Thanksgiving Thursday Psalm: God's Steadfast Love Endures Forever!

 

Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving to each of you!

When thinking about this day, and giving thanks to God, Psalm 136 came to mind.  It is longer than most I post, but there is a purpose in that...  

Why did I choose this psalm, you might ask?  The word "thanks" is only used four times in 378 [approximately ] words.  Only four of 26 verses include "thanks".  Pastor Mark must be losing his mind, or cant count, you might think.  

We are told to "GIve thanks" to the God who is good, who is above all gods, who loves you and me "steadfastly", and this love endures  "forever".  Wow, if this psalm were only those four verses, it would still be a blessed & wonderful teaching for us.  As has been famously burned into our minds:  "But wait, there's more!"  As if God's enduring, steadfast love, given to you and me forever was not enough, David the psalmist gives us even more reason to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

Psalm 136  His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

      for His steadfast love endures forever.

²    Give thanks to the God of gods,

      for His steadfast love endures forever.

³    Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

      For His steadfast love endures forever;

⁴    to Him who alone does great wonders,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

⁵    to Him who by understanding made the heavens,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

⁶    to Him who spread out the earth above the waters,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

⁷    to Him who made the great lights,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

⁸    the sun to rule over the day,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

⁹    the moon and stars to rule over the night,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁰  to Him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹¹  and brought Israel out from among them,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹²  with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹³  to Him who divided the Red Sea in two,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁴  and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁵  but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁶  to Him who led His people through the wilderness,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁷  to Him who struck down great kings,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁸  and killed mighty kings,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁹  Sihon, king of the Amorites,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

²⁰  and Og, king of Bashan,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

²¹  and gave their land as a heritage,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

²²  a heritage to Israel His servant,

      for His steadfast love endures forever.

²³  It is He who remembered us in our low estate,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

²⁴  and rescued us from our foes,

      for His steadfast love endures forever;

²⁵  He who gives food to all flesh,

      for His steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶  Give thanks to the God of heaven,

      for His steadfast love endures forever. 

Notice the tense of the verbs.  In verses 1-4, the verbs are present tense.  The Lord, is doing these things right now.  Verses 4-22 describe things the Lord has done for Israel, His church.  Then in the last verses [vv 23-25], it gets personal.  God remembers us, God rescues us, and God gives us the things we need.  WOW!  That just about covers our lives; Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, in so, so many ways!

Now, about the tedious length and repetition in this psalm...  I'll bet many of you started skimming through these verses after about the 6th verse or so.  Do we really need to read and hear "...for His steadfast love endures forever"  26 times?   Well, yes.  Isn't that one of the key points God is trying to teach us?  God's love is everlasting.  God's forgiveness is over-and-over-and-over....  Day in, day out.  Hour in, hour out.  God's love and forgiveness endures forever, which means these gifts are there for you every day for your entire life!  We daily drown the old Adam in us:  confess, receive forgiveness, then live joyfully.  

So on this Thanksgiving Day, I do encourage you to read this entire psalm, slowly and yes, dwell on all 26 repetitions of "...for His steadfast love endures forever"!  Then reflect on how many & different ways you experience & have experienced God's steadfast love in your life.  This will make for a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving Day!

Thanks be to God, for all His blessings!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188

mobile:  248.881.7627

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Pilgrim Worship blog page

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."  Psalm 3:3