Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good

Psalm 136 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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 wonders, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
⁵ To Him who made the heavens 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 by day, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

¹⁰ To Him who smote 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 Red Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
¹⁴ And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
¹⁵ But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the 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 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.

The psalmist says:  Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. How do we reconcile the everlasting lovingkindness of God with what we see in the account in today’s text in Revelation 8:6-13?

And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

In Psalm 89:13-16 the psalmist says:  You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You. How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all the day, And by Your righteousness they are exalted.    Justice, whether human justice or God’s justice, requires that there be judgment. That judgment, is based on the truth of what is right and what is wrong. That God would judge evil and sin does not negate the fact of His love. In truth, it is by His love that God has administered His justice and His judgment against sin and evil.    “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)   In order that we could escape the judgment against sin, God sent Jesus because of His love. Romans 6:23 says:   For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.    Because God is righteous and just, there must be judgment against what is wrong. Death is the judgment against sin. But, because of God’s great love, He spared us from that judgment through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Savior.

Still for many that does not justify God’s judgment against what is evil. Many question God saying, how could a loving God allow or Himself execute disasters like those described in today’s text or like so much of what we see in the world around us? What is ironic is that many of the same people who question God concerning the evil in the world, are the same ones who give Him no credit for what is good, for the majesty and splendor, the awesome vastness and the wonderful intricacies of creation. They would give credit to all that is good and wonderful, to a series of random occurrences, denying the hand of God in all the good that we see, yet they would question His love concerning the evil around us.

Consider what the psalmist says in Psalm 91:  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you…     Security and protection comes from abiding in and dwelling with God. Consider what God said when speaking to Job in Job 38:   “Who is this that darkens ounsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it?  “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?  “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,  And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?  “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?...”      What if all that appears to be God’s hand of judgment against evil is really simply the removal of His hand of protection? What if God’s judgment is simply the removal of His grace? What if natural disasters happen when God stops keeping everything in perfect balance? What if the evil of war and man’s inhumanity to man is simply the result of God allowing the natural consequences of sin?

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. To Him who alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His lovingkindness is everlasting; To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting: The sun to rule by day, For His lovingkindness is everlasting, The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks for His righteousness, His justice and truth. Give thanks for His love and His grace. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit.   Amen.