“Forever”
July 23, 2006
Today we are going to look at the eternal nature and character of God. It is so easy for us to view God and his work in the life of individuals as long ago events that hold no significance for us today. It is difficult at times to understand that not only is God the same God, but his character, his nature, his power and his heart have never changed.
It is also interesting to note that the basic heart and character of humanity is not much different today as it was when the scripture was originally written. It is easy for man to be distracted by the lure of other gods and the desires of this world.
Psalm 136 is a psalm that was used in the ancient Jewish worship as they ascended the hill to the temple area. It was associated very closely with the Feast of the Passover celebrating the Jewish release from slavery in Egypt. At its core, the psalm breaks down into five separate sections that each have a specific theme and aspect of worship.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
To him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
Who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
Who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.
Who made the great lights—His love endures forever.
The sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
The moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.
To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.
And brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.
With a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.
To him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.
And brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.
But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.
To him who led his people through the desert, His love endures forever.
Who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
And killed mighty kings--His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.
And Og king of Bashan--His love endures forever.
And gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
An inheritance to his servant Israel; His love endures forever.
To the One who remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.
And freed us from our enemies, His love endures forever.
And who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1-26 (NIV)
Today we want to look at the first two individual parts of this Psalm and see how it relates to our lives.
This psalm starts with a very familiar theme as many other psalms: giving thanks to God. The difference is that this psalm has after each initial stanza the same refrain: His love endures forever.
The Hebrew word for “love” is hesed.
The meaning is loving kindness or grace.
It is used over 240 times in the Old Testament and is almost always linked with the concept of mercy.
Three key aspects of the original word:
1) strength
2) steadfastness
3) love
A continuous theme in the nature of God is love. The entire history of God’s covenantal relationship with Israel is summarized by hesed. It is one permanent element in the covenant history of Israel.
The original Hebrew word hesed is used in connection with other words to give it deeper meaning and texture.
The word most commonly used in scripture to define God’s love means fidelity or reliability.
Gods love for us is never going to waver or fail.
God is always devoted to us.
I. The One True God
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1-3
The emphasis here is that God is one God and there is no other God like him.
The Jewish nation was a peculiar people who were surrounded by peculiar people. One of the things that set the nation apart was that they only had one God. Almost all of the nations around Israel had many gods. There was god for everything. But the first law God gave to the people of Israel was to recognize that he alone was God.
"You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 (NIV)
We must always remember that who or what we allow to be God in our lives makes all the difference. It identifies us and shapes us and forms our perceptions of life and events.
Early Christians faced this in very real ways. During the time of the Roman Empire, if you did not recognize the Roman Emperor as god, you were killed. That is where the rubber meets the road.
Why is this important for us today?
We live in a “pluralistic” society.
It is not a popular idea to promote that only one God is the true God. What about Muhammad and Buddha and whatever else you can think of?
Well, to say that all gods are the same or all gods are equal makes no sense. Either Muhammad is god or Yahweh is God. All gods can’t be the same or equal.
“There’s always a temptation to oversimplify and say something like, ‘Well, all religions are basically the same.’ Basically, maybe. But once you tune I to the specifics, they are miles apart. Even within single disciples there isn’t agreement. Read the history of Islam. Compare the messages you hear in a Catholic church to what the Baptist are saying. Compare the teachings of Jewish rabbis in the Middle Ages to what they are saying now. When it comes to specifics, religion is all over the map. As open-minded as I try to be, everybody can’t be right.”
Andy Stanley
“How Good is Good Enough?”
What is your god? Do you have the same sense of reverence for God and the same desire to know him that is pictured in this psalm?
II. The Creator God
“To him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
Who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
Who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.
Who made the great lights—His love endures forever.
The sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
The moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:4-9
God is not only the true God, but he is the creator God. He created all things and all things hold together by him. He and he alone is powerful enough to bring all of creation into being and to sustain it. Creation itself tells of the nature of God.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 (NIV)
Why is this important to us?
We live in a world that wants to believe that life and all of creation comes from chance. Our culture and our society wants to remove God from any kind of place of power and importance in the lives of humanity because by doing so you have to answer to no one but yourself.
Our God is a God of creation not a God of chance.
“God doesn’t play dice.” Albert Einstein
“Say this to those who worship other gods: "Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth." But God made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. He has stretched out the heaven by his understanding.” Jeremiah 10:11-12 (NLT)
We live in a world that is rapidly trying to eliminate God from all aspects of society. For Christians, we must make some very strong decisions that help us to focus our lives on the love and faithfulness of our God.
We must recognize God in his proper position.
“But God is the real thing—the living God, the eternal King. When he’s angry, Earth shakes. Yes, and the godless nations quake.” Jeremiah 10:10 (The Message)
“This is what the Lord says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Isaiah 66:1 (NLT)
We must recognize that God is the creator of life and the force behind all creation.
“Earth-creatures, bow before God; world-dwellers—down on your knees! Here’s why: he spoke and there it was, in place the moment he said so.” Psalm 33:8-9 (The Message)
Recognizing these aspects of God allows us to put into proper perspective our lives and the events around us. We can understand that God is the true God and he has a plan and a purpose in his heart for our lives. We can also understand that nothing is too big for God. If he created everything and controls everything, we can trust in his power to overcome in our lives.
His love is merciful. It endures forever and allows us to recognize his devotion to us. This helps us to understand our security in God and the fact that his attitude toward us is always love.
God’s love toward us is always kind. It is always merciful. It is always strong. God’s love for us gives us hope and a future filled with security and deliverance.
