Psalm 135

God is to be praised always, at all times and in all situations.  He is the Creator of the universe and orchestrator and conductor of all that is in it.  He created the sun, Moon and stars and weather, He controls the forces of the seas and all that is in them.  He rules over all time, and all people, yet knows us intimately and wants to be in relationship with each of His beloved ones.  He is power, glory, all knowing, yet He hears each one of our cries as we call out to Him, unlike man made idols made of earthly materials.  God stands up for His people and for those who love Him, but He is also a God of justice.

Psalm 136

Has always been a struggle for me.  The repetitive nature of “His love endures forever”, initially made me skip over each sentence as I found it to be frustrating, but when you stop and go line by line, it is truly a reassurance and a promise that through the past, present and future, “His love endures forever” or as The Message says “His love never quits”!!  That is a game changer, because then no matter the circumstances I find myself in the midst of, His love never quits.  When a parent passes away, His love never quits, when a family member is in a battle with cancer, His love never quits, when I make a monumental mistake, His love never quits, because this scripture lists ALL the times God has provided for His people and brought them thru trials.  God is worthy to be praised always and forever for everything He is and for everything He has done and will do.

Psalm 137

Reminds me of a song we were learning together at band practice about a month ago, called “Rivers of Babylon” by Boney M.  It is a song about the oppressed and displaced Israelites as they were taken captive from their homeland, where the presence of God was among them, and taken to Babylon as slaves and captives.  Then, they were mocked by their captures to sing songs of praise from their homeland, and they said “How can we sing the Lord’s song, in a strange land?” They wept and mourned for their homeland and the beauty and the bounty they were forced to leave behind.  They felt like God was far from them and they were in despair, and hung up their instruments and cried.  God heard their cries, just as He hears ours today.  His love never fails.