Psalm 136:1-12
It is often difficult to break these longer psalms without interrupting the flow. Today is a good example. I broke Psalm 136 at verse 12; verse 13 would also be good; or verse 16. Pick your own break today!
Today’s verses break down into three sections – praising and thanking God for Who He is (Ps. 136:1-3), praising and thanking God for His creation (Ps. 136:4-9), and praising and thanking God for His deliverance from Egypt (Ps. 136:10-12, ff.), also continued tomorrow. We 21st century Christians can fully relate to these first two sections; then we can either relate to Israel’s deliverance or we can look back to deliverance(s) that we have seen in our own lives. Personally, as many of you well know, I like to look back at God’s work in my life.
I don’t always think of “deliverance” as what happened at this event or that event, but it’s intriguing to go further and ask what might have happened if … if … if…, given that at some point(s) I was redirected – or “delivered”, if you will. Why would an “A” student drop out of college and join the Army? Why would I quit my job at AT&T to go back to school? Why would I choose the academic paths that I followed (Psychology, Labor Relations, Economics)? Why would I choose graduate school at the University of Maryland, some 700 miles east? All these redirects…! I can’t even begin to imagine whatever it was that I was delivered from at each of those points. What if I had not acted on any one of those redirects? Where would I be?
Folks, it truly is good to look back at the Lord’s work in your lives – to thank and praise Him for His many deliverances! Thank you, Lord!