His steadfast love endures for ever

Introduction

I know it might be hard to believe but I am not the perfect human being you might think I am. Unfortunately I do make mistakes and sadly I don’t always appear to learn from them. From an early age I would often hear this question – “how many times do you need to be told?” Unfortunately not even the wise guidance of a perfect wife appears to have cured me, and this is a question I continue to hear in married life.

I wonder if this is something you feel is applicable in your own life, for whatever reason. If we are all honest I think it is a reflection of the reality that as flawed humans we continue to make mistakes, and need to be reminded and corrected. But I also think it is not just in our behaviours we need to reminded but also in our memory of things, and in our emotional and relationship connections in terms of trust, and love and belief.

I think our text today in Psalm 136 is reflecting something of this. When I was younger I would often struggle with passages like this Psalm where there appears to be a constant refrain repeated and repeated. In this Psalm the phrase – “his steadfast love endures forever” is found 26 times. I would wonder why does there need to be such repetition – surely we get it? Why not just say God’s steadfast love endures forever because, and then provide a list…?

And yet, I think this is a reflection of the steadfast love of God graciously helping us focus specifically and continuously because we do need to be reminded, and also to understand more, and have appreciation for, the details of his steadfast love. It acts as a reminder to help adjust our behaviour, but also to comfort and assure us when we need reminded in times of weakness emotionally with our circumstances and our connection with God.

The repetition is a necessary direction as we will see to the glory and majesty of a loving God who is constantly reliable and present and powerful and perfectly loving towards his children. 

So let us take some time to consider this passage in more detail.

Background 

This Psalm is going to draw our attention to themes we will find continuously throughout all scriptures as God reveals to us, and reminds us, that He is -

God of gods, creator of all things, redeemer and protector of his people, and provider for our every needs.

We will draw out these points as we go, but in terms of background for this Psalm it’s likely intention would be for communal singing. It is thought that the intention would be for the person leading the worship to sing out the actions attributable to God, as the worshipping crowd would sing back the line- his steadfast love endures forever. It is not clear at what point in the history of Israel the Psalmist wrote these verses, but the intention was to be a reminder to God’s chosen people of his love for them.

If we consider the history of Israel found throughout the books of the Old Testament we will be mindful of many times where they are found to be facing troubles and challenges. There are times of being overtaken by foreign powers, wars and fighting, famines, exile and other judgements which God brought upon them because of their rebellion and sinful behaviour. It could well have been written in such times, or indeed at a time of restoration to relationship with God in order to keep everyones’ minds and hearts focused on the one true God, and his special relationship with them.

I don’t think the circumstances are the important issue, because in reality the Psalm is needed for Israel, and indeed ourselves, at all times. It is reflective of the human condition that continually focuses on ourselves, and takes our eyes off of God. In good times and challenging times alike our priority is often ourselves and not God. 

How many times do we need to be told that? 

Well lets have a look at the Psalm in a bit more detail. There is a lot to it, and we can’t cover everything but lets look at the main themes, and first off start by looking at the main purpose and the refrain that we find repeated throughout -

His steadfast love endures forever

I think it is important to start with this statement given it’s prominence and purpose throughout the Psalm. I have used the ESV translation for this text today because I think it perhaps captures the strength of this statement better than other translations we may be more familiar with.

It is easy to scan over such a phrase without considering the importance of each component being expressed here. This is a powerful statement about love, and specifically about God’s love. If we take time to focus and meditate on the statement it will provide incredible encouragement. 

The challenge so often for us when we read statements about God’s love, is that we are too limited in our thinking and experience to fully appreciate the magnitude of what is being expressed. We can often be limited by our own experiences of what we understand love to be, and as such have a flawed understanding of such a statement.

But there are key words within this statement which help us realise that we are not dealing with the limited expression of love from humans, but the nature of the love that God expresses, and indeed the reminder that the essence of God is love.

Love – the love of God as a consideration is a sermon, and indeed a lot more, in itself. But to help us in this study we need to think about a love which is perfect and pure. As already mentioned love is the essence of God. God is love. His love, his character, is holy, compassionate, gracious, perfect, just, merciful and so much more. His love is infinite, and incomparable. God’s love for his children is unconditional. We cannot earn it, and we cannot lose it. 

The beauty of God’s love is further described in the words surrounding love in this statement. 

Steadfast – the first of these words is steadfast. Not a word we use much in our conversations today, but it is regularly used throughout our bibles to describe the love of God. It reflects a love that is immovable, not subject to change, determined, and loyal. 

The next word to consider is -

Endures – this reflects the perseverance of God’s love. It reminds us that no matter the circumstances, God continues to love. It is not dependent on us and our behaviour, but completely reflective of who God is. Endurance is often a term associated with difficulty – not many of us would say we endure having to relax on a lovely sunny day, but perhaps endurance is more understood in having to get through the storms of life. Even though we might think it, when life is tough it is not because God’s love is absent or withdrawn from us. God’s love will always endure with his children.

And the last word to consider is -

Forever – this reflects the eternal nature of God’s love. God’s love will never end. He loves us now, and he will love us without end. 

