Bird's-eye view
Psalm 136 is one of the great liturgical psalms of Israel, a responsive reading designed for the whole congregation to declare the steadfast faithfulness of God. Its structure is as simple as it is profound: a declaration of God's work followed by the unrelenting, thunderous refrain, "For His lovingkindness endures forever." This is not a psalm for quiet, individualistic navel-gazing. This is a corporate anthem, a national declaration of theological bedrock. The first three verses, which we are considering here, function as the grand call to worship. They establish the object of our praise in the highest possible terms. Before we get to the works of creation or the wonders of the Exodus, the psalmist grounds our worship in the very nature and character of God Himself. We are to give thanks to Yahweh for two reasons: His essential goodness and His eternal covenant loyalty. He is then identified as the supreme God over all rival spiritual claims and the supreme Lord over all rival political claims. These three verses are the foundation upon which the entire edifice of praise is built.
This is a psalm that beats a drum. The constant repetition is the point. Every line drives home the central reality of our existence: God's covenant loyalty, His hesed, is the fixed point in a spinning world. It is the reason for everything, the explanation for everything, and the hope in everything. These opening verses tune the instruments and set the key for the glorious symphony of praise that is to follow.
Outline
- 1. The Triune Call to Thanksgiving (Ps 136:1-3)
- a. The Fundamental Ground of Thanks: God's Goodness and Enduring Hesed (v. 1)
- b. The Exclusive Ground of Thanks: The God Above All gods (v. 2)
- c. The Sovereign Ground of Thanks: The Lord Above All lords (v. 3)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 136 is part of what is often called the Great Hallel, a collection of psalms (the boundaries of which are debated, but generally include Psalms 120-136 or 113-118) associated with the Passover feast. This psalm, with its responsive structure, was perfectly suited for a large crowd of worshipers, perhaps with the Levites leading the first line and the people responding with the refrain. It is a creedal hymn, a recital of Israel's salvation history, beginning with creation itself and moving through the Exodus and the conquest of the land. It functions as a national memory, reminding each generation that their existence is owed entirely to the covenant faithfulness of God. The opening verses serve as the majestic preamble, identifying the God who will be praised. He is not some local deity or tribal god. He is the good God, the God of gods, and the Lord of lords. This sets the cosmic stage for the historical drama that the rest of the psalm recounts.
Key Issues
- The Meaning of Hesed (Lovingkindness)
- The Nature of Divine Goodness
- The Exclusivity and Supremacy of Yahweh
- The Liturgical Function of Repetition
- The Relationship Between Worship and History
The Unrelenting Refrain
Before we dive into the verses, we must reckon with the central feature of this psalm, which is the constant, glorious, and for some moderns, tedious refrain. The phrase, "For His lovingkindness endures forever," appears in every single one of the psalm's twenty-six verses. The Hebrew word is hesed, and it is one of the most important words in the Old Testament. "Lovingkindness" is a good attempt at a translation, but it falls short. Hesed is covenant loyalty. It is steadfast, rugged, determined, and unbreakable faithfulness. It is the love of a king for his people, a warrior for his comrades. It is a love that binds itself by oath and will not let go, no matter what.
The structure of the psalm is designed to hammer this truth into our thick skulls. Why did God create the heavens? For His hesed is forever. Why did He strike down the firstborn of Egypt? For His hesed is forever. Why does He give food to all flesh? For His hesed is forever. Every act of God, whether in creation, judgment, or providence, flows from this central attribute of His covenant-keeping nature. The repetition is not for God's benefit, but for ours. It is a catechetical device, a spiritual hammer, shaping our view of God and the world until we see that everything, absolutely everything, is grounded in the eternal, unshakable loyalty of God to His people.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, For His lovingkindness endures forever.
The psalm opens with a command: "Give thanks." This is not a suggestion for the emotionally inclined. It is a royal summons, a fundamental duty of every creature. The apostle Paul tells us that the root of paganism is the refusal to honor God as God or to give Him thanks (Rom 1:21). Therefore, the beginning of true worship is gratitude. The psalmist immediately provides two foundational reasons for this gratitude. First, "for He is good." This is not to say that God is nice or pleasant according to our fallen standards. It means He is the objective standard of all that is good, true, and beautiful. His character is the definition of goodness. Second, we give thanks because "His lovingkindness endures forever." His hesed, His covenant faithfulness, has no expiration date. This is His goodness in action, directed toward His people, in a commitment that cannot be broken by our sin, our weakness, or the passage of millennia. This is the bedrock of our faith.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness endures forever.
Having established the character of God, the psalmist now establishes His rank. The command to give thanks is repeated, but the object is specified in a way that confronts all idolatry. He is the "God of gods." This is a polemical statement. In a world filled with claimants to divinity, whether the Baals of Canaan or the modern idols of state, self, and sensuality, Yahweh is declared to be in a class by Himself. He is not the chief god in a pantheon; He is the only true God, and all other "gods" are nothing but frauds, demons, or delusions. Our worship must be exclusive because He is exclusively God. To give thanks to any other is to commit treason. And the reason for this exclusive worship is the same: His covenant loyalty is forever. The false gods are fickle and faithless, but our God's faithfulness is eternal.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness endures forever.
This verse parallels the previous one, moving from the spiritual realm to the earthly, political realm. He is the "Lord of lords." Every king, emperor, president, prime minister, and petty tyrant who has ever strutted across the stage of history is a "lord" with a small 'l'. They hold their power derivatively and temporarily. Yahweh is the Lord over all of them. He installs them, and He deposes them. Their decrees are provisional; His Word is final. This is a profoundly political declaration. It asserts that all earthly authority is subordinate to the authority of God. Our ultimate allegiance, and therefore our ultimate thanksgiving, is due to Him, not to the state or any human ruler. And why? The refrain thunders again: "For His lovingkindness endures forever." His rule is not like the fleeting reign of earthly lords; His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His loyalty to His subjects is eternal.
Application
The application of these verses is as direct as the commands they contain. First, we are commanded to be thankful. This is not a mood, but a discipline. Gratitude is the atmosphere of the Christian life. An ungrateful Christian is a contradiction in terms. We must consciously and deliberately cultivate a heart that gives thanks for who God is and what He has done, starting with the bedrock truths that He is good and His hesed is forever.
Second, our worship must be radically exclusive. We give thanks to the God of gods. This means we must be vigilant in identifying and tearing down the idols in our own hearts and in our culture. We cannot serve God and Mammon. We cannot give our ultimate loyalty to both Christ and Caesar. Our thanksgiving must be directed to the one true God alone, because He alone is worthy.
Finally, our lives should be marked by a serene and confident courage. We give thanks to the Lord of lords. This means we do not need to fear political turmoil, cultural decay, or the threats of earthly powers. Our King is on the throne. The rulers of this age are but dust in the wind. They rage and plot, but our Lord sits in the heavens and laughs. We are citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, subjects of a Lord whose lovingkindness, whose covenant-keeping, enemy-crushing, blood-bought loyalty, endures forever. This is the truth that sets us free to live, to work, and to worship with joy, no matter the circumstances.