Ps. 41.2 (protecting Yhwh)

“Yhwh / will keep him / and give him life, - he will bless him / in the land – and will not / give him up / to the desires / of his enemies.” In almost every reference to enemies that we have encountered, one of the most dangerous aspects of them is their hiddenness and the psalmist’s complete inability to predict either the nature or time of their attack. It is due to this inability that the psalmists cast themselves upon Yhwh, because he is the only one will be able to provide them the “light along their path” and who will be able to protect them from these hidden dangers. Here, we find the same idea reflected in Yhwh “keeping” the man who “gives consideration to the weak and poor”. There is the sense that, in Yhwh, the realm of darkness that the wicked inhabit is penetrated by Yhwh (although not the psalmist). There is no indication that the psalmist will be granted some form of miraculous insight or power to perceive the wicked. Rather, the psalmist will stay in the same position as always except now he will be “kept” by Yhwh. Furthermore, this “keeping” must be paired with the ending of this verse: “will not give him up to the desire of his enemies.” As we will see, this ‘desire’ of the enemies is one that (as indicated above) cannot be directly known by the psalmist, largely because the nature of his enemy is to say one thing to his face, but another when in different company. Yhwh, then will not “hand over” what he has taken to himself, but will protect him (in ways that, just as the psalmist is unaware of the wicked’s intention, so too will the psalmist not be aware of the extent of Yhwh’s protection). Life and blessing in the land: as opposed to the manner in which Yhwh will protect to the psalmist from enemies, is his act of blessing he bestows upon him. These two qualities are “goods in themselves”. They are objects that the psalmist would seek even if no enemies existed (Eden-blessings we might say). The first, “life”, is not to be understood in a flat manner. Rather, it indicates the totality of human wellbeing. It is, in this way, almost synonomous with “blessing in the land”. When Israel is about to enter the promised land it is precisely “life” that is placed in front of them if they obey Yhwh’s torah (death, if they do not). It is, therefore, something that comes from acting in continuity with Yhwh’s own ‘character’. Lastly, it is something “given by Yhwh”, a gift, and not something ‘naturally inherent’ in the creature (although perhaps predisposed to receiving it). The vitality of man is something, as Genesis shows, the ‘breath/spirit of God’. The other term is important in light of our reflections of psalm 37 and 40 (in particular). As we saw in those psalms, “the land” represents the handing over by Yhwh of a place of security and something that will be able to be passed down through generations (it is not subject to vanity in that sense). Furthermore, to be “in the land” is always understood to be in a place that Yhwh has made safe from enemies. Throughout the histories leading up to the conquest it is Yhwh’s ‘clearing of the land’ (like a gardener clearing out weeds) that is emphasized over and over again (whether of wild animals or of nations). Yhwh creates a ‘line of demarcation’ (if Israel would only obey; which it never does). Formally: This verse is structured in much the way we have detailed, with Yhwh’s protection surrounding the “blessing and the land”. As in: Keep him – life and blessing in land – not hand over. In the middle is the psalmist, safe in the land; on the boundary, is Yhwh’s protection, guarding him against his enemies.