DAILY BYTEYesterday the point was made that God is present and active in the often-messy reality of our human existence. This has always been a cornerstone conviction of the Judeo-Christian faith – that God is not some esoteric spiritual principle, some airy-fairy notion, but is a personal, relational God who is fully engaged in the nitty-gritty particularities of human history.
This was the faith that Israel confessed as they remembered God’s presence and activity in their midst. In the Psalter there are a number of psalms that are referred to as ‘historical psalms’ – hymns of praise to God that recount the events of Israel’s history and the ways in which God has acted to shape that history.
One of these historical psalms is Psalm 136. The unique thing about this particular psalm is that it has a refrain that is repeated after every line. As the psalm tells the story of God’s mighty works of creation and redemption, after every line we are reminded that “His steadfast love endures forever.”
It’s as if the psalm is trying to show us that running through everything, woven into the very fabric of this earthly existence, interleaved through the pages of human history and punctuating the story of our lives, there is this enduring, loving presence that fills all things.
It’s as if the psalm is saying that history cannot be truly told or heard or understood without reference to the reality of God’s loving presence with us.
In the light of this beautiful insight that Psalm 136 offers, why don’t you think about your own personal history. Recount the events that stand out for you that have shaped your story, the good things and the bad. What would it mean for you to affirm, as you remember each of these pivotal events, that God’s steadfast love endures forever? How might this change the way in which your own story is told or understood?
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you, gracious God, that your steadfast love endures forever. Thank you that woven through every experience of my life, both the good times and the bad, is the enduring reality of your unfailing love. It is this simple but profound truth that changes the way that my life story can be understood. Help me to recognise the signs of your abiding love, that I might live with a new confidence as one who knows that my life is saturated with your presence. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 136:1, 6-16, 26
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
his steadfast love endures forever….
who spread out the earth on the waters,
his steadfast love endures forever;
who made the great lights,
his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
his steadfast love endures forever;
who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
his steadfast love endures forever;
and brought Israel out from among them,
his steadfast love endures forever;
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
his steadfast love endures forever;
who divided the Red Sea in two,
his steadfast love endures forever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
his steadfast love endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
his steadfast love endures forever;
who led his people through the wilderness,
his steadfast love endures forever….
O give thanks to the God of heaven,
his steadfast love endures forever.
