Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods; for his loving kindness endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who alone does great wonders; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who spread out the earth above the waters; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever:
the sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn; for his loving kindness endures forever;
and brought out Israel from among them; for his loving kindness endures forever;
with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who divided the Red Sea apart; for his loving kindness endures forever;
and made Israel to pass through the middle of it; for his loving kindness endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who led his people through the wilderness; for his loving kindness endures forever:
to him who struck great kings; for his loving kindness endures forever;
and killed mighty kings; for his loving kindness endures forever:
Sihon king of the Amorites; for his loving kindness endures forever;
Og king of Bashan; for his loving kindness endures forever;
and gave their land as an inheritance; for his loving kindness endures forever;
even a heritage to Israel his servant; for his loving kindness endures forever:
who remembered us in our low estate; for his loving kindness endures forever;
and has delivered us from our adversaries; for his loving kindness endures forever:
who gives food to every creature; for his loving kindness endures forever.
Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; for his loving kindness endures forever.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 23 1. For his mercy, Jebb observes, that “the 136th…
1. For his mercy, Jebb observes, that “the 136th Psalm is altogether peculiar in its construction, as it has the recurrence of the same words, ‘For everlasting is his mercy,’ at the end of every distich.” He adds, that “this elaborate artifice of construction seems characteristic of that later period which comprised the captivity and restoration;” although he at the same time admits, that it is to be found in Psalms of an earlier date than the Baby-lonish captivity, quoting a passage in the account of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, which informs us, that the whole choir of Israel united in praising God “for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever:” and observing that this expression forms the.commencement of three other Psalms, the Psalm 106, Psalm 107, and Psalm 118. In his remarks on the Psalm 119, after adverting to the alphabetical character of that Psalm, he adds, “There are other artifices of construction observable in the Psalms and Hymns composed in these later ages of the Church. For example, that repetition of the same words and clauses, and the frequent recurrence of a characteristic word, so frequent in the Greater Hallel, [from the Psalm 111 to Psalm 118th, inclusive,] and in the Songs of Degrees: and in a continually recurring burden, in each distich, as in the Song of the three Children, and Psalm 136, which latter is unique in the Psalter. It has been the tendency of the poetry of most countries, in the progress of time, to make its characteristic features depend less upon the exactness of sentimental arrangement, and more upon some external artifice, whether this be prosodial metre, alliteration, rhyme, assonance, or the recurrence of a burthen. Now, though the poetry of the Scriptures, because it was inspired, never declined from the perfection of its sentimental construction, still those artificial contrivances, practiced, indeed, in earlier times, seem to have been more prevalent at the time of the captivity, and the time immediately following, than heretofore. It was probably so ordained, for the purpose of assisting the memories of the Jews, who at Babylon were excluded from the open exercise of their religion, and from public teaching, and, therefore, required more private helps, which could be more easily communicated orally from parents to children, or from masters to disciples.” — Jebb’s Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 2.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 6, 11, 12, 16, 18, 23, 25, 26 By this repetition he showeth that the least of…
By this repetition he showeth that the least of God’s benefits bind us to thanksgiving: but chiefly his mercy, which is principally declared towards his Church.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–26 Psa 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for…
Psa 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.
Ver. 1. O give thanks unto the Lord] This psalm is by the Jews called Hillel gadol, the great gratulatory. See Psa 106:1; Psa 107:1; Psa 118:1.
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For his mercy endureth for ever] His covenant mercy, that precious Church privilege; this is perpetual to his people, and should perpetually shine as a picture in our hearts. For which purpose this psalm was appointed to be daily sung in the old church, by the Levites, 1Ch 16:41.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 14, 16, 22, 25 The God of gods; who is infinitely superior to…
The God of gods; who is infinitely superior to all that are called gods, whether angels, or princes, or idols.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 23 The duty we are here again and again called…
The duty we are here again and again called to is to give thanks, to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, not the fruits of our ground or cattle, but the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name, Heb 13:15. We are never so earnestly called upon to pray and repent as to give thanks; for it is the will of God that we should abound most in the most pleasant exercises of religion, in that which is the work of heaven. Now here observe, 1. Whom we must give thanks to - to him that we receive all good from, to the Lord, Jehovah, Israel's God (Psa 136:1), the God of gods, the God whom angels adore, from whom magistrates derive their power, and by whom all pretended deities are and shall be conquered (Psa 136:2), to the Lord of lords, the Sovereign of all sovereigns, the stay and supporter of all supports; Psa 136:3. In all our adorations we must have an eye to God's excellency as transcendent, and to his power and dominion as incontestably and uncontrollably supreme. 2. What we must give thanks for, not as the Pharisee that made all his thanksgivings terminate in his own praise (God, I thank thee, that I am so and so), but directing them all to God's glory. (1.) We must give thanks to God for his goodness and mercy (Psa 136:1): Give thanks to the Lord, not only because he does good, but because he is good (all the streams must be traced up to the fountain), not only because he is merciful to us, but because his mercy endures for ever, and will be drawn out to those that shall come after us. We must give thanks to God, not only for that mercy which is now handed out to us here on earth, but for that which shall endure for ever in the glories and joys of heaven. (2.) We must give God thanks for the instances of his power and wisdom. In general (Psa 136:4), he along does great wonders. The contrivance is wonderful, the design being laid by infinite wisdom; the performance is wonderful, being put in execution by infinite power. He alone does marvellous things; none besides can do such things, and he does them without the assistance or advice of any other. More particularly, [1.] He made the heavens, and stretched them out, and in them we not only see his wisdom and power, but we taste his mercy in their benign influences; as long as the heavens endure the mercy of God endures in them, Psa 136:5. [2.] He raised the earth out of the waters when he caused the dry land to appear, that it might be fit to be a habitation for man, and therein also his mercy to man still endures (Psa 136:6); for the earth hath he given to the children of men, and all its products. [3.] Having made both heaven and earth, he settled a correspondence between them, notwithstanding their distance, by making the sun, moon, and stars, which he placed in the firmament of heaven, to shed their light and influences upon this earth, Psa 136:7-9. These are called the great lights because they appear so to us, for otherwise astronomers could tell us that the moon is less than many of the stars, but, being nearer to the earth, it seems much greater. They are said to rule, not only because they govern the seasons of the year, but because they are useful to the world, and benefactors are the best rulers, Luk 22:25. But the empire is divided, one rules by day, the other by night (at least, the stars), and yet all are subject to God's direction and disposal. Those rulers, therefore, which the Gentiles idolized, are the world's servants and God's subjects. Sun, stand thou still, and thou moon.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–26 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is…
O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good,.... In himself, and to all his creatures; and especially to his chosen people, who therefore should give thanks to him daily in the name of Christ, for all blessings temporal and spiritual, in faith and fervency, and in the sincerity of their souls, with their whole heart;
for his mercy endureth for ever; it is the same with his love, which is from everlasting to everlasting; and continues notwithstanding the sins of his people, the hidings of his face from them, and his chastisements of them; the covenant which is founded on mercy, and all the blessings of it, which are the sure mercies of David, last for ever; and hence the vessels of mercy shall certainly be saved, and not lost; see Psa 106:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 22, 25 We must praise God as great and good in…
We must praise God as great and good in himself, ver. 1- 3. As the Creator of the world, ver. 4-9. As Israel's God, ver. 10- 22. As our Redeemer, ver. 23, 24. As God over all, ver. 25, 26.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 16, 23, 25 An exhortation to give thanks to God for various…
PSALM CXXXVI
An exhortation to give thanks to God for various mercies
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granted to all men, 1-9;
particularly to the Israelites in Egypt, 10-12;
at the Red Sea, 13-15;
in the wilderness, 16-20;
and in the promised land, 21, 22;
for the redemption of the captives from Babylon, 23, 24;
and for his providential mercies to all, 25, 26.
NOTES ON PSALM CXXXVI
This Psalm is little else than a repetition of the preceding, with the burden, כי לעולם חסדו ki leolam chasdo, "because his mercy endureth for ever," at the end of every verse. See below. It seems to have been a responsive song: the first part of the verse sung by the Levites, the burden by the people. It has no title in the Hebrew, nor in any of the Versions. It was doubtless written after the captivity. The author is unknown.
Verse 1. O give thanks unto the Lord: for he is good] This sentiment often occurs: the goodness of the Divine nature, both as a ground of confidence and of thanksgiving.
For his mercy endureth for ever] These words, which are the burden of every verse, כי לעולם חסדו ki leolam chasdo, might be translated: "For his tender mercy is to the coming age:" meaning, probably, if the Psalm be prophetic, that peculiar display of his compassion, the redemption of the world by the Lord Jesus. These very words were prescribed by David as an acknowledgment, to be used continually in the Divine worship, see 1Ch 16:41: also by Solomon, 2Ch 7:3; 2Ch 7:6, and observed by Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 20:21; all acknowledging that, however rich in mercy God was to them, the most extensive displays of his goodness were reserved for the age to come; see 1Pe 1:10-12: "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired, and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, - unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that preached the Gospel unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven," &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 22 Psa 136:1. O give thanks unto the Lord; for…
Psa 136:1. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good — “We are called upon to praise Jehovah, first for his own essential attributes; then for the exertion of those attributes in his works. The attributes here mentioned are those of goodness and power; the one renders him willing, and the other able, to save: and what can we desire more, but that he should continue to be so! Of this likewise we are assured, by contemplating the unchangeableness of his nature. His disposition altereth not, and his kingdom none can take from him; his mercy endureth for ever.” — Horne.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 26 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is…
O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good - This whole verse is the same as Psa 106:1, except that that is introduced by a Hallelujah. See the notes at that verse.
For his mercy endureth for ever - See also Psa 106:1, note; Psa 107:1, note. Literally, “For unto eternity his mercy.” That is, It is ever the same; it never changes; it is never exhausted; it is found in all his dealings - in all his acts toward his creatures, and ever will be.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 136
Psalms 136
1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
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For his mercy endureth for ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
7 To him that made great lights:
For his mercy endurethfor ever:
8 The sun to rule by day:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
9 The moon and stars to rule by night:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
10 To him that smote Egypt in their first-born:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
11 And brought out Israel from among them:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
16 To him which led his people through the wilderness:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
17 To him which smote great kings:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
18 And slew famous kings:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
19 Sihon king of the Amorites:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
20 And Og the king of Bashan:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
21 And gave their land for a heritage:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
22 Even a heritage unto Israel his servant:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate:
For his mercy endureth for ever:
24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
25 Who giveth food to all flesh:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven:
For his mercy endureth for ever.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.—This Psalm is an exhortation to give thanks to Jehovah, the true God and the real Lord of the universe, and of all its powers and dominions (Psa_136:1-3) who, by mighty deeds in nature, has displayed His greatness as the Creator of the world (Psa_136:4-9), and by deeds of deliverance and judgment in history, His pre-eminence as the Redeemer, Guide. and Guardian of His people (Psa_136:10-25), for which they are to offer their thanksgiving.—It is essentially a repetition of the foregoing, with some insertions, full of allusions to passages in Deuteronomy and the second part of Isaiah, and adapted by antiphonal arrangement for liturgical use, after the analogy of Exodus 15:51; Deu_27:14 f. For the introduction see Psalms 106, 118; on the name great Hallel applied to it, see Psalms 113.
[The conjecture of Delitzsch in his first edition that the Psalm originally consisted of 22 verses, corresponding to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, Psa_136:19-22 being interpolated from Psalms 135, is considered possible by Perowne, but is wisely withdrawn by Delitzsch himself in his last edition.—Alexander: “The grand peculiarity of form in this Psalm, by which it is distinguished from all others, is the regular occurrence at the end of every verse of a burden or refrain, like the responses in the Litany, but carried through with still more perfect uniformity. … It has been a favorite idea with interpreters that such repetitions necessarily imply alternate or responsive choirs. But the other indications of this usage in the Psalter are extremely doubtful, and every exegetical condition may be satisfied by simply supposing that the singers in some cases answered their own questions, and that in others, as in the case before us, the people united in the burden or chorus, as they were wont to do in the Amen.”—J. F. M.]
Psa_136:2-4. God of gods is an expression after Deu_10:17. It sets forth His creative and providential power by His strong hand and His outstretched arm (Deu_4:34; Deu_5:15, compare Jer_32:21). The term great (Psa_136:4), applied to the wonders which God alone does, recalls Psa_72:18 (comp. Psa_86:10.
Psa_136:5-7. The term תְּבוּנָה (Psa_136:5), applied to the wisdom which made the world, is taken from Pro_3:19 or Jer_10:12. רֹקַע (Psa_136:6) is an epithet of God, Isa_42:5; Isa_44:24, as of Him who spreads out the earth like a plain upon the waters or over the waters (Exo_20:4; Psa_24:2). [Delitzsch: “Because the water is partly visible and partly invisible.”—J. F. M.] It does not mean: He who makes firm (De Wette). Elsewhere God is called: יֹסֵד = sterneus. The plural: אוֹרִים=luces, for מְאֹרוֹת=lumina, occurs only here.
Psa_136:9-15.—The dominions (Psa_136:9) [the dominions of the night; E. V.: to rule the night] do not mean ruling powers, but the two-fold exercise of ruling (Psa_114:2); here those of the moon and of the stars. In Psa_136:13גזר is used of the dividing of the Red Sea, as of something cut into two parts, Gen_15:17, instead of בקע, Psa_78:13; Neh_9:11, which follow Exo_14:21. But נִעֵר (Psa_136:15) is the established term taken from Exo_14:27.
Psa_136:26.—The name God of heaven is, as in Neh_1:4; Neh_2:4, an appellation of God which originated in a late period. The language, also, employed after Psa_136:17 conveys a strong impression of the same age. [Alexander: “The God of heaven is a new description as to form, but substantially equivalent to that in Psa_7:8; Psa_11:4; Psa_14:2; Psa_33:13-14.”—J. F. M.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
God will have a people in the world which belongs to Him alone and serves Him; for this He has created the world and preserves it with its inhabitants.—It is well, in considering all the wonderful works and great deeds of God in nature and history, to regard mercy as their divine source: by this we learn to thank God most fervently and to trust Him most firmly.—We have ever reason enough to praise God with gratitude, and occasion enough, also, as we are so often urged to do; but, alas! we have not always delight in that service, and too often but little zeal.—God’s power is incomparable, His wisdom boundless, His love infinite. Alas! that men begin so late to know God and cease so soon to thank Him, that they falter so much in their faith, and exercise themselves so little in the obedience of love.
Starke: God is goodness itself: therefore as long as God remains, goodness remains. He is a stronghold in distress.—He who would praise God’s goodness worthily must have had some experience, some tokens of it, and have retained them still further in blissful enjoyment.—The world ascribes nothing to God’s goodness. With it everything depends upon fortune; but be thou of a different mind. Let it not so often be said in vain to thee: His goodness endureth forever.—The work of creation is so full of depths of God’s omnipotence and wisdom that a mortal becomes lost in reflecting upon it and must take His stand upon the everlasting goodness of God.—God will perform in His Church works which supersede the laws of nature, rather than allow her to succumb and perish in her afflictions.—He who will oppose God’s will, as Pharaoh did, need expect nothing else than that the mighty hand of God will urge him on to destruction.—Whenever we eat a morsel of bread or take a reviving draught, we can taste and see how kind God is.—If God were to portion out His goodness to us according to the measure of our recognition and acknowledgment of it, it might well not linger with us another hour, for no manifestation of it comes to us which we do not sin away.
Richter: God, while showing special favor towards Israel, His chosen people, His first-born, is also gracious and merciful to all. He it is who has adapted and arranged the whole heavens for the good of the earth and of all created things.—Guenther: O that every deliverance here below were an earnest of the last great deliverance from the enemy of all enemies, and that the assurance of the children of God were unchangeably firm!—Taube: It must and will be Israel that leads the song of thanksgiving, inspired by that nearer revelation given to them in the history of redemption, which gave them the key to the knowledge of the works of God.
[Matt. Henry: We are never so earnestly called upon to pray and repent as to give thanks. For it is the will of God that we should abound most in the most pleasant exercises of religion, in that which is the work of heaven.—It is good to enter into the detail of God’s favors, and not to view them in the gross, and in each instance to observe and own that God’s mercy endureth forever.—We should trace each stream to the fountain. This and that particular mercy may perhaps endure for a while; but the mercy that is in God endures forever: it is an inexhaustible fountain.—Bp. Horne: How many of those for whom the works of creation, providence, and redemption have been wrought think none of them worthy their attention! Angels admire and adore when man will not deign to cast an eye or employ a thought.—Be God’s praise as universal and lasting as His mercy!—Scott: Repetitions, disgustful to the fastidious, are often salutary and necessary, because we are so prone to overlook or forget the Lord’s goodness and mercy; yet they convey a severe reproof and should cause us to unite humiliation with our gratitude to our condescending Instructor.—Barnes: Mere power might fill us with dread; power, mingled with mercy and able to carry out the purposes of mercy, must lay the foundation for praise.—J. F. M.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 16, 17, 23, 25 1. A common and favourite form of praise. Psa_118:1.
1. A common and favourite form of praise. Psa_118:1.
For his mercy endureth for ever—A popular refrain, probably given by the congregation. See above in introduction.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 1. O give thanks unto Jehovah for he is…
1. O give thanks unto Jehovah for he is good: for his loving-kindness (endureth) for ever (Psa_136:1).
1. Cp. Psa_106:1, note; Psa_107:1; Psa_118:1.
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his mercy] His lovingkindness, and so throughout the Psalms 2, 3. the God of gods … the Lord of lords] From Deu_10:17.
