Showing Off
For the Lord has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory. Psalm 102:16 NASB
Has appeared – Reputation! That’s the deciding factor. If God doesn’t fortify His chosen servant/warrior, then God’s reputation among the other kings will be sullied. “Don’t do it for me,” writes the poet. “Do it for Yourself. You will be glorified among the kings of the earth if You show favor on Your humble and faithful servant.” After all, there’s some history behind this claim.
First, YHVH built up Zion. That’s the equivalent of saying, “God is responsible for my success.” The verb is bānâ, here in the completed tense. The work has been done.
“YHWH is presented in Scripture as the master builder of both the created and historical order. The word is used metaphorically of his final creative act for man’s good when he ‘built’ the rib which he had taken from Adam into a woman (Gen 2:22) . . . YHWH, the wise, powerful and good architect of the created order is also the sovereign and moral master builder of temporal history.”[1]
When David uses this verb for God’s action, it is nothing less than divine endorsement. David absolutely does not claim self-accomplishment. He gives the credit to God. YHVH is the builder. Whatever success David has had, as warrior or king, is God’s handiwork. Since Zion is a metonym, David’s personal reputation and success is tied directly to God’s purpose and involvement.
Now we can look at the verb. “He has appeared in His glory.” YHVH has been seen or has shown Himself in His glory. How has this happened? Because He has built up Zion. In other words, God’s glory is manifest in the success that David exhibits. It’s not just some geographical place, some pile of stones and dust. We might view such a place as sacred, but the real image of God in the world is in us, in human beings and what God does in us and through us. As Heschel notes, there is only one authorized image of God in creation: humanity. When the psalmist claims that God is glorified in building Zion, he is poetically saying that God’s handiwork exhibited in the life of David is God’s glory manifest in human form. To dismiss or ignore that human example is to belittle the one who created it, God Himself.
Why should God care about David, or about you or me? Is it because God loves what He makes, a kind of pride of authorship? Perhaps. Is it because we’re created in His image, we are His ikons in this world? Maybe. Or is it that God’s glory is enhanced through our faithfulness, that His status is elevated when His creation honors Him? If we follow the thoughts of the psalmist here, we have to recognize this possibility as well.
Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky explains the same idea in the life of Jacob:
Selfless Prayer
Jacob began his prayer, “I am no longer worthy, due to all the acts of kindness and trustworthiness that You have done for me, Your servant.” (Bereishit 32:11)
Although Jacob was certainly aware of his many merits, he was also able to rise above natural human shortsightedness and realize how infinitely indebted we are all to G-d. With this perspective, Jacob humbly assumed that his merits were insufficient to deserve G-d’s protection. Therefore, he petitioned G-d to save him and his family not on account of his own merits—although he was indeed worthy—but out of G-d’s pure kindness.
Following Jacob’s example, whenever we ask something of G-d, we too should appeal solely to His kindness and compassion. If we ask for assistance based on our worthiness—and we all certainly possess many merits—G-d’s response will be limited to the extent of our worthiness. But when we humbly disregard our worthiness, demonstrating that we, like Jacob, have risen above our natural shortsightedness, G-d will respond with blessings that transcend the natural order.[2]
Perhaps we need a different approach in our prayers, one that the psalmist beautifully exemplifies in poetic verse.
Topical Index: glory, build, bānâ, Zion, metonym, Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky, Psalm 102:16
[1] Waltke, B. K. (1999). 255 בָּנָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 116). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Kehot Publication Society, “Bound to Inspire,” Parshat Vayishlach \ December 3, 2020 \ 17 Kislev, 5781
