Ps. 9.8-16

Behold / Yhwh / shall reign / forever

he / has established / his throne / of judgment

And he shall / judge / the world / with righteousness

And he shall / adjudicate / the peoples / with equity.

It is an interesting contrast to what we saw previously. Just one verse ago the nations were described as being utterly annihilated, “laid waste” and their names “forgotten.” Yet here we find Yhwh as judge who adjudicates with righteousness and equity. The entire world falls stands beneath his throne and purview of his governance is absolute and all encompassing. A continuous belief in an ‘omnipotent’ god may blind us to this rather shocking claim, something that falls so easily off of the lips of the psalmist and yet something that inspired the greatest measure of praise and security. He begins with “Behold”, a term that conjures up images of a herald announcing the arrival of a king. It is a type of ‘unveiling’; it provides us with the sense that what is about to be seen is something not simply worthy of our attention but, in fact, demands our attention. In this way to “behold”something also carries with it a sense that the mind and spirit must be engaged to truly appreciate/revere what is about to be displayed, this ‘appreciation’/reverence being an aspect of ‘seeing’ in the first place (one who does not appreciate/revere what is about to be displayed will not, actually, see it; in this way what is about to be seen requires an aesthetic perception). Likewise, to use this term creates a momentary space for the reader; it is a preface. It asks the reader to ‘gather themselves’ together and focus. Once the veil is pulled back one is given a vision of Yhwh (in the future) reigning forever. This is not something that be immediately grasped. One must be prepared for this vision, and, therefore, by implication, one can be looking and “not see”. Notice how the future tense is used: Yhwh—shall reign, shall judge, shall adjudicate. He has already, though, established his throne. It seems to me that you see here Yhwh establishing his throne, sitting upon it, and, through the course of time, adjudicating the nations. This can take on a ‘total’ perspective and move toward a type of ‘final’ judgment; but it can also embody this sense that Yhwh’s judgment is an ongoing matter, something he ‘shall’ do in a continuous sense. The interesting question is what his ‘establishing his throne’ could refer to. Is creation itself to be understood in this manner? Or, is it the creation/birth of Israel and Yhwh’s subsequent descent into their camp where (now) his ‘footstool’ dwells and from which he rules over the nations. Does it mean then, “Yhwh has established his throne of judgment (in Israel)”?Future prophecies tend to focus on this aspect: judgment goes forth from Zion and Solomon’s wisdom is one centered in Jerusalem and it is to Jerusalem that everyone will stream in order to learn. This could be understood as an interesting take on Exodus: the deliverance of Israel from Egypt was Yhwh’s becoming King of the earth (in contrast to the Pharaoh/king of the world). Perhaps this is (yet another) effect of the revealing of the Divine Name? Could it be that when Yhwh revealed his name to Israel he was actually making them into his throne, preparing them, so to speak, to be the vessel of his enthronement? This would have interesting implications for Jesus: his life, as the new Exodus, would be his ‘becoming’ the true and final king, and his crucifixion and resurrection would be both the establishment of his throne (as Paul seems to imply) and the final judgment (as John seems to imply), and an ongoing matter (as Luke-Acts seems to imply, in the Church). Lastly, one thing that this Psalm highlights that, perhaps, has not been at the forefront of every other judgment psalm is the fact that Yhwh’s judgment takes place in “righteousness and equity”.Previous psalms have certainly spoken to this, either explicitly or implicitly, however, many of those references center on the speaker’s own righteousness—Yhwh will defend the individual because the individual is righteous. Here, on the other hand, we see something a little more abstract. It is referring to the quality inherent in Yhwh and is ability to adjudicate with equity; it is not, as we saw in other psalms, something that is as tied to the individual. This is really not much of a difference. It does, however, open a window perhaps a little bit further than we had previously seen.

And Yhwh / shall be / a refuge / for / the oppressed

a refuge / for times / of trouble

And the ones / who know / your name /shall trust / in You

for You / have not forsaken / those / who seek you / O Yhwh.

