Ps. 64.9 (proclamation)

And then / all mankind will fear,
and declare / the works of God
and his doings / which they then / will comprehend. 

We indicated in the previous reflecting the centrality of the public display of God’s actions as opposed to the secretive actions of the wicked. In this verse, we come to fill out those contours more fully. One of the first things to notice is how, dramatically, the action of God moves quickly from step-to-step. First, he shoots, they wicked are struck, “and then” all mankind will fear. There is the clear sense here that God’s actions operate clearly and without obfuscation, unlike the wicked, whose goal is to conceal their actions. God’s action does not need to partake in that prior act of concealment. Rather, his attack (unlike the wicked’s attack) will be performed in broad daylight and is intended to as (one of its goals) is proclamation. It is intended to be seen, and not simply by the righteous but “all mankind”. They will engender “fear” but this is very closely associated with the “works of God” which, in Exodus and the other ‘wandering stories’, are the works of God’s astonishing displays of his power of redemption. In their magnitude they inspire reverential fear. Indeed, when the wicked are judged it is immediately apparent that a power much greater than them has shown itself (we must recall that these wicked are incredibly powerful in their subtlety). And so, when they “see and declare the works of God” they are in the same position as the nations who are witnessing, in Israel, the theophany of Yhwh’s power (and jealousy over his own). Whereas the wicked’s words were “poison arrows” these words are a recounting of the “works of God” (the delivering power of God). And, whereas the wicked’s words were spoken in secret, in klaverns and in conspiracy, these are openly proclaimed. As we noted before, the question posed by the wicked, had to be one asked in secret because it (always?) has to acknowledge its deviance from justice. Here, God’s acts do not partake in that shadow and can therefore be the subject of proclamation. Lastly, God’s actions reverse the wicked’s by the fact that they are made to be understood and comprehended. The wicked purposefully attempt to obfuscate and hide their real motives—their goal is to prevent comprehension. God’s actions, however, can be comprehended by “all men”.