Psalms 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. We only read one verse for our introduction but if you will just skim through the rest of the psalm, you will notice an oft repeated phrase: “His mercy endureth forever”. And if you would pause to think of the implications of that statement, you will quickly realize why we ought to be thankful for it. If the mercy of God did not endure forever, we would all be in big trouble! Psalm 136 is known as the “Great Hallel” which is the Hebrew word for “praise”. You may recognize it. It is the first part of “Hallelujah” which literally means “praise God”. And this is an interesting point because the word “hallel” isn’t even found in the psalm. So why is it called “The Great Hallel” when “hallel” isn’t even in the psalm? According to tradition, the Jews sang this psalm during Passover and Pentecost. Another reason it is called the Great Hallel is to distinguish it from the other hallel psalms (Psalms 113-118) It was kind of a responsive singing thing. The priests would sing the first half, and then the people would respond with “”for his mercy endureth forever”. The refrain is quite powerful, as we shall see, and was also quite popular as well. For example: 1 Chronicles 16:41 And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever; 2 Chronicles 5:13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 2 Chronicles 7:3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Chronicles 7:6 And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. So the phrase, “His mercy endureth for ever” is one of the most often repeated, and one of the most-used worship phrases in the Bible. In the modern and often depressing world in which we live, it is encouraging to remember that God’s mercy never runs dry. And if we know the truth of that statement, then we ought to be able to praise the LORD for this wonderful promise of His mercy. God’s mercy gives us reason to shout. And the psalmist lists lots of reasons why: - The Mercy of God in His Character (Psalm 136:1-3)
- The Mercy of God in Creation (Psalm 136:4-9)
- The Mercy of God in Conquest (Psalm 136:10-20)
- The Mercy of God in Compassion (Psalm 136:21-26)
There is always room for praise. Why? Because His mercy endures forever!
The Mercy of God in His Character (Psalm 136:1-3)
Psalms 136:1-3 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. 3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. You may have noticed that Psalm 136:1 is extremely similar to Psalm 100:4-5: Psalms 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalms 100:4-5 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. God is good. You have heard it said, I’m sure: “God is good; all the time; all the time; God is good.” It’s not just a neat little saying. It is the truth. Good is good and He cannot be otherwise. No other being with a self-will can ever make this claim (except for Jesus and the Holy Spirit). Not only is it true that God is good, but He is the only one who is always good. Jesus responded to a man one day with this statement: Mark 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. But what does it mean to be good? It means to be morally excellent, virtuous, righteous. Man is not good. Man is a sinner: Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. And yet, with all this, God is always looking out for our good, whether we are aware of it or not. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. But don’t miss the connection between this and God’s mercy. One reason why He is good because of His mercy. I like the way the psalmist addresses God in these verses. He is “the LORD”, “God of gods”, and Lord of Lords”. He is Jehovah - LORD - The Self-Existent, Eternal One. He is Elohim - God- The Mighty One He is Adonai - Lord - Master, ruler If he were not self-existent, He would need our help, but He is self-existant, so He doesn’t! If He were not the Almighty one, He would not be able to handle everything, but He is the Almighty God, so he can! If He were not the master and ruler of the universe, he would not be in control of all things. But he is! And so He is! And why would we not want to give thanks when we serve a God as good as He?
The Mercy of God in Creation (Psalm 136:4-9)
Psalms 136:4-9 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. 5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. 6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. 7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: 8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: 9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever. You might wonder what the relationship is between God’s mercy and God’s creative acts. But these verses clearly show that there is a relationship between the two whether we can see it or not. But I don’t think it would take much if you just consider how wonderful God’s creation really is. Not only does creation provide every material need that we have, but it also blesses us with its sights, sounds, and smells. God’s creation speaks a special language that all the world, every living person, can understand: Psalms 19:1-3 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. If you think about it, God does the supernatural just as easily as we breathe. As the self-existent, almighty, Creator, He is in control of everything. Not one flower grows that God isn’t the one who arrays it in glory. Not one bird flies that God didn’t give it the wings to do so, and the provision of meat to continue on its journeys. Indeed, He created all things and by Him all things consist! And all this work of creation is absolutely amazing. There is an order to the universe beyond coincidental explanation. Everything in creation holds everything else in its proper place, orbit, or whatever, by gravity. And the fact is, we know what gravity does, it is a force that draws one body toward another, but we don't really know what gravity is! Gravity is one of four fundamental forces. The others being electromagnetism and, the strong and weak nuclear forces. But there are just some things about gravity that we just don’t understand. Like, why does it always pull but never push? The other forces do both. Why is gravity so weak? The other forces have comparable strengths. But not gravity. On the other hand, why does gravity have an infinite range while the other forces have a limited range? Why can’t we control gravity? We can control the others, but not gravity. All we can do is either submit to its forces or overcome it by use of other means. But we can’t control it. And have you ever heard about the protein called laminin? It is basically a protein glue that holds our bodies together. What is interesting about this protein is that it is in the shape of a cross. Now, these neat scientific facts don’t prove that the Bible is true. The Bible is true whether we can prove it or not. But they do show us that there is so much more about God’s creation that we just don’t understand. Now how about this: Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. The whole universe runs in perfect order that only God can comprehend! Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? There is no “chance” and “meaningless” Big Bang. It is a purposeful and deliberate creation. And the things that we observe in creation indicate this but how can we prove it? We can’t. It must be accepted by faith: Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. I believe we cannot really understand the purpose of the universe unless we believe in God. Without a knowledge of the creator, the creation will continually be a mystery. Otherwise we are left with a feeling of fatalism. But God, who is rich in mercy, has shown us otherwise!
