Give Thanks to the Lord of lords and King of kings (Part 1)

I will be thankful because:  You are “Jehovah,” the “God of gods,” and “Lord of lords,” the “God of heaven!”

November 28, 2019

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.  O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth forever.  O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth forever.  O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth forever."

Psalm 136:1-3, 26

Part 1

Both Psalm 135 and 136 are similar because they highlight four truths about God:

He deserves our praise for:

His works as the Creator.
His works of divine intervention.
His works in delivering His people.
His works in judging evildoers.

In Psalm 136, each of the psalmist’s twenty-six verses ends with the thought “for His mercy endureth forever.”  The LORD never wastes words.  The repetition of this phrase is to aid in our learning.  It points out its importance and emphasizes this great truth in our hearts (minds).  This chorus is an echo of,

“Praise ye the LORD.  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 106:1, see also Psalm 118:1-4).

God rightly desires praise from His people.  He alone is worthy of our praise.

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.”
Jehovah is the good God.  We owe Him our thanks!  But what is the basis of our thanks?  “His goodness!”

Clarke says, “…the goodness of the Divine nature, both as a ground of confidence and of thanksgiving.” [1]

“We thank our parents, let us praise our heavenly Father; we are grateful to our benefactors, let us give thanks unto the Giver of all good” [2] (Spurgeon).

“Essentially he is goodness itself, practically all that he does is good, relatively he is good to his creatures.  Let us thank him that we have seen, proved, and tasted that he is good.  He is good beyond all others; indeed, he alone is good in the highest sense; he is the source of good, the good of all good, the sustainer of good, the perfecter of good, and the rewarder of good” [3] (Spurgeon).

“For his mercy endureth for ever” means literally, “for unto eternity His mercy.” [4]

“That is, It is ever the same; it never changes; it is never exhausted; it is found in all his dealings – in all his acts toward his creatures, and ever will be” [5] (Barnes).

Praise the LORD for His mercy to us!

What did the psalmist mean by using the terms “God of gods,” and “Lord of lords?”  Come back tomorrow, and we will sort through this.

 

 

 

[1] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Spurgeon, ibid.
[4] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[5] Barnes, ibid.