Verse of the Day for November 9

Verse 1 says the same thing twice. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks. It is not a copying error. It is a people deciding, and then deciding again.

Gratitude is rarely one big decision that settles everything. It is a choice you make, and then make again an hour later when the first one has worn thin.

The reason they give is lovely. That thy name is near. God is not far off. His works are the evidence, and they are close enough to point at.

Then, unusually, God answers within the psalm. When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. Many readers take it to mean, when I choose the time. So the people choose to give thanks, and God keeps for himself the choice of when to put things right. That is a fair division of labour.

You do not have to fix the timing of your life today. You only have to make the next choice. On the drive home, in the market line, after the hard email, say it once, and then if you need to, say it twice.

You choose the thanks, and God chooses the time.

A repeated thank you is not weakness, it is how gratitude gets built.