Devotion 8.4.23

Psalm 136

136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

    for his steadfast love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

    for his steadfast love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

    for his steadfast love endures forever;

Redundancy is the best teaching and learning method. That is a fact of pedagogy (the methods of teaching). The psalmist in 136 wants us to remember the enduring trait of God: steadfast love. He spends 26 verses stating a quality of our God and then praising Him by saying "for his steadfast love endures forever."

Luther placed the Psalms high on his study list, devoting a portion of each day (seven times each day) to be in prayer with the book. His method took him through the entire book of Psalms frequently, so he is somewhat of an expert on the Psalms. Luther applied a simple study method to each psalm:

1. Look for God's voice, his instruction;
2. Look for its application in life; and, 
3. Find Christ.

Christ is God's living "steadfast love," that love that follows us each day, forgives us, renews us and strengthens us through nothing we have done. We find Christ in this psalm later in the chapter:

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,

    for his steadfast love endures forever;

24 and rescued us from our foes,

    for his steadfast love endures forever;

God finds us, sinners, in low estate, much like He finds Adam in the garden after the Fall, hiding. "I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself" (Genesis 3:10) he said, and that confession was a glimpse of life in a fallen world. Today we find ourselves in a world of hurt, ashamed, afraid, hiding, not seeking or finding comfort in the truth.

That Truth, though, gives us all of those and more through defeating our foes of sin, Satan, and death.

With that, we give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever.