Ps. 5:8 (gates of the Temple)

Ps. 5.8

Diag.

But  /  I will  /  enter  /  your house  /  in the abundance  /  of your lovingkindness.

I will  /  worship  /  toward  /  your holy temple  /  in reverence  /  of you.

One thing we have noted time and again in these Psalms is a profound sense of confidence. Generally, we have spoken about in the sense of the Psalmist conviction that his prayer will not only be heard but that it will, unalterably, bring about what has been requested. I have often remarked that the word “hope” does not do justice to this deep seated sense of inevitability.

What we have seen, thus far, is that much of this conviction emerges from the sense of deliverance and protection, that God will change the present circumstances and bring (re)establish his care for the one praying. Here a new note is struck but it is no less shocking.

After cataloguing not only those whom Yhwh will not allow in presence but who will also be the subject of his active destruction, our petitioner, without hesitation, knows that he will be admitted to Yhwh’s presence. To him, the gates are open. The contrast could not be starker. We have moved from hatred and destruction to an abundance of lovingkindness. Can we explain this?

First, a proposal. For this man, understanding and entering into God’s hatred and loathing is not something that causes him to lose confidence or shrink back from his knowing that he will enter into Yhwh’s presence. Rather, it could very well be one of the ingredients that emboldens him and places him on surer footing, opening up to him Yhwh’s concern and care for him. Along these same lines, notice the small word “abundance”. He could have simply said he would be granted admission according to Yhwh’s lovingkindness (already a rather strong term, referring to the ground of the covenant between Yhwh and Israel). However, he says this lovingkindness is “abundant”. There is the sense here of an overflowing, an ‘always-more’ to Yhwh. This ‘abundance’ though has already been expressed, in the past few verses. Although not stated this way, Yhwh’s disdain has been nothing but ‘abundant’ toward those whom he hates and loathes. Just as profound as Yhwh’s hate is for these men is his love for our Psalmist.

It would seem that this is the case: the more one moves toward the heart of Yhwh the more one moves toward this “abundant” hatred and lovingkindness. Just as Yhwh is One, so too is his heart one. The ways Israel came to express this were not by saying this is simply “two sides of the same coin”. Rather, they expressed it in the sense of familial realities: either through a parental or spousal love. A parent’s love and a spouse’s love can be the most protective and dangerous modes of love possible; it can flare up more quickly than any fire. And, in this context, this ‘heart’ makes a great deal of sense.

This image can stumble, though, and I want to pause over why, as it does emerge from this Psalm. As we saw before, God’s hatred toward these evils was a hatred that was, in away, supra-personal; it wasn’t merely reactive. One sees in this categorical statement of disdain a glimpse of Yhwh as he is ‘in himself’. Likewise, this “abundant lovingkindness” is also coming, I sense, from a place deeper, so to speak, than what we have seen before. It is not simply responsive, as in a “delight” at this Psalmist. Until now in our meditations, Yhwh’s emotions have seemed to come from this ‘reactive’ place (either as a sense of fatherly protection or delight at those he had ‘chosen for himself’). However, in this Psalm one is catching a vision of this: that Yhwh is not only loving, but is Love. And, surprisingly, (and I’ve never heard it said this way) that Yhwh not only hates, but is Hate; it must be said here that in all of the prophetic visions that Yhwh’s hate is spent and what remains is his love (much more would need to be said about this). These emotions emerge from Him and are not merely responsive in the same way a father’s love and a spouse’s love is.

As this relates to this verse: this is the gate to the Temple. The more one contemplates both the covenant (lovingkindness) and Temple (‘your house’) the more one will come to see that entrance into Yhwh’s presence is through this ‘cloud’ of ‘ever-more’ or ‘abundance’. This man’s confidence that he be will granted an audience with his King is one founded upon his deep vision of Yhwh’s hatred and his love.  

It is not difficult to see how this ignites in him “worship” and “reverence”.