6. They have ears, but they hear not. The psalmist might have pointed to the monstrous ears with which some heathen deities are disfigured—truly they have ears, but no prayer can ever be heard by them. How can gold and silver hear, and how can a rational being address petitions to one who cannot even hear his words? Noses have they, but they smell not. The psalmist seems to heap together these sentences with something of the grim sardonic spirit of Elijah when he said, “Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” In sacred scorn he mocks at those who burn spices and fill their temples with clouds of smoke offered to an image who nose cannot perceive the perfume.
PREVIOUS
NEXT
done
ReplyDelete