Psalm 136: It Bears Repeating!

Our perception of God's attributes is sometimes
foggy, but praise sharpens what we understand of Him.

Can you repeat these words without looking?
Give thanks…His love endures forever.
Congratulations! You have just quoted half of Psalm 136—or at least the second half of its 26 verses! Responsive readings were frequently part of services in the church where I grew up. When the reading was Psalm 136, this little pig-tailed girl felt quite proud of knowing half a psalm! But as I grew up and reconsidered this psalm, I realized it packs a lot more than that repeated refrain. In fact, I’d consider it a great “New Year’s Psalm” for its emphasis on simply thanking God in everything.

For devout Jews, reciting this psalm antiphonally was part of observances of both the Jewish Passover and Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). Priests shouted the beginning of each verse, and the people responded with the refrain. Most important, the psalm praises God for His unique, inexplicable and generous love toward us.  The 1611 King James version renders the repeated refrain, “for His mercy endures forever.” However, “mercy” doesn’t convey as well the original Hebrew chesed, which named God’s kindness, loyalty and never-ending fidelity toward His people. The psalm attempts to praise this chesed through a sweeping description of history.

CALL TO WORSHIP (vv. 1-3)

The psalm before this, 135, also praised God as being greater than the “gods” of other nations around them. It talked of silver and gold images that had mouths, eyes, ears, and nostrils, but couldn’t speak, see, hear, or breathe (135:13-17). They contrast with the God of gods, and Lord of lords, “who alone does great wonders” (136:4). He’s not some little trinket image of false religions. He is real and powerful.

CREATOR (vv. 4-9)

All of creation showcases His power: the heavens, earth, waters, great lights, and cycles of day and night. We can praise God for designing the earth’s axis to give us seasons, for a sun at the right distance to support and not incinerate life, and a reflective moon to lift the oppression of night.  And don’t get me started on the marvel of stars, which bewilder our attempts to number.

REDEEMER (vv. 10-15)

No other nation can claim a history of redemption like the Jews. After years of enduring bitter enslavement in a foreign land, they saw the flower of Egypt’s manhood smashed. They escaped through a miraculous yawn in the waters of the Red Sea.

GUIDE (v. 16)
The verse is so simple: “him who led his people through the desert.” The logistics would be humanly impossible. The refugees numbered 600,000 men plus wives and children (Exodus 12:37). Some estimate that to total at least two million. How could so many survive in an barren desert—except for God’s miracle of food and water?

CHAMPION (vv. 17-22)

Some people are paralyzed by fears. They don’t try because they think they’ll fail.  Or, they don’t look for other ways to achieve goals with God’s help. The Jews could still be wandering in the desert, afraid of the next step, if God hadn’t gone before them in warring against its pagan kings.  The only way to the Promised Land was through these kings’ lands.

I always wondered why only two kings were mentioned in this psalm when many other rulers had to be defeated. The answer may be that “Sihon” and “Og” were the most significant rulers of the area. Together they ruled over an area of roughly 17,000 square miles east of the Jordan. Sihon ruled the northeast shoulder of the Dead Sea, about 30 by 60 miles. Og ruled over 60 cities, many big enough to be walled (Joshua 13:30). His kingdom stretched north to Mount Hermon. He was also a huge, physically threatening man, descended from “giant” stock. Moses later wrote that Og’s bedstead measured 9 cubics long by 5 wide—in our measuring system 13’6” by 6’ wide. It was displayed for a time at Rabboth as a memorial (Deu. 3:11), something of a Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” in Bible times.

 

The story of conquering both kings is told in Numbers 21, but its retelling in Deuteronomy 2-3 reveals God’s heart.  He told Moses, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you.  Now begin to conquer and possess his land” (Deut. 2:31). God didn’t push Moses and his warriors forward without assuring them that He was their champion. He is still our champion and advocate in life’s challenges.

HELPER, RESCUER, PROVIDER (vv. 23-25)

What wonderful attributes of God are packed into these closing verses. Being snared in a “low estate” (v. 23) is everyone’s story, for without Christ we are lost and needy. But we are rescued from the snares of sin through Christ’s offer of salvation. And God provides what we need. Enough has been said of how the holiday shopping frenzy tries to persuade us we need this gadget or that, or nicer clothes or…or….  In contrast, Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

GOD OF ALL AND MORE (vv. 1-3, 26)

Our English translations are prone to make us skip over the praiseworthy names of “God” that have definite and revered meanings in the original Hebrew. Four are worth noting:
v. 1: “LORD,” for “YHWH” (what we call “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”), which is the name of God so holy that no pious Jew would write or articulate it. 
v. 2: “God of gods” or “Elohim over false gods.” “Elohim” denoted the strong and true God, as opposed to heathen gods.
v. 3: “Lord of lords” or “Adonai over false gods.” “Adonai” meant “lord” or “master” and conveyed submission to God’s authority.
v. 26: “God of heaven” or “Elohim over all.” This is the God of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” His name “Elohim” occurs more than 2,500 times in the Old Testament. He is all the powers of eternity and infinity. The praise of Psalm 136 must go back to God’s first revelation of Himself.  The One who crafted and populated earth is the only true One, and the only One capable of hearing, “His love endures forever.”  And that bears repeating, over and over and …..