Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 4: Analysis of Psalms 3-84.1.6 ThemesAll the themes of the psalm play out in a military setting. Yahweh is thepsalmist’s protector and deliverer. He is both transcendent (answering “fromhis holy hill”, v. 5) and imminent (“a shield about me”, v. 4). Whetherconceived of as near or far, he was always accessible to the psalmist andattentive to his prayers. The dominant portrayal of Yahweh in the psalm is asa warrior-king, a military general (see Brettler 1993). As the sovereign in asovereign-vassal treaty, he would come to the psalmist’s aid. To the forcesarrayed against the psalmist, it seemed there could be no “deliverance” (v. 3)for him. Yet he was assured that Yahweh would “arise” and “deliver” him,subduing and shaming his enemies (v. 8). The Lord would both protect his life(“my shield”, v. 4; “the Lord sustained me”, v. 6) and restore his honour (“thelifter of my head”, v. 4).Unlike Psalms 4, 5 and 7, the psalmist made no appeal to personalrighteousness as the basis of his request. Rather than his personalrighteousness, the covenant between Yahweh and his people מְ‏ ‏ָך)‏ ‏,ףַ‏ v. 9)seems to provide the basis for the psalmist’s expectation of the Lord’sdeliverance. VanGemeren (1991:73) explain:The canonical significance of the psalm lies . . . in its theologicalmessage. The Lord will redeem his anointed one, establish his104