Ps. 77.7-9; Pt. II (the drama of the creed)

There is an interesting claim that these questions form a type of commentary on Exodus 34.6: Yhwh, Yhwh – El, Compassionate and gracious – slow to anger, and abundant in kindness. When compared with the psalm questions, it seems very plausible: Has his loyal-love ceased forever? – Will his promise fail? – Has El forgotten to be gracious? – Has he locked up his compassion in anger? In light of yesterday’s reflection, Exodus 34.6 is the ‘haunting’, the ‘residue’ that is infecting the psalmist with doubt. It is what “makes him weak”, what “keeps his eyelids open” and what pains him to such a degree that “he cannot speak”. The “creed” of Ex. 34.6 is a phantom, a torment. And while the reason seems clear we need to highlight it: that the covenantal compassion and power have not simply been withheld, but they have been revoked, ended, forever-ceased. This is a deeply, deeply troubling thought, analogues to a father abandoning a child, or a husband his wife—for the covenant bond was not merely a contract made between two people but the creation of a family; it was the providing for of each other’s person. It was the mode by which a non-family member, would become kin (whether through marriage or adoption). The familial bond is what stands ‘beneath’ the covenant, not the covenant standing ‘beneath’ the family. For that reason, when the psalmist contemplates the revocation of the covenant he is contemplating whether he (and Israel) have become disowned, without a kin-protector. It is the ultimate withering, the drying-up of commune. Finally, we must recall what we claimed yesterday—that this ‘creed’ of Ex. 34.6 is a summation of the Exodus events. In other words, the events represent the enactment of the creed; they are the ‘drama of the creed’. This is why the events themselves become the torment of the psalmist, and why, when the questions are posed, they are posed in the form of the creedal summary of the events. And, importantly, this is why the psalmist will now, with the creed questioned, will turn again to the ‘drama of the creed’, the events of the Exodus.