Give Thanks. And Repeat.
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I was just a punk kid. 21-22 years old, smarter than anyone else—you know how it is. Most of you have been there.
There was a debate at the church I was serving. It was a common debate at the time (and in some circles, it’s still a debate). This was smack-dab in the middle of the “worship wars”—the recent era in church history where we fought about the songs we sing, pulling for the songs we wanted to sing, complaining about the songs we didn’t like (the Church can fight about some really stupid stuff sometimes).
In the middle of this particular battle in the worship war of 2005, Dennis Donnelly, the 4-Star General of the Hymns-Only Army, hostilely declared war against contemporary praise choruses. Dennis hated praise songs because they were full of vain repetition. His argument went something like this:
“Instead of just saying ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ a praise song says ‘Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, in the CORN, CORN, CORN, COOOOORRRRRNNNNN,’ and then repeat the whole thing two or three times.”
Remember, at this point I’m fresh out of college, 21-years old. I don’t really have a dog in the fight, but, as one of the elders of the church, I’m trying to show the silliness of the whole argument. So I asked Dennis if his main problem was repetition. Dennis said, “Yes, that’s most of it. It’s annoying and irreverent.”
I grabbed my Bible and opened it to Psalm 136…and I read:
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
“Now, Dennis, this is just one instance of Biblical repetition. I understand your preference for hymns, but our concern has to be focused on what the Bible would have us sing. It seems clear to me that however and whenever, by whatever Biblical means possible, we are made to worship the Lord. I don’t think it matters if we do so with hymns or praise songs or Gregorian chants.”
I maintain that repetition is invaluable. It is one of the great educational tools at our disposal. “Look both ways before you cross the street” is not something you tell your children just once. “Don’t hit your sister” was a constant refrain in my house.
We repeat what is important. I tell my wife I love her several times each and every day. Do you think she gets tired of hearing it? Does it become less meaningful the more I say it? Not at all!
Why does the psalmist say 26 times, every other line, His love endures forever? Because it’s important. Because we are meant to reflect upon it, to meditate upon the truth it conveys, to apply it to our hearts and our lives, to remember it on good days and bad days and in between days—His love endures forever.
Psalm 136 is called “The Great Hallel” or “The Great Psalm of Praise.” It recounts His great love; His hesed, that is “covenant love, mercy, unfailing love, lovingkindness, steadfast love, love that never lets go, unending love.”
Psalm 136 is calling us to thoughtful, grateful worship—worship that spells out what we know or have found out about God’s glory and deeds.
Psalm 136 is all about God’s unchanging love expressed in His existence, His creation, His victory, and His grace.
Psalm 136 is summoning us to give thanks. And then repeat. Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks again.
Throughout history, before history, during creation and alongside His dealing with His people, all the while working on their behalf, stands the enduring love of God.
The psalmist gives thanks for the enduring love of
The Eternal God (vv. 1-3)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
To give thanks to God is to confess, to acknowledge who He is and all He has given to us; to admit and recognize His many benefits. If you stop and consider who He is and what He has given you, you will, by His grace, be overwhelmed at the sheer enormity of all He is and all He’s blessed you with.
We tend to forget that the Lord Yahweh—God of gods and Lord of lords—is eternal. He is, He was, He will always be. He has no beginning, no end. He is from everlasting to everlasting. Before the creation of the world, He was.
Eternally existing in three persons—Father, Spirit, Son. Please remember: there was nothing deficient, nothing lacking in the Triune God. They didn’t get bored with one another one day and think: “Well, I guess we should create some people we can love and who will love us.”
No, no, no. The Trinity has existed for ever and has enjoyed “the intense, pure delight and love flowing between Father, Spirit and Son—an energy of joy makes an atom bomb look like a mere firecracker.”
The Triune Godhead is the one receiving praise at the beginning of this Psalm (it’s not the God of the Bible unless it’s the Trinity).
The Triune God is receiving praise for enduring love. Since God has no beginning or end, neither does His love.
Here, friends, is an important lesson: we did not cause God’s love. We cannot cause God to love us.
God is love. Always has been, always will be.
God is love. And this is gloriously good news, because there is nothing in me that would, or ever could, motivate a Holy God to love me.
As a wicked scumbag, there is within me only earth and dirt, sin and darkness.
But, God is love. And He demonstrated His great, everlasting, eternal love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
“My sin—o, the bliss of this glorious thought—my sin, not in part but the whole was nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o, my soul.”
We give thanks to the eternal God for His enduring love toward us. His love endures forever.
The psalmist gives thanks for the enduring love of
The Creator God (vv. 4-9)
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
The book of Genesis tells the story of God’s creative work in making the universe out of nothing: creation ex nihilo.
Genesis tells the creation story. But so does Proverbs.
19 By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
20 by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.
The point is this: God’s creative work—His making the heavens, His spreading out the waters, His creation of the sun and moon, His putting stars in their place, His filling our planet with everything we need to breathe and to survive, His placing the earth on its axis at 23.5 degrees—all of this is an expression of His wisdom and enduring love.
It’s God alone who does this. Notice verse 4—to Him who alone does great wonders.
I’m not sure how to say this. This is difficult. I’m just going to say it: You, friend, are not the center of the universe. No matter what your parents, spouse, friends, or you yourself believe—it’s not all about you. It’s about Him. He is the center and the cause and the source of all this. Give thanks. And repeat.
Creation beckons to the Christian to delight in God, to take joy in what God has made and the reason for which He made it: to give Him glory, to make Him the focus of our lives.
Historically, the Church has spent a great deal of time and energy on cosmological theory—ideas about how and when the world was created.
Figuring out those details isn’t nearly as important as loving and praising and serving and giving thanks to the God who alone made all this to reflect His character.
Take your eyes, your focus, your thoughts off yourself and give thanks to the Creator God for His enduring love toward us. His love endures forever.
The psalmist give thanks for the enduring love of
The Victorious God (vv. 10-22)
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
The story of God saving His people from slavery and the Exodus from Egypt that followed is one of the most well-known stories in history. Disney’s DreamWorks made a movie about it, for goodness’ sake.
The story is recounted in Psalm 136, in several other psalms, and at various other points in the Bible. It’s a great story. It’s true.
Psalm 136 speaks about God striking down (or smiting; KJV: to Him who smote) the firstborn of Egypt, bringing His people through the Red Sea, the Red Sea swallowing Pharaoh and his army, and God leading His people through.
Why include this in a psalm about God’s never-ending love?
Because it happened. And it happens.
God’s extraordinary display of love for His enslaved people is a reflection of our own deliverance at the hands of the everlasting, ever-loving God.
I’m quite certain no one here has been an indentured servant or held captive as a slave in any formal sense, at least I pray not.
But all of us—you and me—are, apart from Jesus, slaves—slaves to sin. We are held captive by sin. The power of sin has us shackled, chained, imprisoned. You know this, right? Apart from Christ, we are all under the power of sin. (Romans 3:9)
In this way, the Exodus story is our story. It happened then. And it happens now.
We are saved by the blood of Jesus—the spotless Lamb of God; covered by His blood, we are spared the death we deserve.
And with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, our God has brought us from death to life, out of sin and shame into life and grace, crushing Satan and defeating death. He is, to top it all off, gloriously, wondrously leading us in this life and He will keep us securely until the next.
If you don’t think the story of the Lord saving your sinful soul is every bit as extraordinary and miraculous as the Exodus you don’t understand how truly bad off you are apart from Him and you certainly don’t understand the depth or quality of His love for you in spite of you.
His love endures forever. Give thanks for that. And repeat.
The psalmist continues praising the victorious God:
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
Do you see how the Lord fights for His people? The people of God in the Old Testament find themselves in one predicament after another, and this of their own doing.
They are an unruly, disobedient lot of complainers and grumblers. They are, in virtually every battle they face, outnumbered and outgunned. They have no real strength of their own with which to enter into battle.
The predicaments they face they absolutely deserve to be in. But the Lord, in His great love, fights for them. He comes to their aid. He defends them and surrounds them and protects them. He overpowers their enemies. He fortifies His people. He is a mighty fortress for His people. The Lord Almighty is with [them]. What do they have to fear?
Does this sound like any people we know? Helpless and hapless, needy and weak?
In Christ, God has won the victory for us. The battle is won. We—weak and helpless as we are—in Christ, overcome by the blood of the Lamb.
We give thanks to the Victorious God for His enduring love toward us. His love endures forever.
The psalmist gives thanks for the enduring love of
The Gracious God (vv. 23-26)
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
This is where the psalmist turns from the history of the people to the people themselves. This is the personal part of the psalm for everyone singing.
Verse 23 includes what has to be one of the most glorious words in the entire Bible. This word makes clear that who God is, what God has done, that God’s great love is not shown just to those people then; it shows that God’s great love is not expressed just in these few historical instances.
Who God is, what God has done, God’s great love is shown to us.
Drink that in for just a moment. He—the Lord, the eternal creator, the victorious God of gods and Lord of lords—remembers us in our low estate.
Only because He is full of grace does He condescend to remember us. He stoops down to our level. He becomes one of us. He suffers and bleeds and dies for us. He remembered us in our low estate. This, motivated only by grace—His love endures forever.
He freed us from our enemies.
If you’re here today, drawing breath, it’s only because the Lord has remembered you.
If you know Jesus and His salvation, it’s only because the Lord God has freed you from your enemies: from Satan and his demons, from sin and death.
Boy howdy, does His love endure forever, or what?
He gives food to every creature.
He has been gracious to undeserving ingrates like me throughout history.
He, gracious as He is, gives food to every creature. Not only did He create all creatures (see vv. 4-9), but He sustains them all.
We are commanded to give thanks to the God of heaven because His love endures forever.
Give thanks, rinse, repeat. Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks. Repeat the sounding thankfulness.
>This psalm is more than just a good argument for singing “repetitious praise choruses”, though it is that.
Psalm 136 is an important psalm for the people of God—that we would reflect and remember and recall this one, simple, familiar, repeated truth: His love endures forever.
What is the benefit of signing this glorious truth over and over, almost to the point of exhaustion?
No matter how many times we have heard it or rehearsed it or said it or sang it, the love of God is the best news we could receive or share.
It’s totally appropriate to endlessly repeat the endless love of God.
The main reason we need to rehearse the love of God again and again is because we don’t believe it; at least, not naturally.
We aren’t naturally prone to believe that God—the God who has existed eternally; the God who made the entire cosmos, the entire universe, out of nothing; who works victory for His people; who governs and controls all things—delights in His people with gladness and rejoices over them with songs of joy.
It doesn’t naturally make sense that this big, sovereign, infinite God would love the world so much that He would send His only son to die for His peoples’ eternal joy.
So we need to repeat it. We need to remind ourselves, to remind each other, to sing it to one another, over and over, until we just begin to grasp again God’s steadfast, eternal, death-conquering love.
When you’re having a bad day or going through something really tough, when you lose someone you love dearly, when life doesn’t make sense; when life is great, when all is well, when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping—repeat this refrain until it’s one of those songs you can’t get out of your head: His love endures forever.
Give thanks…His love endures forever.
Give thanks…His love endures forever.
Give thanks…His love endures forever.
Give thanks. And repeat.