Ps. 41.6b-7 (an evil bouquet)

“He would gather / for himself / wicked thoughts; - he would go / and speak them / outside. – All my haters / whisper about me / amongst themselves – against me / they are plotting / my misery.” There is an important progression in verses 6 and 7. It moves from an enemy (hypothetically) “coming to see him”, in a presumed act of mercy; upon seeing him he would “gather for himself wicked thoughts”; he would then take these ‘gatherings’ outside to where his other enemies are congregating and “speak them”; his enemies would then take these, circulate them among themselves and then, at the culmination, “plot my misery”. It is a progression of ever intensifying wickedness to the point of planning the psalmist’s death. The origination of the movement is clearly treasonous and exploitative (and will be compounded in verse 9). The meeting is more in the nature of spying, of gathering information that can then be used against the psalmist under the pretext of generosity and concern. The term ‘gathering’ is important as it indicates the meeting’s purpose was not to give support, but rather to take and to exploit; this stands in stark contrast to the opening lines that pronounces blessed those who showed consideration for the weak and the poor. From this singular spy, the information is now delivered to the anonymous ‘many’ outside. Like some evil seed implanted in the womb of the wicked, the ‘gathering’ is now turned into the child of their ‘whispering’ and ‘plotting’. This is some dark gift that they eagerly consume and to which they provide growth. It is important to note this transition from the one to the many: the psalmist is clearly aware of the fact that there is a party of people against him, a ‘many’ that are much stronger than he is precisely by the fact that they are empowered and grow in their common goal to destroy him (their sum is greater than their parts). Finally, the fact that they ‘whisper’ is an interesting description and lends itself to the theme we are now tracing: this ominous sense of both disclosure and secrecy, and that the most malevolent actions are taking place, consciously, in hiding.