Psalm 136:1-26 God’s Love

Psalm 136:1-26 God’s Love

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, ESV)

We just sang the song “Forever” which comes from this psalm. When I hear and sing that song, I am reminded of an experience as pastor of the International Baptist Church in Bremen. We had a young man who was baptized, and he requested the song “Forever.” When it came time for the song to be sung, he went to the drums and while playing, led the church in that song. It was a very moving experience. So I come to psalm with a fond memory, which is based upon the phrase: “His steadfast love endures forever.”

The Person of Whom this psalm speaks is God. Twenty-six times the psalmist repeats the phrase: “His love is eternal.” The word rendered “mercy” means “covenant-love” (hesed). This psalm celebrates the covenant-faithfulness and the covenant-mercy of Yahweh toward His people.¹

God operates out of His love. Some will say that God operates out of His holiness. However, holiness by definition means uniqueness or otherness. So are we to conclude that God operates out of being unique? My counter question would be this: What makes God so unique for Him to operate in such a way that demands our worship? I would answer that what makes God holy is His love. God’s love is the basis on which He operates. In this psalm, all of the acts of God are based on His love.²

QUALITIES OF GOD’S LOVE (WHAT IT IS)

1. God’s

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, ESV)

“Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:2, ESV)

The phrase “God of gods” takes it cue from Deuteronomy.

“For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17, HCSB)

God is the “God of gods.” This points to His supremacy. God is above everything or everyone we worship. God is higher than anything or anyone we can place our trust.

2. Good

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, ESV)

God’s love is good because God is good. God’s love is not a manipulative love. He doesn’t use love to hurt or harm you. God’s love is a good love.

3. Eternal

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, ESV)

God’s love has been, is, and will be. God’s wrath will not operate after He completes the work of redemption on Earth. Once the last evil person is slain, God will not need to operate out of His wrath. Instead, He can continue to shower His creation with love.

Heaven is not going to be a place where everyone will fear the One Who rules there. Instead, we will want to be there because God, who will operate out of His love, will rule there. It will be a perfect place where God will shower us with His love forever. We will return that love with worship. Worship is our best expression of love for God. In the end, we will both operate out of love and continually be in a state of joy.³

4. Faithful

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, ESV)

God’s works change, but His love stays steady and strong. The moment we think we’ve grasped His ways and figured out His methods, they will change.

Kings will rise and fall, but His love endures forever. Riches will come, and riches will go. But His love endures forever. Sometimes we’ll be healed from physical afflictions, and sometimes we won’t. But His love endures forever. The heavens and earth will pass away. But His love endures forever.⁴

He is the God who commits Himself unconditionally to His people and never abandons that commitment. We change, the world changes; God endures forever and His love never fails toward us.⁵

GOD’S LOVE MAKES ME… (WHAT IT DOES TO ME)

1. Thankful (Psalm 136:1-4, 26)

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love is eternal. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love is eternal. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His love is eternal. He alone does great wonders. His love is eternal.” (Psalm 136:1–4, HCSB)

“Give thanks to the God of heaven! His love is eternal.” (Psalm 136:26, HCSB)

Jon Courson makes the conclusion that our actions as based upon the qualities of God.⁶ I further conclude that since all of the qualities of God are derived from His love, God’s love makes me do what I do.

God’s love makes me THANKFUL because of His CHARACTER.

Here, God’s character is praise, for, truly, He is nothing but good—eternally, completely good.

God’s love should make me thankful. Being thankful is good for me. Perhaps one reason it is God’s will for us to be thankful is that it is good for us. A 2009 study again showed that being thankful can improve your life. At the University of California, Davis, professor Robert Emmons said, “Those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful. They sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure.” Emmons is the author of the book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, and an earlier book that describes gratitude as a “new science.” Brenda Shoshanna is a New York psychologist who agrees. “You can’t be depressed and grateful at the same time,” said Shoshanna, the author of 365 Ways to Give Thanks: One for Every Day of the Year. “It makes a person physically, mentally, in every way healthier.”⁷⁸

He begins by asking people to give thanks to God. There are all kinds of reasons to be thankful. These reasons are listed throughout the psalm. Each of these reasons are personal examples in which God had and continues to express His love in the lives of His people. So we see that God is acting personally in the lives of His people. He doesn’t delegate His love. God doesn’t give His love to someone else to share with us. He acts personally.⁹

2. Trusting (Psalm 136:5-9)

“He made the heavens skillfully. His love is eternal. He spread the land on the waters. His love is eternal. He made the great lights: His love is eternal. the sun to rule by day, His love is eternal. the moon and stars to rule by night. His love is eternal.” (Psalm 136:5–9, HCSB)

God’s love makes me TRUSTING because of His CREATIVITY.

As in the previous psalm, God’s creativity is praised. Although we can only observe a sliver of what the heavens hold, if the sun, moon, and stars weren’t so constant, they alone would be enough to amaze us.

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.” (Hebrews 11:3, HCSB)

The more scientists learn about the solar system, the more we see God’s hand.

Writing in the journal Nature, Benjamin Zuckerman, a professor of astronomy at the University of California at Los Angeles, says that one factor contributing to Earth’s ability to sustain life is the size of the largest planet in our solar system: Jupiter. Jupiter, the next neighbor to Earth after Mars, is a giant gaseous planet, with a mass that is 318 times greater than that of Earth and thus a much greater gravitational force.

It is that gravitational force that benefits Planet Earth. When massive objects that could do great harm to our planet hurl through our solar system, Jupiter acts as a sort of vacuum cleaner, sucking comets and asteroids into itself or causing them to veer away from Earth. Without Jupiter, says Zuckerman, Earth would be a sitting duck.

Zuckerman says massive gaseous planets like Jupiter are rare in the universe.

Once again we see God’s design in creation. Having a planet like Jupiter nearby may be rare, but it is no coincidence.¹⁰

God makes things. God makes things happen. He made things happen in the past. We trust in God because of what He has done in the past which we have not seen. By faith we trust in the past activity of God. His past activity gives me trust in what God will do for me today and tomorrow. Because God has been faithful in the past, I can place my faith in Him today.

3. Respectful (Psalm 136:10-16)

“He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians His love is eternal. and brought Israel out from among them His love is eternal. with a strong hand and outstretched arm. His love is eternal. He divided the Red Sea His love is eternal. and led Israel through, His love is eternal. but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His love is eternal. He led His people in the wilderness. His love is eternal.” (Psalm 136:10–16, HCSB)

God’s love makes me RESPECTFUL because of His CARE.

Here, God’s care for His people is seen—specifically in His power in freeing His people from bondage and providing for them as they made their way to the Promised Land. When God wants His people to respect Him, He usually recall the deliverance He provided to His people.

“Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.” (Deuteronomy 24:18, HCSB)

“I delivered you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.” (Judges 6:9, HCSB)

“and said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’” (1 Samuel 10:18, HCSB)

““This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us. Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him, but pushed him away, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.” (Acts 7:37–39, HCSB)

“Now I want to remind you, though you know all these things: The Lord first saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;” (Jude 5, HCSB)

4. Secure (Psalm 136:17-20)

“He struck down great kings His love is eternal. and slaughtered famous kings— His love is eternal. Sihon king of the Amorites His love is eternal. and Og king of Bashan— His love is eternal.” (Psalm 136:17–20, HCSB)

God’s love makes me SECURE because of His CONTROL.

Here, God’s control is praised. That is, once His people arrived in the land of promise, He went before them and brought down the kingdoms that otherwise would have annihilated them. God protected His people in the Old Testament. He is just as able to keep me secure today.

5. Loving (Psalm 136:21-25)

“and gave their land as an inheritance, His love is eternal. an inheritance to Israel His servant. His love is eternal. He remembered us in our humiliation His love is eternal. and rescued us from our foes. His love is eternal. He gives food to every creature. His love is eternal.” (Psalm 136:21–25, HCSB)

God’s love makes me LOVING because of His COMPASSION.

Finally, God’s compassion is praised—for He remembers those of low estate and sustains all of His creation. In other words, He loves and sustains us. Why? Simply, solely, singularly because of His mercy—demonstrated nowhere more clearly or completely than on the Cross of Calvary.

What is that heritage that God provided His people? Love. God gave so that we would learn to love. A loving person gives. A giving person gives because they are willing to give up something and share it. What motivates a person to give up what they have and give it to another? Love. This is why the phrase: “His love is eternal” is repeated throughout the entire psalm. God gives us an inheritance and that inheritance is based on love. He remembers our pain and that remembering is based upon love. He rescues us and that rescue is based upon love.

God’s love makes me loving. This is why Jesus summed up the Old Testament in two forms of love. Jesus called us to be a loving people. We are to love God and love one another. God’s love should motivate me to be loving.

Repeat this with me:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, ESV)