Summary4 min read

The Daily Blade: Episode #264 – Kyle Thompson // Give Thanks to the Lord, For He is Good

Date: January 5, 2026
Hosts: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson

Episode Overview

This episode kicks off a week-long devotional series on Psalm 136, focusing on the theme of God’s steadfast love and why Christians should continually give thanks. Kyle Thompson leads today's discussion, unpacking the meaning behind the famous refrain, “For His steadfast love endures forever,” and exploring the nature of God’s goodness and supremacy as revealed in the opening verses.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Psalm 136 (00:20)

Context & Structure:
- The exact author and date of Psalm 136 remain unknown but it likely originates from the post-exilic period (around the 5th century BC).
- Psalm 136 is a “liturgical hymn of thanksgiving,” built on the repetitive refrain:
  
  “For His steadfast love endures forever.”
- The refrain appears 26 times in the Psalm, underscoring its central message.
Translation Nuances:
- Different Bible translations render the refrain with nuances:
  - ESV: "His steadfast love endures forever."
  - KJV: "His mercy endureth forever."
  - CSB: "His faithful love endures forever."
  - NASB: "His lovingkindness is everlasting."
Key Term:
- The Hebrew word “hesed” is the focus—difficult to translate, but fundamentally about God’s loyal, committed, covenant love.
“God's character is the engine of history...” —Kyle Thompson (00:55)

2. Daily Focus: Verses 1–3—Give Thanks for God’s Goodness and Supremacy (02:00)

Scripture Read:
- Verses 1-3:
  
  “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. For His steadfast love endures forever.”
  “Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
  “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
Two Big Themes:
- God's Goodness
- God's Supremacy

A. God’s Goodness (02:35)

What makes God ‘good’?
- God’s goodness is foundational—He doesn’t just do good; He is the very source and definition of goodness.
  
  “He created the morality by which we even judge good and bad.” —Kyle Thompson (02:41)
- God’s character is intrinsically benevolent, faithful, and kind to all creation.
- He is not good purely by action; goodness is His essential attribute.
Supporting Scriptures:
- Psalm 34:8:
  
  “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
- Psalm 100:5:
  
  “For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”
- Exodus 33 (God reveals His goodness to Moses):
  
  “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name, ‘The Lord’... I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

B. God’s Supremacy (03:52)

The God of gods and Lord of lords:

“He is not a god among other gods… He is the Capital G God of gods, and the Capital L Lord of lords.” —Kyle Thompson (03:56)
Idols and Priorities:
- Anything—work, fitness, self-improvement—can become a ‘little g god’ or ‘little l lord’ when prioritized above God.
“Building a successful business is a good thing. It just makes a terrible god or lord.” —Kyle Thompson (04:11) “Even pursuing personal development… that’s a very good thing. But it just makes a terrible god or lord.” —Kyle Thompson (04:19)
God’s Jealousy:
- The phrase underscores that God alone is worthy of all worship and trust, eclipsing all other lesser ‘gods’ or priorities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On God’s Defining Attribute:

“Hesed can be difficult to translate, but the meaning implies that God's love is not just a feeling... It is a binding commitment between God and each one of us.” —Kyle Thompson (01:14)
On False Gods and Priorities:

“The little g gods and little l lords aren’t inherently bad. They’re just inherently vacuous compared to the goodness of God.” —Kyle Thompson (03:59)
On Applying the Message:

“If your life does not align with that, then it needs to. His steadfast love endures forever.” —Kyle Thompson (04:46)

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:20 – Introduction to Psalm 136 and its context
01:14 – Explanation of “steadfast love” and “hesed”
02:00 – Reading of Psalm 136:1-3 and framing key themes
02:35 – Exploration of God’s goodness
03:52 – Exploration of God’s supremacy over all other 'gods' and 'lords'
04:46 – Call to personal alignment with God’s supremacy

Tone and Language

The episode maintains an earnest, devotional tone, blending biblical teaching with practical encouragement. The language is straightforward, relatable, and rooted in scriptural exposition. Kyle speaks conversationally but brings clarity and pastoral warmth to the exploration of these foundational truths.

Summary:
This episode serves as a call to recognize and respond to the enduring, covenantal love of God by giving thanks for His inherent goodness and unquestionable supremacy. As you begin the week, listeners are encouraged to read Psalm 136 in full daily and realign their lives with the truth that above all else, God's steadfast love endures forever.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:01]
A
Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up. All right.
[00:21]
B
Welcome to a new week of the Daily Blade. All week we're going to be looking at Psalm 136. So the English Standard Version of the Bible names this psalm, his steadfast love endures forever. So the author of this exact psalm and the exact date of the writing of the psalm is not known, but it does have the earmarks of a post exilic writing, so post exile, which would place it near the 5th century BC. So structurally, this psalm is a liturgical hymn of thanksgiving. And it hinges on the antiphonal repetition of this one line. And it's this one line from the esv. For his steadfast love endures forever. And you may have heard it in some other translations. King James Version. For his mercy endureth forever. The csb. His faithful love endures forever. And then, as before, his loving kindness is everlasting. So what is the central focus and reason for the repetition of this one line? It is God's character, his defining attribute, and it's the Hebrew word hesed. Okay. And that's how God's character is the engine of history. So hesed can be difficult to translate, but the meaning implies that God's love is not just a feeling, right? Not how we feel like we love something. It is a binding commitment between God and each one of us. And that refrain is repeated 26 times in this one short psalm. So we're going to break this psalm up into five sections as we study this week, but I would highly encourage you to just read the entire thing every day. This week as we go through today, we're going to look at verses one through three, and I'll read them here. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. For his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of Gods for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords for his steadfast love endures forever. So in this first section, we need to focus on two things, God's goodness and God's supremacy. So let's start with God's goodness again, verse one. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. So, as revealed in Scripture, God is good for a multitude of reasons. He's good because, morally speaking, he is perfect. You Know, he created the morality by which we even judge good and bad. Right? He's good because the default mechanism of his character is benevolence. He's good because of his faithfulness and his faithful kindness towards all of his creation to include all of us. And ultimately, God isn't good because he does good stuff. He's good because it is his essential attribute to be good. So this is a common refrain throughout the bible. So Psalm 34, 8o taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 100, verse 5. For the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. And as recorded in Exodus 33, Moses asked God if he will show him his glory. And God responded by saying, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name. The Lord. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy, to whom I will show mercy. And now we need to talk about God's supremacy. So verses 2 and 3 of Psalm 136. Give thanks to the God of Gods. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords. So he is not a God amongst other Gods. Like, he's not a little G God amongst other little G Gods. He is not a Lord amongst other lords. Lowercase L, right? He is the God of Gods, the capital G God of Gods and the capital L Lord of Lords. You see, our God is a jealous God because He is above all of the other little G gods and all the other little L lords, right? That we are tempted to put in front of him throughout our lives. And the little G Gods and little L lords aren't inherently bad, they're just inherently vacuous when compared to the goodness of God. So, like, building a successful business is a good thing. It just makes a terrible God or Lord. Getting in really good shape is a good thing. And I talk about it all the time. It just makes a terrible God or Lord. And even pursuing personal development, right, so that you can be better for those around you, that's a very good thing. But it just makes a very terrible God or Lord. We would do well to remember what God says about himself in reference to everything else. He is above all other gods. He is supreme over Earth's kings and rulers. He is the ruler of heaven and earth. Again, Psalm 136:1,3 reminds us that God is good in nature and indeed and his supremacy is unquestionable. If your life does not align with that, then it needs to. His steadfast love endures forever.
[05:02]
A
Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help, equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. Stay sharp.