1–3. A call to thanksgiving.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 19, 24, 25, 26 (2, 3) God of gods . . . Lord…
(2, 3) God of gods . . . Lord of Lords.—From Deu_10:17.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 A PSALM with a familiar refrain (comp. Psa_118:1-4, 29…
A PSALM with a familiar refrain (comp. Psa_118:1-4, 29 2Ch_5:13 Ezr_3:11) at the end of each line. In the main Ps 134, follows the line of Ps 135, calling upon Israel to praise God, and basing the call upon his glorious manifestations of himself in nature (vers. 5-9) and history (vers. 10-24), repeating in the latter case the very same facts. Metrically, the psalm is arranged, till near the end, in a series of triplets, but concludes with two stanzas of four lines each (vers. 19-22 and in vers. 23-26). It is conjectured to have been written as the anthem called for Psa_135:19-21 (Kay).
Oh give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Identical with the first verse of Ps 118, which is probably a very ancient formula, and one used at the erection both of the first (2Ch_5:13) and of the second temple. (Ezr_3:11)
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Vers. 1-26. The Divine constancy.
The refrain of each verse of the psalm may supply us with a guiding thought in our treatment of it. From the first beginnings of creation (as we are affected by them) to the last hour of human experience, we have evidence of the goodness, the "mercy," of the Lord. It has endured through all generations, is with us now, will attend our race (we are sure) to the end of time. We find it
I IS THE DIVINE PROVISION. God gave us sun, moon, and stars at the first. These have been giving light to men everywhere and in all ages. They have been regulating the seasons of the year and the tides of ocean, and they have been counting time for us with unbroken constancy. Seed-time and harvest have not failed; food has been given to all flesh, to man and beast, through all the centuries (ver. 25). If the earth has been barren in one part, it has been fruitful in another. Nothing has been needed to supply all mankind with the necessaries and the comforts of life but man"s own diligence, enterprise, and economy. God has supplied his part. His kindness is constant.
II IN DIVINE RETRIBUTION. (Vers. 10-15, 17-20) No doubt this recurring sentence, "His mercy endureth for ever," is written by the psalmist from Israel"s point of view. That is quite obvious from the words with which these verses are connected. The destruction of Israel"s enemies meant the deliverance, in mercy, of Israel itself. But we may pause to remember that all righteous retribution is a part of Divine goodness. No greater calamity could befall us than Divine indifference to sin and unlimited permission to indulge in it; no more serious injury, therefore, could be done us than the withholding of Divine penalty when sin and wrong are done by us. That would inevitably issue in the loss of all real reverence for God, and of all respect for ourselves. It would mean the simple annihilation of human character, of human worth, of the distinctive excellency of human life. God"s abiding hatred and punishment of sin is an element of his constant kindness to our race, as well as a permanent feature of his own Divine character.
III IN DIVINE COMPASSION AND REDEMPTION. God has ever been pitiful, and his compassion has called forth his power to save.
1. There are two notable instances of this in Hebrew history the deliverance from Egyptian hardship and bondage, (Exo_3:7, Exo_3:8) and the restoration from captivity in Babylon (Ezra 1). God "remembered them in their low estate," and "redeemed them from their enemies.
2. There was one culminating and transcendent illustration of this in the advent of our Lord. He saw us in our "low estate." The world was sunk in superstition, in vice, in violence, in misery, in spiritual death. No "estate" could be lower than that of the human world when Jesus Christ came into it; and then he accomplished that work which is to issue in its "redemption.
3. We have individual-illustrations of it now. The eye that looked down in pity on the earliest sorrows and struggles of his children regards today with tender commiseration the sufferings and the trials of his people. In all our affliction he is afflicted. He is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities". (Heb_4:15) He is mindful of our danger when in the midst of temptation, and, in answer to our prayer, redeems us from the power of our adversary. To the latest hour of individual life, to the last hour of time, we shall be able to look up with holy confidence for sympathy and succor; "for his mercy endureth for ever.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-26. Repetitions many, but not vain.
Over and over again the refrain comes, "His mercy endureth for ever." But it is never a vain repetition, unless the mind, by its heedlessness, makes it so. It is like the German piece of music which is called "The Fremensberg," which tells one of the old legends of the region how "a great noble of the Middle Ages got lost in the mountains, and wandered about with his dogs in a violent storm, until at last the faint tones of a monastery-bell, calling the monks to a midnight service, caught his ear, and he followed the direction the sounds came from, and was saved. A beautiful air runs through the music without ceasing, sometimes loud and strong, sometimes so soft that it can hardly be distinguished, but it is always there. It swung grandly along the shrill whistling of the storm-wind, the rattling patter of the rain, and the boom and crash of the thunder; it wound soft and low through the lesser sounds, the distant ones, such as the throbbing of the convent-bell, the melodious winding of the hunter"s horn, the distressed bayings of his dogs, and the solemn chanting of the monks; it rose again, with a jubilant ring, and mingled itself with the country songs and dances of the peasants assembled in the concert-hall to cheer up the rescued huntsman as he ate his supper, imitating all these sounds with marvelous exactness. The solemn chanting of the monks was not done by instruments, but by men"s voices, and it rose and felt and rose again in that rich confusion of warring sounds and pulsing bells, and the stately swing of that ever-present enchanting air, and it seemed to me that nothing could be more divinely beautiful" (Mark Twain). So the sweet refrain of this psalm is heard amid all variety of circumstances, and is never absent, but investing with its own charm every one of the manifold statements which the psalm contains. But wherefore all this repetition?
I BECAUSE WE ARE SO APT TO FORGET THE TRUTH IT TELLS OF. Is not this so? "The ox knoweth its owner," etc.. (Isa 1)
II BECAUSE IT IS A TRUTH SO UNSPEAKABLY IMPORTANT. We repeat messages to those who we know are liable to forget, and we do so the more according to the importance of the message. And none can be more important than this, consider it how we will. Who is there that does not need to remember it, that is not every way the better for the remembrance of it?
