Psalm 136

Introduction

At the last pre-communion service, we were studying Psalm 119, which is the longest psalm. Since that time, we’ve gone through the Songs of Ascents which are Psalms 120 to 134. These were psalms for God’s people as they made their way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious festivals, when God’s people gathered together to worship the Lord. The most well-known Song of Ascents is probably Psalm 121 which we studied several weeks ago now. In that psalm, the psalmist was thinking about all the troubles and trials he faced as he made his way to Jerusalem. And as he thought about the trials, he wondered who would help him. And the answer came to him: ‘My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.’ And so, he went on to say that the Lord will watch over him and keep him as he makes his way to Jerusalem. And we too are pilgrims on the way to everlasting life in the new Jerusalem to come, where we’ll join with all of God’s people from every nation and from every generation to worship the Lord. And though we face troubles and trials on the way, we can trust the Lord our God to help us.

So, the Songs of Ascents were for God’s people as they made their way to Jerusalem for one of the annual festivals. However, we also noted that some of them were perhaps written for God’s people who were returning to Jerusalem from exile. For instance, in Psalm 132, the psalmist wrote about God’s promise to place one of David’s descendants on his throne. And so, it seems that the psalmist was hoping that the Lord will raise up a new king to rule over God’s people, now that they had returned to Jerusalem from exile. And the psalmist was hoping that Jerusalem and the temple will be restored to the way they once were; and that the worship of the Lord will be re-established in the land, with priests to offer sacrifices for their forgiveness. And he hoped that God will bless them and that the city will be filled once again with joyful and thankful people. And God has raised up a new king for his people: he has given us his Son to be our king and to rescue us from sin and satan and death and to rule over us. And God’s Son is not only our king, but he’s our priest and by the sacrifice of himself on the cross he has made peace for us with God. And God now dwells in us by his Spirit and he’s building his church throughout the world.

And so, we’ve been going through those Songs of Ascents since our last pre-communion. And at least one of the commentators (Ash) suggests that Psalm 135, which we studied last week, and Psalm 136, which we’re studying this evening, form a kind of appendix to the Songs of Ascents, because in the last of the Songs of Ascents, the psalmist called on the servants of the Lord to praise the Lord. And Psalm 135 begins with ‘Hallelujah’ or ‘Praise the Lord’; and Psalm 136 is all about giving thanks to the Lord our God.

As you can see, Psalm 136 contains 26 verses and the same line is repeated in all 26 verses: ‘His love endures for ever.’ As I’ve said already, it’s possible that the psalm was sung or spoken responsively, so that someone read or sang the first line of each verse; and the congregation or a choir read or sang the second line.

The Hebrew word translated ‘love’ is hesed, which is God’s steadfast love or God’s never-ending love for his covenant people. God’s covenant people can always count on the Lord, because he has promised to love them with an unfailing, never-ending love. Just as a husband and wife promise to love one another for the rest of their lives, so God has promised to love his people. And the Lord never ever breaks his promises. And so, the psalmist praises the Lord for his covenant love for his people.

The psalm begins with a call to praise the Lord in verses 1 to 3. Then we have the main body of the psalm in verses 4 to 25. And it ends in verse 26 with a final call to give thanks to the Lord. In the main body of the psalm, the psalmist refers to: the creation of the heavens and the earth in verses 4 to 9; the exodus from Egypt in verses 10 to 15; their time in the wilderness in verse 16; the conquest of the Promised Land in verses 17 to 22; and finally to the time when the psalm was written in verses 23 to 25. And the point the psalmist is making is that the Lord has demonstrated, or the Lord has manifested, his love for his people in each of these activities. That is to say: the creation of the universe, the exodus, his help in the wilderness, and the conquest of the land all reveal God’s steadfast love and God’s covenant commitment to his people.

And, of course, he has revealed his steadfast love and his commitment to his people most clearly in the death of Christ on the cross, when God’s Only Begotten Son gave up his life for us and for our salvation. And on Sunday, we’ll gather around the Lord’s Table to remember what he has done for us and to give thanks to him for his steadfast love which endures for ever.

Verses 1 to 3

And so, the psalm begins with an opening call to praise the Lord. The psalmist calls on the people to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. The Hebrew word translated ‘give thanks’ means to acknowledge publicly. So, declare in public that the Lord is good.

And the psalmist is using God’s special covenant name, which appears in our English Bibles as ‘LORD’ in capital letters and it speaks to us of his commitment to his people. He has bound himself with a promise to be our God and to deliver us from our sin and misery by his Son and to love us always. So, give thanks to this God and to no other god, because this God, our God, is good.

I explained last week that God’s goodness means that God is excellent. One person is a good parent; and another person is a good child; and another person is good at his or her work. Being good at these things means they are excellent. And God is good in the sense that he too is excellent. He’s an excellent God. There is no-one more excellent than he is. As the theologians say, he is the Most Perfect Being.

And his goodness also includes his kindness to the whole of his creation. He causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on all kinds of people so that they’re able to grow crops and have what they need to eat. And every good thing we enjoy has come to us from him. And he’s kind not only to humans, but to all living things.

God’s goodness also includes his kindness to the church. So, he chose us to be members of his people even though we do not deserve it; and he sent his Son to save us by his life and death and resurrection; and he sent his Spirit into our lives to enable us to repent and believe and to receive the salvation Christ won for us; and he pours out on us one spiritual blessing after another; and he gives us the hope of eternal life in his presence. The Lord is good to all and he’s especially good to his people. The Lord is the source of all that is good and in Christ a fountain of good things is opened to us.

John Calvin says the chief foundation for worship is to acknowledge God to be the only source of all that is good. And in accordance with this, to ascribe and render to him the glory of all that is good and to seek all things in him alone. And so, once we realise that every good thing we possess has come to us from him, then we’ll give thanks to God in worship and we’ll pray to him for all that we need. And the psalmist understands this, which is why he calls on God’s people to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

The psalmist also calls on us to give thanks to the God of gods and to the Lord of lords. ‘God of gods’ and ‘Lord of lords’ is like the phrase ‘Song of songs’. The Song of songs is the best song. And so, the God of gods is the best God and he’s the best Lord. The psalmist is not saying that other gods exists, because the Bible makes clear that there’s only one true God. However, since every nation in those days worshipped their own god, the psalmist is making clear that Israel’s God is greater than the gods of the nations. He’s greater than Baal and Molech and Dagon and whatever gods the nations believed in. He’s the God of gods and Lord of lords. And therefore give thanks to him and praise his name.

And one way he’s greater than every other god is the fact that his steadfast love for his covenant people endures for ever. It lasts. It persists. It is never-ending. And so, he is not fickle, loving his people one day and not the next. Even when he sent his people into exile, he did not give up loving them, because, when the time was right, he enabled them to return to the Promised Land and he helped them to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. And when the time had come, he kept his promise to send them the Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King to deliver them from their sin and misery by his life and death and resurrection. Though they did not deserve it, he continued to love them.

And his love for his people endures for ever, because he endures for ever and he does not change. Just as the Lord is unchangeable, so his love for his people is unchangeable. And so, what does Jeremiah say? ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’

And so, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his love for his people endures for ever.

Verses 4 to 9

Let’s turn to verses 4 to 9 where the psalmist refers to the creation of the heavens and the earth. So, give thanks to the Lord who alone does great wonders; and who by his understanding made the heavens; and who spread out the earth upon the waters; and who made the great lights: the sun to govern the day and the moon and the stars to govern the night. Give thanks to this God.

The word ‘wonders’ probably refers to all that God has done to create the universe. And he alone has performed these great wonders. He did not need to rely on anyone or anything to create the heavens and the earth. He created the universe out of nothing. And he did not need our help or the help of the angels to create the heavens and the earth. He did it all by himself.

And he did by by his understanding. That is, he created the world according to his wisdom. The heavens and earth display not only God’s power, but also his wisdom, because with wisdom he made all things. In Proverbs 8, wisdom is depicted as God’s craftsman who was at his side when he created all things. In other words, God made use of his wisdom when he made the heavens and the earth.

And so, he spread out the earth upon the waters. When God created the earth at first, it was covered with water. But then he brought forth the dry land and made a suitable place for us to live. And in the beginning the earth was dark. But God brought forth the sun and the moon and the stars to give us light.

And the psalmist is saying that the Lord demonstrated his steadfast love for his covenant people in creating the world. The creation of the world manifests God’s love for his covenant people. How can that be the case when his people did not exist when he created the world? How can creating the sun and the moon demonstrate God’s steadfast love for his people, when his people had not yet been created? It’s because of what we learn from Ephesians 1 where Paul tells us that God chose his people in Christ before the creation of the world. Before the world was created, God already knew us and loved us. And since he loved us, then he created a suitable world for us in which to live; and then he made us and gave us life and breath and everything else we need, including a Saviour, who would lay down his life for us so that we can live with God for ever in the new creation to come. The whole of creation exists because of God’s love for his people, whom he chose in Christ before the creation of the world so that we might live with him in a renewed creation.

Verses 10 to 15

In verses 10 to 15 the psalmist refers to the exodus from Egypt. So, give thanks to the Lord who struck down the firstborn in Egypt; and who brought Israel out from among them with a mighty and outstretched arm; and who divided the Red Sea asunder; and who brought Israel through its midst, but who swept Pharaoh and his army into the sea. Give thanks to this God.

The psalmist refers in verse 10 to the last and greatest of the ten plagues, when the angel of the Lord struck down every firstborn male in Egypt, but he spared the firstborn males of his people who put blood on their doorposts. The angel of the Lord passed over those homes. This was an act of mercy on God’s part, because the firstborn males who were spared were no better or more deserving that those who died. And yet, God graciously and freely spared them and accepted the death of the Passover lamb in their place. And the Passover lambs foreshadowed the true Passover Lamb, who is Jesus Christ our Saviour, who died and whose blood was shed so that we are spared God’s wrath and curse which we deserve for a lifetime of disobedience. And it was an act of mercy, because the Lord struck the firstborn males in order to persuade the Pharaoh to let his people go. And now that Christ as died for us, we are set free from our slavery to sin and satan and death.

All ten plagues demonstrated God’s mighty hand and outstretched arm. That is to say: they demonstrated his great power over the Egyptian gods and magicians. And when the psalmist says that God divided the Red Sea asunder, he’s using a verb which can be used to describe cutting an animal or chopping wood. In other words, it’s a violent verb. God chopped the sea in half the way a lumberjack will chop wood. And he then brought Israel through the sea. It’s as if the Lord took them by the hand and led them to safety, the way the angels took Lot and his family and led them to safety before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. He led his people to safety, but he swept Pharaoh and his army into the sea.

By rescuing his people from Egypt, the Lord demonstrated his steadfast love towards them. Because they were his chosen people and because he loved them with a never-ending love, he was determined to rescue them. And because he loves us with a never-ending love, he was determined to rescue us from our sin and misery in this world and from our bondage to sin and satan and death. And so, he sent his Only Begotten Son to save us by his life and death and resurrection. And he sent his Spirit into our lives to enable us to believe. The Spirit, as it were, takes us by the hand and leads us to Christ for salvation.

Verse 16

In verse 16 the psalmist refers to their time in the wilderness. So, give thanks to the Lord who led his people through the desert. Give thanks to this God.

This one verse spans forty years in the life of God’s people. But throughout that period, the Lord provided the people with manna from heaven and with water. He ensured their shoes and clothes did not wear out and he protected them from their enemies. He also put up with their rebellion and their complaining. Instead of destroying them, he spared them. And in this, he displayed his love for him which endures for ever.

