Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures for ever.to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures for ever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures for ever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures for ever.
who made the great lights –
His love endures for ever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures for ever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures for ever.to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures for ever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures for ever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures for ever.to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures for ever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures for ever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures for ever.to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures for ever.to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures for ever.
and killed mighty kings –
His love endures for ever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures for ever.
and Og king of Bashan –
His love endures for ever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures for ever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures for ever.He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures for ever.
and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures for ever.
He gives food to every creature.
His love endures for ever.Give thanks to the God of heaven.
(Ps. 136:1-26 NIV)
His love endures for ever.
It has been suggested that this hymn was sung especially at the Feast of Passover when the people of God remembered the great redemption event. It seems to be an antiphonal hymn where one singer or group of singers sings the first line and others respond with singing ‘His love endures forever’.
The Psalm begins with a call to worship, proceeds with a creation hymn, then a redemption hymn, followed by a creation hymn in v25 and concludes with a note of praise.
The hymn of praise for creation involves praise for God’s initial work in creation and for God’s continuous involvement in creation. The hymn of praise involves praise for God’s initial work of redemption and his continuous work in redemption.
We cannot help but come away from this Psalm with the realisation that the motivation for creation and redemption is the Lord’s enduring love – ‘His love endures forever’. How could we ever tire of repeating that theme in our praise of God? He is the God of gods, the Lord of lords. There are no other gods all other lords are infinitely inferior because our God, His love endures forever. God alone is to be praised because His love endures forever.
We are to give thanks to God because He alone has done great wonders. We see the wonders of God in what is a fallen creation. What must it have been like when it was first created and what must the new heavens and the new earth be like when all is restored in the consummation of redemption? When we view programmes about the wonder of creation, and we see the design and beauty and the complex eco-systems, we are left amazed at the complexity. The Lord by His understanding made the heavens and the earth and the sea, the sun and the moon. An honest assessment of the beauty and the complexity of creation has to acknowledge that a great intelligence lies behind the work of creation. The creation was an act of love. The autumn colours of the trees display an act of love. God has made this world a pleasant place to live in. There are signs all around of the fact that His love endures forever.
The OT saints look back to the act of redemption out of Egypt. The Lord brought them out from their slavery and He defeated those who had occupied the Promised Land and gave it to His people as an inheritance. The Lord brought His people through the Red Sea, and what was salvation for His people was judgement for the Egyptians. He led His people through the wilderness, feeding them and caring for them. In all the works of the Lord there was evidence to be seen that His love endures forever.
The people of God were not mighty, they were of low estate, but the Lord freed them. To an unlovely people He displayed His enduring love.
In v25 the Psalmist returns to God’s enduring work in creation. God continues to provide food for the creatures. All these things, if we care to take the time to meditate upon them, show us that His love endures forever.
The final note of praise is ‘give thanks to the God of heaven’ because His love endures forever.
All Heaven proclaims the glory of the risen Lord:
Prayer
Lord we see Your work of creation all around us. The parks and gardens of London are full of evidence that Your love endures forever. We reflect upon how lowly we are and how unlovable we are, yet You demonstrated Your love for us on the cross. We thank You that You have lavished Your love upon us and have called us to be the children of God. Lord everywhere we look and in every aspect of our lives we have to confess that we see an abundance of Your love. In the name of Christ we confess that Your love endures forever. Amen.