Psalm 136 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
² Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
⁴ To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁵ To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁶ To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁷ To Him who made the great lights,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
⁸ The sun to rule by day,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹⁰ To Him who struck the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹¹ And brought Israel out from their midst,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹² With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
¹³ To Him who divided the Red Sea in parts,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹⁴ And allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
¹⁵ But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
¹⁶ To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
¹⁷ To Him who struck great kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹⁸ And brought death to mighty kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²⁰ And Og, king of Bashan,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²¹ And gave their land as an inheritance,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²² An inheritance to His servant Israel,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

²³ Who remembered us in our lowliness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²⁴ And has rescued us from our enemies,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
²⁵ Who gives food to all flesh,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

In today’s text the psalmist extols and gives evidence of God’s faithfulness. He says: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His faithfulness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, For His faithfulness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His faithfulness is everlasting. To Him who alone does great wonders, For His faithfulness is everlasting; To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His faithfulness is everlasting; To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His faithfulness is everlasting; To Him who made the great lights, For His faithfulness is everlasting: The sun to rule by day,For His faithfulness is everlasting, The moon and stars to rule by night, For His faithfulness is everlasting. To Him who struck the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn, For His faithfulness is everlasting, And brought Israel out from their midst, For His faithfulness is everlasting, With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, For His faithfulness is everlasting. To Him who divided the Red Sea in parts, For His faithfulness is everlasting, And allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it, For His faithfulness is everlasting; But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His faithfulness is everlasting. To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His faithfulness is everlasting; To Him who struck great kings, For His faithfulness is everlasting, And brought death to mighty kings, For His faithfulness is everlasting: Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His faithfulness is everlasting, And Og, king of Bashan, For His faithfulness is everlasting, And gave their land as an inheritance, For His faithfulness is everlasting, An inheritance to His servant Israel, For His faithfulness is everlasting. Who remembered us in our lowliness, For His faithfulness is everlasting, And has rescued us from our enemies, For His faithfulness is everlasting; Who gives food to all flesh, For His faithfulness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His faithfulness is everlasting.  God’s faithfulness is seen in creation and in all that He has done since creation. What does it mean though that His faithfulness is everlasting? It is more than that it will not end. Revelation 13:8 says: All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. God’s faithfulness is eternal. It is before time and beyond time. He had a plan to redeem us from sin from the foundation of the world. God’s faithfulness is more than what He does. It is part of His eternal character. Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His faithfulness is everlasting. 

On the other hand, in Psalm 37:3-6 the psalmist says: Trust in the Lord and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring out your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday. Unlike God, faithfulness is not natural to our human character. We need to cultivate our faithfulness. Like a gardener works to keep the ground soft and remove the things that hinder and choke out the growth of the plants in the garden, we need to keep the soil of our hearts soft and remove the things of the world that distract and disrupt our faithfulness to God. In Romans 7:15;24-25 it says: I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate… Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Our faithfulness is established by Him and in Him who is faithful to us.

I will give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His faithfulness is everlasting. I will give thanks to the God of gods, For His faithfulness is everlasting. I will give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His faithfulness is everlasting. May I be found faithful in You. Amen.