God’s Praise and God’s Presence: A Biblical-Theological Study

By Gabriele G. Braun and Bruce Waltke

The main aim of this book is to provide an answer to the question: is there a connection between God's people's praise and God's presence? The central argument is that Scripture in both Testaments testifies to a correlation between human praise and divine presence. This hypothesis has been investigated in the light of contemporary Christian worship culture and the ensuing need for further biblical studies, which represents the background for this investigation. The study achieves the above aim by applying biblical theology as a discipline and canonical and intertextual models as a method.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Jun 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781532655081

Gabriele G. Braun

Gabriele G. Braun has been a lecturer of biblical Greek and Hebrew and is an extraordinary researcher at Northwest-University Potchefstroom, RSA. She has a background in modern languages and holds two master’s degrees and one PhD in theology. Gabriele volunteers as a preacher in the Lutheran Church, etc. and as a theological translator.

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God’s Praise and God’s Presence

A Biblical-Theological Study

Gabriele G. Braun

Foreword by Bruce Waltke

God’s Praise and God’s Presence

A Biblical-Theological Study

Copyright © 2020 Gabriele G. Braun. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Wipf & Stock

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-5506-7

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-5507-4

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-5508-1

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 06/24/20

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are based on or taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

In memory of my parents,

Matthäus O. Braun († 1972) and Ruth G. Braun († 1999)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

—HabaKkuk

2

:

14

List of Charts and Tables

Chart

1

: Triangle of service and praise (chapter

2

)

Chart

2

: Glorious circle (chapter

6

)

Chart

3

: Table on intertextual links with a connection between presence and praise (chapter

6

)

Chart

4

: Table on house of God metaphors in the OT (chapter

6

)

Chart

5

: Table on temple metaphors in the NT (chapter

6

)

Chart

6

: Table on the divine indwelling (chapter

6

)

Chart

7

: The divine indwelling in the OT (chapter

6

)

Chart

8

: The divine indwelling in the NT (chapter

6

)

Chart

9

: The divine indwelling in BT (chapter

6

)

Chart

10

: Table on the divine-human covenant-relationship (chapter

6

)

Table of Contents

Title Page

List of Charts and Tables

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: God’s People’s Praise—Approaches Towards a Theology of Worship

2.1 Neil Hudson: Worship: Singing a New Song in a Strange Land

2.2 James Steven: Worship in the Spirit: Charismatic Worship in the Church of England

2.3 Philip Greenslade: Worship in the Best of Both Worlds: Theological Explorations between Two Extremes

2.4 Howard Marshall: How Far Did the Early Christians Worship God? and Worshipping Biblically

2.5 David G. Peterson: Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship

2.6 Peter Wick: Die Urchristlichen Gottesdienste [Worship Services of the Early Church]

2.7 Daniel Block: For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship

2.8 John J. Davis: Worship and the Reality of God: An Evangelical Theology of Real Presence

2.9 Tobias Faix and Tobias Künkler: Generation Lobpreis und die Zukunft der Kirche [Generation Praise and the Future of the Church]

2.10 Summary and Conclusion

Chapter 3: Biblical Theology—a Distinct Discipline and Its Methods

3.1 Biblical Theology: Development and Debate

3.2 Brevard Childs: A Canonical Approach

3.3 James Barr: Biblical Theology and Canonical Criticism

3.4 Critique of the Canonical Approach

3.5 Narrative and Intertextual Models

3.6 Some Contemporary Hermeneutical Models

3.7 Summary

Chapter 4; God’s Glory-Presence in the Praises of His People in the Old Testament

4.1 Divine Presence and Human Praise in 1 Kings 8: Temple Inauguration

4.2 Divine Presence and Human Praise in 2 Chronicles 5–7: Temple Inauguration

4.3 Similarities and Differences between 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5–7

4.4 Human Praise and Divine Presence without Temple Context

4.5 Human Praise and/or Divine Presence?

4.6 Summary

Chapter 5: God’s Spirit-Presence and God’s People’s Praise in the New Testament

5.1 General Remarks on Luke-Acts

5.2 The Initial Spirit-Infilling and Praise of God’s New People: Acts 2

5.3 The Initial Spirit-Infilling and Praise of God’s New People: Acts 10 and 11

5.4 Human Praise and Spirit-Refilling in Acts 4

5.5 Human Praise and Divine Presence in Acts 16

5.6 Human Praise and Spirit-Refilling in Ephesians 5

5.7 Summary and Conclusion

Chapter 6: Results from a Biblical Theology Perspective: Three Intertextual Themes and Related Issues

