Psalm 136:1 * December 31, 2009 * New Year’s Eve * Pastor Pagels
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
Repetitio mater studiorum est. By constant repetition those four words were drummed into my head by my high school Latin teacher. And it’s appropriate since repetitio mater studiorum est is a Latin phrase that means “repetition is the mother of study/learning.”
Students can come up with all kinds of shortcuts and mnemonic devices to help them memorize, but these tricks will never be able to replace good old fashioned repetition. The only sure fire way to transfer information from short term to long term memory is to go over it again and again and again.
Which is exactly what the writer of Psalm 136 does in our text for this evening. The inspired and anonymous author repeats the same phrase over and over, twenty six times in twenty six verses. Originally this psalm was sung antiphonally (back and forth) by two choirs with one group chanting the first half and the other group repeating the refrain, but nothing is lost when a person reads it from start to finish. In fact, the repetition makes a lasting impression.
With each verse the writer tells us that he wants us to remember something. He wants us to remember something important about our God. And as we look back at the year that is ending and forward to the year that is about to begin, it is good to be reminded, it is a blessing for God to remind us that…
HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER
Before we explore what that phrase means, before we talk about the enduring nature of God and God’s love, let’s look at some of the people and places and things in the world that do NOT endure. And a quick look at 2009 will provide us with plenty of examples.
If you would have asked people if they “twitter” at the
beginning of this year, they probably would have given you a strange look. People don’t twitter. Birds do.
But today Twitter (an instant blogging service) is one of the fastest
growing
In January of this year Americans witnessed history when Barak Obama was sworn in as the first African American president. The election wasn’t all that close (especially when compared to the previous two presidential elections), and when Obama took office his polling numbers were through the roof.
But now only a few months later, the polls are telling a different story. As difficult as it is to become president, it is even more difficult being the president. And President Obama’s falling approval ratings are just one example that in this world popularity doesn’t last forever.
When this year began we were in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Experts are saying that the economy is slowly improving, but maybe you aren’t seeing it. Maybe you aren’t feeling it. If you are still struggling to make ends meet, at least your name isn’t Bernard (Bernie) Madoff.
Madoff was the mastermind behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in
Who would have thought that two letters and two numbers could strike fear in the hearts of people all over the world, but that is exactly what the H1N1 virus (aka swine flu) did in 2009. Even though the pandemic wasn’t as bad as some were predicting, nearly 10,000 people around the world lost their lives to the virus.
Maybe it wasn’t the swine flu that got you in 2009, but maybe it was something else. Maybe it was cancer or heart disease or arthritis. Maybe you are relying more on medications. Maybe you have been forced to rely on the help of others. Maybe this was the year when you were forced to come to grips with the fact that health doesn’t last forever.
It has been over eight years since 9/11, and since those
attacks things have been relatively quiet, at least in the
About this time every year every major news organization runs a story on famous people who died in the previous year. Some of the more notable passings of 2009 include news anchor Walter Cronkite, pop icon Michael Jackson, actress/model Farah Fawcett and Senator Ted Kennedy.
There is no doubt that these people will be missed, but perhaps you are missing someone else this evening. Maybe this was the year when you buried a parent. Maybe this was the year when you lost a spouse or a sibling or a close friend. Your New Year’s celebration might be a bit more subdued this time around because you are thinking about them and the fact that life doesn’t last forever.
Mark Sanford and Tiger Woods probably wish they didn’t have
anything and common, but unfortunately they do.
Mark Sanford is the governor of
And we love to talk about it. Our ears perk up to hear the latest dirt on celebrities, but are we any better? Are we faultless? Are we blameless? Should we be reaching down to pick up the first stone? The cameras probably won’t capture the sinful details of our lives, but God’s eyes do. God knows all. God sees all. And what does a quick glance at the last year reveal?
It reveals that we have sinned. We have sinned a lot. We have lied and lusted and cheated and hated. Even our most righteous acts are like filthy rags. And when the Lord returns to judge the world, when Jesus the righteous Judge calls upon us to give an accounting for our lives, we will have no choice but to admit that we do not deserve to live forever. The wages of sin is death. The wages of our sin is eternal death. Because of our sin we deserve the shame and pain and fire of hell, and that is something that will last forever.
I’m not trying the kill the mood. It isn’t my goal to keep you from enjoying your New Year’s parties this evening. I just want to remind you why you can celebrate tonight. It’s not because of the arbitrary turning of the calendar from one day to the next. It is more substantial than that. It is much more meaningful than that. We should celebrate tonight. We have more reason than anyone to celebrate tonight. We celebrate, we rejoice, we give thanks this day and every day because the Lord is good, because his love endures forever.
God’s love isn’t just an emotion. God’s love isn’t determined by how he feels about us or by how we feel about him. God’s love is tangible. God’s love is concrete. God puts his love into practice, and in the pages of Scripture we are able to see the love of God in action.
In the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, he didn’t destroy them and start over. He was patient with them. He forgave them, and he gave them the promise that a Savior would come.
When the Israelites bowed down to a golden calf in the wilderness, God didn’t destroy them and start over. He was patient with them. He forgave them, and he gave them the Promised Land and the promise that a Savior would come.
When God’s people disobeyed his laws and dismissed his prophets, the Lord didn’t destroy them and start over. He was patient with them. He forgave them, and when the time had fully come he sent them a Savior in the form of his Son.
When God’s people rejected God’s Son, when they arrested him and convicted him, when the Savior was sentenced to death, he didn’t destroy his enemies and start over. Jesus was patient with them. He said, “Father, forgive them,” and then he gave up his life for the sins of the world.
When we look at our past failures and our present problems, when we recognize that we are the problem, when the wrath of God is unleashed on all godlessness and wickedness on the Last Day, we won’t have to cover our heads or run and hide. We won’t have to be afraid. We will have nothing to fear because the Lord won’t destroy us…because he has forgiven us...because our Savior has saved us…because his love endures forever.
Psalm 136 is sometimes referred to as the Great Hallel. According to tradition, it is sung in Jewish homes at the end of the Passover meal. The first verse is sometimes spoken at Christian dinner tables at the beginning or the end of a meal. And so praying this prayer would be a fitting way for us to end this sermon and this year.
Because our past sins are forgiven and forgotten, because our eternal future is secure, we approach the New Year with confidence. Even if we lose our health and wealth, even if we lose everything, even if God decides that this year will be our last year, we still give thanks. We “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). Amen.