And in a similar way, he puts up with our rebellion and our complaining. Instead of destroying us for our many sins and for all the ways we go astray, he spares us and he forgives us because of Christ who died for us, paying for our sins with his life. Just as we sin continually, so he forgives us continually because of Christ. And so, he displays his steadfast love towards us.

Verses 17 to 22

In verses 17 to 22 he refers to the conquest of the Promised Land. And so, give thanks to the Lord who struck down and killed great and mighty kings like Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan; and who gave their land to his servant Israel as an inheritance. Give thanks to this God.

We read about Sihon and Og in Numbers 21. The Lord’s people were on their way to the Promised Land. They sent word to Sihon, asking for permission to cross his land. But Sihon not only refused, but he gathered an army and marched out to attack the people of Israel. But the Lord helped his people to defeat them. Og, who was like a giant, also attacked them with his army. But with the help of the Lord, the Israelites defeated Og and his men. And so, the Lord kept his people safe. And afterwards, when they crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land, the Lord continued to help them so that they were able to strike down and kill other mighty kings. And in this way, the Lord gave them the Promised Land as his gift to them, which they were able to hand down from one generation to another like an inheritance.

And the land was given to them as a gift which they did not deserve and could not earn. While the Canaanites were a wicked people, the people of Israel demonstrated again and again that they too were sinners who sinned against the Lord continually throughout their time in the wilderness. And so, giving them the land was a sign of God’s love for them which endures for ever.

And we do not deserve everlasting life in the presence of God in the new heavens and earth, because we too are sinners who disobey the Lord continually. And yet, because of his steadfast love to us in Christ, we are not consumed and we can look forward to inheriting eternal life in the presence of God in the new heavens and earth, where God will dwell in our midst and where we’ll be his holy and happy people for ever and for ever.

Verses 23 to 26

And in verses 23 to 25, the psalmist refers to the time when the psalm was written. And so, he refers to what God had done for ‘us’, meaning the people of his own generation. He says they should give thanks to the Lord for remembering ‘us’ in ‘our’ low estate. And give thanks to him because he has freed ‘us’ from our enemies.

Perhaps the psalmist was writing after the return from exile in Babylon. At that time, the Lord remembered them in their low estate, when they were living in a far off country and where they were oppressed by the Babylonians. And in the very next psalm, we’ll read about their tormentors who tormented them when they were in exile. But the Lord remembered them. He remembered to act on their behalf and he came and rescued them and he freed them from their enemies and brought them back to the Promised Land.

And why did the Lord rescue them? Because his love for them endures for ever. He continued to love them when they were in exile and he was waiting for the right moment to set them free.

And the psalmist goes on to say in verse 25 that they should give thanks to the Lord because he gives food to every creature. And so, he gives thanks to the Lord, who is kind to his whole creation and who care for all the fish in the sea and all the birds in the air and all the animals on the earth and all the people too. He’s kind and good to his whole creation. But he was especially kind to the people of Israel, because not only did he feed them, but he rescued them from Egypt and he brought them through the desert and into the Promised Land. And even when they went astray and he sent them into exile, he remembered them and he brought them back. And so, give thanks to the God of heaven, whose love for his people endures for ever.

Conclusion

And when we go to church on Sunday and when we gather around the Lord’s Table and take the bread and the cup of communion, we should give thanks to the Lord, whose love for us endures for ever. After all, he made us; and he sent his Son to rescue us from our bondage to sin and satan and death; and he is — as it were — bringing us through the wilderness to the Promised Land of Eternal Life, where we will dwell in his presence and where we’ll be happy and holy for ever. And we can look forward to that, because of Christ our Saviour whose body was broken and whose blood was shed for us and for our salvation.

And since God has loved us with an everlasting love, then we ought to love one another, forgiving one another just as, in Christ, God has forgiven us. We should forgive one another and we should be kind and patient and good to one another.

And if you’ve failed to love someone as you should, then you have between now and Sunday to go to that person to confess your sins and shortcomings and to ask for their forgiveness and to put right what you have done wrong, because the will of our God — who loves us with an everlasting love — is for us to love one another as he has loved us.