The Explanation

Psalm 136 sounds like a song people sang together, maybe by taking turns. One voice would sing something God had done, and then everyone else would answer with the same line: "for his loving kindness endures forever." That line comes back twenty six times. Count them if you do not believe it.

The psalm starts wide, with God above every other so called god or king, the one who alone does great wonders. Then it goes back to the very beginning of everything: God made the heavens with understanding, he spread the earth out above the waters, he hung the sun in the sky for the day and the moon and stars for the night. After that the psalm moves to a story every Israelite knew by heart, how God struck down Egypt, brought his people out with a strong hand, split the Red Sea in two, walked them through on dry ground and let the sea crash down on Pharaoh's army behind them. Then it tells of the long walk through the wilderness, and the kings who tried to stop Israel from reaching their new land, Sihon and Og, both defeated. The land became Israel's inheritance, a gift they did not earn. And right in the middle of all this, in verse 23, the psalm suddenly gets personal: God remembered us when we were low. Not just them, back then. Us.

The last verses come back down to earth again, to something as ordinary as food. God gives food to every creature. From galaxies to your breakfast, the same hand is at work.

What Does This Mean?

This psalm wants you to notice a pattern. Whether God is creating the sun or drowning an army or handing someone a piece of bread, the reason is always the same word: loving kindness. That is not a soft, sentimental word. In Hebrew it is hesed, and it means the loyal love of someone who has made a promise and keeps it, no matter what. It is the love of someone who stays.

Here is something worth sitting with. The Egyptian firstborn died. Pharaoh's whole army drowned. Sihon and Og were killed in battle. The psalm calls all of this part of God's loving kindness. That is hard to read. This song does not pretend war and death are pleasant things. It also does not explain away the pain of the losing side. What it does say is that God's loyalty to his people, the ones he had promised to rescue, ran so deep that he acted, even when acting was violent and costly. The text does not answer every question this raises. It is honest enough to leave some things for you to keep thinking about.

The Common Thread

This whole psalm is really one long answer to a promise. God had told Abraham, generations earlier, that he would bless his family and give them a land. Every single line here, from the stars to the exodus to the daily bread, is God keeping that promise, refusing to let go of it even when his people grumbled or forgot him in the wilderness.

Jesus stands in that same line of loyal love. He did not come to strike down enemies with an outstretched arm. He let himself be struck down, on a cross, and it turned out that this too was loving kindness that endures forever, this time reaching not just one nation but anyone who trusts him. The refrain of this psalm could be sung over every page of the Bible, and it reaches all the way to Jesus.

For You

Try this sometime this week. Before bed, name three things from your day, big or small, an exam that went okay, a friend who sat with you, food on the table, and after each one say quietly, "his loving kindness endures forever." You will notice that most days are not full of dramatic rescues like the Red Sea. They are full of small, steady kindnesses instead. That is still the same God at work, still keeping his word.

Talk About It

The psalm calls both the exodus and Pharaoh's death "loving kindness." What do you think about that? Is it possible for something to be loving toward one group and terrible for another?

Verse 23 says God remembered "us" in our low estate. Can you think of a time you felt low, and God, or someone he sent, remembered you?

Praying Together

Lord God, you made the stars and you also feed the sparrows and us at the table tonight. Thank you that your loving kindness has not run out, not once, in all of history. Help us trust you even with the parts of your story we do not understand yet. Amen.