Under the shade of a flat topped tree, the women sit on reed mats. Men are gathered and the smell of wood smoke and dust settles. Their voices raise in song, harmony unfamiliar to American ears, but beautiful and haunting in its uniquely African way.
Often, the only person with a hymn book is the song leader. Antiphonal singing is a practical choice then: the practice of calling and responding. The leader may sing a phrase and after the congregation will sing. Sometimes the congregation repeats the phrase; other times they simply sing a chorus or refrain. We find something similar in Psalm 136.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1
And so the psalm continues, repeating the line “for his steadfast love endures forever” after each new thought. But sometimes it seems silly to repeat such a simple phrase.
For his steadfast love endures forever.
And yet, we who feel so very sophisticated in our first world technology so easily forget the goodness and love of God. This problem of forgetting God’s love is centuries old. The Psalmist reminds us.
God is sovereign (v1-3).
And his steadfast love endures forever.
He is the creator of everything that was ever made (v4-9).
And his steadfast love endures forever.
He has led his people out of bondage in the past (and he leads us from the bondage of sin today v10-16).
And his steadfast love endures forever.
He fights our enemies for us (surely this would include spiritual enemies even still! v17-22).
And his steadfast love endures forever.
He sees us in our brokenness and comes to rescue us (v23-25).
And his steadfast love endures forever.
No matter what we may say – to describe ourselves, our circumstances, our God, this phrase remains true: And his steadfast love endures forever. All else around us may give way to darkness, but his love will hold firm. And if we in turn hold fast to his love, we will some day join that mighty chorus and sing eternally of his great love.
Wattsup With Kids 