Faithful God: Psalm 136, 7 July 2024
Faithful God: Psalm 136
Restoring Your Soul: Psalms
Series Big Idea: The Psalms are filled with passionate expressions of the soul.
Big Idea: God’s faithful love endures forever!
We’re continuing concluding our series on the Psalms with a look at Psalm 136. We’re going to take it in sections, and I’d like you to stand and recite the refrain in each section. It is “His faithful love endures forever.”
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-3, NLT)
We’re several months away from Thanksgiving, but this is a psalm of Thanksgiving, a song likely led by a Levitical song leader with responses from the choir. The refrain obviously speaks God’s faithful love and how it endures forever. That means even though this text was written about 2300 years ago, it is perfectly relevant since the message is literally timeless…forever. It has not only been sung and read today, but it was also a part of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple recorded in the book of 2 Chronicles.
When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying,
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3, NLT)
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the LORD. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. 6 The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the LORD. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood. (2 Chronicles 7:4-6, NLT)
Our God is good. He is the God of gods. He is the Lord of hosts. There’s no one like our God!
The theme is echoed again in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles.
After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the LORD;
his faithful love endures forever!” (2 Chronicles 20:21, NLT)
Back to Psalm 136:
Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:4-9, NLT)
And you thought modern worship songs were repetitive! Our awesome God does mighty miracles. He made the heavens, the earth, the waters, the sun, the moon, and the stars. The recent eclipse caused moments of awe and wonder. That was just a glimpse of God showing off!
Now the psalmist recounts some of Israel’s history.
Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:10-16, NLT)
We don’t like to talk about violence, but God always has good reasons for punishing those whose hearts are hard toward Him. He has a plan for all of our lives which we can choose to follow or fight. The only reason Heather and I are moving south is because we are choosing to follow (though I did a bit of fighting in the process, I must confess). The point is God was and is faithful to those who follow Him. Now we read some more history.
Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:17-22, NLT)
God is a deliverer. He did it for the enslaved in Egypt. He did it on the cross to liberate us from sin and death. He continues to bring freedom from addiction, sickness, and bondage today.
He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:23-26, NLT)
What more can I say? This is our God. He invites us into a relationship with Himself and sends us on mission to restore His masterpieces…about 8 billion of them across the street and around the world. Family, I think it’s vital to briefly review why we’re here.
- Review Mission Statement
- Review Core Values
Closing Thoughts It might be cliche but appropriate to challenge you to go restore God’s masterpieces. That’s our mission as a church. How are you doing? How are we doing? I want to close by saying thank you. I love you, First Alliance family. You have blessed Heather and me in ways you cannot begin to understand.
I will cherish these years together and delight in knowing this is not goodbye, but simply “see you later.” We’re just 45 minutes down I-75!
I will continue to pray for you, your search for a new pastor, and my big four: Direction Protection Unity Passion LORD, may Your kingdom come and Your will be done at First Alliance as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
The Blessing
Thank you, First Alliance! Shalom!
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
Restoring Your Soul: Psalms
Series Big Idea: The Psalms are filled with passionate expressions of the soul.
Big Idea: God’s faithful love endures forever!
We’re continuing concluding our series on the Psalms with a look at Psalm 136. We’re going to take it in sections, and I’d like you to stand and recite the refrain in each section. It is “His faithful love endures forever.”
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-3, NLT)
We’re several months away from Thanksgiving, but this is a psalm of Thanksgiving, a song likely led by a Levitical song leader with responses from the choir. The refrain obviously speaks God’s faithful love and how it endures forever. That means even though this text was written about 2300 years ago, it is perfectly relevant since the message is literally timeless…forever. It has not only been sung and read today, but it was also a part of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple recorded in the book of 2 Chronicles.
When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying,
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3, NLT)
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the LORD. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. 6 The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the LORD. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood. (2 Chronicles 7:4-6, NLT)
Our God is good. He is the God of gods. He is the Lord of hosts. There’s no one like our God!
The theme is echoed again in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles.
After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the LORD;
his faithful love endures forever!” (2 Chronicles 20:21, NLT)
Back to Psalm 136:
Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:4-9, NLT)
And you thought modern worship songs were repetitive! Our awesome God does mighty miracles. He made the heavens, the earth, the waters, the sun, the moon, and the stars. The recent eclipse caused moments of awe and wonder. That was just a glimpse of God showing off!
Now the psalmist recounts some of Israel’s history.
Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:10-16, NLT)
We don’t like to talk about violence, but God always has good reasons for punishing those whose hearts are hard toward Him. He has a plan for all of our lives which we can choose to follow or fight. The only reason Heather and I are moving south is because we are choosing to follow (though I did a bit of fighting in the process, I must confess). The point is God was and is faithful to those who follow Him. Now we read some more history.
Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:17-22, NLT)
God is a deliverer. He did it for the enslaved in Egypt. He did it on the cross to liberate us from sin and death. He continues to bring freedom from addiction, sickness, and bondage today.
He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:23-26, NLT)
What more can I say? This is our God. He invites us into a relationship with Himself and sends us on mission to restore His masterpieces…about 8 billion of them across the street and around the world. Family, I think it’s vital to briefly review why we’re here.
- Review Mission Statement
- Review Core Values
Closing Thoughts It might be cliche but appropriate to challenge you to go restore God’s masterpieces. That’s our mission as a church. How are you doing? How are we doing? I want to close by saying thank you. I love you, First Alliance family. You have blessed Heather and me in ways you cannot begin to understand.
I will cherish these years together and delight in knowing this is not goodbye, but simply “see you later.” We’re just 45 minutes down I-75!
I will continue to pray for you, your search for a new pastor, and my big four: Direction Protection Unity Passion LORD, may Your kingdom come and Your will be done at First Alliance as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
The Blessing
Thank you, First Alliance! Shalom!
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.