The Mercy of God in Conquest (Psalm 136:10-20)
Psalms 136:10-20 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever: 11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: 12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. 13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: 14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: 15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever. 16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever. 17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: 18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: 19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever: 20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever: The psalmist takes us through the conquests of God in Egypt, in the wilderness, and on into the promised land. And in every challenge, God was bringing deliverance and victory to His people. But God’s combat was not just for His benefit, but also for ours! Psalms 34:7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. God was in full control the whole time. He delivered His people from Egypt and so completely crushed their power that they have never been what they were in that day. While the children of Israel stood at the edge of the Red Sea in fear, God was saying “Be still, and know that I am God”. Even today, when the Jews think of their exodus from Egypt, they think of God’s redemption. You and I have our redemption event as well. But for us, it is not a literally Egypt or a literal Red Sea. Rather, it is what Egypt has come to symbolize for us in the Bible. We were delivered from this present evil world: Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: But let’s back up for a moment and ask ourselves an important question. “Why? Why did God do all of that for them?” And why does God saves us? He doesn’t need us. He is the self-existent, all powerful master of the universe. What does he need us for? And that’s the amazing part of this whole scenario. The psalmist ties it all together with His great mercy. And consider what the Jews experienced while they were traveling to the land of promise. It is amazing what the nation of Israel experienced in the Wilderness - manna, quail, water from a rock, a burning mountain - miraculous! There were the times of chastening - punishment for making golden idols, bitter water, snakes in the camp - again, not pleasant, but miraculous! And God didn’t spare them the hardships either. Instead, He used those hardship to teach the Jews to trust Him. He could have led them around the wilderness. But they needed to go through it. Why? Because the road to spiritual maturity is not an easy road. There will be challenges, failures, sorrows, and delays. But through it all, we learn to trust in Jesus, don’t we? We learn to lean upon His great mercy! But the wilderness was not all about struggles either. There were times of sweet victory, such as their victory over Sihon king of the Amorites, Og the king of Bashan. The story of their defeat can be found in Numbers chapter 21. All Israel wanted to do was pass through. But Sihon decided that he would attack them instead. In the end, Sihon was soundly defeated and the jews ended up taking the cities of the Amorites. Then, when Bashan showed up, the Jews beat him too. Numbers 21:35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land. It just doesn’t pay to put your hands on God’s people! So the psalmist is saying, “Remember the victories that God gave you. Give him thanks. God didn’t have to give you those victories. But in mercy, he did. Give Him thanks! There are times when our victories come easy. Other times, not so much. But every victory comes at the hand of God and for that, we should be thankful.
The Mercy of God in Compassion (Psalm 136:21-26)
Psalms 136:21-26 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever: 22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever. 23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: 24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. 25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. 26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever. Take special note of the verbs used in this portion: God gave, in verse 21 and verse 25, God remembered in verse 23, and God redeemed in verse 24. And I want to point this out because, again, God didn’t have to do any of that. If all He would have done was bring them to the promised land, that would have been more than they deserved. But the compassion of God not only brought them through the wilderness, it also provided so much more for them. The Lord never forsakes His own. When we fall, he doesn’t cast us aside. When we are weak, He gives us strength, when we are forget him, He never forgets us! 2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. We could look at these verses and find three great truths about God: He remembers us (v. 23) in our low estate. He redeems us (v. 24) from our enemies. He revives us (v. 25) when we are spiritually hungry! And personally, I absolutely love verse 23! Psalms 136:23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: Why does this thrill me so much? Because many Bible scholars believe this was written by David. And if not, it was certainly written by someone who never experienced personally the things that he wrote about! And yet he spoke of “our” low estate. It was still quite personal to him. And God’s mercy is personal to me too. I can rejoice in all that God has done in the past for others because that means He will do the same things for me!` Listen, God knows what we need for our journey. And he is the provider. He will not forget us. He will not leave us to struggle on our own. The psalmist leaves us with one final thought. Thank Him. He didn’t have to do any of this wonderful stuff. But He is merciful. So thank Him! | 
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