Ps. 18 (pt. 1)

Ps. 18

And he said/ I love you / O Yhwh / my strength The opening is shocking for its poignancy. No where else in the OT is the term used that is here translated as ‘love’. And, in our reflections thus far nothing would really prepare us for this statement either. There have been appeals to seeing Yhwh’s face (or form), of being delivered so as to allow praise of Yhwh’s name to continue. But no where has this type of intimate and so familiar of language been employed. These are words spoke by a psalmist (I think, David) that doesn’t just know and experience Yhwh as a delivered and source of life, but of someone who warrants the epitaph he has been given, “A man after Yhwh’s own heart.” This psalm, in particular, with this beginning is the most individual psalm we have encountered; in a sense, this truly is David’s psalm and we simply listen in. David truly is a devotee of Yhwh. This also points us to another psalm we have looked at and really stands in the background o this psalm: Psalm 2. We will refer to this psalm often in our reflection on this psalm, but for the purposes of this opening line we should recall the fact that in Psalm 2, after Yhwh addresses the nations, it is left to the ‘king’ to report the remaining words of Yhwh. These words were told to the ‘king’ apart from our presence, in an intimate dialogue (the ‘anointing’) that made the king the adequate spokesman for Yhwh (much like Moses and the prophets). Upon emerging from this dialogue the king is now (and has been made) Yhwh’s ‘son’. It is this very intimate, persona and unrepeatable conversation (because, it can only occur with the ‘king’) that links that psalm with this one; except, here we are given the words of warmth spoken back to Yhwh, words that could not be more intimate. It is David’s face that provides us a particularly clear window into Yhwh’s heart. From this original statement begins and overflow of praise: Yhwh is / my cliff / and / my stronghold / and / my deliverer My God is / my rock / in whom / I seek / refuge, My shield / and / my horn / of salvation / my safe retreat. Again, we are not in a familiar territory with this piling on of images. Nothing like this has occurred in the psalms covered thus far and it speaks of a very personal and intimate encounter between David and Yhwh. It seems to me that this, again, speaks to the psalms highly individualistic feel: in a sense, this really is only David’s psalm and one we can repeat but it is so personal to David that we can, in the end, only listen in. The images form two constellations, but one universe. They all point to deliverance, however, they do so 1) militarily and 2) in images of the wilderness. Both of these were aspects of David’s eventual rise to power: he was an outlaw who had to live in the wilderness (in the crags, caves and rocks) and he was a military genius. Furthermore, even before he was chosen by Yhwh, he was a shepherd: this may be a source for the wilderness language as well. There is also exhibited here something that is characteristic of the David stories: the sense of David actively seeking out Yhwh’s protecting/power, and Yhwh’s graciously, almost delightedly, giving it to him. It is along these lines that we need to make a point we will return to: as a royal psalm, this is the type of relationship the new Davidic ‘messiah’ would embody when he came. He would, as David did, seem to have a very privileged access to Yhwh’s ear. This is accomplished primarily not through the piling on of images (we have encountered almost all of these already) but through the prefacing of them all as “my”: my cliff, my deliverer, my god, my rock, my shield, my horn, my retreat. David has great love for Yhwh, but here we sense the fact that Yhwh has an almost burning love for David as well. Whatever he asked would be given (and the power of that response to David is astonishing in this psalm). One ‘my’ in particular in this list is deserving of attention: ‘my God’. It would not be proper to say ‘my Yhwh’ (it simply wouldn’t make sense). And one thing I’ve noticed throughout these reflections is, on my part, a lack of referring to Yhwh as ‘God’ but as Yhwh; describing him as “God’ seems almost rude. However, here it is very appropriate and full of pathos: to David, Yhwh is ‘my God’. It is not simply ‘Yhwh is God’. He is ‘my God’. Again, on sense here David’s heartfelt devotion to Yhwh (the fact that he is a devotee). It is crucial that we understand that, regardless of the access everyone had to Yhwh’s presence, the Davidic messiah would be seen to embody this entirely unique and intimate relationship with Yhwh. In the words of Psalm 2, they were waiting for the ‘messiah’ son. The rest of the psalm is going to flesh out exactly how this played out in David’s rise to power, but it seems that this entirely intimate overflowing (in an almost embarrassing manner: like David’s ‘dancing’), provides a context to the psalm that completely shades it into new colors and hues. I called / upon Yhwh / who is / worthy of praise And I was / delivered / from my enemies. This psalm could have begun with these two lines (although it would have completely changed the texture of the psalm). They summarize everything that follows: the fact that David ‘calls upon Yhwh’, the fact that Yhwh is ‘worthy of praise’ and the fact that Yhwh pays powerfully close attention to David’s prayers. The cords / of death / have entwined / me And the torrents / of Belial / have overwhelmed / me; The cords / of Sheol / have surrounded / me; There are many things that need to be said about this introduction to the drama of the psalm. On one level we see here something similar to David’s complaint in a previous psalm regarding Absalom’s rebellion and pursuit of his father: the sense of constriction and suffocation. The ‘cords’ seem to be tightening around David in the same manner as his rebellious son and cohorts were surrounding him on Mount Olive. What is important here is the active sense of Sheol and death: they seem to be shooting up cords from the ground in search of David to drag him into the Pit. They are aggressively after him, on this side of life. A boundary that should not be crossed—between life and death—is apparently being traversed. This image is matched by David being engulfed by a flood: the ‘torrents’ of Belial have overwhelmed me. David is not only helpless to break out of the danger, but he is also overwhelmed by it. Again, the ‘dry land’ that David should be on is being taken over by the ‘flood’—a boundary is being removed. Any familiarity with Genesis (and the law code) and Exodus reveals that when the ‘flood waters’ break their boundaries injustice is rife on the earth. The waters are simply a manifestation of the chaos already prevalent within the human realm. This is leading into the second point about these lines: David is reaching back to Genesis, Exodus and other Canaanite myths to layer his experience. This it not merely literary embellishment though, as we will see. Specifically, there is a Canaanite myth that is most applicable: Mot and Yam (gods of death and chaos), are ascending in power. Baal (god of storm) demonstrates his power and conquers Yam and Mot, thereby establishing order on the earth. This must have been a prevalent myth as it seems to intersect, in some manner, in many ways with the OT. What is transformed in David’s retelling is that he is the one who is about to be overcome by death and chaos: whereas before all of creation was in jeopardy, now it is centered entirely on David. What will become clear later is that David is understood as a type of creation—he carries order with him. Meaning, David is more than just an individual—he is the king of Israel and the destined ‘son of Yhwh’. In a sense, all of creation is ‘riding on him’. As we have had the chance to comment before: we must never forget that for David to be ‘a man after Yhwh’s heart’ is not referring to him simply as an individual but as the king/shepherd of Israel. And not just Israel: Yhwh’s anointed will never be simply a national king but will, in potentiality, be the king of every nation. As the psalm later says, “You made me the head of the nations. A people I knew not served me; On the ear hearing they became obedient to me. Foreigners shrink at my presence, foreigners sink down exhausted…” “David” is a man who establishes Yhwh’s justice upon the earth in his capacity as king. It is because David’s heart was as expansive as Yhwh’s to Yhwh’s people that David’s heart was “after Yhwh’s”. In my distress / I called / upon Yhwh And I cried out / for help / to my God. Again we have the matching of “Yhwh” and “my God”, indicating David’s very intimate sense of almost ownership. The wording “cried out” is something that resonates throughout the OT, particularly in Exodus and Judges. In both, the cry emerges from Yhwh’s people in response to their oppression by a foreign force. In Exodus, the ‘crying out’ is not necessarily linked to the people’s sin although in Judges it is. Here, David is innocent like Jews in the Exodus story. Also, in Judges a ‘deliverer’ is sent whereas in Exodus God intervenes directly. Here, things are not that simple: God ‘intervenes’ by ‘raising up’ David. He heard / my voice / from his temple, And my shout / entered into him / into his / very ears. The first aspect of this verse draws attention to Yhwh’s, in a sense, permitting the voice into his presence. The activity is on Yhwh’s part: He ‘heard’ my voice. The second part of the verse, however, tempers this: the prayer almost forces itself on Yhwh—it is as if Yhwh is defenseless against David’s request. It enters him, and, more than that, it enters “into his very ears”. One gets the sense of the prayer almost impregnating Yhwh with David’s shout. Once it crosses the threshold of the heavenly Temple, it rushes and overtakes Yhwh. In light of Psalm 2, this is the fatherly response to a son’s shout for deliverance. Once the content of the prayer is discerned it overwhelms the father’s heart and becomes totalizing. Also, David ‘shouts’ to Yhwh; later, in response Yhwh will ‘thunder’ at David’s enemies. Yhwh is enraged by the evil being perpetrated upon David. Then / the earth / shook / and quaked and the foundations / of the mountains / quivered

Then / the earth / shook / and quaked The response is immediate and profound. And yet, notice how Yhwh is not the immediate subject of this sentence—the earth is. By delaying the cause of the ‘shaking’ until the end of the verse (“because he was angry”) the psalm gives the impression of an almost uncontrollable, because it is immediate, reaction by Yhwh. In other words, by delaying the ‘cause’ of the earth’s shaking, the psalm shows Yhwh’s visceral reaction to David’s cry—in essence, just as this psalm opened with David’s love for Yhwh, this immediate response by Yhwh clearly shows his absolute devotion to David. It is almost as if David has cast some spell over Yhwh, like a child over his father. This is an important follow up to David’s cry overtaking Yhwh. And his anger is profound—it shakes the very foundations of the earth. This is an earthquake in response to David’s cry, originating from Yhwh’s anger in the heavens. It is interesting that Yhwh has not yet ‘parted the heavens’ to descend to the earth. His anger in heaven alone is enough to cause this earth to shake and quake and the mountains themselves to quiver. It is a foreboding of events yet to come when the earth is responding like this already to Yhwh’s anger and he has not yet begun his descent. It is almost as if the earth and mountains are acting some sort of prophetic ‘cowering’, knowing that once David’s cry is heard Yhwh will move with fury. I wonder too if we are to hear a foreshadowing of another sort: later in the psalm the nations will come before David ‘quaking from their strongholds’. So here Yhwh’s ‘authority’ is enough to make the earth shake, later David’s authority will be enough to make the nations quake as he is empowered by Yhwh’s strength. Smoke / has gone up / from his nostrils, and consuming / fire / from his mouth; coals / and fire / flame forth / from him. Yhwh is enraged. He takes on the appearance of volcanic anger as his face is transformed into a dark and burning flame that shoots forth coals and fire. He is like some meteor preparing to enter earth’s atmosphere. One sensory aspect of this is the mixture of darkness (“smoke from his nostrils”) and unbearable heat/light (consuming fire; coals and fire). As at Sinai Yhwh is wreathing himself in this mixture of both darkness and light. This is very different than when a psalmist speaks of Yhwh’s face ‘shining on him’. Rather, this is the tremendum of Yhwh’s presence as it displays itself in sovereign anger/wrath and love for his endangered ones. This is Yhwh clothing himself for battle (Judges 5:4-5; Ps. 68:7-8) for his anointed.

Then / he spread apart / the heavens / and came down, with dense cloud / under his feet; and he rode upon a cherub / and flew and soared / upon the wings / of the wind. We have here the second “Then” of three. The first revealed the shaking of the earth in response to Yhwh’s heavenly anger. Now, Yhwh parts the heavens and begins his descent to the earth (much like he descended onto Sinai during the exodus). It is easy to lose sight of the fact that all of these divine displays of power are in response to David’s prayer. Most of them are deriving their imagery either from myths associated with the enthronement of a god or with Yhwh’s rescuing of the entire nation of the Jews (his ‘first-born’) from Pharaoh. But here, again, Yhwh’s love for David is so profound that not only does his prayer invade his ears and cause an immediate response of anger, but it actually calls Yhwh forth from heaven. Yhwh is not sending a messenger, he is not orchestrating David’s rescue from his temple (unlike in other psalms, Yhwh doesn’t answer from his temple; he himself leaves his temple, parts the heavens and descends). There could be no greater display of rescue than that Yhwh would himself leave heaven to personally redeem David from the cords of Death and Sheol. The vehicle for Yhwh’s presence is truly terrifying: dense clouds under his feet, riding on the wings of cherubim. He made / darkness / his den; his lair / round about was dense clouds / dark with water. There are a few things about this image that deserve comment. First, on a sensorial level the image is of Yhwh engulfed in a massive storm head. One gets the sense that the darkness is shrouding the power contained therein. But, interestingly, we must acknowledge that this ‘darkness’ is, in fact, the beginning of Yhwh’s revealing of himself on earth. This terrifying darkness is a display of power that both reveals and conceals Yhwh. Furthermore, there could be a reference here to the darkness at the beginning of creation. If that is the case then the image works in several ways: it would show that in Genesis the ‘darkness’ is not an indication of Yhwh’s absence but of a type of ‘pregnant pause’ before the burst of creative activity; likewise, here, the darkness would be a shrouding that ‘hides’ Yhwh in one sense but serves only to cower creation and make it weak before the explosion of Yhwh’s saving hand. This could also point to the fact that when Yhwh removes his garment of darkness, a new creation will emerge: David, redeemed from Death and Sheol. This image is enhanced by the darkness being described as a ‘den’ or a ‘lair’—Yhwh appears like a lion (or some dragon), waiting in hiding, providing his own cover, prior to unleashing his torrent of anger. Furthermore, this image also stands in contrast to David’s being ‘surrounded’ by the cords of Death and Sheol: whereas David was involuntarily being dragged into the underworld, Yhwh descends from heaven, ‘surrounded’—but this ‘surrounding’ is a withholding of his massive power. The ‘surrounded one’ (David) will be freed by the ‘surrounded one’ (Yhwh). And, as if Yhwh’s presence was simply too powerful to be hidden, the cloud’s themselves burst into flames: “From the brightness / before him / clouds / burst into flames”. In the heavens, Yhwh was described in images of fire (and smoke), as a type of volcanic deity. When he parted the heavens though, his first mode of expression was in deep darkness, a storm cloud that was pregnant/dark with water. The heavenly reality, when it appears on earth, first shows itself in its opposite: in heaven—Fire/Smoke; on earth—Water/Clouds. Now, though, the heavenly reality is beginning to emerge, as if it cannot be contained in its earthly embodiment. Indeed, it actually ignites the clouds and begins to consume them (much like Yhwh’s flame descended from heaven and consumed the watery wood of Elisha). And they are not merely consumed, from the midst of these water clouds emerge “Hail / and fiery coals”—again, a reference back to the heavenly display of anger. There “coals and fire flame forth”, here, the storm clouds begin to give off these heavenly realities. It is as if the lion is emerging from his ‘den’ or ‘lair’ (the dark clouds). In the language of Genesis, this would mean that the chaos is beginning to be dispelled and a new creation is about to emerge. It does seem important to note here that David will later describe Yhwh as “lighting my lamp”, indicating he is in darkness (something certainly implied with Sheol and Death). It would seem, then, that Yhwh actually clothes himself in this darkness at first, only to emerge later as utter, and powerful, light (much like creation itself). Yhwh’s revealing of himself on earth can, therefore, take on aspects of deep darkness of death: it can evoke this sense of terror, and impending doom. And yet, this darkness is not Yhwh’s heavenly reality; it is the but his ‘outer garb’ as he begins his descent from heaven and, in fact, it cannot contain him but is itself ignited by his presence. Without pushing this too far, one might point to the beginning of the gospel of John: “and the darkness has not/cannot perceive him”. Furthermore, we have noted the parallels between the imagery deployed and other Canaanite mythologies, specifically those of Baal. I wonder if this contrast between the heavenly ‘flame and smoke’ and earthly ‘water and cloud’ is not working along these lines as well: it is showing that Yhwh, in his earthly appearance, has all of the powers of Baal in the storm cloud and yet, this appearance is only his ‘den’ or ‘lair’ that he emerges from in fiery anger. If that is the case then this psalm is both co-opting the mythology and showing that Yhwh is in fact the power of storm clouds, and not Baal, and also making a rather strong rebuke to these mythologies: these clouds are actually unable to contain the power of Yhwh; in fact, they ignite with the presence contained in them. By contrasting the heavenly reality of fire with the earthly reality of water the psalm is showing that Yhwh is in fact stronger (much stronger) than Baal, and the point of this is not merely to showcase Yhwh’s strength and superiority but to display Yhwh’s devotion to the Davidic king. In this way, the psalm operates to show that this king has the power of Yhwh behind him, a power that is almost infinitely more powerful than the ‘god’ who stands behind any other king. Then / Yhwh thundered / from heaven, And Elyon / gave forth / his voice – hail / and fiery coals! The final transition is, again, marked by a ‘then’. The first described Yhwh’s heavenly and incendiary anger; the second Yhwh’s descent to earth clothed in a storm cloud; this final one will detail the war waged by Yhwh on behalf of his anointed. From the midst of the flaming storm cloud, thunder emerges. The war begins with a Voice. This is somewhat reminiscent of Psalm 2: there, the nations gathered to make war on Yhwh and his anointed; they arrived at his mountain, and then a horrendous booming laughter emerged from heaven followed by a shout. Here, heaven erupts in anger, Yhwh descends in a storm cloud and now Yhwh booms in thunderous response to David’s precarious situation. The following line is particularly stately: Elyon gave forth his voice. It conjures up images of supreme, sovereign strength. The ‘voice’ is itself a type of object ‘given over’, indicating the fact that this is not merely a vocal utterance but is itself the powerful judgment of Yhwh/Elyon. War has begun and it has been initiated, with terrible ferocity, by Yhwh with his ‘voice’—Hail / and fiery coals! Again, images of the heavenly fiery anger emerge. This is Yhwh’s pure unadulterated anger, blazing out of a storm cloud. And / he dispatched / his arrows / and scattered them, And multiplied / bolts of lightning / and routed them. In a previous psalm we saw the image of Yhwh ‘preparing for battle’: he was ‘sharpening his sword’ and ‘preparing his fiery shafts’; he bent the bow back and, presumably, shot fire tipped arrows at the earth (the wicked). There, the fiery shafts descended from heaven. Here, we have been given the impression that Yhwh has descended from heaven and yet it says he “thunders from heaven”. It would seem the psalm is intentionally allowing for both Yhwh’s descent and his continued ‘speaking’ from heaven, thereby showing that either ‘heaven’ as the source or place of ‘power’ is wherever Yhwh is (I don’t think as likely), or that a literal reading is not what the psalm wants to portray but rather the fact that Yhwh/Elyon can both ‘descend’ and remain in heave (as he does in the Exodus, dwelling in the earthly Temple and remaining in the heavenly one). Here, the victory is not simply immediate but profound and total. And the beds / of the ocean / were revealed, And the foundations / of the earth / were laid bare at your rebuke / O Yhwh, at the breath / of wind / from your nostrils. It is important to note here something that will become prevalent later on: here we are discussing the redemption of David from the perspective of Yhwh; later in the psalm we will witness the same redemption but from the perspective of David. When Yhwh is the subject, in a type of ‘pure battle’ between Yhwh and the ‘sea’, events are telescoped such that it gives the impression of a clear and immediate victory. When David is the subject, however, we see something much more similar to what we read in 1-2 Samuel: a sure but patient and ongoing battle between David and his enemies. Here, Yhwh’s victory is a stripping of the earth down to its barest existence. It borders on a type of anti-creation but falls short; rather, it is an utter weakening (almost shaming) of the powers that have entwined David in their grasp. One sense here that the voice does to these powers what they do the ‘cedars of Lebanon’—tearing from them every semblance of authority, honor and respect. In effect, he leaves them in a state of utter vulnerability. Notice too how it is Yhwh’s ‘wind’ that causes this shaming: just as in creation when Yhwh’s wind hovered over the waters, and in Exodus when it ‘blew’ over the waters all night to create dry land. So too, this ‘wind’ is now acting on behalf of David (evoking a personal exodus for Yhwh’s anointed king; and a new ‘creation’ in his deliverance). Furthermore, this ‘wind’ emerges as a type of snort by Yhwh: it comes ‘from his nostrils’ which before gave forth the smoke of his rage. This wind is a judgment, a powerful force of Yhwh to subdue every force aligned against his chosen one (including forces of the gods). One could say that this is Yhwh disarming every opposing force. He / reached down / from on high / he took hold / of me; he / drew me out / from the deep waters. Finally, Yhwh extends his hand and draws David out from the midst of the sea/powerful foe. The psalm has spent a great deal of time focusing on Yhwh’s displays of power and his fierce attack against David’s enemies; ever since David’s cry was heard by Yhwh we observed a divine drama as Yhwh’s anger was ignited in heaven, the parting of the heavens and descent of Yhwh and the subsequent routing of the foe. Here, the purpose of it all centers down on one man as Yhwh, after all of this amazingly powerful displays of power, reaches out for David and pulls him out of the water. The fact that such displays stands as a backdrop to this moment is rather astonishing: it only heightens the sense of Yhwh unremitting loyalty and love for this man, his ‘anointed’, his ‘messiah’. Yhwh will, literally, part the heavens, arm himself and strip the earth down to its fundamental roots in order to save this single man on whose shoulders rest Yhwh’s people. This is the exodus of his messiah because this messiah is the anointed of his people. We have moved from the cosmic and epic to the utterly personal. This sense of pausing over this moment is reminiscent of David’s opening line, “I love you O Yhwh, my strength.” Without question this is Yhwh’s expression of love for David.

He / delivered me / from my / powerful foe, and from / those hating me / for they were / too strong / for me. They confronted me / on the day / of my distress But / Yhwh / was my support. The only reference so far to David’s enemy has been cast in the mythic imagery of death, Belial and Sheol. Here, however, we get the first indication of the human faces of these enemies. From this point on the epic/mythic sense of the psalm will begin to fade into the background (although not entirely) as David begins to move into focus. In the midst of this transition is the fact that the ‘enemies’ are here equated with the ‘mighty waters’ making us think of both the flood, with Noah, and with the Reed Sea and the exodus (along with other references). It is from the midst of these “waters of chaos” that Yhwh pulls David. It is important to note that the enemies are seen to be agents of the same chaotic power. They are destructive in the sense that the rebel against the order established by creation (when Yhwh’s ‘wind’ blew over the waters, just as here Yhwh’s wind begins the judgment). By attacking David, they are reenacting the destructive forces that threatened to submerge all of creation back into its primordial beginning. This focus on David places him the same place as creation (Genesis: Flood) and as Yhwh’s chosen people (Exodus; his ‘first-born’).This sense is confirmed by David’s painting of his deliverance in terms of Israel’s entry into the Promised Land: “And / he led me / out to / the broad place; He / delivered me / because / he delighted / in me.” The use of the phrase ‘led me’ is important: it denotes both shepherding and the ‘path of Yhwh’ that David follows in covenant fidelity, which anticipates David’s later claim of innocence. Israel was, to say the least, a reluctant flock; David goes willingly behind Yhwh to “the broad place”. It is important to note this dynamic as a counter-balance to Yhwh ‘reaching down from on high and taking hold’ of David. In one, David appears to be the purely passive recipient of deliverance. In the other, David ‘follows’ the path laid down by Yhwh. This nicely captures the dynamic that is about to be exploited in the Psalm: the first half has emphasized Yhwh’s unilateral movement from heaven to earth to save his messiah. The second half will now emphasize the faithfulness on the part of the messiah in that deliverance. Lastly, it seems to go without saying that Yhwh ‘delights’ in David, but the phrase here is disarming. One gets the sense of Yhwh’s fatherly/parental (almost maternal) delight in his anointed. He is an object of beauty to him. It is a counterpoint to the blazing anger that has thus far been exhibited by Yhwh and serves to show that that violent outburst had its root in this simply statement: because he delighted in me. Again, in the midst of the chaotic images we find something similar to the opening line of the psalm, “I love you O Yhwh my strength.” Yhwh / has dealt fairly / with me / according to / my righteousness; according to / the cleanness of / my hands/ he has rewarded me. The psalm now begins a very different tact. Up to now it has been a drama: prayer to heaven; Yhwh is enraged; Yhwh parts heaven and begins his descent armed for battle; Yhwh enters into war for his messiah and redeems him. Now, there is a type of pause as David explains why Yhwh would act with such unwavering devotion to him. David begins with a more abstract statement: he is innocent and righteous. His hands are clean. Hooking back into the previous verse, it this innocence that Yhwh ‘delighted in’; it is what drove him out of heaven with such vengeance. However, this is then followed up with what has constituted the essence of this innocence. It is David’s fidelity to Yhwh’s demands. “For / I have kept / the ways / of Yhwh and have not / departed in wickedness / from my God.” The verses now alternate between what David has done and what he has not: I have kept the ways of the Yhwh ---- have not departed in wickedness; all of his judgments have been before me—his statutes I have not put aside from me; I have been blameless with him—I have guarded myself from iniquitousness. It then concludes with the opening verse: Yhwh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. This alteration is similar to some extant to psalm 1 and the ‘wise man’ who ‘does not’ travel with the wicked and who ‘does’ delight in torah/instruction. His life is made up of both actions, serving for ‘blessedness.’ Here, David embodies this same dynamic but it is more expressly incorporated with Torah: he speaks of following Yhwh’s statutes and judgments. The image of ‘not departing’ would seem to strengthen the image of him being “led out to the broad place” both terms indicating a type of covenant faithfulness on the part of David to Yhwh. Again, this idea is also reinforced by the idea of his judgments being ‘before him’. They are his ‘path’, his ‘way’ and the ‘tracks’ of Yhwh that all of the righteous men in the psalms have so far been appealing to. David has, essentially, hemmed himself in to following Yhwh. And, for that reason, as in Psalm 1, he is ‘rewarded’ (there, the ‘wise man’ was considered ‘blessed’). It is ‘according’ to this path of David (and his protection against wickedness) that such massive displays of deliverance have been wrought for him.

With the faithful / you show yourself / faithful; with the blameless / you show yourself / blameless; with the pure / you show yourself / pure, and with the twisted / you deal tortuously. Although it appears conventional there are some rather shocking claims being made here. It may not come as a surprise that Yhwh would ‘show himself’ faithful to those who are faithful to him; this is standard for covenantal fidelity. Likewise, the blameless Yhwh ‘shows himself’ blameless; again, this does not appear too surprising. However, the language changes when we get to the ‘twisted’. Here, Yhwh is no longer ‘showing himself’, but ‘dealing’ tortuously. This seems significant. Yhwh can ‘show himself’ to those who are most like him: faithful and blameless. When it comes to those who break with covenant fidelity though, no longer are we in the realm of theophany/showing, but of ‘dealing’, as if the psalmist does not want to afford the same sense of ‘revealing’ of Yhwh’s wrath as when he is with those who are faithful and pure. This seems rather straightforward. However, when Yhwh ‘shows himself faithful’ in this psalm it is in the context of his ‘dealing’ with the twisted. Therefore, Yhwh would seem