A common theme running throughout our reflections on this psalm is the fact that we have already encountered many of the deployed images and phrases. Here, we find a reference to the “refuge” that David referred to in Ps. 7. There, we noted how a ‘refuge’ is not something directly appealed to in a time of battle (it is not, for example, like calling out for one’s “arm to be strengthened”). Rather, a ‘refuge’ tends to be an image that a person in distress and extreme vulnerability will revert to; a person, as in Ps. 7, in extreme exposure to enemies and seeking a place of rest. Those conclusions are reinforced here: the refuge (also could be translated as a ‘fortress’) is for the ‘oppressed’, those who cannot fight for themselves. Likewise it becomes a type of ‘haven’ in “times of trouble”. In Ps. 7 we noted how a ‘refuge’ is often described as a harbor to the churning ocean, or a cave from a predator. Here, the refuge is specifically designated as a place of safety in “times of trouble”: what is not sought is that the chaos swirling outside be calmed as much as a place of safety within that chaos be established. Interestingly, this ‘refuge’ imagery quickly leads int0 the Divine Name. It seems as if the Divine Name, itself, might operate as this ‘refuge’.Importantly, it is those who “know your name” that will finds this refuge; it is not something that is as ‘evident’ as a harbor, or a cave. To ‘know’ the Name, arguably, is to incorporate all of our reflections on the Name thus far: it is to see that creation and history itself spring from that Name, it is to see that the name is ‘majestic’ and that it inspires, in creation, a sense of insignificance, the name is also what reveals Adam (Adam ‘springs from the name’)and the fact that he is the king of creation. In short, to ‘know’ the Divine Name, is to simply know the letters Y-H-W-H. It is to ‘know’, in an intimate fashion, how that name ‘acts’. Likewise, as the opening of this Psalm indicates, it is to ‘praise’ the Divine Name and his “wondrous works”. This incorporates the significance we saw in Deut. 8 of the fact that remembrance of Yhwh is what, in a way, maintains one’s acceptance to His presence; it is what guards the covenant partner against rebellion or indifference. To remember his works, is to praise his works: and, as Deuteronomy also makes clear (rather shockingly), this is rooted in a love of Yhwh. In an almost back-door approach, we have come to the heart of the covenant for Israel: to ‘know the name’ is to love the name and that ‘love’ is something that can be (and must be) approached from a variety of angles, including all of the above described means (reverence, fear, insignificance, creation, time, etc…). Each one of these provides a unique avenue into the Name, and it is along each of these avenues that one comes to see that the Divine Name is not only a source of strength but also a ‘refuge’for the oppressed. It is a continuous movement: one does not ever come to ‘know’the Divine Name if, by that, one means a comprehension of the Name. Rather, to ‘know’the name is to seek the name.

Sing praises / to Yhwh / the Enthroned One / of Zion

declare / his deeds / among / the peoples!

For the Avenger of Blood / has remembered / them

he has not / forgotten / the cry / of / the afflicted.

I do not believe we have seen before what occurs in these few lines: there is, here, a type of re-application and re-interpretation of the opening. There, the psalmist declared, “I will praise the Lord…I will recount your works…I will rejoice…I will sing the praises of your name.” Here, we see, “(You all) sing praises to Yhwh…declare his deeds among the peoples!”. What began as a future declaration, “I will” has now moved into a present action, “Sing praises…” and, what began as individual, “I will sing praises”, has become communal command “(You all” sing praises to Yhwh”. Actually, once this pattern is detected we notice a movement that we would not have seen before:

A (vs. 1-2): singing praises

B (vs. 3-4): Yhwh as protector

C (vs. 4-5) rebuking of nations

C1 (vs. 6-7): judging the nations

B1 (vs. 8-9): Yhwh as refuge/protector

A1 (vs. 10-11): singing praises.

This type of movement reveals a development at work in the Psalm:

beginning as a call for future praise (A),

moves into the Yhwh as the (future) protector (B),

the past/present rebuking of the nations (C),

beholding the seated King (C1),

Yhwh as the current protector (B1),

the present signing of praises for deliverance (A1).