6.1 The Connection between Divine Presence and Human Praise

6.2 The Divine Indwelling: The Infilling of God’s House with his Presence

6.3 The Divine Human Covenant Relationship

6.4 Contraindications and Queries about Worship

6.5 Interdisciplinary Transitions to Systematic Theology

6.6 Summary

Chapter 7: Conclusion and Outlook

Bibliography

Foreword

In our Western society God is ‘dying’ because our institutions are stamping out his name as fast as they can. If they succeeded, the rock would cry out his name, as Jesus said. It occurred to me that ontologically God cannot die; but epistemologically—in human knowledge—he could if people stopped praising his name. As God ‘dies’ epistemologically, his beneficent presence and glory depart. But of course, God will always have his elect to praise him (cf. 1 Pet 2:9; Eph 1:11–12). In view of that, I have become more and more aware of the importance of praising God’s name. The more we praise, the greater his glory and benediction. I now understand what the psalmist means that I Am inhabits the praises of Israel. David sings, albeit in a lament: You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel (Psa 22:3, ESV).

This connection between God’s presence and God’s people’s praise is precisely what Dr. Gabriele G. Braun explored in her book God’s Praise and God’s Presence, which is based on her doctoral thesis with Northwest-University, Potchefstroom, RSA. Until now, as Gabriele G. Braun comments, interest has centered either on divine presence in its various expressions or on God’s people’s praise in its different forms. As far as I am aware, there exist very few biblical-theological studies on a potential connection between both. In her book, Gabriele Braun argues from the Old and New Testaments as well as from a biblical theology perspective that God’s praise and God’s presence enjoy a reciprocal correlation. In the Old Testament, she reflects upon the sequence of events in the inauguration of Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kings 8, before the Levites brought the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s throne, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, King Solomon and the assembly sacrificed, presumably with praise and thanksgiving, so many sheep and cattle that they could not be counted (v. 5). After the Levites had positioned the ark beneath the wings of the cherubim in the inner sanctuary (vv. 6–7), the priest withdrew from the Holy Place, whereupon an escalating terminology of ‘cloud,’ ‘glory of the Lord,’ and ‘thick darkness’ emphasizes that the Lord himself had entered with his presence the inner sanctuary of his new house.¹ Then Solomon blessed the assembly and said: "Praise be to I AM, the God of Abraham . .  . Braun rightly notes that the sequence of events does not provide evidence to draw the conclusion that prayer and praise are the instrumental condition" for God’s glory and presence to enter the temple.² What the text does show, however, is a relationship between Presence and praise.

The synoptic account in 2 Chronicles 5–7 establishes an even stronger correlation between God’s people’s praise and his presence by adding to the sequence—between the priests withdrawing from the sanctuary and the glory cloud filling the temple—that the Levites who were musicians played their instruments and the singers raised their voices in praise to I AM and sang: He is good; his love endures forever (2 Chr 5:13). In this context of praise, the glory of I AM filled the temple (2 Chr 5:11–14). Moreover, the Chronicler adds another perspective to Solomon’s dedication of the temple and I AM’s consecration of it: "When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifice, and the glory of I AM filled the temple. . . . When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of I AM above the temple, they . . . worshiped I AM and gave thanks to I AM, saying, He is good, his love endures forever (2 Chr 7:1–3). Braun summarizes the Chronicler’s account: the sequence of events suggests that 2 Chronicles 5–7 depicts human praise in temporal correlation with divine presence, once before and once after the infilling of the Lord’s house with his glory.³

Braun finds the same correlation of Presence and praise when the Spirit inaugurated the Church, a spiritual temple. In Acts 1–2, the Holy Spirit filled, as God’s glory had Solomon’s temple, the initial, prayerful Jewish believers in Jesus as Messiah, and they manifested his presence by glossalalia⁴ (ἑτέραις γλώσσαις speaking in another language/tongue, Acts 2:4), presumably with praise. In Acts 10, the Holy Spirit filled the initial, prayerful Gentiles, and, as they heard about Jesus Christ, they also manifested his presence in glossalalia (γλώσσαις) and praise (Acts 10:44–46).

