Ps. 64.10 (emerge from hiding)

The righteous / will rejoice / in Yhwh
in Yhwh / they will take refuge
and all the upright / in heart / will celebrate. 

Although implicit in the previous verse, one aspect we have not brought to attention is the fact that it is now, on the far side of God’s judgment, the psalmist can emerge ‘from hiding’ (vs. 1). In our previous reflection we noted how “all mankind” will come to see God’s work (in judgment on the wicked) and “will fear”. We noted how the ‘works’ of God operate fully in the public sphere verses the private sphere of the wicked; they are meant to be displayed and proclaimed. In this verse we move into a small subset of humanity: the “righteous” and the “upright of heart”. Clearly, the psalmist would identify himself as one of them. Within this group, fear and comprehension are replaced (or, embraced within) by “rejoicing and celebration”. For them, the judgment of God is a thing of delight and beauty. We need to note too that these righteous “take refuge” in Yhwh. The opening verses of the psalm asked Yhwh/God to “hide” the psalmist. In this we see something important as it relates to hiding, publicity and the judgment of God—when God moves to judge the wicked in the public domain of “all mankind”, he simultaneously provides the avenue by which the righteous can be displayed and leave their hiding. In other words, the public display of God’s judgment is the public display of the righteous (those who have been “hidden” in him and “taken refuge” in him). With the destruction of the wicked they can now emerge from hiding. And, whereas the judgment is something that inspires “fear and comprehension” in “all mankind”, to those for whom the judgment (deliverance) is rendered (the “righteous and upright of heart”), it is a source of rejoicing and celebration. It does seem important, as a concluding observation, that the judgment rendered here, that inspires this world-wide recognition, is for a single person. Are we to see in this that the king is the subject of the psalm? Regardless, this seems to be a rather profound point as the “works of God” that are referred to generally apply to Israel (and the Exodus). Here, it could seem that a single man experiences an Exodus, is delivered, and all the world comes to acknowledge it…