Give Thanks!

Give Thanks! Psalms 132-137

Psalm 132:title–18 “ A Song of Ascents (Pilgrimage). 1 Lord, remember David And all his afflictions; 2 How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, 5 Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah (bethlehem); We found it in the fields of the woods. 7 Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. 8 Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. 9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy. 10 For Your servant David’s sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. 11 The Lord has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body. king kid fulfilled in the messiah 12 If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.” 13 For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: 14 “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17 There I will make the horn (government) of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.””

The Lord has chosen Zion. And even into the new heaven and new earth, there will be a Zion in the New Jerusalem that we worship at.

Don’t you love how God cares for the poor and weak like us. The moment you think you have something,

Psalm 133:title–3 “ A Song of Ascents. Of David. 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.”

Its not just like a patriotic or even religious thing. Its about having unity and reality of fellowship. Not a command, just a note: that unity is a beautiful thing Deuteronomy 4:48 “ from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount Sion (that is, Hermon),” here it refers again, to going up to worship Yahweh.

Hosea 14:5 says that dew brings life.

Psalm 134:title–3 “ A Song of Ascents. 1 Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. 3 The Lord who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!”

A song of the Lord to us! Like another we sing. Numbers 6:24–26 “ “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’”

Psalm 135:1–21 “ Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! 2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God, 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant. 4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure.

Everyone claims this for themselves. Muslims, the Black Hebrew Israelites. But truly, biblically and historically, it is the House of Israel.

5 For I know that the Lord is great, And our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

(Then we get the why) 7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries. 8 He destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, Both of man and beast. 9 He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He defeated many nations And slew mighty kings— 11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan— 12 And gave their land as a heritage, A heritage to Israel His people. 13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations. 14 For the Lord will judge His people, And He will have compassion on His servants.

When you wonder how all this can happen? Whatever the Lord pleases He does. Create a universe from scratch, done. Create a complex intelligent free-willed life form from dirt? Check. He does exactly what He chooses to do.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. 19 Bless the Lord, O house of Israel! Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron! 20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord! 21 Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!”

The humble man knows the Lord is the Lord of all. And like in Psalm 115:4–8 only the Lords glory reigns. Idols arent real. The false gods of other nations are demons. (1 Corinthians 10:20)

Responsive Reading

Psalm 136:1–26 “ Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy (faithful love) endures forever. 2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. 3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: 4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever; 5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever; 6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, For His mercy endures forever; 7 To Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever— 8 The sun to rule by day, For His mercy endures forever; 9 The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever. 10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, For His mercy endures forever; 11 And brought out Israel from among them, For His mercy endures forever; 12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, For His mercy endures forever; 13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, For His mercy endures forever; 14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His mercy endures forever; 15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His mercy endures forever; 16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever; 17 To Him who struck down great kings, For His mercy endures forever; 18 And slew famous kings, For His mercy endures forever— 19 Sihon king of the Amorites, For His mercy endures forever; 20 And Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever— 21 And gave their land as a heritage, For His mercy endures forever; 22 A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever. 23 Who remembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever; 24 And rescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever; 25 Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. 26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.”

Play video Forever.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “ For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

Psalm 137:1–9 “ By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land? (like we praise and worship here on earth?) 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!

6 If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!” 8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! 9 Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!”

There is a lot of history behind all this - But check this in Ezk 25:12–14. Ezekiel said Edom’s sin was that she took revenge on the house of Judah. Edom saw in Judah’s conflict with Babylon an opportunity to oppose her rival. If her foe were destroyed then Edom could achieve a place of power at the southern end of the Dead Sea.

Because Edom had aided in Judah’s destruction, God said He would aid in her destruction. He would kill Edom’s men and their animals … from Teman to Dedan. Choices & consequences. When you fight against the servants of God, you fight against God.

This is what Babylon had done to Israel and now, with the Hand of God removed, the same would be done to Babylon and Edom. Their destruction assured and to an enemy as wicked as they were.

His wrath is perfect and complete. We never get away with anything. This life, and the next.

Thats not all we have to preach. Acts 10:39–43 “ And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. 40 Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.””