Lord, how long will you look on? Reflections on Psalm 35

People typically refrain in real life from confronting evil and rebuking evildoers, face-to-face or in prayer. This is very much unlike what one finds in both the Old and New Testaments, where “the good guys” are reported to have done precisely this and to have prayed in an in-your-face way (e.g., Psalms 5, 7, 9, 10, 17, 25, 28, 31, 35, 40, 41, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 79, 83, 94, 104, and 109; Matthew 23; Luke 17:3-4; Gal 1:8; 2 Tim 4:14). People also struggle with biblical injunctions such as that found in Rev 18:20, wherein the good guys are called upon to celebrate the downfall of evildoers.

I wonder whether the abject resignation in the face of evil so characteristic of “enlightened” and “educated” people is nothing more than an expression of social location. Did I mention that once upon a time, I read deeply in Marxist authors, and was a member of the Italian Communist party? Old habits die hard. Excuse me if I harbor deep suspicions.  I know what a "padrone" looks like. All I have to do is look into a mirror.

If Christianity amounts to nothing more than knowing that I am a turd no less than the next guy, and therefore I cannot call God’s judgment down upon the one who seeks to harm me, or seeks to harm another, something, I think, has gone horribly wrong. The psalmists call judgment down upon those who harm the contextually innocent, including themselves, knowing full well that they would be judged by the same standard. Context, of course, is important. In the process, they knowingly exposed themselves to great risk even as they sought salvation from God’s hand. It is also the practice of the psalmists to engage in auto-imprecation: “May God do so-and-so to me, if I am lying.”

But we are unwilling to curse others or put ourselves under a curse. Why should we? Why risk anything of the sort? We are doing fine as it is. It is the absence of conflict that we desire most of all, and we will sacrifice anything and everything to maintain that absence.

Even justice. Even reconciliation – which is only possible in the first place after an honest knock-down fight.

The psalms are the expression of those who were in a very different place. They longed for peace, but would not buy it at the price of forfeiting justice. Unless we understand this, we understand nothing at all.

Key graphs from Psalm 35:

1  1    רִיבָה יְהוָה אֶת־יְרִיבַי

         לְחַם אֶת־לֹחֲמָי

2  2    הַחֲזֵק מָגֵן וְצִנָּה

         וְקוּמָה בְּעֶזְרָתִי

3  3    וְהָרֵק חֲנִית וּסְגֹר

         לִקְרַאת רֹדְפָי

4        אֱמֹר לְנַפְשִׁי

         יְשֻׁעָתֵךְ אָנִי

1  1     Oppose, יהוה, my opponents,

              attack my attackers!

2  2   Take hold of shield and buckler,

              rise to my aid!

3  3   Take up spear and axe

              and meet my pursuers!

4       Tell me to my heart:

             “I am your deliverance.”

5  4      יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיִכָּלְמוּ

           מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשִׁי

6         יִסֹּגוּ אָחוֹר וְיַחְפְּרוּ

           חֹשְׁבֵי רָעָתִי

7  5      יִהְיוּ כְּמֹץ לִפְנֵי־רוּחַ

           וּמַלְאַךְ יְהוָה דּוֹחֶה

8  6      יְהִי־דַרְכָּם    חֹשֶׁךְ וַחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת

           וּמַלְאַךְ יְהוָה רֹדְפָם

5  4   Let those who seek my life

             be shamed and disgraced;

6       let those who plan my harm

             fall back and go pale!

7  5   Let them be like chaff before wind,

           יהוה’s angel the driver;

8  6   let their way turn dark and slippery,

           יהוה’s angel their pursuer!

23  17    אֲדֹנָי כַּמָּה תִּרְאֶה

            הָשִׁיבָה נַפְשִׁי מִשֹּׁאֵיהֶ֯ם     מִשֹּׁאֲגִי֯ם

            מִכְּפִירִים יְחִידָתִי

24  18    אוֹדְךָ בְּקָהָל רָב

            בְּעַם עָצוּם אֲהַלְלֶךָּ

25  19    אַל־יִשְׂמְחוּ לִי

            אֹיְבַי שֶׁקֶר

26         שֹׂנְאַי חִנָּם

            יִקְרְצוּ עָיִן

27  20    כִּי־לֹא שָׁלוֹם יְדַבֵּרוּ

            וְעַל֯ רִגְעֵי־אֶרֶץ      יַעֲ֯לוּ

28         דִּבְרֵי מִרְמוֹת יַחֲשֹׁבוּן

     21    וַיַּרְחִיבוּ עָלַי פִּיהֶם

29         אָמְרוּ הֶאָח הֶאָח

            רָאֲתָה עֵינֵינוּ

23  17   Lord, how long will you look on?

