Ps. 40.3 (the exodus of the king)

“And / he put a new song / in my mouth – a hymn / of praise / to our God. – Many will see / and fear – and they / will trust / in Yhwh.” Although we commented on the first half of this verse in our previous reflection, we did not emphasize an important aspect to it that only comes out when the whole verse is quoted. That is, the king, in his memory of his own deliverance has seen it as a type of even similar to the exodus. We can see this in at least three ways: 1) the ‘new song’ is likely a reference to the ‘song of Moses’ that was sung after the Israelites passed through the Reed Sea; 2) the “many will see and fear” is an allusion to the ‘seeing and fearing’ that accompanied the Israelites as they journeyed through the dessert and into the promised land (the ‘reputation’ of their deliverance surrounded them and struck fear into nearly everyone they encountered); 3) although we have not arrived there yet, in verse 5, the psalmist speaks of the ‘wonders’ Yhwh has performed for his people which is a continuously used description of the acts of deliverance Yhwh performed on behalf of Israel in the exodus. What can we derive from this? As we said in our first reflection, prayer is a form of memory. Here, we see that praise is a form of ‘deep memory’ as well, as it layers upon present acts of deliverance acts performed in the past. In other words, the king sees in his deliverance a type (or, participation) within the great act of deliverance, the exodus. This is rather crucial to understand: the past is not over but is a type of always-already present that is made ‘present’ through memory. One clearly sees this in Deuteronomy, for example, in Moses speech to Israel where he oscillates between the past and future continuously, thereby showing that the commandments were not simply delivered back them “from the fire” but are being delivered still, today. While that exact same understanding may not be in this psalm, the king clearly does see the exodus as shaping and influencing his deliverance. Which leads to a second important point: in the exodus, the ‘seeing and fearing’ was in relation to the acts of deliverance accomplished on behalf of Israel. Here, the ‘seeing and fearing’ is related to the restoration/redemption of the king. It is in the king’s body, as the representative of Israel, that people will ‘see and fear’. This is very important, as it points to the fact that the exodus event is now being transferred and applied to a single individual in his representative capacity for all of Israel. In other words, when the king’s enemies see the fact that he has been “lifted up”, his “foot set upon a rock” and his “footsteps made firm” (vs. 2), they will know that and fear these “wonders” worked by Yhwh on the anointed’s behalf. Which leads to the concluding point: that the king stands not as an individual but that now all of Israel resides in him, the shepherd. If the shepherd is abandoned, the flock is destroyed. On the other hand, if the shepherd is delivered, so too is the flock “resurrected” with him “from the pit of desolation and slimy mud” and, now, have “their feet upon rock”, “their footsteps firm” and “a new song” placed within their mouths. Perhaps it need go without saying: when Christ the king is “delivered” from the pit, so too does his flock now (through baptism) rise in his body, and “sing a new song”…