Ps 111 (Part Two--Loyalty Forever)

Yhwh’s deeds / are so great

                Worth studying / by all who revel in them

His activity is marked / by majesty and splendor

                And his loyalty / continues forever

He has caused / his wonders to be praised

                Yhwh is dutiful / and affectionate

Yhwh’s acts participate in his Forever when they are mediated upon and praised by his people. His covenant with his people also ‘extends’ his acts into his Forever, because it is through his covenant that his “loyalty continues forever.” This is key—the covenant is what enables Yhwh’s people to see that when Yhwh’s acts, Yhwh’s own ‘person’ is revealed. Said in another way, if Yhwh was a god who performed an isolated act for Israel but was not covenantally bound to them, then that act may reveal something about Yhwh, but it would be limited. However, when Yhwh performs these acts and then voluntarily enters into covenant with Israel he is telling them that they are bound to this god and this god is one who has wed his reputation to this people. For that reason, these acts are meant to ‘display’ who Yhwh is—and who he will be, in his faithfulness to the covenant. That is how the covenant ‘extends’ these acts. They are not simply left behind but are covenantally bound to Israel.

We could even say this—that Yhwh’s acts, performed in the past, are also prophecies of the future, and what ties the past to the future (what makes the acts into prophecies) is Yhwh’s loyalty. Thought of this way, Yhwh’s loyalty is what also enables the people to praise his acts in the present, understanding that they stand within the stream of Yhwh’s Forever.