I woke early this morning thinking of the lovely little Hebrew pronoun ‘FOR’, as used in Psalm one Hundred-eighteen, verse one; as in “Oh give thanks to the Lord FOR he is good FOR his steadfast love endures forever! “
Those of you that have looked at this verse in any depth will firstly realise that the phrase ‘love that endures forever’ is a necessarily bland expression, of the deeply theological truth we simply call covenant. One word or phrase can’t carry that Hebrew words mass and in our drive to simplify truth, we often oversimplify- as if it were always a virtue. We do in this case, for sure. If you havent yet, you might want to study it a bit.
At it’s foundation it carries the idea that God’s relationship to His Family is rooted in His ‘loyalty to, or love of, his own covenant’ -loyalty firstly to Himself and thereby to me and you. It’s the model and divine version of ‘even if you’re a disloyal wife, I’m a loyal husband because I’m loyal to my own integrity.’ ( oh Lord, help us to understand covenant, both with you and others!). This thought anchors the verse’s truth and indeed the whole Psalm’s as it is, word for word, repeated as the last verse.
It really is the FOR’s we want to quickly glance at though. Words have meaning. Words have meaning, even when we gloss over the common and small ones-they still carry the freight of truth into others minds.
FOR, in this verses usage, means BECAUSE of. Instead of those clauses all being separate thoughts….give thanks….and He’s good….and, oh by the way, …his steadfast love endures…for a really long time, it’s a progressive thought.
Giving thanks, and praise in general, isn’t intended to be a warm up for church or our daily life. It’s an acknowledgment and extension from that deep truth saying THIS is why I am thankful!
I’m thankful because I’m reminded that Gods covenant with me isn’t based primarily in my response or behaviour. When I stumble, stall or neglect Him or others, he is still faithful because He is loyal to himself.
His loyalty shows itself to me, as I stop and think around my life, in all of these good things happening around me.
I give thanks to Him, not hoping He will prove his love and presence to me, rather BECAUSE of His covenant loyalty that’s there - whether I see it or not.
Somehow, it gives comfort to me anyway, to realise my relationship with the Lord isn’t based on my character primarily- it’s founded in His and for this I am deeply and humbly grateful!
I’m going to try and increasingly live my life as a response FOR who He is and all He has already done.