to have two faces. This experience coincides well with a dominant theme already explored: the exodus. To the Israelites, when the plague of darkness descended, they were shrouded in light; when they were fleeing, a column of fire moved before them, and a column of terrifying smoke went behind them to frighten the Egyptians. The same god therefore appeared very differently depending on whether one stood ‘with him’ (and his people) or against him (and his people). This same experience will emerge in regard to the Temple in later psalms (those coming to attack with shrink in dread while those ‘inside’ will rejoice). It is therefore, probably an overstatement to say Yhwh has ‘two faces’: his one act of devotion to those who are faithful/blameless/pure requires a consequent act of judgment on the ‘twisted’who oppress them. The importance, however, in these verses is that the psalmist doesn’t want to use the words ‘show himself’, probably because he knows Yhwh’s nature is not truly ‘revealed’ in his acts of judgment as much as in the fact that the act of deliverance is rooted in his love for the faithful/blameless/pure. In the context of this psalm, this is a nice summary of the previous physical description of Yhwh’s descent: initiated by David’s prayer, Yhwh explodes in anger and ‘shrouds himself in darkness’ as in a ‘den or lair’. Contained within this ‘dealing’ of Yhwh is the burning love he has for David. For you deliver / and afflicted people, and you / bring down / haughty eyes. Although not explicitly stated, these verses embody Yhwh’s exodus for those who are afflicted: that act is accomplished, as we have seen throughout, by a consequent ‘casting down’ of the wicked. Here, though, we have something slightly new: it is their ‘eyes’ that are ‘brought down’. It is a very appropriate image. To be ‘haughty’ is to refuse to ‘lower one’s eyes’ in the face of a superior. This is not a mere metaphor. It is what happens whenever two opposing forces meet each other’s gaze. In that moment, the entire force of the two individuals are channeled into and through the eyes. One senses, at that moment, that the human soul and power is being displayed in a manner unequaled, even in physical force. It is the sense of ‘presence’ and of the power of human ‘I’ that stands behind those eyes. This is why one would never break the ‘gaze’—it would signal a defeat more profound than physical submission; it would be the submission of the person’s entire being to the other. In a sense this is the greatest victory because it is the person own admission that they are under the authority and control of the other. Surely, in a culture where honor and shame were much more to the fore than in ours, this image would speak volumes. Finally, this verse speaks to a common biblical theme: Yhwh ‘raises up’ and he ‘casts down’; likewise, the ‘first shall be last’ and the ‘last shall be first’. For you / light my lamp / O Yhwh. O my God / you enlighten / my darkness. Although not stated, it is certainly implied that whereas the eyes of the ‘twisted’ will be brought low, David’s ‘eye’ will see light due Yhwh’s ‘lighting’ his lamp and ‘enlightening’ his darkness. Behind the surface of this I wonder if we are not to hear, due to all the resonances so far, an echo of creation: of the ‘first light’ that shown in the darkness of the waters of chaos and began the initial impulse of creation. It may be that David is himself , in some way, seen as this ‘first light’ of Yhwh. The following verses will detail how, through the power of Yhwh, David will restore order to creation by ‘subduing’ the nations and thereby bring peace. He will, in that way, continue Yhwh’s creative act of ‘separating and dividing’ making sure that justice keeps things in their proper place and boundary. This may seem like a stretch of course, and I do not mean to imply that it is overt. However, this precise verse, does stand as a type of hinge between the two sections of the psalm. What went before was a description of the events as told from the epic/mythic perspective of Yhwh; here, we are transitioning into the section on David. This movement to David is accomplished by the ‘lighting’ of a lamp; a certain ‘flame’ is placed before (and within?) David, perhaps reminiscent of the very ‘flames’ that erupted from Yhwh when he first heard of David’s prayer. This same flame of vengeance has now been ‘placed before’ David, and will ‘lead him’ into battle against the forces of chaos. Likewise, something we pointed out before was that David’s description of his situation was one of surrounding doom (bound by ‘cords’ of Sheol and death); Yhwh’s, on the other hand, was similarly ‘bound’ but it was of his own doing (he shrouded himself in darkness like a den). Contained within his self-imposed darkness was a massively burning flame that shot forth coals and flames of fire. Once Yhwh moved, in his utter freedom, into David’s ‘cords’, David was released in the same manner as Yhwh and he now became empowered by that same strength to deliver Yhwh’s people from their ‘cords’ (the ‘nations’). Yhwh’s redemption of David was, therefore, an empowering, a training, a ‘girding’ of David, in Yhwh’s power, to redeem his ‘flock’ and ‘lead them into broad places’.

For by you / I run up / to a troop, and by my God / I scale / a wall. The God --/ his way / is perfect! Yhwh’s utterance / is free / of blemish. At this point we can now develop at some length the relationship between this psalm and psalm 2 (as well as psalm 2’s relationship with psalm 3). First, as to Psalm 2: there, the nations congregate, Yhwh’s shouts, Yhwh confers with/anoints David, David addresses the nations describing how he is has been empowered by Yhwh for victory. One thing we noticed in that psalm was how the opening ‘shout’ of Yhwh was, in effect, reproduced in David’s empowerment to subdue the nations. It was looking at the same event through different perspectives: David’s subduing of the nations could be seen as the ‘shout’ of Yhwh. Something similar is at work in this psalm: we have been given a vantage over what is happening within Yhwh when David prays to him—Yhwh is enraged and descends to deliver his anointed messiah. In this aspect of the psalm, we are making a similar transition as occurred in Psalm 2: now, we are witnessing what it means for David to enact Yhwh’s wrath. David’s deliverance is David’s empowerment is Yhwh’s ‘descent’ from the heavens. Likewise, in Psalm 2, it seems as if Yhwh is the ‘main actor’, except for the fact that all he does is speak; it is not, as in this psalm, as if Yhwh ‘shoots arrows of flame’ and disperses the waters of abyss. Although it is manifestly the case that Yhwh is ‘granting him the rod of iron’ the ‘victory’ seems to fall on the shoulders of David. As we saw there, though, this is not abstract notion of ‘grace vs. freedom’, but of the fatherly devotion of Yhwh to his son who he delights in watching enact his justice on the earth. In essence, the ‘perspective’ of the psalm seems to be from that of Yhwh. In psalm 3, by contrast, the perspective seems much more to be from David. There, the ‘victory’ is entirely Yhwh’s. This is simply the reverse of the relationship: a dutiful looking up to his father and ‘giving him all the glory’. I would argue that something very similar is going on here in our transition: the psalm now brings us into the perspective of David, whereas before it was from the perspective of Yhwh. From this vantage we hear the words of utter praise and thanksgiving issue forth from an anointed/messiah son not for his ‘rescue’, but for his empowerment to subdue the nations. It is interesting that when the psalm speaks more from Yhwh’s perspective is uses words of deliverance; when it speaks from David’s perspective, David almost universally mentions Yhwh’s equipping and empowering him. Apparently, the battle that Yhwh engaged in as he emerged from heaven is now being enacted by David on the nations. It is very intriguing: when viewed through both lenses, so to speak, we realize that David’s ‘deliverance’ is, simultaneously, David’s empowerment to destroy the nations. This captures that delicate balance we see in the psalms (particularly 2 and 3): the scriptures are continuously looking at the same event through these two different lenses. As to these words in particular—from this point on everything is in martial imagery. The love that David has for Yhwh, as expressed in the first verse, is rooted in this martial empowerment to subdue the nations (to ‘run up to a troop’ and ‘scale a wall’). It is this power that is ‘light’ to David, the power to enact judgment and restore order to creation. Likewise, this ‘way is perfect’, because it is so total in its devotion to David’s military conquest. Although we have been given the reason for Yhwh’s faithfulness as rooted in covenant fidelity (blamelessness, purity) the ‘light’ and Yhwh’s ‘utterances’ are now conceived not so much as statutes to be followed in moral/ethical manner but as forces of military deliverance. Yhwh’s utterance / is free / of blemish. The only other time Yhwh has ‘spoken’ in this psalm is when he rains down hail and fiery coals in conquering force against the enemies of David. Again, other psalms speak of Yhwh’s ‘words’ as being ‘pure’ and they tend to have predominant overtones of ‘holiness’: here, while that may be present, the overwhelming effect is that his ‘words’ are powerful acts of warfare. And if Yhwh ‘speaks’ them, David is the ‘word’. He is / a shield / for all / who seek refuge / in him. As incredibly particular as this psalm gives the impression of being, it still affirms the fact that any deliverance experienced by David is one that is entirely in keeping with Yhwh: ‘all’ have access to this power, just as Yhwh shows himself faithful/blameless/pure with those who are faithful/blameless/pure. David will later speak about Yhwh handing him his own shield (‘and you gave me your shield of deliverance’), but here that same ‘shield’ is open to all who ‘seek refuge’ in him. Although Yhwh’s love for David is passionate, it is not exclusive; David is a type of ‘Adam’, a type of ‘everyman’, in that his faithfulness and devotion to Yhwh is the ideal of very man. The fact that Yhwh would become volcanic at David’s danger is something that, perhaps, is more in keeping with David’s role as ‘king’; it does not mean that Yhwh would not become similarly enraged at one who was not so much of a public figure, but he may not ‘need to’. For who / is a god / apart from / Yhwh? And who / is a rock / except our God? The first question at least sounds reminiscent of the Shema prayer and the first commandment. The second is interesting in that it mimics the second third line of the psalm. There David said, “My god is my rock in whom I seek refuge”. Here, what was David’s is now ‘ours’. Likewise, in the context of the psalm, this ‘rock’ is one who supplies martial empowerment, which is now something that David describes as open to everyone. By placing this in connection with the previous question we then see a picture of Yhwh not simply as the ‘one god’ but as the one Warrior King. The god / who girded me / with might, and made perfect / my way. When David was first anointed he removed Saul’s armor and instead used his sling in an action obviously freighted with meaning: David would not ‘wear’ Saul’s military outfit but would remain exposed with Yhwh. Here, Yhwh ‘girds’ David with might. That same movement of Yhwh out of heaven that was typical of a god arming himself for battle is now seen to be Yhwh arming and infusing David with divine power. This is nicely put in the following line: whereas before God’s ‘way’ was described as ‘perfect’, now Yhwh makes David’s way perfect.