Psalm 136

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: To Him who alone does great wonders, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who by wisdom made the heavens, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who laid out the earth above the waters, for His mercy endures forever; to Him who made great lights, for His mercy endures forever - the sun to rule by day, for His mercy endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:3-9 (NKJV)

It is easy to think that today’s psalmist is speaking strictly about God the Father.  That is because most of us are familiar with the Christmas nativity story of Jesus’ birth.  But we must remember that before Jesus was born as a baby, He existed from eternity past.  This is not some modern Christian idea.  It was the understanding of the Jewish prophets that Messiah would be God, made flesh.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2 (NKJV), (See also: Isaiah 9:6)

When the apostle John began his gospel by boldly claiming Jesus’ deity, he was not inventing some new cultic myth. John was simply righting the Jewish understanding of the prophets’ message concerning Who Messiah would be. Messiah was not a human whom God would use to deliver His people; rather, God Himself donned humanity to deliver His people. We must read Psalm 136 thru the lens of John 1.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14 (NKJV)  (**And we read the rest of Psalm 136 thru the lens of 1 Corinthians 10:1-4)

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ [Messiah].” 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (NKJV)