Psalm 9:20
getting ready for the surge
Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the Gentiles be judged in thy sight. (Psalm 9:20 DR)
The text Exsurge, Domine (Arise, O Lord) has a rich usage within the liturgy of the Church as this phrase is found not only in this Psalm as prayed in the Divine Office but also within other liturgical texts:
Introit for Sexagesima from Psalm 43:23-26
Gradual for 3rd Sunday in Lent from Psalm 9:20
3rd Antiphon of 2nd Nocturn at Matins on Maundy Thursday from Psalm 73:22
Antiphon for distribution of candles at Candlemas from Psalm 43:26 (pre-55)
I have always enjoyed the way in which the word exsurge evokes the image of an explosive force to my English mind. Exsurge comes from surgo which means to rise, to stand or to spring up, and the ex- prefix can mean out of or up or add intensification to the action. I cannot help but hear the English word surge here, which, to be fair, probably derives in etymology through French from the Latin surgere (Online Etymological Dictionary, “surge”). In this manner when I hear the Psalmist asking God to arise, it evokes in my mind a sudden springing to action, an intervention that causes the tide to turn, as it were.
And of course in terms of the meaning of this passage it is not about a literal rising (since God does not sit nor rise) but rather about desiring God to act on the Psalmist’s behalf. It is in actuality primarily an act of faith on the Psalmist’s part which is juxtaposed with the prosperity and success of his enemies; thus he prays that God will vindicate him even though his enemies seem to have the upper hand.
Their strength, after all, is seen by them to be in their temporal power, riches, wisdom, etc. However, the Psalmist’s prayer that God would arise and judge them is less about trying to prompt God to act (as if God is dictated to by us or needs to be reminded) and more about the Psalmist recognizing the end to which his prayer is directed, which is Christ. All the powers and principalities of this world have already been triumphed over (cf. Colossians 2:15) by our Lord, and thus the Psalmist prophetically utters this reality. Man’s strength might seem to be multiplied in the temporal affairs of this world, but in the end his efforts are in vain and come to nothing as the Scriptures declare:
But let the brother of low condition glory in his exaltation: And the rich, in his being low; because as the flower of the grass shall he pass away. For the sun rose with a burning heat, and parched the grass, and the flower thereof fell off, and the beauty of the shape thereof perished: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. (James 1:9-11 DR)
Man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish. For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be: and he shall know his place no more. (Psalm 102:15-16 DR)
This end that the Psalmist looks to also includes the final judgment, wherein all shall receive from the Lord for what they have done. God’s arising to prevent the strengthening of man is explained in the second half of this passage as God’s judgment of the wicked and godless. However, St. Augustine notes that while the final judgment is in mind, there is also a secret judgment embedded therein:
“Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail” [Psalm 9:19]. The future judgment is prayed for: but before it come, “Let the heathen,” says he, “be judged in Your sight:” that is, in secret; which is called in God's sight, with the knowledge of a few holy and righteous ones. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 9, 19.)
In the face of the seeming success and blessedness of the wicked the Psalmist himself arises in faith that God’s judgment will be against the unjust and that his hope in the Lord will not be in vain. In the temporal order this judgment seems to be deferred or put off, but—as St. Augustine relates—in respect to the hidden things of the Son there is God’s knowledge of the wickedness of sinners; all their misdeeds are known to him and store up wrath for themselves on the day of judgment (cf. Romans 2:5).
The holy and righteous ones have knowledge of this judgement by means of their faith in God’s justice; they do not judge based on external circumstances nor hope in the temporal goods and fortunes of this life, which are fleeting.
Our Lord captures the essence of this passage in the parable of the rich fool in which a rich man who has a prosperous harvest trusts in his wealth and builds bigger barns to store them. Ultimately he loses it all and is judged, but before that occurs he gives voice to the worldly-minded man:
And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer. (Luke 12:19 DR)
The righteous man looks outside of himself and pleads with God to arise and bring justice. The worldly-minded man turns inside of himself and feels secure in his own efforts and merits, thinking himself a law unto himself and thus rests in this self-reliance. This distinction between an external, God-focused perspective and an internal, self-focused perspective is the ultimate distinction between the righteous and the wicked, for the righteous frame the entirety of their lives and their hopes in God, whereas the wicked frame the entirety of these around themselves.
Thus, when the Psalmist asks that God arise and let not man be strengthened, he includes himself, for otherwise he will in his flesh arise against God instead of arising in faith with God. The hidden judgment of God against the wicked he therefore also applies to himself, that he will be cleansed from his sin and vouchsafed against the future judgement of wrath. Unlike the rich fool from the parable who fixes his eyes on himself and trusts in his own strength, the Psalmist fixes his eyes on the Lord who will arise in justice and remember his humility:
Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to the end. Why turnest thou face away? and forgettest our want and our trouble? For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to the earth. Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for thy name's sake. (Psalm 43:23-26 DR)
Given my delight in the images this evokes in my mind by means of the word exsurge, I wanted to capture this sort of surging in terms of rising. I also wanted to keep it pretty simple, which is why I decided to go with some rising triangles. I basically created a triangle and animated its opacity and position and then duplicated it several times and offset them on the timeline. After creating the loop I precomped these triangles and duplicated the precomp and spaced and resized in the composition for some depth. I finally added in the text and some glows, chromatic aberration and other color correction.
Enjoy.
Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the Gentiles be judged in thy sight.
(Psalm 9:20 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: