Psalm 136:16-26 NKJV
16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
17 To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
18 And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
20 And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
21 And gave their land as a heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
22 A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.
23 Who remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
24 And rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
25 Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.
Again the Psalmist cries, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” In the first half of the Psalm, he highlighted the Lord’s goodness and dependable love in His acts of creating the universe and redeeming Israel from slavery in Egypt. Now he turns to more examples of the Lord’s faithfulness to Israel and to all men.
The Lord showed His goodness to Israel in preserving them throughout their wilderness wanderings. His faithful love for them is all the more remarkable for all their grumbling and complaining along the way, and for their initial refusal to enter the Promised Land. But the Lord continued to feed them bread from heaven for forty years, and He even kept their clothing from wearing out. Surely He is good, and His mercy endures forever!
The Lord showed His goodness to Israel in granting them one victory after another over the peoples who opposed them as they entered the land of Canaan, until they received the promised inheritance.
Finally, the Psalmist reminds us that the Lord’s goodness extends to all living creatures on earth in providing food for all, for the sun does not shine, the ground does not yield its crops, and the seed does not grow except by the will of God, who still sustains all the mechanisms He placed into the creation, so that this world, even in its cursed status, may continue to be inhabited until Christ’s return for judgment, giving us time to hear the Gospel, repent, and believe in Christ Jesus during this time of grace.
Christians are the beneficiaries of all this goodness, because not only do we rely on the Lord for our food, but we also recognize with humility that, through faith in the Christ promised to Israel, we have been brought into the Old Testament people of Israel, so that all the good the Lord did for them was also done for us.
Let us pray: O Lord, we give thanks to You, for You are good, and Your mercy endures forever! Amen.