Psalm 136
His Love Endures Forever
Rev. Cynthia O'Brien
November 17, 2006
Psalm 136
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights--
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
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.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.
who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings--
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan--
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.
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.
When was the last time you composed a prayer of thanks? Not just saying a spontaneous thanks to God, but actually thought it through and wrote it down?
We receive blessings easily; we are slower to give thanks. William Arthur Ward said, "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present
and not giving it." Today, we are giving thanks.
Here’s advanced notice: there will be homework today. I am going to invite each of you to compose a short prayer of thanks, not during the sermon because I want everyone to pay attention, but later when you go home. This morning I will give you the tools to write your own Psalm like Psalm 136. Once you see the format, you’ll realize it’s not hard to do. Then I want you to write one and show it to me. You can either e-mail it to me or bring me a copy at the concert tonight.
In today’s message I will also invite a few of you to tell something God has done for you, and if you raise your hand I’ll call on you. That will be later in the sermon.
First, let’s understand the psalm before us. It comes right after those Songs of Ascent that we read last week.
In the first three verses, we begin speaking about God, encouraging each other to give thanks, not once, but three times. Each time, there is a different way to address God, and these are arguably God’s three most important names: Jehovah, the creator of all; God of gods, who is the judge of all, and Lord of Lords, the ruler of all.
The most noticeable thing about Psalm 136 is the refrain: His love endures forever. If you have heard this psalm a lot, you might find this repetitious. But of all the phrases you could repeat, this may be the best. Teenagers, think about the music you listen to on the radio, and what some of the phrases are that are repeated over and over. I’m going to argue that “his love endures forever” is one of the most worthwhile.
And it’s deep, too. The word “love” here is the same word we encountered a few weeks ago, hesed, which means steadfast love. It is the word most used to describe God’s attitude towards humankind.
But it’s more than just God’s love for people. God has steadfast love towards the whole cosmos, including the earth and all its creatures. This is the most amazing good news.. that God’s attitude towards the world, and God’s motive for action can be summarized as “steadfast love.”
This is one of the biggest, widest, most all inclusive statements of God’s love in the Bible. Now look where the song goes. The history of God’s deliverance of the people. How he struck down the first born of Egypt, remember, because Pharoah would not obey God’s word, and that was the last plague which finally made Pharoah relent.
Then God led those thousands of people out of slavery, and with his outstretched arm, parted the Red Sea for them. When you stretch out your arm to do something, you are applying extra effort. The freeing of the people from Egypt, and the miracles, constitute an extraordinary effort on God’s part.
It’s important to note that this part about God’s freeing Israel is great news for Jews, but it’s scandalous for others who read the Bible. God obviously shows preferential treatment to Israel. Think of how a non-Jew would respond to these words. Is God only partial to one group of people? He delivered them from Pharoah and gave them someone else’s land. God killed other famous kings. For many people, this doesn’t seem particularly loving.
But this psalm is realistic. God’s love is not just sentimental. God has a plan, and people like Pharoah cannot stand in the way. God rules the whole world.
The last few verses talk about how God remembered us in our low estate and freed us from our enemies. The words “low estate” always remind me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, sang in her Magnificat, about how God looked upon her in her low estate, how God would take care of the poor. God loves an underdog. God cares about the disenfranchised. The old blues song says, “Nobody knows you when you’re down and out. When you get back on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long lost friend. But nobody knows you when you’re down and out.” That is, nobody but God. He is the one who remembered you when you were low. He is the one who gives us our daily bread.
Theologian Walter Bruggeman suggested that psalms like this, which tell the history of what God has done, should be read with “abiding astonishment.” Its focus isn’t really on the past. We read this story, and we don’t allow ourselves to simply skip over the words because they are so familiar. Rather, we let ourselves be astonished by the greatness of God. God has a claim on the world. It calls for us to respond.
This psalm has one command to us. It occurs in verses 1-3 and in the last verse. Give thanks to the Lord.
William Arthur Ward said, "God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you'?"
I’ve been telling you quite a few stories from the Gresham Chamber of Commerce. I have to tell you what happened last Friday. Bess Willis was hosting us at her car dealership, and she asked everyone to say what they were thankful for. Out of about 90 people there, I lost count of the number of people who gave thanks to God, or thanks for their Lord Jesus Christ, or thanks for what God had given them or allowed them to do. Now I was one of the first ones to give thanks, and I tapped into an earlier joke about the USC / Oregon State game by giving thanks for my excellent undergraduate education at USC. But after me, I was surprised and pleased at how many of these business owners and community leaders gave thanks to God. From the carpet cleaner to the hairstylist to the realtor to the investment broker, God received a great deal of thanks that morning in the showroom of a car dealership.
Can we do any less? Do you have a time each day when you thank God for these wonders?
Many of us say grace before a meal. We do in our family. Most of the time we say or sing one of the prayers we know. In fact, if it would help you to have a written prayer for thanksgiving, I’ve printed some ideas in the insert in the bulletin.
But oftentimes one of us will lead out in a spontaneous prayer of thanks that covers things you wouldn’t normally say in a table grace. One of our girls will just spill out a whole list of things she is thankful for. They haven’t yet reached the age of self-editing for appropriateness. The thanks just tumble out.
Psalm 136 is the story of God’s people, starting with creation, going through their trials up through thanks for the meal they had that morning. I believe anyone could write a psalm like this. You could write one about your life and use it to praise God. Make a note to try writing one this afternoon. Here’s what I came up with. You do it with me, the part that says, “His love endures forever.”
Give thanks to the God of Gods (His love endures forever)
Who made the sun to shine continually over Southern California, (His love…)
Who placed me there in a home with parents and a little brother.
Who brought me to a church for Vacation Bible School
and made me first his child, then his minister
Who by the Spirit overcame Michael O’Brien’s reservations
So that he would consent to marry me
Who gave us two delightful daughers
And led us to Oregon to an exceptional church family
Who sustains us each day
Whose love is immeasurable
who does good to all who trust in him.
There are so many things our congregation has to be thankful for, both as a church family and as individuals. I know that…
Janet and Laszlo have two new baby granddaughters. Elizabeth has been accepted to Whitworth College. Tara was the head stage manager for Les Miserables and also played four different characters on stage.
I know people in our congregation who have overcome addictions to drugs or alcohol, who have repaired broken marriages, who have taken over the spiritual nurture of their grandchildren. I know a husband who is going to surprise his wife with an extravagant gift. I know a child who draws elaborate pictures for her parents reflecting how much she feels her parents’ love. I know a woman who is succeeding in her new job after the last job was a nightmare. I know a woman who had a close call in the emergency room last week and survived.
Why not write your own version of Psalm 136 for your Thanksgiving prayer? Make a note to do so this afternoon. Email it to me, or bring it to the concert tonight and show me. I’d love to see what you do with this.
God is the God of gods and the Lord of Lords. God’s love for you endures forever.
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