1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.You can listen to today’s Psalm here: Psalm 136 audio How often do you wish you could be sure that the goodness of God was a reality? How often do you find yourself hearing about this God from other people, perhaps people who seem a little off, or a little odd, but who also have a kind of contentment and confidence that the God they talk about loves them? And not just them either, but that the love he has for them could extend to anyone around who asked for it. People who don’t ‘get’ Christians (and there are lots of reasons not to ‘get’ Christians) often find it off-putting, infuriating even, that when things are tough and all the visible evidence points to God having long ago left the building, the faith of the one who truly trusts God remains strong. It makes no sense at all. Why would a person, or people, who appear to have been cut off, a people who have been let down, disappointed, hurt even, by the God who they put their trust in, keep on going back to him with love and trust and with thankful hearts. It’s all in the psalm above what I’m writing here. The love of God has endured throughout everything that Israel has faced. And so it endures today, through everything we face, whether individually or as a society. What will be remembered about us who claimed to have faith in God as we lived through the time of Covid-19 a hundred, two hundred, even a thousand years from now? Will it be that we remained thankful and praised God for his goodness? I hope so. As we think back to the love Jesus showed and lived out through all he did at the first Easter, remember that whatever it seems like now, death is defeated, fear has no power anymore, unless we decide to allow it to have power in our lives. I’m bad at being fearful. It happens to me a lot, but the perfect love of God, love that endures forever, triumphs over fear. If we ask God into our lives, in he comes. And we need never be the same after that. Something To Do Write a list of all that you’re thankful for today. Give it time so that you don’t just write down the things that first come to mind. Then Something To Pray Thank God for each one in turn.
