Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19990606.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm One Hundred And Thirty-Six - Encouragement That God Will ALWAYS Meet Our OVERALL Needs
(Psalm 136:1-26)
  1. Introduction
    1. Jesus said that the Gentiles are constantly seeking the security of their livelihood needs, Matthew 6:31-32. There exists a continual fear among us humans that our future livelihood provisions might come up short.
    2. Psalm 136:1-26 addresses this concern by finding encouragement in God's marvelous track record of meeting the overall needs of His own, and that continually for so very long (as follows):
  2. Encouragement That God Will ALWAYS Meet Our OVERALL Needs, Psalm 136:1-26.
    1. This psalm repeats the phrase, "because His loyal love (chesed) endures forever" in every verse. This repetition gives almost a monotonous impression that God's loyal love goes on endlessly!
    2. In using this literary device of monotonous repetition, and tying it to the very consistent and comprehensive track record of God's provisions for His people, a great encouragement arises that God will always meet the overall needs of His people, Psalm 136:1-26:
      1. The psalm introduces God with three different divine titles to focus on three different main ways God has provided for the people of Israel down through her history, Ps. 136:1-3:
        1. Verse 1 addresses God as Jahweh, the great "I AM" whereby God revealed Himself to Moses as the One who keeps His covenant with Abraham to deliver Israel from Egypt, cf. Exodus 3:13-15.
        2. Verse 2 calls God Elohim, the name used in Genesis 1 as the Creator and Sustainer of all creatures.
        3. Verse 3 presents God as Adonai, the word for "Master" to picture God's guidance of His people.
      2. Through the rest of the psalm, the way God has always filled these three roles are presented as follows:
        1. God was Israel's timeless Great Covenant Keeper in delivering her from bondage and opening up Canaan as a possession: (a) God powerfully kept His covenant with Abraham after Israel suffered for four hundred years in Egypt, and delivered her with great miracles from Egyptian bondage, cf. Ps. 136:10-15 in light of Ex. 2:23-25 and Gen. 15:13-16. (b) God then gave Israel victory over the Gentiles who opposed her entering Canaan so that she could possess the land, Ps. 136:17-20, 24.
        2. God was Israel's timeless Great Provider of Livelihood needs: (a) As the Creator, He long ago gave man a home in the universe in which to survive, Ps. 136:4-9. (b) Then, God sustained His people through the wilderness wanderin gs, Ps. 136:16: this involved ((1)) miraculous provisions of food and water for forty years (see Ex. 16:14-15, 35; 17:1-7; Joshua 5:12), ((2)) the miraculous sustenance of clothing and shoes for forty years of wilderness journeys (Deut. 29:5), ((3)) God's giving Israel developed and furnished farmlands and houses in Canaan (Ps. 136:21 with Deut. 6:10-12) and ((4)) God's continuing to supply food for Israel once she entered and possessed the land, Ps. 136:25.
        3. God was Israel's timeless Great Leader and Guide through all the times of her uncertainty: Psalm 136:16 simply states that God led His people through the desert. Well , we know that this involved a series of intricate leadership steps: ((1)) Numbers 9:15-16 tells us that God modified His daytime cloud to be a pillar of fire by night to provide illumination for Israel to know God's leadership even in the dead of night! ((2)) Thus, whenever God pulled His daytime cloud or nighttime pillar of fire up to move it, Israel would instantly know when to move or when to stay put, Numbers 9:17-18, 21. ((3)) God would sometimes keep Israel in a single location for a year or sometimes move them every day, and Israel knew when to stay and when to go by the shifting or settling of the daytime cloud or nighttime pillar, Numbers 9:21-22. Accordingly, for forty years, Israel knew God's leading every instant of time during that whole four-decade-long journey!
Lesson: As God's track record of ALWAYS having met Israel's needs as Covenant Keeper, Livelihood Provider or Guide is so PERFECT, and that dating back to CREATION, Israel could praise God and confidently trust that His loyal love would be there NOW , TOMORROW and ALWAYS!

Application: God's track record of PERFECTLY, ALWAYS keeping His promises, providing for our livelihood needs and guiding us every moment or over the long haul shows us He will TIMELESSLY do so NOW, TOMORROW and ALWAYS. Thus, we owe Him thanks, pr aise and TRUST for doing so!

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