2 Nephi 4:28-35

We continue the Psalm of Nephi.

Nephi rejoices in the Lord.

28 Awake, my soul! 

No longer droop in sin. 

      Rejoice, O my heart,

      and give place no more

for the enemy of my soul.

29 Do not anger again

because of mine enemies. 

     Do not slacken my strength

because of mine afflictions.

30 Rejoice, O my heart,

and cry unto the Lord, and say:

     O Lord,

I will praise thee forever;

yea, my soul

     will rejoice in thee,

     my God,

and the rock of my salvation.

                                                      (2 Nephi 4:28 - 30)

Having anguished over his sins, Nephi then rejoices in the Lord.  Matthew Nickerson observes:

Anger is one of the negative effects of sin listed along with several others: remorse, sorrow, ill health, moral weakness, agitation, and waning strength. To single out anger as [Nephi’s sin] seems unwarranted. Anger concludes the list but is not set apart nor made more prominent than any other in the list. Answering his own questions, Nephi expresses trust in the Lord's redemptive powers. He is confident that the Lord's mercies are sufficient to save him from these distressing symptoms of sin…

As described earlier, omitting the specifics of the Psalmist's transgression is an important characteristic of classic individual laments and one I believe that Nephi adheres to. This is a good example of how recognizing the poetic form as it appears in the Book of Mormon can aid our understanding of these passages.[1]

He tells himself to be angry no longer because of his enemies.  Who are his enemies?  John S. Tanner writes:

Before Lehi's death, Nephi had foreseen in revelation the tragic division between Lamanites and Nephites (see 1 Nephi 12:22-23). When Lehi died, Nephi must have known that the long-dreaded crisis was now both inevitable and near. With no father to turn to but his Heavenly Father, Nephi cries for strength: so lonely is his new burden of leadership, so dangerous his enemies, and so strong the temptation to be angry "because of [his] enemies" (2 Nephi 4:29)—meaning, I suppose, his brothers.[2]

He cries out to the Lord, praising Him forever.  He will rejoice in the Lord, “the rock of my salvation” (2 Nephi 4:30).

Nephi asks the Lord for redemption and asks Him to watch over him.

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? 

     Wilt thou deliver me

out of the hands

of mine enemies? 

     Wilt thou make me

that I may shake

     at the appearance of sin?

32 May the gates of hell

be shut continually

     before me,

because that my heart

     is broken

and my spirit

     is contrite! 

     O Lord,

wilt thou not shut

     the gates of thy righteousness

          before me,

that I may walk

     in the path

     of the low valley,

that I may be strict

     in the plain road!

                                        (2 Nephi 4::31 – 32)

Nephi asks the Lord to redeem his soul and deliver him from his enemies.  He asked Him that he would “shake at the appearance of sin” (2 Nephi 4:31).

He was approaching the Lord with a broken heart and contrite spirit.  He asks Him to open the gates of righteousness and walk in the correct path. 

33 O Lord,

wilt thou

encircle me around

     in the robe

of thy righteousness! 

     O Lord,

wilt thou

make a way

     for mine escape

     before mine enemies! 

Wilt thou

     make my path straight

before me! 

Wilt thou

     not place

a stumbling block

in my way—

but that thou wouldst

     clear my way

     before me,

     and hedge not

up my way,

but the ways

     of mine enemy.

34 O Lord,  

     I have trusted in thee,

     and I will trust

in thee forever. 

     I will not put

     my trust

in the arm of flesh;

     for I know

that cursed is he

that putteth his trust

     in the arm of flesh. 

     Yea, cursed is he

that putteth his trust

in man or

     maketh flesh his arm.

                                                (2 Nephi 4:33 - 34)

Nephi asks the Lord to encircle him in a robe of righteousness.  Richard Rust looks at how the word “encircle” is used in the Book of Mormon.

Heaven and hell both encircle. Lehi declares to his family, "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of [the Lord's] love" (2 Nephi 1:15); Nephi pleads for the Lord to "encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness" (2 Nephi 4:33); and Amulek teaches that mercy "encircles [the penitent] in the arms of safety" (Alma 34:16). Conversely, before being spiritually delivered, the fathers "were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell" (Alma 5:7); Zeezrom is "encircled about by the pains of hell" (Alma 14:6); and Ammon testifies that his Lamanite brethren were formerly "encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction" (Alma 26:15). These are part of the larger Book of Mormon circles that either save or damn.

Put another way, humanity, the Book of Mormon says, is either encircled and lifted up through mercy or encircled by chains and brought down to hell. This movement, rising and falling, or ascent and descent, develops a way to see the book as a whole as the story of mankind's journey through life, fall, and redemption.[3]

He asks the Lord for a straight path to escape from his enemies.  As with “encircled,” straight has different meanings in the Book of Mormon.  John Welch explains:

Straight can mean more than "in a straight line." It can mean "direct." In fact, that is a good meaning as applied to define course or path. Nephi's poetic prayer for redemption in 2 Nephi 4:33 includes the plea "Wilt thou make my path straight." This is one of a number of scriptural images of the path (course) to salvation (eternal bliss, promised land, the way to the keeper of the gate) being a straight (direct) route (see also 2 Nephi 9:41; Alma 37:44). When a mother says, "After school, you come straight home," it means by either the shortest, quickest, safest, or easiest route, as the child has been given to understand. In the case of directions given by the Liahona (see Alma 37:44), a straight or direct course probably connoted "expeditious" or "best." Thus we should be open to more possibilities than one might ordinarily think of.[4]

Nephi has put his trust in the Lord and will do so forever.  He refuses to put his trust in the arm of flesh because “cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh … cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm” (2 Nephi 4:34).

Hugh Nibley writes:

The great man in his old age still speaks the language of the desert: "I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road" (2 Nephi 4:32—33) is the purest Bedouin talk for "May I stick to thewady and not get off the clearly marked mainline that everyone follows!" One hears the echo of innumerable old desert inscriptions in his prayer: "O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy" (2 Nephi 4:33). The immemorial desert custom which required a sheikh to place the edge of his robe (kuffah) over the back of anyone seeking his protection is clearly recalled in Nephi's cry: "O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!" (2 Nephi 4:33).[5]

Nephi ends his Psalm.

35 Yea, I know that God

will give liberally to him

     that asketh. 

     Yea, my God will give me,

if I ask not amiss;

     therefore I will lift up my voice

unto thee;

      yea, I will cry

unto thee,

     my God,

the rock of my righteousness. 

     Behold, my voice shall

     forever ascend up

unto thee,

my rock

     and mine everlasting God. 

     Amen.

             (2 Nephi 4:35)

I close with an observation from Richard Rust.

The power of Nephi's words is most apparent when the passage is read aloud and also when it is recognized as poetry with its primary appeal to feeling.⁸ I discovered this quality through my own experience: when my family and I read the Book of Mormon together each morning, I recognized the intense nature of passages such as Nephi's psalm. Later, when I searched the Book of Mormon for its poetry, I better understood why I was responding with my feelings to these passages.[6] 

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[1] Nephi's Psalm: 2 Nephi 4:16–35 in the Light of Form-Critical Analysis, Matthew Nickerson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 27, 2013.

[2] Jacob and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 27, 2013.

[3] "At the Judgment-Seat of Christ" - Larger Perspectives, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 27, 2013.

[4] Straight (Not Strait) and Narrow, John S. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 27, 2013.

[5] Lehi and the Arabs, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 27, 2013.

[6] "To Come Forth in Due Time" – Introduction. Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 27, 2013.

2 Nephi 28:30-32

³⁰ For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have. ³¹ Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

³² Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts!  For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

2 Nephi 28:30-32 (Emphasis mine)

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Isaiah 28:10, 13 (Emphasis mine)

2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

Isaiah 65:2 (Emphasis mine)

21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

Romans 10:21 (Emphasis mine)

The Lord has a way he will teach us.  He doesn’t give us everything at once.  We get knowledge “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.”  We start with a foundation of basic knowledge.  Once we have that foundation, we begin to build on it.  As we build on our basic knowledge, we gain knowledge that is more complex.  We continue learning and continue gaining a greater knowledge of the things of God.  The Lord then tells us that, if we “hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel … unto him that receiveth I will give more.” 

Roger Porter explains this principle.

“… [T]ruth is revealed incrementally. The Lord has outlined the process by which he reveals truth and by which we learn wisdom … It is a process that rewards patience and persistence. We learn wisdom by moving through levels of understanding. Advancing to a new level requires desire and effort, openness and receptivity. Learning is an experience more like climbing a mountain than jumping a ditch. It occurs step by step.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

Dilworth B. Parkinson addresses the idea of we have enough and need no more.

“I would like to summarize the doctrine of ‘line upon line’ in this way: Even after we receive a testimony of the gospel, our understanding of it is incomplete—according to Brigham Young, woefully so. Even after years of Primary and Sunday School classes, scripture reading, and missionary service, our understanding is still not perfect … we feel that we know the gospel quite well, and it can be hard for us to imagine something about the gospel that we don't know. We don't expect there to be another hidden law of tithing waiting for us just around the corner or some as-yet-secret law of sacrifice. We've had at least thirty Sunday School lessons on faith, and we didn't hear anything new in the last twenty. What is there left to learn?

“Well, according to the line-upon-line doctrine, we are not yet native speakers of the gospel. Even though we may have developed some gospel fluency, there is a huge gulf between where we are now and where we could and should be. How can this be? I believe there are at least a couple of ways that we can conceive of.

“… We may know the basics but may not see all the deeper connections both between specific doctrines and how the gospel is an interconnected whole.

“… [T]here may be ways of understanding the gospel that are beyond what might be called knowing-that understanding—ways involving action, commitment, and the heart. These cannot really be explained or grasped intellectually but give a kind of clarity that must be experienced to be understood—a true ‘knowing how.’ We may be able to explain love, sacrifice, selflessness, justice, and mercy but still may have only the most primitive understanding of them, since we have not yet found a way to bring these principles into actual practice in our lives. We know them in a sense—just like I know those Arabic grammar rules—but we don't consistently do them, and our doing of them is ‘monitored’ and ’forced’; we are not yet proficient ‘speakers’ of the gospel.

“We won't, in fact, know the gospel fully until it is deep wired, "written in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:2—3; see also Jeremiah 31:33), incorporated so deeply into our being that living it is as natural as breathing—so that nothing can come out of us that is not in accord with it.” [2]    (Emphasis mine)

Next, Nephi(1) tells us that those who say, “We have enough, from them shall be taken away event hat which they have.”  Alma(2) told Zeezrom that “…he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word …” (Alma 12:10). 

Alma(2) made this point to Zeezrom.  He explained that “he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full” (Alma 12:10). 

When Christ was interpreting the parable of the sower, he tells us that “…whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” (Luke 8:18). 

We are reminded not to place our trust in man instead of the Lord.  “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man.”  The Lord has warned us that “… weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—“ (D&C 1:19). 

Paul tells us that “[t]here is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  (Romans 8:1).  He also reminds us that we “… worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3). 

Nephi(1) rejoiced that “… I have trusted in thee, and I will rust in thee forever.  I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh.  Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Nephi 4:34). 

There is, however, one time when we are allowed to put our trust in the “precepts of men.”  That is when it is given by the power of the Holy Ghost.  The precept comes from the Lord.  The Lord is constantly lengthening his reach to man.  He extends his arm “all the day long.”  It is there for us, to lead us as we travel along our paths in life. 

Jacob, Nephi(1)’s brother, taught that “…[the Lord] stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long … as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” (Jacob 6:4). 

Ann Madsen explain the idea of the Lord’s outstretched hand.

“Many times in the scriptures, we read of the Lord's outstretched hand or arm. It serves as a metaphor both for his forbearance and for his invitation to come to him. Nephi reports the Lord's assurance that ‘mine arm is lengthened out all the day long’ (2 Nephi 28:32). We find such references scattered throughout Isaiah's writings. ‘His anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still’ (Isaiah 9:12, 17).  In his prophecies that hand is sometimes extended in anger and a moment later in mercy, but always in love. There is a sense that God is reaching for us even when we are turning away. His outstretched hand offers us his continuing covenant of peace.” [3] (Emphasis mine) 

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[1] Of Convictions and Commitments, Roger B. Porter, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 9, 2012.

[2] We Have Received, and We Need No More, Dilworth B. Parkinson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 9, 2012.

[3] "His Hand Is Stretched Out Still": The Lord's Eternal Covenant of Mercy, Ann N. Madsen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 9, 2012.

Mosiah 10:1-10

 Chapter 10

King Laman dies—His people are wild and ferocious and believe in false traditions—Zeniff and his people prevail against them. About 187–160 B.C.

1  AND it came to pass that we again began to establish the kingdom and we again began to possess the land in peace.  And I caused that there should be weapons of war made of every kind, that thereby I might have weapons for my people against the time the Lamanites should come up again to war against my people.
2  And I set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us; and thus I did guard my people and my flocks, and keep them from falling into the hands of our enemies.

Mosiah 10:1-2 (Emphasis mine)

King Laman broke the agreement and attacked the people of Zeniff (see 9:14-18).  We read that Zeniff applied that old cliche - "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me."  He knew he could no longer trust the Lamanites and promptly prepared to defend against a future attack.  

Zeniff had weapons made in preparation of another Lamanite attack.  He also set up guards to watch over the people, since this was how the Lamanites attacked previously.

3  And it came to pass that we did inherit the land of our fathers for many years, yea, for the space of twenty and two years [about 187 B.C.[.
4  And I did cause that the men should till the ground, and raise all manner of grain and all manner of fruit of every kind.
5  And I did cause that the women should spin, and toil, and work, and work all manner of fine linen, yea, and cloth of every kind, that we might clothe our nakedness; and thus we did prosper in the land—thus we did have continual peace in the land for the space of twenty and two years.

Mosiah 10:3-5(Emphasis mine)

We see that, for 22 years, the people prospered in the land.  There is no record of attacks so they were able to live in continual peace.  Once again, we see the blessings of the Lord on the Nephites when they are righteous.

 

6  And it came to pass that king Laman died, and his son began to reign in his stead.  And he began to stir his people up in rebellion against my people; therefore they began to prepare for war, and to come up to battle against my people.
7  But I had sent my spies out round about the land of Shemlon, that I might discover their preparations, that I might guard against them, that they might not come upon my people and destroy them.
8  And it came to pass that they came up upon the north of the land of Shilom, with their numerous hosts, men armed with bows, and with arrows, and with swords, and with cimeters, and with stones, and with slings; and they had their heads shaved that they were naked; and they were girded with a leathern girdle about their loins.
9  And it came to pass that I caused that the women and children of my people should be hid in the wilderness; and I also caused that all my old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were able to bear arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle against the Lamanites; and I did place them in their ranks, every man according to his age.
10  And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and I, even I, in my old age, did go up to battle against the Lamanites.  And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle.

Mosiah 10:6-10 (Emphasis mine)

 

We have a new king at the end of the 22 years of peace.  It appears that one of the first things he did was to prepare to go to war.  Once ready, it began.

This time the Nephites were prepared.  They had the weapons they needed for protecting themselves.  Any male who was able to bear arms was called up and expected to protect their lands.  All others were sent to safe places.  And, when they went to battle, they were strengthened by the Lord.

They had to have been a faithful people.  It looks as if they were facing a much stronger army.  If they would have had less faith, they would probably have been defeated.  

Placing our trust in the Lord is very important to us.  The scriptures give us insight into the importance.

 

10  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalms 9:10 (Emphasis mine)

7  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalms 20:7 (Emphasis mine)

4  In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

Psalms 56:4 (Emphasis mine)

25  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Proverbs 29:25 (Emphasis mine)

28  Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

(Emphasis mine)

In the October 2010 General Conference, President. Henry B. Eyring said:

"The young Nephi in the Book of Mormon stirs in us a desire to develop trust in the Lord to obey His commandments, however hard they appear to us. Nephi faced danger and possible death when he said these words of trust that we can and must feel steadily in our hearts: 'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.That trust comes from knowing God ...That same trust in God can bless nations. I have come to know that we can trust God to fulfill the promise of Alma that “behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have.  God does not rule in nations, but He is mindful of them. He can and does place people in positions of influence who want what is best for the people and who trust in the Lord ... You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks. If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference, you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you."  (Emphasis mine)