Ps. 68.7-9 *creation as God before us)

O God / when you go forth / before your people,
when you stride / through Yeshimon
the earth shakes / and the heavens pour rain,
before God, / the one of Sinai
before God, / the one of Israel
you spread abroad / a good rain, / O God;
when you’re your domain / is weary / you sustain it. 

Typically, when God ‘goes forth’, especially in front of his people, he is moving as the Warrior King. This is seen most clearly in the Exodus—and the exodus is what is most often called to mind when this phrase appears. Likewise when the earth ‘shakes’ at the presence of God it is trembling because of awesome display of fearful power as he emerges in his wrath.  However, here, we have something different. Here, the “Rider of the Clouds” who “goes forth” in front of his people is not emerging as the one who disperses his enemy-haters; rather, he emerges as the provider of rain. And when the earth ‘shakes’ we almost wonder whether it is a shaking-delight at his care. God’s presence here, although it takes to itself all the displays of military might, is actually one of abundant provision and life-giving power. He is, in other words, not conquering a foe as much as preparing a habitation for his people. What this contributes to our previous reflection is important. There, we saw God acting filling in the communal void created by the agents of chaos. He became the ‘father’ of the fatherless, the defender of the widow; the one who released prisoners. Here, he becomes the one who also provides a physical dwelling. He provides, in other words, the (Promised) Land. This will move more into focus in the coming verses, especially as it relates to his conquering hand. One thing we need to be careful of supplying to this image is the fact that, although God is not here attacking his ‘enemy-haters’ he is engaging in a type of battle. He is fighting off the forces of drought and poverty. And, as we saw with the wax/flame imagery, his presence here is what brings forth the life of rain. It is instructive in this regard that the immediately preceding lines ended with the wicked dwelling in ‘arid wastes’. This ‘going forth’ of God is, then, much like his act of creation itself: bringing about order (and not just order, but abundant life), out of chaos. It is here where we can come to a rather shocking realization—the Promised Land, in its being so carefully planned and maintained by God, is the land of creation out of nothing/chaos. For it is there that God re-initiated his divine mastery and ‘went forth’ in a powerful display of life for his people. The final note to make is important as in these verses there is remarkable play on images of being “before God” that we have tracked thus far. We have noted up to now that the wicked ‘before God’ are dispersed while the righteous ‘before God’ engage in liturgy. God’s presence simultaneously repels and destroys and unifies and heals. Here, God goes forth “before his people”. And, “before the God of Israel and Sinai”, the land quakes and the heavens rain. It is of utmost significance that whereas before everything (wicked and righteous alike) were “before God” now God actually moves “before his people”. (Perhaps we should have no God ‘before’ him, because he is always moving ‘before us’…). God has now moved from the position of central, authorial dominance to (it seems) the place of a servant. And, from this vantage, his authorial power is put at full display. Now, his face is turned to that toward which Israel is headed—the land. Perhaps, in this light, we could even say this: that if the Promised Land is the re-ignition of God’s creative mastery over chaos, then now, his people are, in a way, contained within him as he ex-presses his power. Adam-like, they become the goal of his ‘going forth’, as he is now moving ‘before them’. Creation, in other words, is God’s moving ‘before us’ into the realm of chaos in order to prepare a place whereby we can engage in liturgy ‘before him’.