Ps. 90.15 (Pt. 1; the joy of creation)

Give us joy / as many days / as your have afflicted us
the years / when we have seen distress. 

There is something we failed to comment on in the previous reflection, and that is the fact that there is neither confession, sorrow, nor any request for forgiveness. Rather, the ‘turn of Yhwh’ that is demanded is just that—demanded, without any predicate as to why.  We must remember that the whole second section regarding Yhwh’s wrath is predicated on “our waywardness” and “hidden sins”. We did reflect upon this in a way when we explored how Yhwh ‘turns’ in a similar fashion that man can ‘turn’ to wisdom. But, we didn’t adequately reflect on what instigates this ‘turn to loving-kindness’, if anything at all. 

In fact, I think there is a reason, and it comes out in these verses when we look at them in relation to verse 13. In verse 13, the ‘turn’ that is demanded of Yhwh is first formulated in a question, “Turn back, O Yhwh how long?” This ‘how long’ recurs repeatedly in the psalms and it almost always refers to Yhwh long-withheld act of justice; so, for example, the psalmist will ask how long Yhwh will not act when his people are being slaughtered. In other words, it is a complaint of justice aimed at Yhwh, in essence accusing him of waiting too long and violating what is required of him. Here, in our verse, there is something similar at work—there is the sense that Yhwh should ‘balance the scales’ and provide joy in balance to the afflicting and distress that he has given them. Again, it is a question of ‘balance’ and ‘justice’. There is clearly an underlying sense that, although Yhwh is justified in displaying his wrath, it can, in a sense, go ‘too far’; were it to actually consume ‘all our days’, it would turn into an act of injustice. A question is why is there this underlying sense of justice, this sense that although Yhwh is entirely justified in his actions, those actions could, foreseeably, go ‘too far’? 

And, I think too, there is an answer in this psalm and, importantly, it accounts for the first section of the psalm. Here is what I mean—this psalm could be read beginning in verse 7. That portion of the psalm and this portion are aimed at Yhwh’s ‘wrath’ and his ‘pleasure’. So, what do verses 1-6 add? Why are they there, so to speak? I think they are they because they establish Yhwh as Creator and Governor of his creation. And this is key, as such he has a responsibility to his creation. In other words, it is his mastery over creation that creates this underlying sense of justice that is now so present in the final portion of the psalm. It is because he is Creator that he can be appealed to for mercy, even beyond the clearly justified display of his wrath in response to his people’s waywardness.  We saw in analyzing the first section how Yhwh’s ‘creation’ is one that removes him from the realm of myth where ‘creation’ and ‘governance’ are separate (in every other mythology the old ‘creator’ gods are no longer the gods that rule the world). For Yhwh, creation and governance coincide; creation and morality are expressions of a single will, not the expression of various gods. As such, the underlying fact of creation is a type of ‘permanent’ testimony to Yhwh. And, as such, it’s mere fact of being ‘there’, creates an underlying and powerful motive for him to merciful to his people, even when they do not deserve it morally. In other words, although they do not deserve it morally (section 2; verses 7-12), they do deserve it creationally (section 1; verses 2-6). I think this is why Yhwh can be appealed to for mercy, even without the repentance that usually forms a predicate to his loving-kindness. 

This reflection is buttressed by another observation: we mentioned how Moses is the only one who actually commands Yhwh to ‘turn away’ from his wrath. We need to recall that, in this context, Moses did so, not because Yhwh’s people were actually righteous—he did so by appealing to Yhwh’s creation of this people and how, were he to destroy them, it would reflect poorly on him. This confirms our insights—it is precisely because Yhwh is creator, and that his creation cannot be seen to devolve into utter futility due to his wrath, that he can be appealed to for mercy. Again, there is the sense that his underlying initiative in creation establishes and abiding source for justice and mercy.