Ps. 30.18-19 (part II; litany of woes)

The first effect (or, request) of standing within Yhwh’s shining face is that of deliverance. As noted above, this is a type of overarching request, a preface to what follows. It is, in other words, another way of saying, “Let you’re your face shine on me.” When Yhwh turns his face, in radiance, toward his own, they experience ‘exodus’. More specifically, the psalmist requests that he ‘not be put to shame’. Again, this is because all of his ‘trust’ has been handed over to Yhwh; he cannot resort to ‘vain idols’ but rather reposes his trust in Yhwh alone. It is telling that the blessings requested are all in the negative: deliver me; let me “not be put to shame”; let the wicked be judged (x3).  The psalmist couches his request as having “called upon Yhwh”. Before, he mentioned placing his spirit and his future in Yhwh’s hands; here, he reverts to the much more common ‘calling upon’. The reason this is the case is because of the contrast it serves to the wicked: “Let the wicked be put to shame – be silenced – lips be sealed.” Here we see how Yhwh’s face (how Yhwh as “god of truth”) enacts, through his presence, the ‘truth of the covenant’: it deals out blessings for those who stand in covenantal trust with him and curses for those who do not. The importance is this: that Yhwh’s shining face is also a face of judgment. We have seen this over and over before—Yhwh’s redemption is always accomplished through these two forces of redeeming (lifting up) and judgment (casting down). Here, the image is different but the point is the same: Yhwh’s redemption is accomplished through the hearing of his chosen and the silencing of the wicked. Just as the righteous will be placed within the gaze of his radiant face, so will the wicked now be expelled into the silence, becoming ‘like Sheol’. Although not explicit, the contrast here confirms a reflection of the previous psalm: that to be in Yhwh’s presence is to be engaged in liturgy whereas to be away from him is to exist in silence. It is as if the psalmist viewed the wicked’s voices as eclipsing his own voice. But now, with Yhwh’s redemption, their mouths are silenced such that his voice and praise are now able to be heard in their purity (both to himself and to others).