The action, therefore centers into and flows out of vs. 4-7, the verses that sum focus the readers attention onto the present ruling and protective action of Yhwh. What began as a future hope, moved into a present vision (Behold!), and flowed back out into a praise that is no longer something anticipated but something currently experienced. The crux, I believe, is the statement we have already reflected upon, “Behold, Yhwh shall reign forever, he has established his throne of judgment.” These verses stand at the middle of this movement and also express the sense of time we have noticed throughout between a past action, a future hope, and a present reality. As we saw, though, the present reality is one that must make its way through the word of “Behold” and its command for attention. The reason this is important is because the current signing of praises in this portion of the psalm comes after that ‘turn’. It is as if those verses were the gateway, and, unless one properly understands them one is not able to get to the ‘present’ singing of praise in the verses today. From that moment on the psalmist began to mention not just “my enemies”, as he does in the first movement, but now he begins to talk about Yhwh as a refuge “for the oppressed.” It looks like this:

I will sing praises (A)

Yhwh has been my protector (B)

Yhwh has uprooted cities (C)

Yhwh judges the world (C1)

Yhwh shall be refuge for oppressed, the ones who seek your name (B1)

(You all) sing praises (A1)

There is something interesting to note about this movement and how it ties into the changes between the opening call to praise and the current call: the opening call centered upon the individual’s past recalling of the actions of Yhwh. We saw how the ‘wonders’ of Yhwh often had connotations of the wonders performed in the Exodus story. Now, though, the source of the ‘recounting’of the works is different: it is Yhwh’s present remembering of the afflicted cries. What began as a recounting of the past deliverance as the source of praise is now a present deliverance as the source of praise. However, and this is fascinating, the psalmist employs a very ancient title of Yhwh in the present fulfillment: the “Avenger of Blood”. This reaches back to the time of Cain and Abel, long before the Exodus, and points the original action of violence experienced outside the garden. The psalmist has placed the ‘afflicted’in the position of Abel who suffered murder at the hands of his brother Abel and whose “blood cries out from the ground”. He has also, though, tied to this the “remembering” of the “afflicted” which calls to mind the Exodus story: the “afflicted” “cried out” to Yhwh who didn’t “forget them”. Just as Cain and Pharaoh were punished (or ‘stricken’) because of their attack on the righteous, so too will the “Enthroned One of Zion” now punish, or ‘strike’/curse, those who are his attacking his “afflicted ones”.

The last observation to make is the use of “the Enthroned One of Zion”. We have encountered this term before, in Psalm 2, when the Enthroned One shouted at the nations that they must submit to “his anointed one”. One interesting difference is, there, he was not referred to as the “Enthroned One of Zion” although he did say that his anointed was established on Zion “my holy mountain”.Here, the term has simply become a single identification: Enthroned One of Zion. Here, too, there is no mention of an anointed as taking the action of deliverer but Yhwh himself as “taking up the cause” of the afflicted. No more is the rebuke delivered by a “rod of iron” placed in David’s hand, but the rebuke seems almost unmediated—except for this fact: now “Zion” itself seems to be the mediating place of Yhwh’s presence. We will see later how the center of attention has focused on the city in a way unlike in Psalm 2.

Be gracious / to me / O Yhwh / Look upon / my affliction from / those / who hate me

my guardian / from / the gates / of death

that / I may / recount / all your praise / in the gates / of / the daughter / of Zion

I will / rejoice / in / Your deliverance.