III BECAUSE, WHEN IT IS REMEMBERED, BELIEVED, AND REALIZED IN THE HEART WE CANNOT KEEP SILENCE ABOUT AT. "I believed, therefore have I spoken," said St. Paul; and it has ever been so. He who wrote this psalm believed this most blessed truth of God"s mercy enduring forever, and he could not keep silence; nor shall we when we in like manner believe. S.C.
Vers. 1-26. Does his mercy endure forever?
How many voices there are that seem to deny the blessed declaration which is repeated in every verse of this psalm, and in so many other psalms and Scriptures beside!
I THE VOICE OF EARTHLY SORROW SEEMS TO DENY IT. "What!" says one, "his mercy endureth for ever? And I, once so happily placed, and to whom all life was bright, and now so utterly poor, a ruined man: how can his mercy endure forever? I cannot believe it." And here is another who has been bitterly bereaved, the light of his home gone out. And another whose heart smarts within him from a sense of cruel wrong which has been inflicted on him, and which has embittered all his life. And another whose existence is one long pain. And another racked with anxiety. Oh, how many such there are to whom the talk of God"s mercy seems as an impossible and an idle thought!
II AND THE VOICE OF THE POPULAR THEOLOGY HAS PRACTICALLY DENIED IT. For it represents God as a moral Governor who has attached a tremendous penalty to sin a penalty at the very thought of which the heart shudders, and who would inflict this on mankind generally, for that all have sinned, only that mercy interposes, and by the sacrifice of Christ opens a way of escape for all who will believe. Now, in this representation there is very much that is scriptural and true, but it errs in representing the foundation of the Divine character as that of the magistrate rather than of the father. As if his great purpose were to maintain a law rather than to train and to teach, to restore and to redeem. And hence they limit this salvation to the baptized, or to the elect, or to those who dwell in Christian lands. And they limit it likewise to the present life. Thus, practically, they seem to deny the ever-enduring character of God"s mercy.
III AND THERE IS MUCH IN SCRIPTURE THAT SEEMS TO SUPPORT THIS DENIAL. Certainly there are no direct statements that teach that outside the limits of faith in Christ, and of the present life, there is yet salvation, and there are many which seem to distinctly say there is not.
IV AND THERE ARE AWFUL FACTS IN LIFE WHICH POINT IN THE SAME DIRECTION. Men, many of them, do, so far as we can see, die in their sins, having no part nor lot in the kingdom of God.
V BUT, IN SPITE OF ALL THIS, GOD"S MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER.
1. It must be so because of his declared character. God is love. He is our Father. His mercy is not an attribute external to himself, something that he has assumed; but it is what he is in his own inherent nature. Therefore so long as God exists, his mercy must exist likewise, that is, must endure forever.
2. Because of his declared purpose. He has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth. He will have all men to be saved. He gave his only begotten Son to die for us all, and to him every knee shall bow. "The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil." Can his purpose, then, be forever thwarted?
3. The manifest design of all his dealings with us. His perpetual goodness. The afflictions and sorrows he sends, they are for good, not ill; for healing, not harm. And the punishments he inflicts, they are not in vengeance, but to subdue the perverse will Love is at the heart of things, the ultimate reason of them all.
4. What he has already done. The most stubborn wills he has subdued, and does subdue day by day. The resources of his mercy are not exhausted or exhaustible. S.C.
Vers. 1-26 (every verse). The Church"s antiphon.
There can be no doubt that this psalm was sung antiphonally in the Jewish temple, some of the priests reciting or chanting the first portion of each verse, and then the whole congregation responding, "For his mercy endureth forever." But this oft-repeated declaration belongs not to the Jewish Church alone, but to the whole Church of God throughout all the ages and in all the world. "One February night, A.D. 358, the great church at Alexandria was bright with lights far into the night, and still the congregation did not disperse. The Bishop Athanasius was there, and the service was to be prolonged till morning; for next day the Holy Communion was to be celebrated, and it was the frequent custom among the early Christians to spend the preceding night in prayer and singing hymns. All knew that further troubles were hanging over their beloved bishop, and that the time of his presence with them would probably be very short. Suddenly a clashing noise broke the stillness. The church was surrounded by armed men. With calm presence of mind, Athanasius rose and gave out the hundred and thirty-sixth psalm, which has to every verse the response, For his mercy endureth for ever. The whole congregation joined in thundering forth those grand words, when the door was burst open, and the imperial envoy, at the head of a body of soldiers, walked up the aisle. For a moment the soldiers drew back in awe at the solemn sound of the chanting, but again they pressed on, and a shower of arrows flew through the church. Swords flashed, arms rattled, and rough shouts interrupted the music. Athanasius retained his seat till the congregation had dispersed, then he too disappeared in the darkness, and no one knew where he was gone. He found a refuge among his old friends the hermits of Egypt" (quoted from Perowne). The blessed truth it declares is
I THE EXPLANATION OF ALL THAT GOD IS AND DOES. After each recital of what God is or of what he has done, it is added, as if by way of explanation, "For his mercy," etc. And it is declared, not in connection alone with statements as to the holiness, the greatness, the majesty, and the love of God, not alone in connection with his acts of creation and of beneficence, but with those of judgment and awful punishment as well All are included. And they all must have some explanation. The psalm gives this, "For his mercy," etc. Can any one find a better, or one that so meets the manifold aspects of the problem of human life? Even his judgments, his "strange work," have mercy at the heart of them, as a little reflection will perceive.
II THE CLAMANT NEED OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF GOD. For who is there of woman born that does not need mercy, that can say he has no sin, that God has nothing to accuse him of? Where, but for God"s mercy, should any of us have been? And not only do we need mercy, but enduring mercy. We can give God no guarantee that if he forgive us we shall need his forgiveness never more. Alas! it is our daily need. Even as we are taught to ask day by day for daily bread, so also are we to pray daily, "And forgive us our sins.
