Psalm 136 combines praise and thanksgiving.
O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord 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…
The refrain of praise repeats again and again: God’s steadfast love endures forever. Praise punctuates Thanksgiving.
There is a difference. Sometimes we praise the Lord for Who God Is. Sometimes we thank the Lord for what God does.
A core quality, a central characteristic of the Divine is Love. The Hebrew “steadfast love” can also read: “mercy or compassion.”
In the defining story of Israel’s birth as a people brought into being through the labor of Eternal Covenant God, there is an odd little tale of Moses meeting the One Who Cannot Be Seen and Is Beyond All Knowing. (Ex 34) Like his encounter at the bush that burned but was not consumed, Moses heard God’s Self-Description. “I Am” was the Name from the burning bush. “Compassion” was the Name from the cloud and fire on the mountaintop.
And God passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…”
This is Who God Is.
(Please do not buy into the mistaken notion that the God of the Old Testament was judgment while the God of the New Testament is grace. No! No! A thousand times No!)
Always and forever, God’s steadfast love endures. The psalmist praises God for Who God Is.
And – in tandem – he thanks God for the many great wonders God has done: The Lord made the heavens, stretched out the earth on the waters and created the great lights, one to rule the day and one to rule the night.
The Creator of heaven, earth and all the cosmos. The Lord of all the nations. The poet of history.
Then Israel’s poet thanks God for wonderful works on behalf of Israel.
God brought Israel out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm…
God divided the Red Sea while Israel passed through on dry land. While Pharaoh and his armies, God overthrew in that same sea.
God led Israel through the wilderness, protecting them, feeding them, guiding them. For Israel, God is a God who remembers, rescues and sustains.
God remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
God rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
God gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Forever and always, God is Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer. This is Who God Is. This is what God does.
