Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

• Psalm 136:1-3

The theme is twofold in Psalm 136.  Each verse, all 26 verses, ends with “His love endures forever.”  That is obviously a theme.  But the part that is not repeated in each verse, starts off thanking God and then giving a little history as the reason for that thanks.

I do not remember if it was a Sunday school setting or in a family gathering, but it was mentioned that if you simply said “thank you” without applying the reason for that thanks, the “thank you” could be taken as not being sincere.  When you specifically say to your grandmother that her meal was excellent and the meat tasted great, the veggies were cooked to perfection, the dessert was my favorite, but please let me have the recipe for those biscuits, the thank you sounds more sincere than “Thanks, Grandma.”

What are you thanking her for?  Showing up?

Sorry, it was a tough lesson, and I am probably suppressing the memory, but that was the gist of the lesson, including the retort about Grandma just showing up.

But the psalmist details, as many books of the Old Testament repeat, how God brought them out of Egypt.  The story continues until they are secure in the land God had promised them.

This concludes the nine chapters that I had never quoted in one of these blogs.  I am already thinking of the next idea for Friday evening posts.  But over the last nine weeks, these chapters were instructive.  They were applicable to what goes on today.  The Apostle Paul was correct in 2 Timothy 3:16 when he said that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful in instruction.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory