Psalm 50:11
turning faces and animadverting
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. (Psalm 50:11 DR)
The Psalmist has been making use of locational language to describe his relation to his sin. In a previous passage he speaks about his sin being “always before” him, with the sense that it is something he is looking upon and acknowledging. That is, in his examination of conscience he is not hiding his face from his sins but looking them full in the face, as it were.
That same figure is now transferred to God, whom the Psalmist pleads to “turn away Thy face” from his sins. This is of course only figurative language, for God cannot “forget” in the strict sense:
“Turn away thy face from my sins.” Do not look on my sins with a view to punish me, as Tobias said, “Lord, do not remember my sins.” Such expressions are purely figurative, for God, from whom nothing can be hidden, can neither turn away his face from, nor forget, our sins; but he is said “to turn away his face” or to forget, when he acts as those do, who do not reflect or remember, and such people do not punish… (St. Robert Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of the Psalms, 50, 9.)
However, since we are limited creatures we can only conceive of God’s act of forgiveness analogously, which we perceive as God “forgetting” or “turning away” Hs face from our sins. St. Augustine notes that the Psalmist is modelling humility here, for he asks that God turn away from his sins, but not from him who has committed them:
“Turn Thou away Your face,” not from me, “but from my sins.” For in another place praying he says, “Turn not away Your face from me.” He that would not that God's face be turned away from himself, would that God's face be turned away from his sins. For to sin, when God turns not Himself away, he adverts: if he adverts, he animadverts. (St. Augustine, Exposition on the Psalms, 50, 14.)
Animadvert is a now largely unused English word which means “to take notice of” but also commonly held the connotation of censure or blame. It comes directly from the Latin animadvertere, which is a compound of animus (soul, mind) and advertere (turn to) and thus literally means “turn the mind to” (cf. Online Etymology Dictionary, animadvert). St. Augustine is making a somewhat complex argument here based on his previous commentary. By the Psalmist “adverting” to his sin; that is, turning his face to it, he is not meaning that he is necessarily returning to it, but rather that he is intentionally remembering it so as to not fall into it again. When David was confronted by Nathan his sin was “behind him,” so to speak, but in his confession it is now “always before” him. To animadvert to it is the completion of this confession and is now the reorientation of his life:
“And all mine iniquities blot out.” He is busied with that capital sin: he reckons on more, he would have all his iniquities to be blotted out: he relies on the Physician's hand, on that great mercy, upon which he has called in the beginning of the Psalm: “All mine iniquities blot out.” God turns away His face, and so blots out; by “turning away” His face, sins He blots out. (ibid.)
St. Augustine locates the “turning” of God’s face from our sins in forgiveness and pardon when we turn our faces towards them in contrition and confession. There is a locational displacement, so to speak: when our sins are set at “our backs” (i.e., in excuses, lack of contrition, etc.) then God’s face is set on our sins, but when we set our faces on our sins God’s face is turned away from them:
But here he does ask what? “Turn away Your face from my sins.” Well he asks. For he himself does not turn away his face from his own sins, saying, “For my sin I acknowledge.” With reason you ask and well ask, that God turn away from your sin, if you from thence dost not turn away your face: but if you set your sin at your back, God does there set His face. Do thou turn sin before your face, if you will that God thence turn away His face; and then safely you ask, and He hears. (ibid.)
This dynamic is not some mechanical switch that gets flipped but is rather related to the relationship between humility and grace, in that:
God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Be subject therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will fly from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow. Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:6-10 DR)
I wanted something simple for this animation, so I found a nice abstract background and added a nice Wave Warp effect to displace the image, which I thought fit nicely. I added in some slight pixel sorting for visual interest, but all in all a pretty simple one.
Enjoy.
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
(Psalm 50:11 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: