Psalm 136:1-26 rB

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Earthly Life is a Wilderness
Through Which the Holy Ghost Must Lead Us

Psalm 136:1-26[1]

Give thanks to the Lord: for [He is] good, for His mercy [is] everlasting.  Give thanks to the God of gods: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords: for His mercy [is] everlasting.

To Him Who alone does great wonders: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  To Him Who by wisdom made the heavens: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  To Him Who stretched out the earth above the waters: for His mercy [is] everlasting.

To Him Who made great lights: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  The sun to rule by day: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  The moon and stars to rule by night: for His mercy [is] everlasting.

To Him Who struck Egypt in their firstborn: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  And brought Israel out from among them: for His mercy [is] everlasting; with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for His mercy [is] everlasting.

To Him Who divided the Red sea in parts: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  And made Israel pass through the middle of it: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red sea: for His mercy [is] everlasting.[2]

To Him Who led His people through the wilderness: for His mercy [is] everlasting.[3]

To Him Who struck great kings: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  And slew famous kings: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  Sihon king of the Amorites: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  Og the king of Bashan: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  And gave their land for a heritage: for His mercy [is] everlasting; a heritage to Israel His servant: for His mercy [is] everlasting.[4]

Who remembered us in our low estate: for His mercy [is] everlasting.  And has redeemed us from our enemies: for His mercy [is] everlasting.

Who gives food to all flesh: for His mercy [is] everlasting.[5]

Give thanks to the God of heaven: for His mercy [is] everlasting.[6] [7]

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[1] This beautiful antiphonal Psalm reminds us that Psalms are hymns to be sung: this one, obviously written for two choirs.  The argument of the Psalm rests on God's power, love, and mercy as seen first in His creation, then in His defeat of the idolatry of Egypt and the Exodus, and finally in His conquest of the Transjordan East Bank adversaries who refused Israel passage into the promised land.  This gives us a hint that this is probably the special hymn of the Joseph tribes that inherited the Transjordan East Bank.  However, it looks beyond Israel to the God of heaven, who brings the defeat of idolatry, slavery, and oppression to the whole earth: He is the God of heaven, He is the God of all.

Psalm 136 stands or falls on the concrete actuality and reality of the historic acts remembered in it.  If these acts are not actual, historic and real there is no reason whatsoever to proclaim the eternal mercies of Yahweh; there is no reason to believe that Israel ever existed as a nation; there is no reason to suppose that the God of the Bible exists, presents Himself visibly to people in the Sh^ekinah, or that anything else found in the Bible is true.  The Bible is either true or false, take it or leave it, you cannot have it both ways.  This Psalm is a review of Torah, and the salvific work of God consists of the actual, historic, reality of Torah, together with the rest of Scripture.  The attempt to pass this reality off as unreality is a strong statement of unbelief, firm evidence that the one making it has left the Faith, to become an unbeliever, a pagan: worse yet, a servant of Satan.  That being said, these are all the remembrance of concrete, actual, and real historic acts.  In remembering them it helps us to not take for granted the daily things God does for us.  “Now Christ is risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20).”  “Eternal are Your mercies, Lord.  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!”

Eternal things, things which are not ruled by time, and do not lose their value with age, are made clear by things that are concrete and are ruled by time.  Which then, are the more concrete?  The eternal realities, or the temporal ones?

We have grouped these antiphonal phrases by their wording into “Give thanks”, “To Him”, and “Who” segments.  The final “Give thanks” brings the Psalm together into a completed whole.

[2] Every stanza has a Trinitarian structure up to this point.  This cannot be accidental.

[3] This stanza stands alone, which cannot be accidental either.  This stanza captures the central message of the Psalm, which is that earthly life is a wilderness through which the Holy Ghost must lead us.  Isaac Watts’ magnificent hymn, “Am I a soldier of the cross” captures the sentiment perfectly.
http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/m/amiasold.htm

[4] This stanza has a six part structure, which is about as close as humanity can come to Divine perfection.

[5] The final stanza returns to the Trinitarian structure, which has two distinct emphases.  One, the true Israel of God, The Church is the people who have found mercy and redemption.  Two, the task of The Church is to lift the world up to God; so that the whole world might be nourished, not with mere earthly bread, but with The True Manna, Which is Christ Himself.

[6] The final stanza is followed by a single line which envelops the whole Psalm in a concluding note of thanksgiving, by returning our attention to the first stanza.  Earthly life is a wilderness through which the Holy Ghost must lead us: for which we should be exceedingly grateful; our hymns of thanksgiving should rend the skies.

[7] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  They are designed and intended for your free participation.  They were freely received, and are freely given.  No other permission is required for their use.