Braun establishes her argument citing other texts in both Testaments. She emphasizes that a connection between Presence and praise does not depend on temple context, but on a holy covenant relationship between God and his people, as is evidenced in some of the Holy War narratives, e.g. in 2 Chronicles 20. These narratives witness a reverse connection in that God’s people’s praise is narrated to have instigated manifestations of divine presence in action. Braun points out the same reverse connection in Acts 4 and Acts 16 where God’s people’s praise is related to have prompted manifestations of divine presence in terms of a repeated infilling of the young Christian community with Holy Spirit and/or other supernatural manifestations. She rightly concludes that Scripture witnesses to a reciprocal correlation between Presence and praise.

Dr. Braun offers not only a substantial study, but also a valuable contribution to how biblical theology can be done as a discipline with the help of both a canonical and intertextual method. Her approach is synchronic serving the reader to identify the message of the text rather than its historical development although she does not ignore the existence of a diachronic approach. I have known Gabriele for more than twenty-five years when she first helped me with some translation work. During that time I have come to appreciate the way she developed scholarly and spiritual qualities at high level. Therefore, I sincerely recommend this book on God’s Praise and God’s Presence; it will benefit scholars and students alike—whether from Old or New Testament or biblical theology or any other discipline—to explore a discipline and its methods, which may seem exotic to some. Not too many scholars, still some coming particularly from the Old Testament, have in the past ventured to tread upon this rather unknown and yet promising territory. The above study represents an example which will benefit anyone who takes an interest in God inhabiting the praises of his people, including those of scholarship.

Reverend Dr. Bruce K. Waltke

Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Biblical Theology

Preface

The title God’s Praise and God’s Presence conceals a question: Is there a connection between both? This question has arisen in the light of contemporary Christian worship culture and its need for further biblical studies, which represents the background for the present project. Hence, the main aim of this book is to provide an answer to the question: Do the Scriptures actually confirm a connection between God’s people’s praise and God’s presence? The answer is that Scripture in both Testaments does testify to a correlation between human praise and divine presence, yet, in the context of a human-divine covenant relationship.

For that purpose, biblical theology has been applied as a distinct discipline, and canonical and intertextual models as a method. This has been done in the hope to infuse life to a discipline somehow long lost and rarely rediscovered. This discipline is full of potential to facilitate drawing treasures from the Scriptures with the purpose to recover their meaning and message for present-day readers.

Thus, this project represents a modest biblical-theological study based on the writer’s doctoral dissertation with North-West University, RSA, and no liturgical investigation, yet, with the hope to provide some results which may be applicable to pastoral theology, and especially in liturgical studies, in order to serve contemporary Christian worship and its needs.

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks and acknowledgement are due to quite a few international scholars including professors emeriti, colleagues, and friends from Canada, the UK, the RSA, and Australia, who have encouraged me to believe in the potential of this project and provided support in various ways along the way. Among them are particularly mentioned Professor Dr. Bruce Waltke, Professor Dr. Max Turner, and Professor Dr. Francois Viljoen, as well as Dr. Stuart Rochester. Thanks is due to Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK, and their staff for providing an atmosphere stimulating fruitful research, as well as to the colleagues from AfeT, FEET, and SBL for their encouragement. I am indebted to unnamed friends for their unswerving support throughout the entire process. Finally, I think with heartfelt gratitude of my late parents, Matthäus Braun and Ruth Braun, for having invested into my life in many different ways, which enabled me to walk this path. And ultimately: Soli Deo gloria!

Abbreviations

AB Anchor Bible

aci accusativus cum infinitivo

AfeT Arbeitskreis für evangelikale Theologie [Workshop for evangelical theology, German branch of FEET]

ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts

ASOR American Schools of Oriental Research

AsTJ Asbury Theological Journal

Bell. Bellum Judaicum (Josephus)

BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

BHGNT Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament

BibInt Biblical Interpretation Series

BJS Brown Judaic Studies

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BT biblical theology

BT The Bible Translator

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CCCM Corpus Christianorum: Continuatio Medievalis

