Thursday, May 26, 2005
Against ‘Against’: One Hymn’s Indecent Preposition
But I know Whom I have believèd,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.
In the hundred or so times I’ve sung this hymn, I’ve wondered how you can “commit” something “against” a day. Does this preposition indicate that God is keeping/protecting the commitment against the threat of judgment day? Or is “against” an old-fashioned preposition approximating “until”? And is it the keeping that’s against that day, or the commitment?
A comparison of different versions of 2 Timothy 1:12—from which the hymn is taken—supports the “until” interpretation:
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