The Supreme God as the God of Nature
The Assyrian and Hebrew hymnal literature which praise the deity as the creator of the world, are also concerned with the deity as the god of nature. One prominent function of both Assyrian and Hebrew deity was to maintain the food supply. Assyrian and Hebrew God, give the increase of the soil:
Enlil, who makest to abound pure oil and milk:
Father Enlil, keeper of the plants of the garden;
Keeper of the grain fields are thou.
—Hymn to Enlil.
Lord of the lands, king of heaven and earth, who heaps up abundance,
Lord of the living things, merciful one, increaser of the wheat.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Who maketh peace in the borders
Who filleth thee with the purest of the wheat.
—Psalm 147:14.
Who causeth grass to sprout for the cattle,
And herbs for the service of man,
To bring forth food from the earth,
And wine to make glad the heart of man.
—Psalm 104:14.
Thou distributest the food of cultivation to all habitations
—Hymn to Marduk No. 2.
The Assyrian deity of the hymnist also provides food for the gods, probably through the sacrifices, which in turn were dependent upon the crops:
Thou suppliest the food of god and goddess,
The creator among them art thou.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 9.
Yahwe provides food not only for man but also for the beasts:
Who giveth to the beast its food,
To the young ravens which cry.
—Psalm 147:9.
The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek from God their food.
—Psalm 104:21.
It may be remarked that these verses reveal a close bond of sympathy between the Hebrew God and the lower animals. This finds fullest expression in Psalm 104 where the brooks in the mountains afford drink for the wild beasts, and the birds and the cedars of Lebanon avail for birds’ nests, the high mountains for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies.
While the Assyrian hymns do not happen to speak of the god as providing food for the animals, yet there is one hymnal passage which reveals regard for the lower animals and perhaps also suggests a bond of sympathy between deity and the lower animals:
The creeping beast, the four footed one,
For thy great light their eyes are directed to thee.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 7.
The fertility of the soil is directly due to the act of the deity in sending rain:
In the heavens I take my place and send rain;
In the earth I take my place and cause the verdure to spring forth.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 4.
Thou causest to rain the abundant rains, mighty floods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
The Hebrew poet remarks that the rain comes from the clouds, and he has also observed that lightning is followed by rain. It is Yahwe:
Who covereth the heavens with clouds;
Who prepareth for the earth rain;
Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
—Psalm 147:8.
Who bringeth up vapors from the ends of the earth;
Lightnings for rain he maketh.
—Psalm 135:7.
He watereth the mountains from his chambers.
—Psalm 104:13.
Likewise the fertility occasioned by the rivers and streams is due, in the first place, to the deities which have opened the springs, and guided the streams down into the plains:
Who guidest the rivers in the midst of the mountains,
Who openest the springs in the midst of the hills.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 2.
Thou maintainest abundance without end, the dried up spring thou openest.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 2.
Director of the river courses, opener of the springs.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Marduk, lord of abundance of riches, who pours down fullness,
Lord of the mountain streams and waters, ruler of the mountains,
Opener of the fountains and springs, guide of the rivers,
Bestower of corn and grain, creator of wheat and barley, renewer of the green herb.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 9.
Gushea who gives the growth of plants,
Without thee is no river opened, no river shut off.
Thou who grantest life, without thee is no canal opened,
No canal shut off from which numerous people drink;
Without thee is no sacrificial portion, no portion of food.
—Hymn to Ishtar.
Yahwe also can open the spring:
Who turnest the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water
—Psalm 114:8.
and Yahwe is also the guide of the streams:
Who sendest forth springs into the valleys,
Between the mountains they run.
—Psalm 104:10.
In addition to sending rain from heaven and causing streams to irrigate the plains, the Assyrian deity also sows the seed:
Over the land thou goest scattering seed.
—Ninib No. 5.
The work of the deities in nature as elsewhere need not always be done immediately, but can be accomplished by the spoken word. Assyrian and Hebrew hymns alike exalt the power of the divine word. The voice that speaks the word is a voice of thunder.
To him that rideth in the ancient heavens,
He uttereth his voice, a voice of strength.
—Psalm 68:34.
As the sound of Adad’s thunder thy voice is awe inspiring.
—Marduk II col. III.
The word of God is irresistible:
Counsellor, favorite of Ea, whose word cannot be withstood,
To whose powerful word the great Igigi give heed.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Thy word is proclaimed in heaven, and the Igigi prostrate themselves:
Thy word is proclaimed on earth, and the Annunaki kiss the ground.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
The word once spoken is not to be recalled. It is unalterable. It goes on to do that work which the deity hath pleased:
The exalted hero, whose word is unalterable.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 14.
