ps. 21

O Yhwh / in your might / the king rejoices

and in your victory / how greatly / he exults!

You have given / to him / his heart’s desire

and you have not withheld / the request / of his lips. Selah

It is the smallest of words and yet the tone of the opening of the psalm would be very different were it not for the “O Yhwh”. It has a soft sense of devotion, of a type of pleasant exhaustion: this is not merely reverence but affection and tenderness. This sense hovers over the entire psalm, especially the first half which is marked by thanksgiving and praise. There is happiness here, and a sense of joy. The final lines from Psalm 2 sprang to mind when I read these opening verses: “Happy are all who seek refuge in him (Yhwh’s anointed)”.This sense of joy and praise is centered on one thing: Yhwh’s relationship with his anointed. This is not a ‘personal’ psalm—its joy resides in the covenant made between Yhwh and David and what that covenant entailed. “In your might the king rejoices”—this is a striking claim. David expresses Yhwh’s might, much like Moses had Yhwh’s ‘spirit’ reside upon him. Recall how when a portion of this spirit was give to thirty other men, it drove them into a fit of prophetic frenzy (Moses stood up, his entire career, under this astonishing pressure). Here, upon David resides the force of Yhwh’s ‘might’ which undoubtedly refers to Yhwh as “Warrior King”. This ‘might’ that resides on David is his ‘joy’. And not surprisingly—the king was called forth in response to enemies impinging on Israel and one his primary functions was as a warrior to keep Israel safe. Just as the ‘spirit’ resided on Moses, the ‘word’ on the prophets, so too does Yhwh’s ‘might’ reside on the king. From this ‘might’ comes ‘victory’—the accomplishment of peace and establishment of the kingdom. This ‘might’ then results in the ‘subduing’of nations (as Adam was called to ‘subdue’ the earth). So while this ‘anointed son’ rejoices in ‘might’, he ‘greatly exults’ in victory. “You have given to him”: again, Psalm 2—“Just ask and I will grant nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession”. In Psalm 2, the entire world and its nations are there for the taking (interesting: Satan tempted Jesus with the same offer…). They simply need to be ‘asked’ from Yhwh. Here, that same sense of fatherly abandon (almost, prodigal abandon) to his son is found. David is like the true human whose wishes are so aligned with Yhwh that he need only open his lips and his request is granted. The note falls, however, decidedly on Yhwh—he has a full and fervent devotion to his anointed.

For you meet him / with blessings / of goodness

you set on / his head / a crown / of fine gold.

He asked life / from you: / you gave it / to him

length of days / for ever and ever.

These two verses follow the same pattern as the above: vs. 2: what Yhwh does; vs. 3: David’s request; vs. 4: what Yhwh does; vs. 5: David’s request; vs. 6: what Yhwh does; vs. 7: David’s request. “Meet him”: Again, we are confronted with the sense of lavishness and of particular devotion by Yhwh to David. Yhwh moves to David, he “meets him” to bestow not just ‘blessings’ but ‘blessings of goodness’. It would read very different if it said, “You give him blessings”.Rather, the ‘meeting’ and the ‘goodness’ provide us with the sense of the special relationship between Yhwh and his anointed (and, this relationship is one which is centered on Yhwh’s kingdom, not David per se, but David as king, or, David-as-covenantal-partner-for-Israel/world). “You set on his head a crown of fine gold”: There are plenty of images of gods crowning kings. Here, that common image is used by the psalmist to describe Yhwh’s act of covenanting with/crowning David: notice in Ps. 2 that the act of crowning/adopting/covenanting are all the same act. “He asked life from you”: in the context of the psalm this likely refers to ‘life’ as survival/victory of battle. “You gave it to him, length of days for ever and ever”: the request is answered, and it is not simply answered but lavishly answered. Whereas David simply asked for life, Yhwh bestows on him ‘length of days for ever and ever.’ We again get the sense of Yhwh’s particular love, affinity and devotion to David (and his seed—‘for ever and ever’). I do not think the point here is immortality, but to emphasize the over-abundance of Yhwh’s blessing (“which one of you would give your son a …..,how much more so your father in heaven…”). This has a close resemblance to the Ps. 2 “simply ask”, which results in the entire world and all nations being given to David (and his descendants).

His honor / is great / through your victory;

you bestow / upon him / splendor and majesty.

His honor / is great / through / your victory; you bestow / upon him / splendor and majesty. One of the most central themes of the psalm is the gift-giving of Yhwh to his anointed. It is present in nearly every verse; there is a lavishness about it. It is as if blessings were, almost literally, streaming down from heaven onto the anointed. Here, the juxtaposition of pronouns is indicative: hishonor is great through your victory;you bestow upon him splendor and majesty. These are almost all words used to describe Yhwh himself: honor, splendor and majesty. Yhwh is, in a way, giving himself to his anointed, not in an impoverishing way—these only serve to lift up the anointed, so to speak, in Yhwh’s light. The honor is his; but the victory is Yhwh’s. The ‘splendor and majesty’ clothe the anointed, but Yhwh is tailor. The terms—‘honor’: I believe this terms denotes a sense of weightiness and density; this is the almost physical sense of a person of honor’s presence. One senses the person is, as it were, made of stone; they are unshakable and unbreakable. They give off the sense of permanence. Likewise, it is also is an attractive trait: one can find protection in a person of honor. One is drawn to honor as the person seems to partake of something transcendent, a value seems to emanate (the ‘weightiness’) from the individual; this is seen in its verbal form of ‘to honor’. “Splendor”: this seems to be a term of sovereign beauty; it is the particular form of beauty that is inherent in regnant or kingly authority and, in this way, it tends to be special or unique. The one who has ‘splendor’ has the power to command; but it is not simply power, but persuasive power. One would be simultaneously drawn to look upon splendor and be immediately aware of the impropriety of meeting its gaze, eye-to-eye. In this way it demands the utmost respect. Furthermore, it seems to denote the element of light; splendor is always ‘radiant’ and can be blinding. In this way it almost actively impinges itself on observers. We are, once again, in the realm of Yhwh’s particular affinity and devotion to his ‘son’, his ‘anointed’ (ps. 2), except here we find Yhwh making himself, in many ways, the gift.

For you give him / blessings forever;

you make him / see your face / in joy.

For you / give him / blessings forever; you make him see / your face / in joy.

These lines surely point in some fashion back to the king’s request for life and Yhwh’s abundant response in “length of days for ever and ever”. There, we noted that it was likely/possible that the reference was the Davidic covenant and the fact that the king was going to survive the present battle and continue to reign. Here, following the lavish gifts of ‘honor, splendor and majesty’, we see that these were not one-time gifts but continuous. This is an impressive way to say they are ‘permanent’while at the same time showing that they depend upon Yhwh’s loving attention to his anointed. In essence, this shows the love of Yhwh (rather than some discussion regarding Yhwh’s ‘freedom’). Yhwh is doting on this anointed. This is followed by the highest of all blessings in the scripture: seeing His face. The previous gifts all had as their effect the world’s apprehension of the anointed (his honor, splendor and majesty). Here, Yhwh turns the anointed and bestows a gifts on him alone, much like when Moses saw Yhwh’s face it was always alone and individually---it was a gift reserved for him. Of course, it had its effect in the camp, but its occurrence was intimate and personal between Yhwh and Moses. Here, it is the same; now the ‘father’ turns his ‘son’ towards him so that he might grant him the greatest of all blessings. This makes the davidide partake of the same astonishing power as Moses. Here we find the root of the ‘blessings forever’ and, perhaps, we are to understand that the ‘forever-blessings’ are, in fact, the vision of Yhwh’s face. Finally, although it goes without saying, the addition of ‘in joy’ softens, personalizes and makes intimate this vision. The anointed sees Yhwh’s face, but it is one of utter joy. Appropriately, this reaction matches the abundance of Yhwh’s blessing. Each of them, the anointed and the Anointer, are absolutely devoted to each other. This verse appropriately marks the end of the first section of the psalm, with its steadfast attention on Yhwh’s attention to his anointed. Now, we find the hinge, that which makes the whole psalm swing:

For the king / is trusting / in Yhwh;

and in the lovingkindness / of the Most High / he will not / be shaken.

Standing at the very center of the psalm is covenant faithfulness of Yhwh toward the king. There is something very important in the fact that this verse comes in the middle rather than at the beginning: just as Israel was delivered and then received its covenant from Yhwh, so too is the king lavished with blessings and only now is the covenant mentioned. There is the sense that Yhwh’s devotion to the Davidic covenant is so total that it reaches out, almost uncontrollably, prior to laying down any conditions for covenant, in order to establish his king. There is no doubt that the covenant stands as the foundation of the Davidic kingdom; however, there is also no doubt that this covenant is grounded even further on the searching out and blessing of the king prior to any commitment made between the parties. When the covenant is enacted, it comes at the end of a long and tender blessing of Yhwh. There is almost always a prior grounding in Yhwh’s grace in every covenant. This psalm shows this rather wonderfully in its form by placing this verse in the middle (as its ‘hinge’ verse) and, at the same time, after the blessings of Yhwh: this way it shows its (literal) centrality and its grounding. At this point the psalm is allowed to ‘swing’ and shift its perspective from Yhwh to the anointed. Only once it has become absolutely clear that Yhwh is the one ‘gives victory’, is the one awards ‘honor’ and who is the one who blesses the anointed with ‘splendor and majesty’, can the focus now be on the king and his actions.

Your hand / will find out / all your enemies;

your right hand / will find out / all who hate you.

Those uncomfortable with this portion of the psalm being addressed to the king have missed the entire thrust thus far: Yhwh is the one who grants the king any ability to achieve success. Psalm 2 expressed this rather poignantly when it said, “Just ask and I will grant you nations, the ends of the world as your inheritance.” The “rod of iron” the king then wields, is one that is wielded in the power of Yhwh as his ‘granting’ him the nations. Here, the same holds: this is not the king routing his enemies alone; it is the king working with the blessing and doting eye of Yhwh upon him. Further, the whole ‘hinge’ focused on the fact that Yhwh’s lovingkindness is ‘permanent’ whereas the king’s ability to maintain that love is built on his ‘trusting’ in Yhwh. The king’s victories are the embodiment of a dialogue: we witness this dialogue in the king’s success and deliverance. “Find out”: the ‘lavishness’ of the first half of the psalm is taken up here in the probing and unwavering ability of the king to ‘find’his enemies. The ‘hand’ was often a symbol of military power; Yhwh’s ‘outstretched hand’ delivers Israel from Egypt. Here, that hand, with incredible dexterity and sensitivity, finds not just its enemies, but ‘all’ of them. Its ability is total; its ‘finding’ is sure. The ‘right hand’ is also the traditional hand of power and authority; it is the ‘right hand’ where those sit who are honored because it is that hand which is the most powerful. “Those who hate you”: if we have been reading the psalm correctly thus far, the king so sits in the realm of Yhwh and in his blessing, that any of his enemies would, by necessity, dwell in darkness. This ‘hand’ is, in a way, searching out every shadow in the realm and bringing light to it. And the king stands in such covenantal solidarity with Yhwh that his every action is one of empowered justice. He is, Adam-like, the image of Yhwh on earth.

You will / set them against / your face / like a fiery oven:

Yhwh will consume them / in his anger, / and fire will devour them.

The image here continues: the king, with his enemies in his hand, now ‘sets them against his face’. This is an obvious inverse image of Yhwh’s ‘face’ that the anointed was ‘made to see’ in joy. Now, the enemies are ‘made’ to see the king’s face in judgment. The ‘face’ here represents the power and focus of judgment, of total and intense anger. To be brought in front of a king’s face is to have no where else to hide from ‘the gaze’. All of the ‘honor’ ‘splendor’ and ‘majesty’are now fixed, balefully, on its enemy like ‘a fiery oven’. This image of an ‘oven’has, to my knowledge, always applied to Yhwh; here, though, the king (just as he has been endowed with ‘splendor and majesty’) is now endowed with same ‘face’.There is some hesitation in this though: notice how the action of the king is in ‘gathering’ and ‘finding’, of bringing them to account. However, once this is done “Yhwh will consume them” and “fire will devour them.” The image wants to grant as much to the king as possible, but, at the same time, it wants to make sure we know Yhwh is the one who is enacting the judgment. Yhwh as a ‘consuming fire’ in response to the king’s enemies we have seen in Psalm 18: there, he became volcanic at David’s enemies and shot burning stones from his cloud. Here, again, Yhwh’s rage is the absolutely intense and unwavering love he has for David. “David’s face”—Yhwh’s burning and consuming anger. This verse is a very poignant representation of the judgment aspect of the Davidic covenant.

You will destroy / their fruit / from the earth

and their seed / from among / the sons of man.

The image is of total destruction: fruit and seed (the ‘goods’ they produce as well as their very beings). It is one we have seen before, of Yhwh’s total ‘herem’warfare against evildoers. It is also in obvious contrast to the blessing of “length of days for ever and ever” on the king. Whereas the king will survive the battle and have his children sit on the throne in an ‘everlasting’ covenant, and have ‘blessings forever’, the enemies will be utterly destroyed, including their posterity. It is the total reverse of the Davidic blessing and covenant. (there does some to be a chiastic structure to the psalm but I can’t totally identify it).

Though they have / extended evil / against you,

have planned / evil devices, / they will not succeed.

I think this could be the ‘fruit’ referred to above: their schemes and attempts at bringing success is deemed ‘evil’ because, and this is important, it is ‘against you’ (the king). It would read differently if this ‘against you’was removed; then, it would sound like the actions, in themselves, were being judged. But, as we have seen, it is the king who is the object of attention here (much like Abraham was). It is because the anointed is under attack that they will not succeed. This sounds much like wisdom sayings where the ‘evil do not prosper’—but notice, again, now it is the anointed to works the judgment. This is a crucial insight: the anointed himself is like the universal ‘order of justice’ found in Psalm 1 and Proverbs and other wisdom books; this is very similar to the contrasting of Psalm 1 and 2.

For you will / make them / turn back

with your bowstrings, / you will aim / against their faces.

Another way of phrasing the difference between the first half of the psalm and the second is that between blessing and curse, with the covenant standing at the middle (which meets out both). And, just as the first half was abundant blessing—Yhwh seemed not to simply answer David but shower him with blessing—so too does the curse seem to be ‘abundant’. Here we see the enemy turning to flee from the bowstring, only to find them being attacked ‘against their faces’.They are utterly and totally surrounded; there is no escape. The curses overtake them just as absolutely as the blessings ‘surrounded’ David.

Arise / O Yhwh / in your might!

Let us / sing and praise / your strength!

This a perfect conclusion to the ‘curse’ section of the psalm and an amazing conclusion to the entire psalm. As to the curse section: “Arise” as we have said refers to the battle cry when the arc of covenant was often lifted up so as to bring Yhwh into battle. It surely retained this sense of Yhwh arising to arm himself and move against Israel’s enemies. “in your might” almost always refers to Yhwh’s primal judgment and destruction of his enemies (it often refers to his mythological destruction of Yam, etc…). As to the entire psalm: the opening spoke of the ‘blessings’ and there we commented on how the “O” of O Yhwh added a sense of intimacy to Yhwh’s devotion to the king. Here, it is the reverse; “O Yhwh” is like an urging for battle. The same words now express the ‘other side’ of the covenant: curses to enemies of Yhwh.