III THE INSPIRATION OF ALL THE SERVANTS OF GOD. "The love of Christ constraineth us," said St. Paul; and as it was with him so is it with all God"s servants. It is not the lack of fear, the goading of conscience, the command of duty, that impel the servant of God, but the inspiration of the love this antiphon declares.
IV THE GLAD CONFESSION OF ALL THE REDEEMED OF GOD. They confess it here on earth; in heaven, "Worthy is the Lamb," which is but another form of this same blessed truth, is the perpetual theme of the ransomed there.
V THE ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL WHO DESIRE TO RETURN TO GOD. See the prodigal. it was the memory of his father"s house that determined him on returning home. He felt sure that his father"s love would not fail him. And so still, it is the proclamation and the belief of the mercy that endureth forever which emboldens the contrite heart to cast itself upon. (Psa_51:17)
VI THAT WHICH THE BELIEVER KEEPS TELLING OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNWEARIEDLY. See in this psalm how perpetually it is repeated, and this is but an example of what the heart of God"s redeemed people ever delights in. What are the favorite hymns, the most blessed portions of Scripture, but those which tell most clearly and fully of the mercy that endureth for ever? And when we come to die, there is nothing else that so soothes and strengthens the departing soul as this same truth as it is seen in Jesus Christ our Lord. S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver 1. The enduring mercy.
This is very evidently a psalm arranged for alternate singing in the temple service. One section of the singers gives the sentences, and the other section answers with the ever-recurring refrain of the psalm, "For his mercy endureth forever." It is a refrain which has peculiar point and interest when regarded as sung by the returned exiles in their restored temple. They felt very deeply what it was to be "monuments of God"s mercy," and that sense of God"s mercy to them enabled them to read aright the story of the ages old and hoary, and to anticipate aright the ages that were yet to be. God"s mercy evidently had been upon his people. from everlasting, and that was the best of guarantees that it would be unto everlasting. Let any man worthily apprehend God"s mercy to him, and that man will be well assured that God"s "mercy endureth for ever.
I THE PERSONAL SENSE OF GOD"S MERCY. There are some things, perhaps many things, which cannot be learned intellectually, which no man can know until he knows experimentally. He may know about them, and may be able to talk about them, but the knowledge is a surface-matter; it is not real, not spiritually effective, until it comes through personal experience. God"s mercy is one of these things. There are elements in mercy which we can mentally apprehend, such as tenderness, considerateness, gentleness, pity; but there is an element which we can only realize by feeling in relation to it. A man must feel undeserving before he can know what God"s mercy is. Then he gains a right sense of the "pitifulness of thy great mercy." The self-satisfied Pharisee never thinks that God"s mercy concerns him. In that mercy the penitent publican finds refuge.
II ITS RAYS THROWN BACK ON THE PAST OF DIVINE DEALING. Let a man feel thus in relation to God"s mercy, and then he can look back over his own past, and back over the past of history, and find God"s mercy, as bearing and forbearing, everywhere. So the returned exiles would be able to read their old history as a nation. What shone out to view everywhere was God"s mercy. Man"s waywardness and willfulness, and God"s pitifulness and gentleness.
III ITS RAYS THROWN FORWARD ON THE FUTURE OF DIVINE DEALING. It is alone on the basis of what God is to us that we can rest our confidence of what he is going to be. Our soul"s argument takes this form, "This God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our Guide even unto the end." Because his mercy is our portion, we are sure that "his mercy endureth for ever." R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–26 We know not by whom this Psalm was written,…
We know not by whom this Psalm was written, but we do know that it was sung in Solomon's temple (2Ch 7:3, 6), and by the armies of Jehoshaphat when they sang themselves into victory in the wilderness of Tekoa. From the striking form of it we should infer that it was a popular hymn among the Lord's ancient people. Most hymns with a solid, simple chorus become favourites with congregations, and this is sure to have been one of the best beloved. It contains nothing but praise. It is tuned to rapture, and can only be fully enjoyed by a devoutly grateful heart.
It commences with a threefold praise to the Triune Lord (Ps 136:1-3), then it gives us six notes of praise to the Creator (Ps 136:4-9), six more upon deliverance from Egypt (Ps 134:10-15), and seven upon the journey through the wilderness and the entrance into Canaan. Then we have two happy verses of personal gratitude for present mercy (Ps 134:23-24), one (Ps 134:25) to tell of the Lord's universal providence, and a closing verse to excite to never ending praise.
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Ver. 1. O give thanks unto the LORD. The exhortation is intensely earnest: the Psalmist pleads with the Lord's people with an "O", three times repeated. Thanks are the least that we can offer, and these we ought freely to give. The inspired writer calls us to praise Jehovah for all his goodness to us, and all the greatness of his power in blessing his chosen. We thank our parents, let us praise our heavenly Father; we are grateful to our benefactors, let us give thanks unto the Giver of all good.
For he is good. Essentially he is goodness itself, practically all that he does is good, relatively he is good to his creatures. Let us thank him that we have seen, proved, and tasted that he is good. He is good beyond all others: indeed, he alone is good in the highest sense; he is the source of good, the good of all good, the sustainer of good, the perfecter of good, and the rewarder of good. For this he deserves the constant gratitude of his people.
For his mercy endureth for ever. We shall have this repeated in every verse of this song, but not once too often. It is the sweetest stanza that a man can sing. What joy that there is mercy, mercy with Jehovah, enduring mercy, mercy enduring for ever. We are ever needing it, trying it, praying for it, receiving it: therefore let us for ever sing of it.
"When all else is changing within and around,
In God and his mercy no change can be found."
Whole Psalm. This Psalm was very probably composed by David, and given to the Levites to sing every day: 1Ch 16:41. Solomon his son followed his example, and made use of it in singing at the dedication of the Temple (2Ch 7:3-6); as Jehoshaphat seems to have done when he went out to war against his enemies (2Ch 20:21). John Gill.