Having considered the love of God in this way, it might be reasonable to think that is all we need to understand. What else needs to be said?

Well the reality is that we do need more to help us. Not because God has to justify himself, but because he lovingly and graciously offers us ways to understand and know him better. 

The experience of God’s love comes from our understanding of how it is expressed, which comes from the very essence of who God is. God’s love is unchanging because God is unchanging. He is a security and assurance like nothing else, and that is something that will never change and never end. 

The Psalm captures some of the themes of the expression of God’s love as it pours from the nature of God Himself. For the people of Israel there are elements which they could reflect on from their history, but which presented a picture of what would ultimately be manifest as an expression of God’s steadfast and enduring love for all people who would come to know Him.

So lets, look at the key themes we see in this Psalm.

God is good, and Almighty. (verses 1-3)

The Psalm opens with the key theme, which is give thanks / praise to God for he is good, He is God, and He is Lord.

Our assurance of God’s steadfast enduring love is found in who he is. Everything about God is good, and everything he does is good. Our human perception of good can often create a challenge for us in appreciating the pure, perfect, holy goodness of God. And we know it is often an accusation thrown at God by people that somehow the wickedness, evil and injustice we see in the world would question how God can be good if he allows such things. Yet, there is nothing but goodness in the character and nature of God, and indeed in everything he does. And the challenge for us is, that in his perfect goodness he allows things to be which we cannot see or fathom as supremely good. Now that is quite a statement, and one which takes a lot of time to reflect on and consider. But it is something which also supports the fact that God is God, and Lord. He is completely sovereign, and the one true authority over everything.

However, we are encouraged in the sovereignty of a God who is not distant or remote, but who is personal and involved. We will see that more in the themes that follow. What we are encouraged to realise and remember from the opening verses is that our assurance that God loves us comes from the reality of who he is. 

Now as I have already said, although that should be enough, we are graciously shown evidence of that love in terms of what God has done, and continues to do.

God is the creator and all powerful. (verses 4-9)

So the next theme drawn out for us is the creative power of God. The unique and supreme power of God is remembered in verse 4,

to him alone who does great wonders.

Whilst the next few verses will focus on the creative wonders of God, it is actually another thread throughout the Psalm to remind us of all the wonders that God alone does. 

The creation of the world and mankind is an incredible display of the love of God. We should never doubt this. You see we know from what God reveals to us, that God is fully sufficient in his being and character, and the persons of God exist in the perfect loving union of Father, Son and Spirit. Yet, we have a good God who for his good pleasure, and loving abundance created all that we know, and mankind specifically, to be in relationship with Him, so that his love could be displayed, worshipped and glorified. 

The world in which we live is evidence of the existence of God. We stand on the ground God created, and the Psalmist is providing reminders of the constant elements of creation in the heavens, the sun and moon that are evident to all wherever we are. They are the reality of creation, but also the useful metaphor for drawing our gaze upward and heavenly and away from the troubles that may surround us. 

We can look on creation, and be reminded that God was pleased to say it was good, and was an expression of his love. For all the corruption that God allowed as a consequence of man’s rebellion and sin, God is not removed from his love for creation and for us. He continues to hold everything together.

God is redeemer and saviour. (verses 10-16)

Verses 10-16 draw out the great wonders of God as redeemer and saviour. The Psalmist goes back to the time of captivity and slavery experienced by the people of Israel during their time in Egypt. This will take their minds back to the time of Moses who was sent to deliver them from the hands of the Pharaoh. And yet, whilst Moses was sent it was God who was in control of everything. 

The freeing of Israel from the slavery of Egypt is the picture of God’s love and power to free people from the slavery of sin. Redemption is the word we often use for this. And we will come back to this in the context of what it means for us today. But it is interesting that different elements of the redemption of Israel are drawn out for us.

We don’t have time to spend in detail on these, and you can refer back to this account in the book of Exodus to get the details of what took place. But we need to remember that the plight of Israel was desperate. They were bound under the slavery of the most powerful nation on earth. They had no power of their own to free themselves. 

But God was about to demonstrate to them, his steadfast love and that he was the almighty God who had not forgotten them. 

Throughout all the judgements that God imposed on Egypt, he protected and saved his own from the consequences. Yet there is a wonderful reminder from this account that the saving of his people was not without challenges and difficulty for them. God didn’t just take them out of Egypt and transport them directly to the promised land where they lived happily ever after. No their freedom led to more threats from Pharaoh and his army, wilderness wandering for forty years, and as we will see new threats from new enemies. We also see from the behaviour of Israel a people who would often grumble, and challenge and question God. They were a people who easily forgot how desperate and overwhelming their troubles had been in slavery.

But in every encounter, and every experience, the people were witness to the steadfast love of God for them. God continued to love them, and deliver them. 

We see more of this the next few verses.

