Nevertheless

I am fond of words. Especially so of interesting words. We encountered such a word the other day during a family discussion on what qualifies as a yacht. Going to the dictionary (a real bound paper one) to determine the precise meaning we noticed another entry on interest – yclept, meaning called or named. Used in a sentence it might look like this: “On our bike route there was a sharp descent, yclept Shipman’s Hill.” Now I understand that none but the intellectually pretentious would ever ACTUALLY use yclept in a sentence, but it is, regardless, an interesting word. And for the intellectually pretentious out there, yclept is the past participle of the equally unused verb “clepe,” as in “We cannot decide what to clepe our newborn son.” This latter phrase is not recommended to even the intellectually pretentious as it might me misconstrued as some sort of child abuse.

The interesting words are the ones that get our attention, or at least mine. But I think that the words with real power are the common and therefore little noticed ones. Conjunctions, in particular, deserve some attention. Those connecting words that help string thoughts together. The humble “and” can daisy chain a hundred things together if you would like it to. “Therefore” both connects what follows with what precedes but also indicates that what follows is a logical result or conclusion of its precedent. Look out for the “therefores” in St. Paul’s epistles.

In reading Psalm 106 I was struck by the power of “nevertheless.” In this psalm that excellent conjunction shifts your attention from what seems to be the point to the real heart of the psalm. The psalm begins with praise to God, which is a clear indication of the psalmist’s intent. Throughout the psalm we do hear of the mighty acts of God, but usually in the context of how Israel ignored them. Starting in verse 6, there begins a long litany of the faults of Israel. How they did not consider his wondrous words (v. 7), or wait for his counsel (v.13). How they were taken by jealousy (v.16) and created the golden calf (v.19). It goes on until verse 43 and by that time you are convinced that the point of the psalm is to underline our wickedness, and I say “our” because as the psalmist says in verse 6, “Both we and our fathers have sinned.”

By verse 43 the psalm really seems to about God’s people and their wickedness. But then comes the “Nevertheless” in verse 44:

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

When he heard their cry.

For their sake he remembered his covenant,

And relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

He caused them to be pitied

By all those who held them captive.

And we realize this psalm is first about God. What appears to be a list of offenses for litigation turns on this one word and the psalm is seen for what it is intended to be – a psalm of praise motivated by the grace and mercy of God, in spite of our faithlessness. “Nevertheless” brings into sharp contrast the distinction between us and God. It doesn’t mean that the wickedness isn’t wicked. Just that his mercy and steadfast love overcomes it.

The psalm ends,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!