Prelude: Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 1 of 7 Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy How many times has God shown His mercy? Psalm 136 Don Ruhl Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon October 7, In the year of our Lord, 2018 Scripture Reader and Reading: Dominic Meyer Psalm 106.1 3 Song Leader and Song Suggestions: Phil Joseph Songs that praise God I. Can you count all the ways or times that God has shown mercy? A. Psalm 136 gets us started, B. tracing signs of God s love and mercy from Creation to Canaan. 1. It is believed that this was a responsive reading. 2. A reader read the first line and the congregation declared the second line. II. Before I get into the Psalm, I would like to note some of the mechanics of it. A. 26x the psalmist said, 1. for His mercy endures forever. 2. But it cannot be said too often (Brownlow, December 7). B. 8x he said, To Him who. C. 4x he said explicitly, Oh, give thanks to, but 1. I believe he implied it 8 more times, 2. making a total of 12 x, or 3. about half of the Psalm. a) See how verses 1 3 start out: b) Oh, give thanks to the LORD (1) Verses 4 7, 10, 13 16 17 continue that thinking, (2) except the psalmist just shortened it. (a) He would already be repeating something else, (b) so he did not want to have another item repeated. i) He shortened it from Oh, give thanks to the LORD,
Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 2 of 7 ii) to, To Him who. 4. The reason every verse does not begin with, To Him who, a) is that some verses are sub-points. b) 8 and 9 go under 7. c) 11 and 12 go under 10. d) 14 and 15 go under 13. e) 18 through 24 go under 17. 5. Then verse 25 even leaves off the shortened version. D. The purpose of the Psalm points to 1. the wonders of the endless enduring mercy of God. 2. The Psalm breaks down in this manner: a) 136.1 3 God s Nature and Status b) 136.4 9 God as Creator c) 136.10 24 God s Blessings on Israel d) 136.25 God s Blessing on All Flesh e) 136.26 God s Identity E. Warren Wiersbe said: The rabbis called it The Great Hallel (praise). The psalm reviews God s dealings with His people and turns history into theology and theology into worship (p. 1036). Persuasion: I. Psalm 136.1 3 Give Thanks to God 1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. 3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 3 of 7 For His mercy endures forever: A. Give thanks to Him simply for being who He is to us. B. Give thanks to Him simply for being the kind of God that He is. C. Give thanks that He is God of gods and Lord of lords instead of another. II. Psalm 136.4 25 Displays of God s Enduring Mercy A. 136.4 9 Creator 4 To Him who alone does great wonders, 5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, 6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, 7 To Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever 8 The sun to rule by day, 9 The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever. 1. Give thanks to Him who alone does wonders, a) such as by wisdom making the heavens. b) Who or what else can do this? 19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; 20 By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew. (Proverbs 3.19 20) 2. Give thanks to Him who alone does wonders, a) such as laying out the earth above the waters. b) Otherwise, we would be beneath the sea right now. 3. Give thanks to Him who alone does wonders,
Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 4 of 7 a) such as making the great lights, (1) one to rule the day and (2) the others to rule the night. b) He made them the heavens, the earth, and the sky lights for man. B. 136.10 15 Deliverer 10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, 11 And brought out Israel from among them, 12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, 13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, 14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, 15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, 1. Give thanks to Him a) for striking the firstborn in Egypt, b) for bringing Israel out from among the Egyptians, c) for using His strong hand and outstretched arm to do these things. (1) Christians give thanks for these things because (2) they meant salvation for us. (a) He promised Abraham a blessing (b) for all the families and nations of the earth i) that would come through a spiritual seed and ii) that would come through the nation of Israel in Canaan. 2. Give thanks to Him a) who divided the Red Sea in two and
Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 5 of 7 b) for making Israel pass through the midst of the Red Sea, and c) for overthrowing Pharaoh and His army in the Red Sea. 3. Christians rejoice and give thanks for the whole story of salvation, because a) what God did for Israel, b) He truly did for us. 4. His battle against Pharaoh, and a) His deliverance of Israel from Egypt, b) showed His determination to bless (1) all the families and all the nations of the earth through Abraham. (2) Israel was the grandson of Abraham. (3) Israel would bring the chosen Seed into the Land of Canaan. C. 136.16 22 Conquerer 16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, 17 To Him who struck down great kings, 18 And slew famous kings, For His mercy endures forever 19 Sihon king of the Amorites, 20 And Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever 21 And gave their land as a heritage, 22 A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever. 1. Give thanks to Him who led Israel through the wilderness, for a) it showed that even a vast wilderness (1) could not keep Him (2) from blessing all the families and all the nations of the earth.
Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 6 of 7 b) He would get them to the land (1) that He had promised to Abraham for (2) it was there that He would bring the promised spiritual seed (a) into the world (b) to bless the world. 2. Give thanks to Him who struck down great kings in the process. a) Mighty kings could not stop Him b) from getting Israel to where He needed them. (1) The kings may have been famous, but (2) that does not and cannot stop the God of heaven. (a) Think of the greatness of King Og. 11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits [13.5 feet] is its length and four cubits [6 feet] its width, according to the standard cubit (Deuteronomy 3.11). (b) I doubt that his army was an army of pipsqueaks. (c) That is no problem for the God who i) made the heavens by wisdom, ii) laid out the earth, and iii)made the lights of the sky. c) Therefore, he could give the land of Sihon and Og (1) to Israel as a heritage. (2) Israel was His servant. (a) So He would give His servant whatever the servant needed (b) to get the job done.
Thank God for the Wonders of His Endless Mercy; Psa 136; 04231; Page 7 of 7 D. 136.23 25 Provider 23 Who remembered us in our lowly state, 24 And rescued us from our enemies, 25 Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. 1. Give thanks to Him who a) remembered Israel in their lowly estate, mere slaves and b) rescued them constantly from their enemies. 2. Give thanks to Him who gives food to all flesh. a) We give thanks for our food, but b) consider the massive job God has (1) of feeding every living creature everyday? (2) Give thanks to our God for His awesomeness. III. Psalm 136.26 Give Thanks to God 26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever. A. Gives thanks to Him for who He is. 1. He is the God of heaven. 2. He is not the invention of men, because a) men create gods that reflect the earth, not heaven. Exhortation: I. First Point