Perfect in judgment, whose word is not altered:
Determiner of destinies, whose word is not altered.
—Hymn to Bel.
Ninib, whose command is not altered.
—Ninib 4:32.
The word of the deity has its mysterious independent existence:
Thy word is like the distant heaven and the concealed earth, which no man can see
Thy word who can know it, who can compare with it?
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
The word exerts its power in nature:
Thy word sounds on high like a storm wind and food and drink do abound;
The word makes fat stall and stable and multiplies living creatures.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
More wonderful still, the word has ethical power:
Thy word causest truth and righteousness to arise,
That men may speak the truth.
—Hymn to Sin line 26.
The word also exerts its destructive power in nature:
Thy word when it extends to the sea the very sea is frightened;
Thy word when it extends to the marsh, the marsh laments.
—Hymn to Sin No. 4.
Thy word is a lofty net which over heaven and earth thou spreadest out:
Unto the sea it turns, the sea takes fright:
Unto the marsh it turns, the marsh laments:
To the flood of Euphrates it turns;
The word of Marduk stirs up the bottom.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 5.
The word may bring disaster to people and to lands:
His word is brought to an enchanter, that enchanter takes fright;
His word is brought to a seer, that seer takes fright;
His word is brought to a sorrowful man, that man laments;
His word is brought to a sorrowful woman, that woman laments;
His word when it goes softly, ruins the land;
His word when it goes powerfully, destroys the houses;
His word makes people sick, it makes the people weak;
His word when it goes on high, makes the land sick;
His word when it goes below, devastates the land;
His word when there are five in a house, drives out five;
His word when there are ten in a house, drives out ten.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 6.
The utterance of my exalted command destroys the land of the foe.
—Hymn to Belit.
Likewise the word of Yahwe has in the biblical hymns its independent existence. This is apparent in Psalm 29, although in this instance it is the thunder, as the voice of the deity, to which the devastation in nature is attributed. Yahwe’s word exerts its power in nature; causing the snow and ice to form, and again causing them to disappear:
He sendeth his command to earth;
Swiftly runneth his word.
—Psalm 147:15.
He sendeth his word and melteth them;
He causeth his wind to blow and the water flows.
—Psalm 147:18.
Fire and hail, snow and vapor,
Storm wind fulfilling his word.
—Psalm 148:8.
For the Hebrew, the power of Yahwe’s word is manifested supremely in the creation of the world:
Over the mountains stood the waters:
At thy rebuke they fled;
At the voice of the thunder they hasted away.
—Psalm 104:7.
By the word of Yahwe were the heavens made,
And by the breath of his mouth their host.
—Psalm 33:6.
For he spake, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
—Psalm 33:9.
For he commanded and they were created.
—Psalm 148:5.
Chapter XIII
THE SUPREME GOD AS WISE, POWERFUL, MERCIFUL
From the works of God in creation and nature, the hymnist passes readily and naturally to the thought of God’s wisdom. The Assyrian hymns in many passages extol the wisdom of God, but wisdom, as one might expect in a polytheistic religion is attributed to the deities in varying degree. Some passages almost seem to appraise the god’s intellectual capacity:
Of clever mind exceeding wise to whose plans nothing is comparable.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 6.
Of big heart and deep understanding.
—Hymn to Asshur.
O lord, Bel, thou prince, who art mighty in understanding.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 10.
Powerful one, of open mind, director of gods and men.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 9.
Very similar to this in the juxtaposition of power and wisdom is Psalm 147:5:
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
To his understanding there is no measurement.
The knowledge of the god is due in part to the fact that from his place of vantage in heaven he is able to observe all things:
Lady of heaven, the lands, and the seas,
All living beings of the earth thou beholdest.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 1.
As for those who speak with the tongue in all countries,
Thou knowest their plans, their walk thou observest,
Shamash, wise one, lofty one, thine own counsellor art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 7.
Very similarly it is said of Yahwe:
From Heaven looketh Yahwe:
He beholdeth all the sons of men;
From his dwelling place he regardeth
All the inhabitants of the earth.
He hath formed of all of them their hearts,
He that considereth all their deeds.
—Psalm 33:13-15.
But the knowledge of some Assyrian deities is deeper than that, for the gods read the omens and so learn the fates of men and nations for the years to come:
With Sin in the heavens thou seest through everything.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
Who looks through all signs, introduces omens.
—Hymn to Nusku No. 2.
The god apart from whom in the deep the lot of man is not determined
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
While the gods, in some passages, are thought of as simply reading the signs, in others, they actually have in their hands the determination of destinies:
Bel thy father has granted thee,
That the law of all the gods thy hand should hold;
Thou renderest the judgment of mankind.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
Who gave the fates of the great gods into thy hand;
Who commanded the kissing of thy feet, and appointed for thee homage.
—Hymn to Marduk Nos. 1, 10.
O lord, who determines the decision of heaven and earth,
Whose command is not set aside.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
Perfect in judgment, whose word is not altered;
Determiner of destinies, whose word is not altered.
—Hymn to Bel.
Powerful, stately lord of gods, determiner of fates,
Thou who fixest the law of the deep, impartest to the gods sacrifice and presents.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Who dost call to lordship, dost bestow the sceptre;
Determinest destinies for far off days.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
Asshur, powerful stately lord of the gods, determiner of fates.
—Hymn to Asshur.
Yahwe is also the determiner of destiny, but he is a rational power behind events. It is the plan of his own heart that he carries into effect:
Yahwe bringeth to nought the counsel of the nations;
He maketh of no effect the plans of peoples.
—Psalm 33:10.
The counsel of Yahwe for ever shall stand;
The plans of his heart for all generations.
—Psalm 33:11.
He cutteth off the spirit of princes;
Terrible is he to the kings of the earth.
—Psalm 76:13.
Since the events of earth are influenced so largely by the earthly sovereign, it is altogether natural that the deity’s determination of destinies should have special application to the case of the king. This makes it easier to understand how the Hebrews looked to Yahwe to set upon the throne of Zion an ideal king. (Psalms 2, 110, and 72.) However magical the Assyrian conception of the determination of fate, the Assyrian deities are in some passages hailed as omniscient:
O lord that knowest fate, who of thyself art glorious in Sumer,
Father Enlil, lord of unerring word,
Father Enlil, whose omniscience is self-created,
Thou possest all wisdom, perfect in power.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Mighty lord of the gods, all knowing one.
—Hymn to Asshur.
Of open mind, knower of the word, knower of everything.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 6.
The wisdom of the gods is so deep that it cannot be easily fathomed and understood:
O Anu of the heavens, whose purpose no man knows,
Whose command is not altered and whose purpose no god knows.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
O mighty leader whose deep inner being no god understands.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
With these passages may be compared:
How great are thy works, Yahwe;
Exceeding deep are thy purposes.
—Psalm 92:6.
It is especially in the works of Yahwe that the Hebrew finds His wisdom revealed:
How many are thy works, Yahwe,
All of them in wisdom hast thou done.
—Psalm 104:24.
The gods thus possessed of wisdom and knowledge are counsellors:
Shamash, wise one, lofty one, thine own counsellor art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 7.
With Ea in the multitude of the gods is thy counsel preëminent.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
Lord, leader and counsellor of the great gods.
—Hymn to Nusku No. 1.
Judge of the world, leader ... powerful one,
Thou impartest counsel, lord of the gods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Among the gods superior is thy counsel.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Reading these words, one hears again the voice of the great prophet of the Babylonian exile. He seems to scoff at this feature of polytheism, just as elsewhere he scoffs at idolatry:
Who hath directed the spirit of Yahwe,
And as a counsellor hath taught him,
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him,
And taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding?
—Isaiah 40:13.
Counsel is given to gods and men by means of oracles:
Before thy face the great gods bow down, the fate of the world is set before thee,
The great gods beseech thee, and thou givest counsel;
They take their stand all of them, they petition at thy feet;
O Sin, glorious one of Ekur, they beseech thee,
And thou givest the oracle of the gods.
—Hymn to Sin No. 1.
To give omens do I arise, do I arise in perfection,
Beside my father Sin to give omens do I arise in perfection,
Beside my brother Shamash to give omens do I arise in perfection.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 5.
If one seeks advice, demands a suitable decision, so toward Marduk is his attention.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Kindly is thy thoughtfulness, thou impartest careful counsel.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 2.
One must remark here the complete absence from the biblical hymns of any reference to Yahwe as the giver of oracles. When one remembers how frequently, in the historical narratives, resort is had to the deity for disclosure of the future, its absence from the hymns seems significant. The hymns are curiously silent about Yahwe as the counsellor of men, although testimony is given in the non-hymnal psalms to the attainment of spiritual insight in the temple.
For the author of Psalm 19:8-15, wisdom and knowledge are stored up in the law. There may have been a certain reaction against seeking guidance of the deity because of Assyrian magical practises, but the fact is that the hymns are less concerned with God’s plans for the individual than they are with his eternal plan for his people.