CCOT The Communicator’s Commentary Series Old Testament

corr. corrected

CTQ Concordia Theological Quarterly

De Ebr De Ebrietate, de Sobrietate (Philo)

diss. dissertation

ed. editor, edition

eds editors

EDNT Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament

EJT European Journal of Theology

enl. enlarged

equiv. equivalent

ESV English Standard Version

EvQ The Evangelical Quarterly

FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament

FB Forschung zur Bibel

FEET Fellowship of European Evangelical Theologians

Gk. Greek

HBS Herders biblische Studien

SHBC Smith & Helwys Bible Commentary

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology

HvTSt Hervormde teologiese Studies

ICC International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

IJST International Journal of Systematic Theology

IJT Indian Journal of Theology

ICC International Critical Commentary

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JPT Journal of Pentecostal Theology

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

JTSA Journal of Theology for Southern Africa

KD Kirchliche Dogmatik (Karl Barth)

LCL Loeb Classical Library

LD Lectio Divina

LHBOTS The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies

LNTS The Library of New Testament Studies

LXX Septuagint

Macc. Maccabees

MDiv Master of Divinity

MS manuscript

MT Masoretic Text

MTh Master of Theology

NAC New American Commentary

NASB New American Standard Bible

NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament

NIV New International Version

NSBT New Studies in Biblical Theology

NT New Testament (in terms of Greek Bible)

NTL The New Testament Library

OBT Overtures to Biblical Theology

OT Old Testament (in terms of Hebrew Bible)

OTL The Old Testament Library

OTS Old Testament Studies

PBM Paternoster Biblical Monographs

prelim. preliminary (title of edition)

PTMS Princeton Theological Monograph Series

PTR The Princeton Theological Review

1 QH Hodayot or Thanksgiving Hymns

1 QM War Scroll

1 QS Community Code

RBL Review of Biblical Literature

repr. reprinted

rev. revised

RTR Reformed Theological Review

SBAB Stuttgarter Biblische Aufsatzbände

SBET Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology

SBJT The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology

SBL Society of Biblical Literature

SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series

SBLG Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Greek New Testament Bible Software

SBLHS Society of Biblical Literature Handbook of Style

SBLMS Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series

SBLStBL Society of Biblical Literature Studies in Biblical Literature

SBS Stuttgarter Bibelstudien

sic thus

SHS The Scripture and Hermeneutics Series

SJT Scottish Journal of Theology

SSN Studia Semitica Neerlandica

ST systematic theology

StBibLit Studies in Biblical Literature

SVTQ St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly

TANZ Texte und Arbeiten zum Neutestamentlichen Zeitalter

TF Tyndale Fellowship

TJ Trinity Journal

Them Themelios

trans. translated, translation

TRu Theologische Rundschau

TVG Theologische Verlagsgemeinschaft

TWNT Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

VE Vox Evangelica

VT Vetus Testamentum

VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum

WAWSup Writings from the Ancient World Supplement Series

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

WCC World Council of Churches

WTJ The Westminster Theological Journal

WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

ZECNT Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

1

. Braun, Praise and Presence, 88.

2

. Braun, Praise and Presence, 86.

3

. Braun, Praise and Presence, 98.

4

. Braun refers to this instance as xenolalia, Praise and Presence, 135.

1.0

Introduction

Studies in the Anglophone world in the past few decades have explored the impact of contemporary pop culture and charismatic culture on Christian mainstream worship. Contemporary Christian praise seems to imply a correlation between human praise and divine presence. In view of these influences, the need for further biblical studies in that domain becomes evident. This worship scene and its needs represent the real-world setting for our question: God’s praise and God’s presence—is there a connection?

And so, the main aim of this book is to attempt to provide an answer to the question whether the Scriptures intimate such a connection between God’s people’s praise and God’s presence. The central hypothesis is that Scripture in both Testaments testifies to a correlation between human praise and divine presence which can be reciprocal at times. This argument has been tested in the light of contemporary Christian worship culture and its need for further biblical studies as background for our project. We will achieve the above aim by employing biblical theology as a distinct discipline and a canonical-intertextual model as a method to meet five specific objectives.

First, the need for further biblical studies will be demonstrated by testing existing approaches to a biblical theology of worship with regard to an interaction between human praise and divine presence.

Second, it will be established that biblical theology as a a distinct discipline and a canonical approach combined with an intertextual model as a method serve our purpose to explore texts from both Testaments regarding a bond between human praise and divine presence.

