Psalms 136 is a lovely Psalm in which David describes that God’s love and His mercies are eternal. There are four sections in this Psalms. In the first section David thanks the Lord for Who God is and declares that His mercies are forever.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: (Psalms 136:1-3)
In the second section he thanks the Lord for what the Lord does and declares that His mercy is forever.
To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever-
The sun to rule by day, For His mercy endures forever;
The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever. (Psalms 136:4-9)
In the third section he thanks the Lord for delivering Israel from Egypt, leading them during the wilderness and leading them to the Promised Land and declares that His mercy is forever.
To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, For His mercy endures forever;
And brought out Israel from among them, For His mercy endures forever;
With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, For His mercy endures forever;
And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His mercy endures forever;
But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who struck down great kings, For His mercy endures forever;
And slew famous kings, For His mercy endures forever-
Sihon king of the Amorites, For His mercy endures forever;
And Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever-
And gave their land as a heritage, For His mercy endures forever;
A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever. (Psalms 136:10-22)
Then David suddenly starts thanking the Lord for three things connected with us and declares that His mercy is forever.
Who remembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever;
And rescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever;
Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. (Psalms 136:23-25)
Firstly, for remembering us:
Whenever the Lord remembers us then there is a divine intervention.
The Bible says that the Lord remembered Noah, and made the wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
God remembered Abraham and saved lot.
God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.
God remembered Hannah and in the process of time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel.
Therefore David pleaded with God in Psalms 132 saying, “LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:”
Beloved, today let us also cry out to the Lord pleading Him to remember us. He is merciful; He will certainly remember us and will do something so spectacular in our lives. We should be humble and lowly before Him. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. He will bring us out of all our afflictions as He brought David out of all His troubles many times. David experienced God’s mercies several times in His life. Even when he fell into sin, he humbled himself, repented and sought God for His mercies, and the Lord was merciful to him and forgave him. Therefore when Jesus came to this earth, many cried out to Him saying, Jesus son of David have mercy upon us. It’s like saying, Lord, You had mercy on David please have mercy on us too.
Secondly, David thanks the Lord for rescuing us from our enemies. What a joy to know this. David had experienced on several occasions God’s faithful love delivering him from his enemies. God will do the same thing for us also. We too will testify that the Lord has rescued us from all our enemies. The Lord who helped David and gave him victory over Goliath will also help us and give us victory over every ‘Goliath-like’ situation of ours. It is not by our might or power but by His spirit that we will win.
Thirdly, David thanks the Lord for giving food to all flesh. Yes, the Lord is our provider. He is the God of all flesh; nothing is too hard for Him. He has made us, He will bear us, He has created us, and He will carry us. He who has called us is Faithful. Hither too He has helped us; He will continue to help us. Encourage yourself, the Lord will meet all your needs. Continue to trust Him. You may need good health, wisdom, finance, a right life-partner, family blessing, whatever may be your need; He is your heavenly Father. He gave Jesus for you; will He not give you all things pertaining to life and godliness? Above all ask Him for the nature of Jesus and He will be so pleased to give it to you.
Finally, David concludes this Psalms by thanking our Heavenly Father.
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalms 136:26)
Bro S. R. Manohar
