, the Psalm might be indicating the connection between being in covenant and being given access to the prophetic council of Yahweh. The \u201csecret counsel\u201d is what Yahweh reveals to His prophets (Amos 3:7), and this is identified in Psalm 25 as the covenant itself. This makes sense in the case of Abraham, who is both recipient of the covenant promise and the first prophet in Scripture, to whom Yahweh reveals His plans to destroy Sodom. Second, the Psalm, and the use of the word in the OT generally, offers some suggestive insight of a kind of sociological nature. The word is used both of the \u201ccouncil of intimates\u201d who are associated with Yahweh and the conspirators who develop secret plans against the righteous. We can hypothesize that membership in some \u201csecret council\u201d is a baseline human desire, the desire that C.S. Lewis described as the desire to enter the \u201cInner Ring.\u201d If so, the proliferation of conspiracies and conspiracy theories in the modern world might be seen as a perverse reaction to the loss of access to Yahweh\u2019s \u201cInner Ring.\u201d <\/p>\n
Finally, the verse in Psalm 25 holds some crucial implications for our understanding of \u201ccovenant\u201d and \u201cdecree.\u201d In a word, the Psalm equates the two: Yahweh reveals His secret plans (decree) to those who fear Him, which is to say that He makes known His covenant. This seems to support Barth\u2019s view that the decree of God is not some plan hidden behind the covenant promise or some plan \u201cmore basic\u201d or \u201cdeeper\u201d than God\u2019s revelation in Jesus Christ. Rather, the coming of the Word is the revelation of the decree; Jesus is the \u201cdecree made flesh\u201d to dwell among us. In Jesus, the \u201cmystery\u201d has been revealed. We certainly don\u2019t know exhaustively what God\u2019s \u201csecret plans\u201d are, but we know plenty: that God intends for all nations to be blessed in the Seed of Abraham, that God has decreed that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, that every last event of history is moving toward the moment in which God will be all in all, and a whole lot more. Through Jesus, we know the end of the story, and that means we know much about the events leading to the end. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Psalm 25:14 says that \u201cthe secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him, and His covenant He will cause them to know.\u201d The parallel structure of the verse indicates that \u201csecret\u201d and \u201ccovenant\u201d are describing the same reality, and the parallel comes out more strongly in the Hebrew since the phrases \u201cto those who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-ot-psalms"],"yoast_head":"\n