Before we can look through God’s windows, we need to see God for Who He really is. We need to see how God sees us through His window. Without that window we can never see clearly God’s purpose for Creation and His continued activity within His Creation. We need to clean that window and throw it open. Psalm 136:1-3 does this for us.
Psalm 136 was written in a context of polytheism, which means a culture with many other so-called gods that governed the people. This is not unlike our culture today, or any culture through history. Yhwh is the One and only true God. He was back then, and He still is today, the only God through the end of eternity.
Cultural gods and goddesses include various types of spirituality, spiritism, or anything that’s at the center of a person’s life. Even atheism has its own god. Atheism: ‘a’ means no; ‘theos’ means god. Thus, atheism means “no god.” Nevertheless, atheism has humanism and “self” at the center of a person’s life, which is a god. No one is god-less or without a god.
Verses 1-3 is not acknowledging that there are other gods and goddesses in addition to Yhwh. The 1 Commandment forbids this type of belief: You shall have no other gods except for Me. However, God speaks within the polytheistic culture using human understanding to bring them to His truth. “[Th]e psalmist completes his first triplet [of the psalm] with Yahweh’s dominance over all the gods and lords of heathendom, the senseless idols of [Psalm] 135:15–18. … and knows, as in 135:5, who is in charge of the pantheon.”[1]
God throws open His window for all to see Him as He is. He has nothing to hide. Give thanks is another way of saying “confess” or “acknowledge” Yhwh. Yhwh is the direct object of our praise and confession of faith. It’s an imperative, which means this confession is really not an option. The Christian does this willingly because he is empowered by the very Spirit of Yhwh to do so.
The psalm uses superlatives[2] in a culture where humanity falsely believes that there are other gods and goddesses to worship and that govern humanity and its history. “You believe in your gods? Ok, then. Yhwh is the God of all gods, including your so-called gods. You believe in your gods as your lords? Ok, then. Yhwh is the Lord of lords, including your so-called lords.”
However, the psalmist doesn’t leave the unbeliever without an invitation to change her ways. “Come and at least check out Yhwh. His character is goodness and not anger, mercy and not revenge. Yhwh really does care about you and loves you very much.” And we Christians need this reminder in our lives too.
The window through which God wants us and the rest of the world to get to know Him is through the cross of His Son Jesus. Christianity is the only religion in the world where humans do not have to appease their god. All other religions, which are human religions at the core, have some sort of basis where a person must do something to gain favor or hope for a better afterlife. Christianity, the only true religion, demands nothing from humanity. God does it all completely for His creatures in the cross of Jesus. What a window of grace and mercy!
God invites us once again to look through the open window that God Himself has thrown open. He opens the windows of our hearts by His Spirit so that we can see Him for Who He truly is, confess Him as LORD because His character is truly goodness.
God invites you to do more than look into His window. He invites you into His home, into His family, to dwell with Him. In so doing we begin to look out at God’s Creation and all of God’s people from His perspective—through His window of the cross and the empty Easter tomb. It’s a wonderful, majestic, beautiful view from God’s perspective. So, come on in and gaze through God’s window!
[1] Michael D. Goulder, The Psalms of the Return: Book V, Psalms 107–150, vol. 258, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 221.
[2] Waltke, Bruce K. and Michael P. O’Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Accordance electronic edition, version 2.8. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990. 122-123.; Gesenius, Wilhelm. Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. Edited by E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley. 2d, Accordance electronic edition, version 3.2. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910. 431.
A Redeker Respite 