“Redeem me / O Yhwh / God of truth.” I want to pause over this line because, in context, it reveals a great deal about the nature of ‘truth’ for this psalmist. As we have seen the psalm has been focused, entirely, on the covenantal bond and obligations owed between Yhwh and the psalmist. Central to this relationship is Yhwh’s acting as ‘refuge’ for the psalmist, as a place of safety. Concomitant with that is the psalmists unwavering trust in Yhwh, alone, as his source of protection. He places his spirit, totally, in “Yhwh’s hands”. And he does so because the psalmist has been subject to attacks by unnamed (and rather abstract) enemies. The enemies are real; what they are planning, though, is hidden. For that reason he looks to Yhwh to guide him and rescue him from his pursuers. With that in mind, the ‘truth’ contained in this verse is entirely consistent with what has gone before, although perhaps not consistent with our general understanding of it. Truth is, in a word, covenantal fidelity; it is action on behalf of covenant partner. For Yhwh to be the “God of truth”, then, is to be the God who, without fail, redeems those who are his from their enemies. We tend to think of truth as ‘accurate statement or description’. Here, we might say truth is the accurate rendition of covenantal obligations; in a word, faithfulness. When, like the psalmist, one stands within the sphere of Yhwh (when one stands “in Yhwh”) and one thereby places his exclusive trust and allegiance in Yhwh, “truth” shines forth. Truth then is not to be equated with redemption but is rather Yhwh’s faithfulness to the covenant (which entails redemption). This truth finds its expression in either covenantal blessing or curse and is, therefore, powerful and active. The psalmist has, so to speak, positioned himself in such a way that, when he calls upon Yhwh as the ‘God of truth’, he expects to unleash Yhwh’s redemptive power.
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