IT'S WORTH HEARING AGAIN
Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights— His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the desert, His love endures forever.
17 who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel; His love endures forever.
23 to the One who remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies, His love endures forever.
25 and who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136 is quite clearly one of the most unique psalms in all of Scripture. No other psalm is laid out in the same way Psalm 136 is. And no other psalm repeats the same phrase over and over again like Psalm 136 does. But there’s a reason for that. There’s a reason why this psalm repeats “His love endures forever” after every single line. And the reason is simple: it’s worth hearing again. It’s worth hearing again that the Lord’s love endures forever. It’s worth being reminded that in every day of this life and behind every blessing and through any hardship or disaster “His love endures forever.” It’s worth hearing again because we forget it so often!
Think about how many times you have wondered if you would be able to get through a difficulty in your life. A lingering sickness, an unrelenting pain, a family relationship problem, a tragedy that ends in the death of a loved one, a financial crisis, an inner emotional battle… There are plenty of things in this sinful world that have harassed us and have caused us to question what the future would bring. But in any difficult situation you have ever been in, was the outcome ever outside of the Lord’s control? Was he ever only a passive observer and unable to do anything about it? Was his love for you ever absent from any problem or trouble or dilemma? No! He was always in control. He was always an active participant. His love was always there. Because “his love endures forever.” It doesn’t go away. It isn’t overpowered. And it will never let anything happen to God’s people that isn’t ultimately for their good. We just forget about that sometimes. We are so overwhelmed by the problems sometimes that we forget the promises.
The Israelites struggled to remember the promises of God because of their problems at times as well. They had to undergo some very stressful and life-threatening events throughout their lives and Psalm 136 even recounts for us a few of those instances in the history of God’s people - when God’s love prevailed despite the situation. They were at one time enslaved in the land of Egypt. They were mistreated by their rulers there, they were required to meet impossible demands on penalty of severe punishment, and their sons were even ordered to be killed so that their nation would stop growing. They were in a difficult situation and the Lord’s love seemed to be far away. But on the contrary, Psalm 136 says it well, “To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt - his love endures forever - and brought Israel out from among them - his love endures forever - with a mighty hand and outstretched arm - his love endures forever.” The Lord’s love rescued them from the land of slavery even though the situation seemed hopeless. But soon after they were trapped in between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army! What was going to happen! How were they going to escape? Why did Moses bring them all the way out there just to die? Psalm 136 again, “To him who divided the Red Sea asunder - his love endures forever - and brought Israel though the midst of it - his love endures forever - but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea - his love endures forever.” The dangerous situation they were in was no match for the Lord’s love. He took care of everything - just like usual. And his love continued to guide his people for centuries to come. He led them through the desert for 40 years. He struck down kings and armies. He defeated the Canaanites before them. He gave them the Promised Land as an inheritance. Despite the odds and the doubts and the complaints, the Lord always took care of his people because “his love endures forever.”
And we could even add to this psalm the many things the Lord has done for us. Psalm 136 very well could continue: “He came down to this earth as a human being - his love endures forever - to become one of us - his love endures forever - so that he could live perfectly in our place - his love endures forever. The Lord willingly gave himself up into the hands of his enemies - his love endures forever - he stood on trial - his love endures forever - he was sentenced to death - his love endures forever. He sacrificed himself - his love endures forever - he bled - his love endures forever - he lives - his love endures forever.” There are so many things we can say about what our Lord has done for us that could be followed by “his love endures forever.” In fact, everything that has ever happened can be explained with that phrase because the Lord’s love is always at work. God’s love is always taking every miniscule thing in this life and re-working it for the best of believers. It’s a wonderful thing to know that God’s love is always around, it always has the last say, and it will always be the driving force behind everything God does. After all, “God is love” (1 John 4:16). He is not hate, he is not anger, he is not revenge. God is love. And his love endures forever.
And what a fitting thing to remember on an evening like tonight. We gather together on Thanksgiving Eve to thank the Lord for what he has done throughout our lives this past year; we gather together to thank him for his love. And his love is clearly evident from all of the wonderful blessings he has given us. We have been showered with blessings - more than we could possibly count. It is a good thing to thank the Lord for the blessings we enjoy. But also remember his love when the blessings aren’t so evident. When you’re hurting, when you’re failing, when you don’t know where to turn, when there is no one else to help. Because God’s love is still there even at those times. It is still active. It is still in control. It is there when you can’t see it or feel it or even notice it. Thank the Lord for that. Thank him that his love is much more stable than our lives or emotions or feelings will ever be. Give thanks “To the One who remembered us in our low estate - his love endures forever - and freed us from our enemies - his love endures forever - and who gives food to every creature - his love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven - his love endures forever.” These final verses of Psalm 136 might be a good prayer to pray at your Thanksgiving table tomorrow. In fact, it might be a good prayer to pray every day. It’s worth repeating. It’s always worth hearing again.
Amen.
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