Ps. 136: “The Lovingkindness Is Everlasting”
/1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Following a call to praise (vss. 1-3), Ps. 136 gives us 22 reasons to offer thanksgiving to God. This is one of the great history lesson psalms, but the notable the refrying “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
This is also variously translated as:
His love is eternal (HCSB)
His lovingkindness is everlasting. (NASB)
His steadfast love endures forever. (ESV)
His faithful love endures forever (NLT)
His mercy endureth for ever (KJV)
Repeated often, it is not a throw away line. It is the very heart of the psalm. We often tend to gloss over something repeated so much since we’ve already read it and its coming is predictable being every other line.
Charles Spurgeon said, “We shall have this repeated in every verse of this song, but not once too often. It is the sweetest stanza that man can sing. What joy that there is mercy, mercy with Jehovah, enduring mercy, mercy enduring for ever. We are ever needing it, trying it, praying for it, receiving it: therefore let us for ever sing of it.” (Treasury of David, Ps. 136, vs. 1)