Ps. 40.14 (shame and robbing of glory)

“They / shall be / both ashamed / and humiliated, - they / who sought to snatch / my life away. – They / shall be / turned back / and put to shame, - they / who desired / my ruin.” Although only briefly commented on in the previous post, it is now, with this verse that we can look at verses 12-14 and see how formally crucial verse 13 is. In verse 12, the king is “surrounded”, “overtaken”, “blind” and suffering from a “failing heart”. On the one hand he seems to be imploding under the weight of this own “wicked deeds”, but on the other hand he refers to “they” are more numerous. This is not merely an implosion but an attack, which would make sense given the royal nature of the psalm. Then, we have verse 13—the cry of the anointed son of Yhwh. Here, in verse 14, “they” are now alluded to again; indeed, “they” are everywhere, mentioned four times in one verse. What we find then is that it is verse 13 that, formally, reverses everything in verse 12 and, now, takes all of the “dilemma” surrounding the king and moves it onto “them”.  Just as his “heart was failing”, so now his enemies will suffer shame and humiliation. Indeed, as the next verse indicates, they will suffer desolation. The overriding claim made in this verse, however, is their “suffering shame (and humiliation)”. The importance of this concept was recently commented on by a friend of mine and is of particular import in this verse. He noted that, in the Bible, in order to be protected from neighbor or foe you must possess some form of “glory”, which can come in the form of military prowess, wealth or divine favor. If you lack “glory” you will be killed or overwhelmed. When a king projects his “glory” it is that sense of awe-inspiring majesty that inspires fear and dread in his opponents. If he looses this “glory” he will be defeated. Abraham, as inhabiting Yhwh’s glory, is made a covenant partner with Abimelech. And, when Yhwh says the entire world will be judged according to how they treat Abraham, it is because Yhwh gives him the glory needed to survive as he leaves his tribe (his previous “glory”).  What is important as it relates to “shame” is that shame is the absence of glory, and therefore of protection. When this verse says that the king’s enemies will be ‘shamed’ therefore, it is not merely social castigation; it is a life and death issue. If you lose glory, you die. In the context of these verses, then, verse 13 represents the king’s requesting from Yhwh that he surround him with (or, give him) Yhwh’s “glory”, which he sees himself lacking in verse 12 and is thereby incredibly vulnerable to attack. Verse 14 represents the transition: glory being placed on the anointed and taken from his enemies.