Ps 111 (Food and Possessions)

He gave food / to those who revered him

                He is mindful of his covenant / forever

He declared his mighty deeds / to his people

                That he would give them / the possessions of the nations

And here we see a concrete example of this. Between the Exodus and the Entry, between the Act and its Fulfilment, is the Food—the ‘bread of angels’, that comes down from heaven, in order to provide sustenance to Yhwh’s people while they journey toward the “possessions of the nations”. This Food is the manifestation of Yhwh’s “mindfulness” and his “loyalty”. It is what carries them between the times, of the already but not yet time, when the Act exists as prophecy. This is important—this Food is the ‘elongation’ of the covenant.

The Food and the Acts—together they constitute the way in which Yhwh sustains his people during their journey to the Abundance. The Food is ever-present to them. It cannot be hoarded so it is always rooting the people’s hearts in its heavenly reality. The Acts are ever-present to them as a source of reverie and study. The liturgy of the Word, and the liturgy of the Bread.

The Possessions of the Nations—once Yhwh’s people enter the Land, the Food stops. The Land is the fulfillment of the great Acts, where the prophecy of the Exodus is completed. The Land becomes the Final Act, so to speak. But here, it is not called the Land but “the possessions of the nations”. It is as if Yhwh has held these possessions for them, waiting for them to arrive so that he could give them to them. It is an overwhelming abundance. If the Food was something that was given only day-by-day and could not be hoarded, the Possessions are different. While they were “on the way”, they lived in a type of fasting. When they arrive, they will arrive at a banquet. While they were “on the way”, they possessed nothing and could take nothing with them. When they arrive, they will possess the wealth of the nations. While they were “on the way” Yhwh dwelt in a tabernacle. When they arrive, Yhwh will dwell in their midst in the Temple. In all of these, we see their movement as one heading toward permanence, ownership and stability.

We cannot understand this, though, as some type of earthly reality—this is heaven power, covenant power come to its fulfillment. Only heaven can permit possessions to become permanent. Only through heaven can earth be truly owned. And only through heaven can possessions be enjoyed with stability.

There is a way of reading this psalm that divides Yhwh’s acts (of mighty deeds and food, etc…) from the covenant requirements—you might say, Acts and Ethics. Seeing the Acts as incentives to obedience. That may be true on some level but I feel as it in some ways it gets it backwards. When we understand that these covenant obligations came from Yhwh we can re-frame that understanding this way—they are not, in the first place, earthly, but heavenly. In other words, they are the expressions of heavenly life. In so far as one stands within them—enacts them—one is ‘living in heaven’ and making heaven come to earth. Understood this way, they coincide with the glory of the Acts—they both make heaven visible, make heaven present. They are both, in this way, a type of sacrament, a perfect divine Art.

But, it also means that certain acts of faithfulness performed “on the way” will not be performed once the people obtain the “possessions of the nations”. They can fast now, and they should, but when the wedding banquet begins, they should join in the revelry. They should meditate, now, upon the great Acts, mining them for their sustenance. When they arrive, however, they should gaze upon the Act Himself, and remove the veil that lies over them.