I have always been fascinated by hourglasses. It’s not an obsession and I don’t have hourglasses stashed around my house, in fact, I only have one. But they are fascinating to me.
Part of my fascination lies in the fact that they are a constant reminder of life’s persistent, yet temporal nature: whether waking or sleeping, the sands still flow.
Part of my fascination is how the sand in the bottom always creates a consistently shaped mound. I like the chaotic, yet predictable nature of the mound’s growth and how it reminds me that much of the world is the same way.
Part of my fascination is how the sand in the top half always creates an inverted cone above the point where the sand collapses and falls to the bottom. I like how when you change your perspective by lowering your eye to the level of the sand the inverted cone disappears. Though, admittedly, I don’t like being reminded that I often see my life the same way: my sands of time are disappearing but on the outside I like act as though I’m the same person I was at 16, when I am very clearly not.
But of all my fascinations, it is the neck of the hourglass that rises above the rest. I like how the neck, the tiny opening through which every grain of sand must flow on its path from the ever collapsing vortex above to the ordered chaos below, reminds me of this present moment of life. The present moment is the gate through which my future must flow on its way to becoming the ordered chaos of my past. I like how the neck reminds me of the patience I must have before the future can become a reality. And, in the context of the Psalms, I like how it helps me understand the role Psalm 117 plays in the Psalms, and quite possibly in the entire Bible.
From Psalm 1 to Psalm 116 we have seen the hopes and dreams of a nation as their story flowed through their high points and low. We have seen their high point when they anticipate God’s reign and their lowest point when they wondered if they were God’s people anymore because it seemed that he had turned his back on them.
But these psalms also mirror our own journey along life’s hills and valleys. We long for the King to break into our life and make all things new even though we turn our back on him time and time again. When we are honest with ourselves, we have found (or still find) ourselves wondering if God would ever take us back and call us his own. A bleak picture indeed, but incomplete, for there is the other side of the neck.
When we look forward in the Psalms, (for who doesn’t want to know how the story ends) we see Psalm 119 standing before us with it’s orderly and complete praise of God’s word, (both in ink and in the flesh). Beyond Psalm 119 we find the many psalms of ascent, which culminate in glorious praise of God as he sits on his throne finally ending every ill and pain which has pervaded the lives of men. On one side of the neck we find pain and loss (Psalm 1-116), and on the other praise and glory (Psalm 118-150), but let’s see what is found in the neck of Psalm 117.
In Psalm 117, the shortest of the Psalms, we find only two verses. The first calls every nation and every people to praise the Lord. It does not limit who the nations are and it does not exclude any people, it merely calls us all to praise him. Then, in the second verse we are told the reason we are to praise him: God’s steadfast love and his eternal faithfulness.
Hessed, the Hebrew term used for steadfast love, is found in 241 verses of the Old Testament, 127 of which are in the book of Psalms. I think it’s in the Psalms so much because God wants us to know that his steadfast love and faithfulness are of supreme importance. It should be no surprise that in this “neck” of the Psalms, that is exactly what we are called to do.
I find it interesting that if we expand the picture a bit, we find that Psalm 117 is placed precisely in middle of the entire Bible (prior to Psalm 117 there are exactly 594 chapters and after Psalm 117 there are the same). I know the history of the compilation of the biblical text is a complex one, but it is curious that the middle chapter of the Bible emphasizes God’s steadfast love and his eternal faithfulness.
These two attributes of God are the central theme of scripture. God created us to live in perfect communion with him, but we rejected him. He could have easily destroyed the whole thing and started over again, but that is not what a loving God does. A loving God weeps when his creation turns away, falling prey to the consequences of sin: disease and death. A loving God pursues us and makes a way for reconciliation. And, as crazy as it might seem, a loving God lays out his redemption plan prior to the creation of anything.
Yes, that is the story of scripture, and as such it should be no surprise that in the heart of the scriptures, at the neck of all of human history, we find a singular call for us to praise God’s steadfast love and eternal faithfulness, for what else is there?
