Give Thanks to the Lord

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

This passage has taken on several different meanings during my life - when I was young it was only part of a meal prayer, recited three times a day until I practically ignored it.  

During a teenage read-through of the Bible, I found the same sentence in several different Psalms. I wasn't even super aware that it was Scripture before and not just invented for mealtime, but then I saw it repeated. I found Psalm 136 interesting, that it repeated "his love endures forever" over and over. It spoke to me poetically, and my cynical adolescent heart could grasp onto that refrain during confusing times.

In college, this verse was one we memorized for Hebrew class.  It has one of my favorite vocabulary words in it - l'olam (for unbounded time.) It's translated "forever" for fluent reading, but I love "for unbounded time." His love endures for unbounded time. God loved us before we existed, before the world even existed, and He won't ever stop.

In recent years, I have taught my children this passage, written it to decorate our home during Thanksgiving seasons, and really had time to ponder it. The Holy Spirit has shown me that this one sentence has three whole functions for a Christian life.

Give thanks to the Lord

is an exhortation, a command. I am reminded to give thanks, even when it doesn't come naturally. Often it's the last thing I think to do in happy times, and it's even harder to remember in difficult days! 

for he is good

is an all-in-one praise. If I'm looking for something to express what God has done for me, this encompasses everything. It seems simple on the surface, but that word "good" is so rich with meaning.  God IS good. He is 100% goodness. His ways and his plans are perfect.  Even beyond that, he gives good things out of his own grace for us.

His love endures forever.

is gospel. In all circumstances, His love endures. The varying stages of our life cannot alter it. Time cannot diminish it. Even death cannot separate us from that love.  That love was sent in the person of Jesus and continues to shower on us every day in all the small and large ways God cares for our needs and blesses us with extra.

In times when I don't know what to say, when I'm not sure how to express my faith or my needs or my gratitude, I can fall back on this refrain. It has everything - Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.