Ps. 29 (intro.)

“Ascribe to Yhwh / O sons of God, - ascribe to Yhwh / glory and strength. – Ascribe to Yhwh / the glory / of his name. – Worship Yhwh / in holy attire.” The opening of this psalm is very liturgical in its repetition: “Ascribe to Yhwh – Ascribe to Yhwh – Ascribe to Yhwh – Worship Yhwh”. This rhythmic (and repetitive) quality lends a sense of solemnity and authority to the psalm. The content of this call fleshes out the power being hailed: “sons of god – glory and strength – glory of his name – holy attire”. We will flesh out the idea much more later, but it can be alluded to now that this hymn of praise has as its focus the power of Yhwh. As we have seen throughout the psalms, it is likely that this ‘power’ of Yhwh is a power of deliverance and/or deliverance and creation. If that is the case, these opening lines, hymning Yhwh’s power are praises oriented to Yhwh as the Warrior King (in essence, we are prepared to understand this as a victory hymn). The psalm begins with a command to the “sons of God” to engage in praise (ascribing glory and strength). A few things to note about this: first, the command is being issued by the community gathered (presumably in the Temple) to the ‘sons of god’. This is the first time we have encountered such a command. There have been others like it but they have been issued to those gathered in the temple. Here, the command is directed at the heavenly council itself. This is a crucial aspect of the psalm to realize as it sets the stage (and tone) for the entire psalm. We are to hear in this the fact that this hymn is a heavenly hymn. It is, therefore, one of total and utter power. The earthly realm cannot contain, much less exemplify, what is being called for here. By opening the psalm in this way the listeners are immediately placed under and within the authority of heaven itself, which is, in turn, directing its gaze to Yhwh. This only serves to enhance the act of praise, and, more directly, the victory achieved by Yhwh in battle. Whatever the original setting or battle that this psalm was composed for, it is clear that, in Yhwh’s victory, heaven itself stood in awe of Yhwh’s authority. In this way, the psalm embodies the reality that praise (specifically, praise for victory) is both a heavenly and earthly reality. When those gathered in the temple sang their praises to Yhwh (or, as in other psalm, ‘recounted his works’) they did (do) so with the heavenly council, who offer praises in the heavenly temple (as seen clearly in Isaiah and elsewhere). In this way the earthly liturgy, and the heavenly one, mimic each other (and participate in the other). “Sons of God”: it is likely this phrase refers to the heavenly council, those heavenly beings that gather around Yhwh. I do wonder if their description as ‘sons’ is to signify that they, like the Davidic heirs, are ‘kings’ (are they displays of Yhwh’s authority and sovereignty?). If that is the case, then they are here being relegated to an act of worship to Yhwh, the Enthroned One. “Glory and strength”:  throughout the rest of the psalm these two qualities of Yhwh are closely aligned; ‘glory’ in this context is the sovereign authority that emanates from Yhwh’s presence; ‘strength’ is his ability to subdue the forces of chaos and deliver his people. Both of them, in the context of this psalm, as will be shown, speak to the fact that they reside, exclusively, with Yhwh (as distinct from any other gods or ‘powers’). “The glory of his name”: we have spoken of this before, but it is the source of great mystery that the one god has a name (typically, a name is something that identifies something as one among many; here, the one is named but he is not one among many but the only). Although more by implication than by explicitly being stated (here), the name and the glory must coincide; the question is then whether the ‘name’ is more than the glory (its ‘ground’) or whether they ‘fill each other out’. The fact of the matter is that the name, as the presence/power of Yhwh, is itself, therefore, ‘glorious’. It is interesting to note how here the ‘name’ is mentioned whereas in the rest of the psalm the focus will be decidedly on the ‘voice’ of Yhwh. “Holy attire”: the fact that the sons of god themselves must clothe themselves in holy attire (pure and undefiled) is impressive. Their holiness must consume them in their act of worship. This holiness of theirs is, of course, something that only serves to heighten the gravity of the worship being offered—it points to the ever-greater holiness of Yhwh himself. Also, the fact that they are commanded to dress themselves also highlights their own much lower and subservient role in the presence of Yhwh. These gods must approach Yhwh with the same fear and trepidation that the Israelites approached the mountain or the priests approached the holy of holies. This is, entirely, a liturgical act. And, it also points to the fact that those (men and women, and priests) who worshipped Yhwh must do so in such a manner that their garb exemplifies their holiness. To my knowledge, this is the first time in the psalms we have encountered ‘holy attire’.