The Name of God, YHVH (יהוה), means “Presence” (Exod. 3:13-14), “Breath” (Gen. 2:7; Num. 16:22), “Life” (Deut. 30:20), and “Love” (Exod. 34:6-7), but it also means “I-AM-WITH-YOU-ALWAYS” (אני תמיד איתך), teaching us that God is an ever-present help for us (Psalm 46:1). The Name YHVH means that “God was (i.e., hayah: היה), God is (i.e., hoveh: הוֶה), and God always will be (i.e., veyihyeh: וְיִהְיֶה),” which implies that He is ever present and not restricted by time or space. Moreover, God is called havayah (הֲוָיָה), which means He is continually sustaining creation by the Word of His power: “In Him we live, move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28; Heb. 1:3). As it is poetically expressed in the Psalms, “Behind and before you cover me; You lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5).
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“Behind and before you cover me.” The word “behind” translates the adjective achor (אָחוֹר), a word related to the word acharon (אַחֲרוֹן), “west,” though it also refers to something later (אַחֲרֵי), such as a later place or time (אַחֲרִית). In Hebrew, the word generally means “backward” (לאחור) or “behind” (מאחור). God’s got your back, friend… Note further that the word translated “before” is kedem (קֶדֶם), a preposition that means “east” but also refers to the primordial beginning, the dawn. The root verb kadam (קָדַם) means to “meet” in initial contact. God is always present for you, friend, and that includes times and days that lie ahead, in the distant future… “As far as the east is from the west,” so far does God’s compassion and love cover you, surround you, and sustain you (Psalm 103:12).
“You cover me.” The verb tzartani (צַרְתָּנִי) comes from the root tzur (צור) that means to encircle, to press upon, to “pressurize,” as by relentlessly attacking a stronghold. The image is that God “hems us in,” that is, He surrounds us and shelters us with His Presence – so that we cannot escape: You are under God’s supervision and protection, friend… And while the root tzur can imply tzuris (trouble, affliction), in this context it is used to picture the Lord securing our station, preserving, protecting, and defending our way. “You lay your hand upon me.” God’s personal and providential hand is at work in your life – He is HaMashgiach hagadol (הַמָּשְׁגִיחַ הַגָּדוֹל) – the Great Overseer of the universe, and that means your way is as sure and secure as the very power that God’s own will affords. Amen.
