—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.