Psalm 150:1 exudes, “Hallelujah!” That is, “Praise the Lord!” “Boast in God!” This is a good introduction to the Psalm that I want to consider at this Thanksgiving season: Psalm 136.
In William MacDonald’s lovely Believer’s Bible Commentary, he labels this Psalm as “The Great Hallel!”1 This psalm boasts of the character, wisdom, power, and work of the Lord God in creation, history, and individual lives. God is addressed as the Creator (Elohim) and as the Almighty, the eternal Lord of the universe (LORD, YHWH or Jehovah/Yahweh). When you start unpacking word choices and the relationships between ideas, your eyes quit skimming over familiar words in which your mind says,”Yeh, I know what this says.” We need to stop flying over familiar territory. We need to fly low, land our attention, and then dig.
I am supposed to be writing to you about Psalm 1, but since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, I thought I’d draw your attention to Psalm 136. Here it is, followed by a few thoughts. We don’t have time to do much digging in this post, but I hope to get you started on your own dig. (Offer a comment below and tell us what you’ve discovered!)
Psalm 136
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
4 To Him who alone does great [a]wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
5 To Him who made the heavens [b]with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
6 To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
7 To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
8 The sun to rule [c]by day,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
9 The moon and stars to rule [d]by night,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
10 To Him who smote [e]the Egyptians in their firstborn,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
11 And brought Israel out from their midst,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
13 To Him who divided the [f]Red Sea [g]asunder,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
15 But He [h]overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the [i]Red Sea,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
17 To Him who smote great kings,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
18 And slew [j]mighty kings,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
20 And Og, king of Bashan,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
21 And gave their land as a heritage,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
22 Even a heritage to Israel His servant,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
24 And has rescued us from our adversaries,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
25 Who gives food to all flesh,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Did you read the whole poem? We immediately observe the repetition of the clause, “for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” The ESV translates this as, “for his steadfast love endures forever.”
As a young person, I grew tired of the repetition. It seemed tedious. This is evidence of my youthful shallowness and ignorance. The psalmist knows we need the continuous reminder of God’s beautiful reality which this psalm so rhythmically repeats. MacDonald explains, “The repetition of the theme is not tiresome; it says to us that the steadfast love of the Lord needs to be constantly before us and that the subject can never be exhausted. His kindness, loyalty and fidelity never fail.” 2
Another basic observation is the progression of topics the psalmist uses as examples of God’s everlasting loving kindness: God’s detailed design and oversight of creation/nature, His detailed, providential involvement with the people of Israel and their national history, and His omnipresent involvement in the lives of everyone and every life — “all flesh.”
Sometimes, we don’t see God’s hand in our lives, and we wonder how He possibly could be in control of our situations or of the world! Then we need both this psalm and other psalms, such as psalms of lament (check out Psalms 44, 60, 74,79,80,85,and 90, and explore others of the 150 which may resonate with you).
The ancient collection of psalms has offered millennia of people prompts and patterns for their experiences and thoughts. The book of Psalms is a kind of relational theology.
Daniel J. Estes says that “the book of Psalms was the hymnal of ancient Israel, in which the people of Yahweh turned to him in every kind of experience. Because the psalms grew out of the full range of life, from the most tragic to the most delightful situations, for nearly three thousand years they have taught believers how to approach God no matter what they may be facing.” 3 Estes explains that we meet ourselves and our God in this lyrical book. “For the people of God of every age, the psalms serve as prompts and as patterns in drawing near to him.” 4
I would suggest that at this Thanksgiving season, we see Psalm 136 as a prompt to stimulate us to apply the same pattern in evaluating our lives. We can reflect upon the hand of God we observe in nature and realize His invisible, sustaining presence behind the visible (Colossians 1: 16-17). We can consider the history of our own country and acknowledge God’s providential involvement. And we can contemplate our own personal and family stories and thank God for His presence, wisdom, control, and steadfast love.
Our stories are not complete, so where there is brokenness, incompleteness, and pain, we can trust that in His goodness (Psalm 136:1), He will shape a good conclusion (Romans 8:28-29). Thus, Psalm 136 is a call to worship. We always have good reason to worship our Creator who is our Redeemer, Comforter, and Provider. His presence in our lives is always cause for thanksgiving.
Hallelujuh!
Praise the Lord!
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
For His steadfast love endures forever.
- William MacDonald. Believer’s Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 764.
- Ibid.
- Daniel J. Estes Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 152.
- Ibid., 141.
Karen Thomas Olsen
Journey North Character 
For His steadfast love endures forever!……Thanks, Karen!……Merry Christmas to you and Paul….. 🎄🙏🌹😃
And a Merry Christmas to you, Rick and Mary!