Ps. 4 Summary (The set-apart)

Ps. 4 Summary (The set-apart)

When the directions are given for the building of the Temple particular attention is given to the instruments used in the worship and sacrifices offered, whether they be the tongs, the lampstands, the censors or the basins. And they are not merely tools for worship but, as it were, furnishings of Yhwh’s home. As possessions of Yhwh that dwell continuously in his presence they are endowed with the same power that is that presence. They have been set apart from their normal uses and placed within the very sphere of Yhwh. And, as with any king’s regalia and emblems of his power, they are prized and objects of his devotion. He cherishes them; he loves them. The entire Temple, with everything contained therein, is the apple of his eye and he delights in it.  

These objects are given their beauty and delight because Yhwh has made them into the very dwelling of his name. We intimate what this means. Unlike in our culture, the name of Yhwh carries with it the very presence of the person named. It is, in a word, not merely what identifies this god, but is this god. The name is his presence, his power and his being. Likewise, and just as important, a name is not just the ‘interior’ reality of that person; it is their mode of identification. For example, I am a human, but my name, Brad, is who I am ‘publicly’ so to speak; but that public reality is the most intimate identification of who I am. To hand over one’s name to another, to make them a ‘dwelling’ of the name, is to hand over to that person his ‘reputation’. When Yhwh revealed his name to Israel and came to dwell within them in the Temple, he made Israel the bearers of his reputation.  

In this Psalm, we are given a rather startling vision of the effect of God’s setting apart of objects for his own love and devotion: they are not destroyed; they are not merely made into ‘pointers’ or ‘metaphors’ to or of Yhwh. Rather, their own ‘reputations’ (something they all contain) are lifted up into Yhwh’s very presence and become a source of delight and protection. When Yhwh delights in these objects of devotion (these “holy men”) he is not merely delighting in himself and what he can do. They are apart from him and have their own reality apart from him. To be lifted into God’s presence is to be perfected in all the natural modes of existence, not destroyed. They simultaneously bear Yhwh’s reputation and their own.

This righteous man is like a speaking lampstand in the Temple of Yhwh.  And, like a lampstand that has been contaminated through contact with filth, so too has this man’s own reputation been attacked. It is from this deep sense of ownership by Yhwh that this man’s confident prayer emerges. It is not one, of course, grounded merely in his own sense of righteousness. Rather, like the lampstand, he is intensely aware of the fact the has been set apart for Yhwh and this setting apart has infused his entire being. He knows he is an object of love. Perhaps in this regard familial language might more adequately portray this reality: this man knows himself to be the son of Yhwh and, just as every son has his own reputation that is not merely his fathers, so too does he truly bear the reputation of his father. For this reason, when this man’s reputation is unjustifiably attacked, he instinctively knows his father, who loves him and whose reputation is itself bound to his own, will come to his aid. This language of love preempts any abstract thought on the difficulties of nature and grace and free will and the like. A son knows his father will protect him.

And it is from this very natural (yet intense) knowledge that this man speaks. He is so incredibly calm throughout the Psalm. The night is falling and the day has not been kind. He has, as he has for many days, suffered the insults of some of the most prominent men in his community. Their words are like a mountain stream trickling down throughout the community until everyone has joined in the destruction of his reputation. He has, perhaps for a while, withstood these attacks but their prevalence and the sense that his reputation may in fact be suffering a mortal wound has become a reality. Time is beginning to crawl to a halt; justice is apparently not working like it should and a sense of claustrophobia is beginning to emerge. The time has come for him to make his appeal to his father.

Immediately, he turns his face towards these ‘sons of men’ and asks them, sarcastically, how long they intend to keep up their foolishness. Contained within this question is the absolutely incredible assurance (it feels so natural yet so astonishing at the same time) that he can speak this way to these men of influence. For this righteous man it is as if his reputation’s deliverance has already occurred simply by asking his father for help. This is not “hope”; it is an absolute certainty to him. One can envision these men turning to him, dumbstruck, that he would dare address them in such a condescending manner. But, before they can get a word out, the righteous man continues speaking. He answers their hidden question: he has been set apart by Yhwh for his own possession and Yhwh hears him when he calls out.

Anyone watching this might feel that the righteous man needed to quickly exit the room. Amazingly, his onslaught continues. And now, not only has he called their authority into question, he actually dares to offer them advice and directives. His sense of control over the situation has become absolute. Had he left the scene early, without these commands, he would have merely silenced them (perhaps). However, by making himself their teacher he demands not merely their respect but their subservience. He is now the true “son of man” or “man of influence”. The last has become first.

He now turns away from these men and to the crowd of people around him. He voices a question they all carry within them. “Who will show us the good?” At this point, this man could stand on no higher pinnacle: he makes himself Aaron, the high priest, and pronounces a blessing upon them. “Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord!” This utter and total superiority, this joy without any trace of a shadow, that has pervaded this Psalm from the beginning now shines through this man. He turns away from the crowd, as the night falls and a new days begins and lays down to rest and sleep, in a dwelling of safety and peace and in the very name that has made him “set aside” for his god.