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Comfort?


I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them. (Psalm 119:52)

 

          Image you’re an ancient Greek or Roman. Have you ever thought about how difficult they had it? I’m not talking about technology, or the fact that the vast majority of people were slaves. I’m talking about their religion. First off, there was just plain fate. The gods could do nothing about that. But let’s say that somehow, you knew what to do to keep Zeus/Jupiter from getting angry with you. That doesn’t mean that any of the other gods in the pantheon will be happy with you. It may mean that if Hera/Juno got angry with Zeus/Jupiter, you may find yourself on her bad side. Not only that, but if you got into a fight with someone else with whom Zeus/Jupiter was fond, he might turn against you. Power wasn’t clearly delineated among the gods, so how much research do you have to do to find out how many of what to sacrifice to which gods to take care of whatever your need is?
          This is at least one reason why I understand what the psalmist is saying when he says that he finds comfort in the ancient laws. Yes, there were a lot of laws, and no, they might not all make sense to us today, but they were clear enough, and direct enough to make it simple to know whether or not you were pleasing God. If you weren’t, the Law told you how to fix it, and you didn’t have to be a Hercules to accomplish it. 
          So yes, the ancient laws do give comfort.

                 

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