Third, the above argument will be corroborated in narratives from the Hebrew Bible, i.e., the First or Old Testament: God’s glory filling his new temple prompts his people’s praise and vice versa (1 Kgs 8 and 2 Chr 5–7); additionally, God’s people’s praise instigates manifestations of divine presence (Josh 6 and 2 Chr 20; 1 Sam 16 and 2 Kgs 3).

Fourth, the argument will be verified in texts from the Greek Bible, i.e., the Second or New Testament: God’s Holy Spirit filling his new people prompts their praise (Acts 2 and 10/11); additionally, God’s people’s praise instigates their refilling with Holy Spirit and/or other manifestations of divine presence (Acts 4 and 16; Eph 5).

Fifth, support will be offered for these results from a biblical theology perspective which reveals three intertextual themes: the connection between divine presence and human praise, the divine indwelling, and the divine-human covenant relationship.

In sum, the central argument of this investigation is that Scripture in both Testaments testifies to a connection between God’s people’s praise and God’s presence. It is suggested that at times, there is even a reciprocal correlation between these two elements which can be regarded as a dynamic process of divine-human interaction within a holy covenant relationship. In connection with that, the fundamental line of reasoning sustains that the praise of God’s people as an expression of their worship extends beyond their doxological activity in a worship service and involves a corresponding life of worship.

Therefore, the above issue will be raised from different angles of view, whether from an Old Testament or a New Testament perspective, a biblical theology perspective or a systematic theology point of view, to finish with a philosophical excursus. The main aim is to attempt to provide an answer to this overarching question whether, in general, there is a connection between God’s people’s praise and God’s presence and whether, in particular, there is a reciprocal correlation between both.

Accordingly, in the second chapter, we will test to what extent the two elements of human praise and divine presence play a part in approaches to a theology of worship. Some of the representative ones will be reviewed, which come mostly from the UK and the USA, but also from the German scene. The question asked of them is: To what extent do these approaches to a theology of worship contribute to an answer to the question about a potential link between human praise and divine presence?

To begin with the above-mentioned influences of charismatic culture and contemporary pop culture on Christian praise and worship, the reviews by Neil Hudson and James Steven, as well as Philip Greenslade will be introduced.¹ These scholars have tasted and tested doxological spices growing in Pentecostal and charismatic lands. The need for going back to the biblical roots of worship was taken up early by scholars such as I. Howard Marshall who in his exegetical treatises tackles the issue of worship and worship service in the context of their terminology.² Then, David Peterson and Peter Wick apply biblical theology as a discipline, each resulting in a comprehensive monograph on biblical worship:³ Peterson is one of the first scholars to offer an approach to a biblical theology of worship. Wick investigates the origins and development of temple, synagogue, and house worship of the early church and early Judaism including their terminology; his understanding of worship is mainly seen against the background of worship services, but is not limited to that. The approach by Daniel Block of recovering a biblical theology of worship concentrates on the ethical aspect of a corresponding life-setting and involves a pastoral-liturgical view.⁴ Fairly close to the theme of this project comes the illuminating analysis of evangelical worship by John Jefferson Davis who keeps in view both the role of human praise and divine presence or rather absence in worship and praise.⁵ Last but not least features a more recent study on youth culture in the church in Germany focusing on the so-called generation praise by Tobias Faix and Tobias Künkler.⁶

These critiques of contemporary Christian worship culture expose similar characteristics which can be perceived at international and interdenominational levels. Furthermore, the above studies reveal an important phenomenon in our contemporary world, namely the merging of cultural and Christian categories, which requires a clear distinction between cultural and biblical aspects. A careful exegesis of both lay a sound foundation towards that goal. Therefore, the exegesis of Scripture and of Christian worship culture has been the concern of a biblical theology of worship and its contributions.

Nonetheless, these few existing approaches towards a biblical theology of worship point to a twofold need: first, an increased demand for studies in the area of a biblical theology of worship; second, some of these studies refer to the two elements of God’s presence and God’s people’s praise individually, but most of them do not explore a potential connection between them, which may not have been their purpose.

Hence, the above arguments make clear the essential need to explore in both Testaments a potential relationship between God’s people’s praise and God’s presence. This need and challenge represent the main rationale for this book. The present investigation is naturally situated in the domain of biblical theology, which encompasses the First and the Second Testament. Still, biblical theology has not always and everywhere been recognized as an independent theological discipline, at least not at present in Germany. In contrast to that, in Anglophone countries, biblical theology saw a renaissance during the second part of the twentieth century up to now, which however, has triggered much debate.