Whole Psalm. The grand peculiarity of form in this Psalm...is the regular recurrence, at the close of every verse, of a burden or refrain...It has been a favourite idea with interpreters that such repetitions necessarily imply alternate or responsive choirs. But the other indications of this usage in the Psalter are extremely doubtful, and every exegetical condition may be satisfied by simply supposing that the singers, in some cases, answered their own questions, and that in others, as in that before us, the people united in the burden or chorus, as they were wont to do in the Amen. Joseph Addison Alexander.
Whole Psalm. The Psalm is called by the Greek church Polyeleos, from its continual mention of the mercy of God. Neale and Littledale.
Whole Psalm. In the liturgical language this Psalm is called par excellence the great Hallel, for according to its broadest compass the great Hallel comprehends Ps 120:1-136:26, whilst the Hallel which is absolutely so called extends from Ps 113:1-118:29. Franz Delitzsch.
Whole Psalm. Praise ye (wdwh) Jehovah; not as in Ps 135:1, "Hallelujah", but varying the words, "Be ye Judahs to the Lord!"
Praise him for what he is (Ps 136:1-3).
Praise him for what he is able to do (Ps 136:4).
Praise him for what he has done in creation
(Ps 136:5-9).
Praise him for what he did in redeeming Israel from bondage
(Ps 136:10-15).
Praise him for what he did in his providence toward them
(Ps 136:16-22).
Praise him for his grace in times of calamity
(Ps 136:23-24).
Praise him for his grace to the world at large
(Ps 136:25).
Praise him at the remembrance that this God is the God of
heaven (Ps 136:26). Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole Psalm. When, in the time of the Emperor Constantius, S. Athanasius was assaulted by night in his church at Alexandria by Syrianus and his troops, and many were wounded and murdered, the Bishop of Alexandria sat still in his chair, and ordered the deacon to begin this Psalm, and the people answered in prompt alternation, For his mercy endureth for ever. Christopher Wordsworth.
Ver. 1. O give thanks unto the LORD. When we have praised God for reasons offered unto us in one Psalm, we must begin again, and praise him for other reasons; and even when we have done this, we have not overtaken our task, the duty lieth still at our door, to be discharged afresh, as this Psalm doth show. David Dickson.
Ver. 1. For he is good. Observe what we must give thanks for not as the Pharisee that made all his thanksgivings terminate in his own goodness"God, I thank thee" that I am so and sobut directing them all to God's glory: "for he is good." Matthew Heary.
Ver. 1. His mercy endureth forever. This appears four times in Ps 118:1-4. This sentence is the wonder of Moses, the sum of revelation, and the hope of man. James G. Murphy.
Ver. 1. His mercy. Many sweet things are in the word of God, but the name of mercy is the sweetest word in all the Scriptures, which made David harp upon it twenty-six times in this Psalm: "For his mercy endureth for ever:" It was such a cheerful note in his ears when he struck upon mercy, that, like a bird that is taught to pipe, when he had sung it, he sang it again, and when he had sung it again, he recorded it again, and made it the burden of his song: "For his mercy endureth for ever." Like a nightingale which, when she is in a pleasant vein, quavers and capers, and trebles upon it, so did David upon his mercy: "For his mercy endureth for ever." Henry Smith.
Ver. 1. Mercy. By "mercy" we understand the Lord's disposition to compassionate and relieve those whom sin has rendered miserable and base; his readiness to forgive and to be reconciled to the most provoking of transgressors, and to bestow all blessings upon them; together with all the provision which he has made for the honour of his name, in the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ. Thomas Scott.
Ver. 1. His mercy endureth for ever. It is everlasting. Everlastingness, or eternity, is a perfect possession, all at once, of an endless life (saith Boethius). Everlasting mercy, then, is perfect mercy, which shuts out all the imperfections of time, beginning, end, succession, and such is God's mercy. First, his essential mercy is eternity itself; for it is himself, and God hath not, but is, things. He is beginning, end, being; and that which is of himself and even himself is eternity itself. Secondly, his relative mercy (which respects us, and makes impression on us), is everlasting, too, in a sense; for the creatures, ever since they had being in him, or existence in their natural causes, ever did and ever will need mercy, either preserving or conserving. Preventing or continuing mercy in the first sense is negatively endless, that is, incapable of end, because unboundable for being: in the second sense, it is privatively endless, it shall never actually take end, though in itself it may be, and in some ways is, bounded; the first is included in the latter, but the latter is chiefly here intended; and therefore the point arises to be this, God's mercy (chiefly to his church) is an endless mercy; it knows no end, receives no interruption. Reasons hereof from the word are these (for as touching testimony this Psalm shall be our security), first, from God's nature, "he is good". Mercy pleaseth him. It is no trouble for him to exercise mercy. It is his delight: we are never weary of receiving, therefore he cannot be of giving; for it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive; so God takes more content in the one than we in the other. Robert Harris, 1578-1658.
Ver. 1. His mercy endureth for ever. God's goodness is a fountain; it is never dry. As grace is from the world's beginning (Ps 25:6), so it is to the world's end, à seculo in seculum, from one generation to another. Salvation is no termer; grace ties not itself to times. Noah as well as Abel, Moses as well as Jacob, Jeremy as well as David, Paul as well as Simeon hath part in this salvation. God's gracious purpose the Flood drowned not, the smoke of Sinai smothered not, the Captivity ended not, the ends of the world (Saint Paul calls them so) determined not. For Christ, by whom it is, was slain from the beginning, Saint John saith so. He was before Abraham, he himself saith so. And Clemens Alexandrinus (tom. 5. page 233) doth Marcion wrong, though otherwise an heretic, in blaming him for holding that Christ saved those also that believed in him before his incarnation. The blood of the beasts under the law was a type of his. And the scars of his wounds appear yet still, and will for ever, till he cometh to judgment. The Apostle shall end this: he is heri, and hodi, and semper idem: Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Richard Clerke, 1634.
