Ps. 41.10 ("...raise me up...")

“But you / O Yhwh / have mercy / upon me – and raise me up / that I may / recompense them.” This verse stands as a contrast to verse 9. There, the psalm had been moving, in ever-increasing darkness, to the point where even the closest companion to the psalmist had betrayed him and “raised his heel against him”. No longer were his known enemies the ones trying to “end his name”; rather, the malevolence had infected the inner circle of the psalmist. It is at this ‘darkest hour’, or the ‘evil time’ (vs. 1), that the words “But you…” ring out.  As we indicated in our previous reflection, it is precisely the darkest moment that indicates that a transition to light will occur. There is a second way in which this verse is in contrast with verse 9—just as the ‘dining companion’ was “raising up his heel” against him, so now does the psalmist appeal to Yhwh to “raise me up that I may recompense them.” As we have noted, the psalmist spiritual geography has been one of being ‘low’, clearly indicating his powerlessness to defend himself, his closeness to the ground/Sheol and the loss of any authority he has within the community. Once Yhwh’s name appears, however, this situation is called upon to be reversed. It is ‘in Yhwh’ that one can be ‘raised up’ and given the glory/authority/power to stand in the face of the enemy and ‘recompense them’. Importantly, the psalm will conclude with Yhwh “making me stand up in your presence forever” signaling the ultimate reversal from being “under the heel” of his ‘companion’. There is something interesting to the fact that the only name ever mentioned in the psalms, that we have seen thus far, is ‘Yhwh’. Of course, this probably has to do with the fact that these are composed in order to be communal/liturgical prayers and therefore any specific name would not be appropriate. However, it is striking that the ‘good friend’ remains nameless—the one individual in the psalm who actually is close to the psalmist—whereas in the immediately following verse that serves as a contrast Yhwh is called upon. What is important about this insight is the fact that it is the “name” that is the only name that retains the power to be appealed to and referenced. The name, as the presence of Yhwh, is what survives and endows the psalms with their ability to enact what they petition for. One final point: the petition to “have mercy upon me” is the second in the psalm. The first inaugurated the voice of the psalmist after the introduction where he asked Yhwh for mercy and healing due to his sin. Here, that same mercy is called upon but now in order to deliver him from his enemies and to strengthen him such that he will inhabit the realm of authority necessary to shame those who attempted to destroy him. He is to be ‘raised up’ so that he may recompense them.