God is our protector. (verses 17-22)

This section of the Psalm draws attention to God overthrowing those who seek to harm and destroy his chosen people. We see throughout Israel’s history that their victories in battle came when God was leading and they trusted him. When they fought in their own strength then defeat would follow. We see two kings referenced in verses 19 and 20, Sihon and Og. We can read about this in Numbers 21:21-35. These were two kings who raised up their armies against Israel as they journeyed to the promised land. They were early encounters of trouble for the nation, but God promised to deliver them and their enemies were defeated. Not only that, but God gave them the land and territories of their defeated enemies.

Our delivery in difficulty and spiritual battles does not come from our own strength, but from our God who keeps us in his steadfast love. He is our protector. 

God is our provider. (verse 23-25)

Verses 23-25 highlight that God sees us, and provides for us. When we consider our position in the vastness of the universe in which we live, we are beyond insignificant. When we consider how distant we are in terms of our nature and character from that of God’s then our situation becomes even more desperate. That is what the Psalmist is referring to in terms of our low estate mentioned in verse 23.

Yet, the steadfast and enduring love of God does not abandon us, and comes to rescue us and provide for our every need. Sometimes it can be hard to grasp this but verses 24 and 25 help us recognise that every day we wake with breath in our lungs and a beat in our heart, we are rescued from our greatest foe or enemy which is death. We are preserved from physical death through God’s care and protection, and also his daily provision of food and sustenance which is referenced in verse 25. He is the giver of our daily bread – our daily needs. 

And, yet as we will share in a moment, through God’s steadfast and enduring love we are rescued from the even greater foe or enemy, spiritual death. 

Focus on the details

You will have noticed that so far I have only covered the general themes presented in the Psalm but it is structured to focus our attention on the details. It picks out different details to draw our attention to the steadfast love of God in every aspect. You see we can easily overlook or gloss over how God is involved in everything, from the smallest detail to the complete purpose. 

Now unless you want to sit here an awful lot longer, it is not possible for me to drill into the detail in the time available. It is not my purpose or role to give you everything neatly packaged up, but to give you the taster to go and explore this more deeply for yourselves. You see none of us can survive spiritually on a weekly sermon, or even a quick read over some bible verses each day. If you want any true value and benefit from anything I have been able to share then you need to go and study Psalm 136 and the details it directs you to. Even if you think you know it all, go and have another look. Hopefully it will humble you to realise you haven’t even scratched the surface of what you think you know.

We can reflect on the wonder of God as creator, but also come to recognise the wonder of every aspect of creation. We can reflect on the redemption of Israel from Egypt and the arrival in the promised land, but also reflect on the incredible wonders that God performed on so many occasions throughout that 40 year journey. Every detail is evidence of that enduring steadfast love. There is no small thing for God. Every detail is a marvel and wonder. 

But more importantly we can study the purpose of what, and who, every detail is pointing us to.

The steadfast love of God through Christ

Whilst the Psalmist focused on events pertinent to the people of Israel, the good news for all mankind is that these also represent the steadfast and enduring love of God for all people who come to know him through Jesus Christ. 

This was God’s plan and purpose from before the creation of the world. We can marvel at the creation details in themselves, but all the more when we recognise it’s place and purpose in the redemption story. 

Psalm 136 is clearly reminding us that in every detail from creation to the promised land of eternity with our God and Saviour, we are being pointed to Jesus Christ. 

You see there is no greater expression of God’s steadfast and enduring love than is found in Jesus. The good news is that Jesus Christ came to redeem those who are trapped in the slavery of sin and separation from relationship with God.

The beauty of God’s love for us manifest in Christ is wonderfully captured in 1 John 4:9-10,

This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Our redemption to the promised land is not immediate either. We wander in a wilderness and face threat from enemies daily. But God is with us, and protects us and provides for us. 

It is important to reflect on the details of God’s care, protection and redemption and not just the wider concept. Do we reflect on the daily blessings of God? Do we reflect on how desperate our situation was without the saving love and forgiveness of Jesus? Do we thank God for his protection and provision? There is no detail or event too small to recognise the steadfast and enduring love of God in our lives, and indeed the lives of those around us.

And yet it is in our nature to forget and focus on our challenges. 

How many times do we need to be told? 

The purpose in sharing and considering Psalm 136 today is for encouragement and to challenge those of us who know Jesus Christ as Lord. As I said at the very beginning it is intended to change us, and also comfort and assure us. I hope that is something you can reflect on as you go back and study this passage and it’s references for yourself. Remember if we need to hear about God’s steadfast and enduing love 26 times in the same Psalm, don’t gloss over or switch off, but pay attention and delve deeper.

But if that is not you, then I want to encourage you to realise that God has expressed his love in Jesus, and offers you that opportunity to know him too. He offers you freedom, and a promise to be with you always.

How many times do you need to be told? Have you heard this before? If you have, why have you not responded?

Like Israel trapped in the slavery of Egypt you are powerless to free yourself from the slavery of sin and separation from God. Only Jesus can free you. For those who respond to him there is a wonderful promised land that awaits. The journey will not be easy, and it won’t be without it’s battles. But, you won’t do it on your own. So call on him today and know the steadfast, enduring and eternal love of God for yourself.

I hope that we can all reflect on what we have been able to share today, and that having done so we can do as instructed in the final verse of the Psalm,

Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his steadfast love endures forever.