Consequently, in the third chapter, the development and history of biblical theology as a discipline in its own right, including the main lines of the debate, will be briefly sketched. Representative methods in this domain will be introduced and evaluated like canonical and intertextual approaches. Accordingly, the question raised is: How can biblical theology as a discipline with canonical and intertextual models serve to interpret biblical texts from both Testaments with regard to a potential interaction between God’s praise and God’s presence? In this connection, the term canonical is used for the method which deals with the final form of the biblical texts and which interprets each one in the context of the biblical canon covering both Testaments. This method receives particular attention because it can be combined with other methods, like an intertextual model, and it works well with the final textual form.

At first, the canonical approach of Brevard Childs will be contrasted with the model of James Barr.⁷ Their appraisal will be followed by a critical German response.⁸ Then, recent intertextual approaches by Thomas Brodie and Kenneth Litwak will be briefly introduced, which also includes their application to Luke-Acts.⁹ These models have been chosen also because the Book of Acts contributes significant texts in this study. Subsequently, a limited choice of contemporary hermeneutical paradigms will be put to the test which are relevant for the application of the results of this study: the principlizing model by Walter Kaiser, the redemptive-historical model by Daniel Doriani, the drama-of-redemption model by Kevin Vanhoozer, and the redemptive-movement model by William Webb.¹⁰

Thus, despite the above challenge regarding the discipline, biblical theology will be presented as a discipline in its own right which may well serve the purpose of this book: the investigation of passages in both Testaments and their intertextual links regarding a potential correlation between God’s people’s praise and God’s presence.

On this basis, we have analyzed the hypothesis that Scripture in both Testaments testifies to a connection of God’s people’s praise and God’s presence. This hypothesis has been explored in the context of the inauguration of God’s new temple in the Old Testament and the beginning of God’s new people in the New Testament. The passages, which mostly belong to the narrative genre, were chosen as representative because they depict the dynamics of divine-human communication at the beginning of a new period: divine glory-presence and human praise in God’s new house on the one hand, and divine Spirit-presence and human praise in and among God’s new people on the other. Accordingly, these texts are able to shed light on a potential link between those two elements. The structural analyses of the narratives take into account the sequence of events and the literary structure, while the exegetical analyses consider aspects of grammar and semantic structure.

Accordingly, chapter 4 on the Old Testament will deal in its first two sections with the narratives of the dedication of the first temple built by King Solomon and investigate whether a connection can be observed between God’s people’ praise and his presence in the passages of 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5–7. The questions asked of these narratives is: Did God’s glory filling his new temple prompt his people’s praise, and did this praise also prompt the Lord to fill his house with his glorious presence in return?

The third section will investigate a potential connection between human praise and divine presence beyond the temple context in these narrative texts: Joshua 6:20 (Joshua and the battle at Jericho) and, similarly, 2 Chronicles 20:22 (Jehoshaphat leading Judah in battle), 1 Samuel 16:23 (David playing the harp before Saul) and, similarly, 2 Kings 3:15 (Elisha and the minstrel). Psalm 22:3 (God inhabiting the praises of Israel) also features in this section. Again, the question raised is: What do these texts, which involve the two elements of God’s people’s praise and God’s presence, but mostly no temple context, convey about a potential interaction between this praise and this presence?

The fourth section will only briefly touch on expressions of human praise, e.g., in Psalms 145 to 150 and Psalm 136, the latter of which is quoted in some of the above texts. Even though no explicit link between presence and praise is mentioned, these psalms display a covenant setting. Similarly, in Ezekiel, God’s glory-presence and his absence in the temple in the context of judgment will be referred to only in brief, e.g, in Ezekiel 10, 11, and 43. No immediate praise is involved there, while covenant context is implied. Nevertheless, these texts may shed light on a potential link between presence and praise through their covenant context.

The last and fifth section summarizes the terminology of divine presence and human praise that occurs in the above texts and contexts.

Then, chapter 5 will explore texts from the New Testament about presence and praise with God dwelling in his new people through his Holy Spirit, individually and corporately.

After a general introduction in the first part of the chapter, narratives from Acts (2:1–4; 10:44–46; and 11:15–18) will be