A Non Sequitur?

So the nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth, Your glory.  Psalm 102:15  NASB

So – When we use the English word “so” as a conjunction, we assume that the statement is the consequence of a previous thought.  This is the way Paul uses the Greek gar in Romans.  Something like, “This is the case—so—this is also the case.”  But that doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense here.  The Hebrew is the conjunction וְ (wĕ) again (you’ll remember the long discussion of this particular particle in verse 12).  That means it has a very wide range of English translations (and, so, then, when, now, or, but, that, and many others).  It’s up to the translator to determine the meaning from the context.  And that’s why we should raise the question, “Why choose ‘so’?”  Are we really saying that the nations fear God because the priests are delighted in the stones and pity the dust?  That seems like nonsense.  What is the poet really trying to say?

Perhaps the verb helps.  It’s yārēʾ, “to fear, to be afraid” and “to revere.”  “Fear the name of the Lord” (which, by the way, is really “fear the name YHVH”) could mean “revere” or it could mean “be afraid.”  Both are possible.  It’s an imperfect form so the action is continuous.  But how is this related to stones and dust?  Let me make an imaginative suggestion.

We know that “Zion” is a metonym.  It is a substitute for “David.”  How God responds to Zion and how the priests perceive Zion is really a description of David’s personal experience.  David has just made the case that his ritual faithfulness is a delight to God’s priests, and therefore counts for something.  At the same time, he is just a man, made of dust, and deserving of compassion.  His implied argument is that God should also recognize his cultic faithfulness and his inherent weakness.  Why?

“So that the nations will revere YHVH.”

David is the warrior king.  If God shows favor on him, despite his present anxiety, the action will demonstrate the majesty of God.  Other kings will see that this God does not abandon his warrior even when circumstances are against him.  Other kings will recognize the compassion of this God when his warrior feels weak.  Other kings will honor this God and the name of the Lord will go forth to all the kingdoms of the earth.  God’s glory will prevail.

“If God shows favor and compassion on Zion.”

This is, in fact, a sophisticated literary allusion that parallels Moses’ argument about the status of the people when God determined to destroy them.  It’s not that the people don’t deserve punishment.  They do.  It’s that the kings of the earth (in Moses’ case, Pharoah) will think that God is vindictive and God’s reputation will be impugned.  Moses is successful.  God relents.  Why?  Because the divine reputation is important.  David plays that same card.  “If You uphold me, the kings of the nations will honor Your name.  You will be glorified.”  It worked for Moses, perhaps it will work for David.  And maybe even for us.

Topical Index: so, wĕ, reputation, glory, Psalm 102:15