Come and See, Then Come and Hear

The heading names no author, breaking the run of David’s psalms that began at 51. “Make a joyful noise” is heri’u, raise the shout, the verb for a war cry or a trumpet blast, used when Jericho’s people “shouted with a great shout” (Joshua 6:20). “All ye lands” is simply “all the earth”.

“Make his praise glorious” is literally “set glory, his praise”, kavod being the word for weight and honour. The name stands for God as he has made himself known, so to sing its honour is to celebrate what his reputation rests on, which verses 5 and 6 go on to supply.

“Submit themselves” is kachash, whose basic sense is to lie or deceive: the enemies cringe and feign obedience, as the same word says of foreigners in 18:44 and of Israel’s enemies who “shall be found liars unto thee” in Deuteronomy 33:29. “Terrible” is nora, awe-inspiring.

“Worship” is the Hebrew for bowing low, face to the ground, the posture of Abraham before his three visitors in Genesis 18:2. The Selah here is the first of three in the psalm, at verses 4, 7 and 15; its meaning is lost, but it seems to mark a pause or a lift in the music.

The invitation repeats 46:8, “Come, behold the works of the LORD”. “Doing” is alilah, a deed or exploit, and “toward the children of men” can also be read “over” them: God awesome in what he does above and to humankind.

“Dry land” is yabbashah, the word of Exodus 14:22, where Israel walked through the midst of the sea. “Flood” is nahar, a river, which most readers take as the second crossing, the Jordan under Joshua (Joshua 3:17). “There did we rejoice” can also be read as a summons, “there let us rejoice”.

“Behold” is tsaphah, to keep watch, the verb from which the Hebrew word for a watchman comes: God’s eyes are on the nations like a sentry’s from a wall. “The rebellious” are sorerim, the word of Deuteronomy 21:18 for the stubborn son who will not listen.

“Ye people” is plural in Hebrew, “ye peoples”, so the nations are addressed again, but now asked to bless “our God”: Israel names the God of its own history to outsiders. “Make the voice of his praise to be heard” asks for sound, public and audible, not private thanks.

Literally “who sets our soul among the living”, as though the community had come close enough to death to count its survival a placing back among the living. “Suffereth not our feet to be moved” is the image of 121:3, a foot on a steep path that does not slip.

Two assaying verbs: bachan, to examine, and tsaraph, to smelt, the refiner’s work of melting ore until the dross runs off. Zechariah 13:9 and Malachi 3:3 use the same image of a people purified by fire, and the fire of verse 12 is already in view.

“Net” is metsudah, a hunter’s net, though the same word can mean a stronghold, and some take it here as a prison. “Affliction” renders mu’aqah, a word found only here, most likely a crushing load strapped to the loins, the back and hips where a porter carries weight.

“Men” is enosh, man in his frailty: mere mortals have driven over God’s people as a chariot drives over the fallen. Isaiah 43:2 pairs the same two ordeals, water and fire. “Wealthy place” is revayah, saturation, the word behind “my cup runneth over” in 23:5.

Burnt offerings went up wholly in smoke, nothing kept back for priest or worshipper. A vow in Israel was a conditional promise, if God will do this, then I will do that, like Jacob’s at Bethel (Genesis 28:20–22), and paying it was not optional (Deuteronomy 23:21).

“Uttered” is patsah, to open the mouth wide, the verb Jephthah uses of his vow in Judges 11:35: “I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.” Ecclesiastes 5:4–5 warns that a vow spoken in haste still binds the one who spoke it.

“Incense of rams” means the savoury smoke of rams burning on the altar; qetoret can name any sweet-smelling smoke, not only the spice blend of Exodus 30. Fatlings, rams, bullocks and goats together make a princely offering, more than an ordinary vow required, which suggests that a leader or king is the speaker.

“Declare” is saphar, to recount in order, the root of sepher, a book or written record: the testimony will be set out step by step rather than exclaimed. “For my soul” means for me, the whole living self, the same soul that verse 9 said God holds in life.

The second half reads in Hebrew “and exaltation was under my tongue”: praise lying ready beneath the tongue even while he cried for help, the way honey and milk are “under thy tongue” in Song of Solomon 4:11. The cry and the praise came from the same mouth at the same time.

“Regard” is simply “see”: “if I had looked upon iniquity in my heart”, eyeing it with favour. The title used is Adonai, the Lord, not the covenant name. The speaker is examining the prayer he actually prayed, and the next verse gives the result.

“Verily” is akhen, a word of strong contrast, but in fact. “The voice of my prayer”, qol tefillati, answers verse 8’s “the voice of his praise”, qol tehillato: prayer and praise differ in Hebrew by a single letter. “Attended” is qashav, to listen with ears pricked.

The psalm closes as verse 8 opened, with blessing: there the peoples were told to bless God, here the one man does it himself. One verb, “turned away”, governs both prayer and mercy, so in the Hebrew they are not two gifts but a single refusal to reject.