                   Rescue my life from roaring beasts,

                   my precious life from lions!

24  18   I will acclaim you in a great assembly,

                   praise you in a mighty crowd.

25  19   Do not let my faithless enemies

                   exult over me;

26         my wanton foes

                   leer with the eye.

27  20   Their speech is not peaceable,

                   they attack the land’s quiet ones;

28         they plot deceitful acts,

      21         they opened their mouth against me;

29         they said, “Aha! Aha!

                   Our eyes have seen it.”

UPDATE: Thoughts from a young, slightly cantankerous, aspiring theologian.

Comments

[Bob MacDonald]

You have brought out well the courage and for me a clarified view of the rationale for the imprecatory prayer. I have been reading the beginning of the Artscroll Siddur, a message on prayer by Hagaon Rav Joseph B Soloveitchik. He delivers a beautiful meditation on the three uses of 'and he approached' - used three times in TNK Abraham - re Sodom and Gomorroa, Judah to Joseph re Benjamin, and Elijah on Mt Carmel. In each case the prayer is as you note - for those who are or might be contextualized as the victims of injustice.

His summary: Avraham approaches as ben brit, party to a covenant on behalf of humanity, for justice. Judah approaches as servant on behalf of himself and his family, for mercy. Elijah approaches as prophet - party to a continuous and intimate relationship with God on behalf of God himself and his reputation, for Presence and Revelation. You can see the shape of Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God in this beautifully written introduction to Jewish prayer. (We are so close and have so much to share and learn).

[JohnFH]

Thanks, Bob. You make me feel ashamed for having read so little of Soloveitchik up to this point.

[Bob MacDonald]

Bravo on this translation! - I am looking for English that stands alone and preserves with minimal awkwardness but by multiple techniques and styles the mechanics and patterns of the Hebrew. I am considering the Greek occasionally but since it already breaks the patterns, I don't pay it as much attention. When I get to Psalm 35 again - I wonder where it will take me... I will come back and compare then.

[Angela Erisman]

Hi John,

Interesting post. Biblical poetry aside, is there not a more productive way to acknowledge that we are all "turds," as you say (which I agree we need to do), but build each other up rather than tear each other down. These two efforts are often seen as separate in our culture. I don't think they have to be. In my own experience, the best and most effective rebuke comes from those who love you and who will stand beside you while you apologize and give you a chance to make it up to them, and continue to stand beside you (and even more loyally so) if you do.

That said, I know the world doesn't always work this way. But I'm a romantic. At least I try to be this kind of person.

[Adam Couturier]

John,

Great post. Very thought provoking.

[JohnFH]

Angela,

always great to hear from you.

The inner connection between tearing down and building up is hard to see for the one who understands what they are doing in those terms. Jeremiah himself comes to mind.

It is harder still to see if you are the receiving end of the tearing down and building up.

[JohnFH]

Adam,

thanks for your comment. I like it when I hear from people like you with amazing blogs, because I find out about them that way. Congratulations on your great blog.

[Adam Couturier]

John,

You are far too kind, but thanks for stopping by my blog. I appreciate the traffic.

I was thinking about the reason for "abject resignation in the face of evil". On one hand I do think that many individuals feel too "enlightened" and/or "educated", but it seems to me that many individuals don't see this behavior as a "Christ-like" way to act. So the reason for abject resignation (at least for some) may be due to their theology, not their elitist perspectives of decency.

[JohnFH]

I think we allow our theology to be tainted by sensibilities connatural to our social location all the time.

If that is true, theology is often an exercise in self-justification, in which 'self' becomes synonymous with things like class, gender, and ethnicity.

No, I don't have a toothache. I'm always like this. Trust me. If this were the only truth out there - and many people think and act as if it is - the world would be a very sad place indeed.