Psalm 136 reads like a cheer, at least the first few verses:
O give thanks to the Lord for He is good - for His steadfast love endures
forever!
O give thanks to the God of gods - for His
steadfast love endures forever!
O give thanks to the Lord of lords - for His
steadfast love endures forever!
who alone does great wonders - for His steadfast love endures
forever!
And so it goes for 26 verses. The middle part, verses 10-22,
raise problems for the contemporary conscience with those verses' celebration
of God's killing of Israel's enemies on Israel's behalf. Making careful note
of that, the Psalm still reads like a cheer that the faithful take part in,
cheering for God's "great wonders" through the refrain appended to
the end of each phrase.
But the voice it gives to the celebration of God's steadfast love
is not the only cheer going on here. The refrain can only be chanted with
cheer-like zeal because of the steadfast love of God that occasions it. So through that steadfast love, I hear God cheering for us! If you
ever need a cheerleader to bolster your spirit and strengthen your resolve in the midst of challenge, go back to Psalm 136 and hear God cheering for you through "His steadfast love [that] endures forever!"
And, interestingly, if the problematic verses are read as a sweep of the most
important story Israel told about its relationship with God - the Exodus from
Egypt, continuing in all likelihood through the Exile and after - rather than
as cruel nationalism rejoicing over the bloodshed wrought upon Israel's
enemies, it can be seen that this Psalm celebrates the goodness of God seen
from the vast expanse of the cosmos down to the "daily bread" you and
I rely on for our sustenance.
As we bring this summer sermon series, pSummer in the pSalms, to a
close, we end on this note: the Psalmist's experience of the steadfast love of
God is no less a reality in the world today than it was centuries ago when it was first extolled in the worship of the ancient Hebrew people.
"O give thanks to the Lord for He is good - for His steadfast love endures forever!"
Pastor Steve
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