After our previous reflections regarding to movement from the “I” of the opening to the “us” of the later verses, we find ourselves again in the deeply personal sphere. The nationalistic perspective has sunk again into the background (Yhwh is not here to be referred to as the Enthroned of Zion). Rather, we are in the territory of Ps. 6 and the “plea of the sick man”; it is apparent though that this man is encountering Sheol because of false accusations rather than a pressing and debilitating sickness. There is a tendency to see the opening words as an appeal for the “undeserved and unmerited” glance of Yhwh. While this may be true I think it tends to obscure the intimacy that one senses in these words. Two things need to be said here. The first—these are not the words of a foreigner but of an intimate. It is certainly the case that this man stands on nothing of his own in his appeal (and this is an important point we will need to return to), however, where one orients this appeal adds the ‘color’ through which we see it. This is a man who stands within a covenantal relationship with Yhwh; we have seen throughout this psalm his desire to praise Him, to recount his works and to see him as the arbitrator of the entire world. It is from this deep and broad perspective that this appeal emerges—we might say that the more one comes into an intimate contact with Yhwh, the more one inhabits this realm of appeal. The second—it is crucial that we recognize that this appeal for graciousness emerges from within a particular realm: the saving from death. Here, I think, we miss something essential if we abstract the principle of ‘graciousness’ from where this man stands. Without rehashing everything we have said about Sheol we must reemphasize this: Israel, the more it reflected upon the Divine Name, the more it came to realize that death was not a divine realm (there was no ‘god of the underworld’ in Iraelite thought). For that reason, man, in reflecting upon death, understood that he (man: Adam) is simply dust—there is no ‘divine principle’ or ‘spark’. When he dies, he returns to dust. Understood in this context the appeal to ‘graciousness’is absolutely necessary—in the face of death, nothing will or can save man/Adam, other than the gracious ‘glance’ of Yhwh. Both of these reflections combine in the phrase:“my guardian from the gate of death”. Notice how, although this request is a call for ‘graciousness’ it is grounded in this very intimate awareness of Yhwh: he is “my guardian”. What this reveals is that this appeal is not one grounded on the ‘nothing’ speaking to the ‘One’. Rather, it emerges from an intimate to a loving superior: covenantal relationship with Yhwh is one that both heightens this intimacy and instills within the covenant partner that Yhwh is the only one who can and is a ‘guardian’from Sheol. This sense of Yhwh as ‘guardian’ may emerge from the covenantal relationship itself: the duties of the superior to the inferior partner as bonded through the act of familial love and devotion. And, again, this appeal to grace is saturated with the reality of ‘death’ and ‘living’. We might say this: in this psalm, grace cannot be understood apart from the covenantal relationship between Yhwh and Israel and the reality, that emerged with that relationship, of the banality of death.“Gates of death” and “gates of daughter of Zion”: there are several unique features of this portion of the psalm. We have already commented on one: Yhwh as guardian of death. The second is this image of the ‘two cities’: death and Zion. There are a few things to notice about this. The first is that death has no familial designation (“daughter” of Zion). It is simply “death”. It holds no bond to Zion and, in fact, holds no bonds to anything. We have already spoken about this in an earlier reflection. “Daughter Zion”on the other hand is a city that is, in its nature, a familial city. The question, though, is “Who is the father/mother?” Israel, in the Exodus, is often referred to as the redeemed “first-born” son of Yhwh (in contrast to the ‘first-born’of the Egyptians). The nation is, then, understood to be the ‘first-born’priest of Yhwh to the world. Here, we see that the city Jerusalem, is the daughter of Zion. Jerusalem’s birth, in contrast to Israel’s, emerges from Zion (not from Yhwh directly). This is a fascinating insight: Zion is something that is ‘fatherly’and is not identical to Jerusalem itself. The Temple, perhaps, is what this psalm is thinking of. If that is so, the Temple (that came much later than the city) is understood as the real source of the city’s foundation; it is the ‘source’of the city. Or, it could mean that Zion is a heavenly reality that has descended to earth and, thereby, constitutes Jerusalem as its ‘daughter’.This image can, of course, work well with the Temple as well (the Temple as being given by God to Moses in contrast to the tower of Babel as being built from the ‘earth’ upward): perhaps we see here that “Zion” is what gives birth to the Temple, rather than the Temple giving ‘birth’ to the city. Whatever its referent, what we see is profound: Yhwh guards against the gates of death and stands with Zion and his daughter, Jerusalem/Temple. The ‘home’ of Yhwh is in Zion and, from there (where the Name dwells) emerges remembrance and praise (Deut. 8). What is crucial for our purposes is what this adds to previous reflections on Ps. 6—now, Zion is understood as the source of the living presence of Yhwh. It ‘gives birth’ to children (Eve-like). Is it too much to suggest that Yhwh has married Zion who gives birth to daughter Jerusalem-Temple?