The tone of Nephi’s record suddenly changes after the death
of Lehi and ongoing problems with Laman, Lemuel, and the rest of the usual
suspects.
Nephi writes what is one of the most powerful, spiritual,
and beautiful psalms in the scriptures.
This is one of the few times Nephi opens up and lets us see Nephi the
man instead of Nephi the narrator, author, and teacher/preacher.
The passion and poetry of 2 Nephi
4:16–35 cannot help but move even the most casual reader of the Book of Mormon.
These verses record one of the most powerful personal testimonies ever revealed
in scripture with a tone of prophetic poetry that rivals David, Isaiah, or
Luke. In his 1947 monograph Our Book of Mormon, Sidney Sperry
christened this passage "The Psalm of Nephi," and it has carried that
epithet ever since. Sperry recognized in this passage the praise and "deep
religious feeling" common to many psalms and noted within its literary
structure a rhythm "comparable to the noble cadence of David's
poems."1 [1]
When was this written?
Many Book of Mormon scholars believe it was written after Lehi’s death
and his family problems. If so, this
means Nephi wrote this almost 20 years after they arrived in the Promised
Land.
Nephi did not begin the small plates until roughly 30 years
after they arrived (see 2 Nephi 5:28-29).
If he wrote this as he was writing the records found on the small
plates, he had 30 years to contemplate the events that had occurred.
Nephi begins by telling us what he writes on these plates
are “the things of his soul” (2 Nephi
4:15). What are the things of his
soul? “[M]y soul delighteth in the scriptures” (2 Nephi 4:15). What he writes he writes for “the learning and the profit of my children”
(2 Nephi 4:15).
16 Behold, my soul delighteth in
the things of the Lord;
and my heart pondereth
continually upon the things
which I have seen and heard.
(2 Nephi 4:16)
Nephi grieves because of his sins.
17 Nevertheless,
notwithstanding
the
great goodness of the Lord,
in showing me his great and marvelous
works,
my heart exclaimeth:
O
wretched man that I am!
Yea, my heart sorroweth
because
of my flesh;
my soul grieveth
because
of mine iniquities.
18 I am encompassed
about,
because of the temptations
and the sins
which
do so easily beset me.
19 And when I desire
to rejoice,
my heart groaneth
because
of my sins;
nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
(2 Nephi 4:15 - 19)
Nephi writes about the great and wonderful things the Lord
has done for him.
21 He hath filled me
with his love,
even unto the consuming of my flesh.
22 He hath confounded
mine enemies,
unto the causing of them
to
quake before me.
23 Behold, he hath
heard
my cry by day,
and
he hath given me knowledge
by visions in the night–time.
24 And by day
have I waxed bold in mighty prayer
before
him;
yea, my voice
have I sent up on high;
and angels came down
and ministered unto me.
25 And upon the wings
of his Spirit
hath my body been carried away
upon
exceedingly high mountains.
And mine eyes have beheld
great
things,
yea, even too great for man;
therefore I was bidden
that I should not write them.
(2 Nephi 4:21 - 25)
Nephi further wrote in his psalm of
how "the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited
men in so much mercy" (2 Nephi 4:26). Nephi also used the word
"condescension" in his description of his vision (see 1 Nephi 11:16,
26). He tied the condescension, symbolized by the tree, to "the love of
God" (1 Nephi 11:22), and in his psalm he noted that "He hath filled
me with his love" (2 Nephi 4:21). The fact that Nephi employed the word
"condescension" only in describing the vision and in his psalm—and
nowhere else—again suggests that when he wrote the psalm he had the vision in
mind.[2]
Nephi asks why?
26 O then,
if
I have seen so great things,
if
the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men
hath visited men
in so much mercy,
why should my heart weep
and my soul linger
in
the valley of sorrow,
and my flesh waste away,
and my strength slacken,
because
of mine afflictions?
27 And why should I yield to sin,
because
of my flesh?
Yea, why should I give way to temptations,
that
the evil one
have place in my heart
to destroy my peace
and afflict my soul?
Why am I angry
because of mine enemy?
(2
Nephi 4:21 - 27)
Nephi tells he has found “the answer to the questions ‘Who
are the bad guys? Where is the real enemy?’ In himself. It is his own weakness
that makes him frustrated and angry, he says. Why should he take it out on
others? (2 Nephi 4:26—35).”[3]
The question has been asked, “What was Nephi’s sin?” Matthew Nickerson answers:
Some writers have identified anger
as the specific sin which "so easily beset" him.16 Their
conclusions are based on 2 Nephi 4:27 where Nephi asks, "Why am I angry
because of mine enemy"? My own reading of this passage leaves the exact
nature of Nephi’s sin in question. The sentence quoted above is only the last
in a series of self-reflective questions Nephi poses concerning the effects of
his transgression.[4]
[1] Nephi's
Psalm: 2 Nephi 4:16–35 in the Light of Form-Critical Analysis, Matthew
Nickerson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 25,
2013.
[2] Reflections
of Nephi's Vision in His Psalm, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed July 25, 2013.
[3] Last
Call: An Apocalyptic Warning from the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 25, 2013.
[4] Nephi's
Psalm: 2 Nephi 4:16–35 in the Light of Form-Critical Analysis, Matthew
Nickerson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 25,
2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment