How does Psalm 81:12 challenge the concept of free will? Text of Psalm 81:12 “So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.” Immediate Literary Setting Psalm 81, a festival psalm of Asaph, rehearses Israel’s redemption from Egypt (vv. 5–7), God’s covenant expectations (vv. 8–10), Israel’s refusal (v. 11), the divine abandonment of v. 12, and a lament over blessings forfeited (vv. 13–16). Verse 12 is the hinge: Yahweh’s remedial plan for blessing pauses; discipline replaces invitation. Canonical Echoes of “Giving Over” • Judges 10:13–14 — “I will save you no more.” • Hosea 4:17 — “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!” • Romans 1:24, 26, 28 — “Therefore God gave them over…” • Acts 7:42 — “God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven.” • Proverbs 1:24–31 — wisdom withdraws, handing scoffers to their choices. How Psalm 81:12 Challenges Popular Notions of Free Will 1. Divine Sovereignty Governs Human Choices Yahweh’s “giving over” is not passive observation; it is an active judicial act. Human volition operates inside boundaries God controls (Job 1:12; Proverbs 21:1). Free will, therefore, is never autonomous; it is contingent and subordinate to divine governance. 2. The Will Already Enslaved to Sin Verse 12 presumes a pre-existing “stubborn heart.” Scripture portrays the unregenerate will as enslaved (Genesis 6:5; John 8:34; Romans 6:17). Freedom understood as moral self-determinism collapses; man is free only to act according to an enslaved nature (Ephesians 2:1–3). 3. Judicial Abandonment Intensifies Bondage God’s withdrawal removes restraining grace, amplifying the sinner’s own bent. Far from enhancing genuine liberty, it locks the individual deeper into the prison of self (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:11–12). Free will, in the libertarian sense, diminishes precisely when the creature thinks it is fullest. 4. Compatibilism Over Libertarianism Psalm 81:12 illustrates compatibilism: God ordains real human decisions without violating responsibility. The people willingly pursue their devices, yet their pursuit is simultaneously the consequence of God’s decree to hand them over. Libertarian freedom (ability to choose contrary to nature, without prior cause) finds no foothold here. 5. Repentance Requires Supernatural Intervention If abandonment is divine, restoration must likewise be divine. Psalm 81 closes with a hypothetical (“If My people would listen…” v. 13) that anticipates God’s future promise of a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). Human freedom to repent is granted by prevenient grace (John 6:44; Philippians 2:13). Philosophical Reflection The classical definition of freedom as “the ability to choose the good” (Augustine, Aquinas) corresponds with biblical thought: true freedom is not unbounded choice but alignment with one’s design. Psalm 81:12 exposes the paradox: when God withdraws, the creature’s self-assertion becomes self-destruction. Pastoral Applications • Warn: Persistent sin can invite God’s handing-over discipline. • Invite: While today is called “Today,” respond (Hebrews 3:15). • Comfort: Those who fear they have been abandoned show evidence of remaining conviction; God’s offer stands (Isaiah 55:7). Conclusion Psalm 81:12 dismantles the myth of autonomous free will. It portrays the human heart as naturally obstinate, divine sovereignty as active in judgment, and genuine freedom as a grace-gift found only in a reconciled relationship with the risen Christ. |
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