Ver. 1-3. The three first verses of this Psalm contain the three several names of the Deity, which are commonly rendered Jehovah, God, and Lord, respectively; the first having reference to his essence as self existent, and being his proper name; the second designating him under the character of a judge or of an all powerful being, if Aleim be derived from Al; and the third, Adoni, representing him as exercising rule. Daniel Cresswell.
Ver. 1-3. O give thanks.
What! give God thanks for everything,
Whatever may befall
Whatever the dark clouds may bring?
Yes, give God thanks for all;
For safe he leads thee, hand in hand,
To thy blessed Fatherland.
What! thank him for the lonely way
He to me hath given
For the path which, day by day
Seems farther off from heaven?
Yes, thank him, for he holds thy hand
And leads thee to thy Fatherland.
Close, close he shields thee from all harm;
And if the road be steep,
Thou know'st his everlasting arm
In safety doth thee keep,
Although thou canst not understand
The windings to thy Fatherland.
What blessing, thinkest thou, will he,
Who knows the good and ill,
Keep back, if it is good for thee,
While climbing up the hill?
Then trust him, and keep fast his hand,
He leads thee to thy Fatherland. B.S., in "The Christian Treasury", 1865.
Ver. 1-9. Like the preceding Psalm, this Psalm allies itself to the Book of Deuteronomy. The first clauses of Ps 136:2-3 (God of gods and Lord of Lords) are taken from De 10:17; Ps 136:12, first clause (with a strong hand and stretched out arm) from De 4:34, and De 5:15. Ps 136:16, first clause, is like De 8:15 (cf. Jer 2:6). Franz Delitzsch.
Ver. 1-26. All repetitions are not vain, nor is all length in prayer to be accounted babbling. For repetitions may be used, 1. When they express fervency and zeal: and so we read, Christ prayed over the same prayer thrice (Mt 26:44); "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." And another evangelist showeth that he did this out of special fervency of spirit (Lu 22:44); "Being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly." 2. This repetition is not to be disapproved when there is a special emphasis, and spiritual elegancy in it, as in Ps 136:1-26 you have it twenty-six times repeated, For his mercy endureth for ever, because there was a special reason in it, the Psalmist's purpose there being to show the unweariedness, and the unexhausted riches of God's free grace; that notwithstanding all the former experiences they had had, God is where he was at first. We waste by giving, our drop is soon spent; but God is not wasted by bestowing, but hath the same mercy to do good to his creatures, as before. Though he had done all those wonders for them, yet his mercy was as ready to do good to them still. All along God saved and blessed his people, "For his mercy endureth for ever." Thomas Manton.
Ver. 1.
1. Consider his name"Jehovah."
2. Carry out your joyful duty: "O give thanks."
3. Contemplate the two reasons givengoodness and enduring mercy.
Ver. 1.
1. Many subjects for praise.
a) For the goodness of God: "He is good" (Ps 136:1).
b) For his supremacy: "God of gods; Lord of lords" (Ps 136:2-3).
c) For his works in general (Ps 136:4).
d) For his works of creation in particular (Ps 136:5-9).
e) For his works of Providence (Ps 136:10-26).
2. The chief subject for praise: For his mercy endureth for ever.
a) For mercy. This is the sinner's principal need.
b) For mercy in God. This is the sinner's attribute, and is as essential to God as justice.
c) For mercy enduring for ever. If they who have sinned need mercy for ever, they must exist for ever; and their guilt must be for ever. G. R.
Ver. 1. The Lord is good. God is originally goodgood of himself. He is infinitely good. He is perfectly good, because infinitely good. He is immutably good. Charnock.
Ver. 1-3.
1. The triplet of names: "Jehovah", "the God of gods", "the Lord of lords."
2. The threefold adjuration, "O give thanks."
3. The irrepressible attribute and argument "for his mercy", etc. W.B.H.
Ver. 1-26. For his mercy endureth for ever. See "Spurgeon's Sermons", No. 787: "A Song, a Solace, a Sermon, and a Summons."
Psalms 136:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 17, 23 O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is…
Psa_136:1-26
O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.
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The eternity or Gods goodness
This is a reason for praising Him--
I. In the material universe (Psa_136:1-9). When the grandeur of nature overawes you, when its terrific phenomena, thunders, earthquakes, volcanoes seem to overwhelm you, still praise Him. There is goodness in all.
II. In the history of mankind (Psa_136:10-26).
1. In the deliverance of His people (Psa_136:10-16).
2. In the destruction of despots (verses 17-22).
3. In His regard for all (Psa_136:23-26). All men have enemies, foes to their virtues, their interest, their happiness. He delivers them. All men require nourishment. They live by the appropriation of the fruits of the earth. He giveth food to all flesh. His mercy endureth for ever, and thus should we praise Him in all. (Homilist.)
A song, a solace, a sermon, and a summons
I. A song.
1. For all singers. Let young and old, rich and poor, instructed and ignorant, saved and unsaved, take part in it. Let us bless God for the eyes with which we behold the sun, for the health and strength to walk abroad in the sunlight; let us praise Him for the mercies which are new every morning, for the bread we eat; let us bless Him that we are not deprived of our reason, or stretched upon the bed of languishing; let us praise Him that we are not cast out among the hopeless, or confined amongst the guilty; let us thank Him for liberty, for friends; let us praise Him, in fact, for everything which we receive from His bounteous hand, for we deserve little, and yet are most plenteously endowed.
2. But the sweetest and the loudest note in the chorus must always be reserved for those who sing of redeeming love (Psa_136:10-12). Even now by faith we wave the palm branch and wrap ourselves about with the fair white linen which is to be our everlasting array, and shall we not this day give thanks to the name of the Lord whose redeeming mercy endureth for ever?
3. Further on our poet invites the experienced believer to join in the psalm (Psa_136:16-22). Just as some among us, whose voices are deep, can take the bass parts of the tune, so the educated saint, who has been for years in the ways of the Lord, can throw a force and a weight into the song which no other can contribute.
II. A solace. We have many troubles, and we need comfort; God is willing that we should be comforted.
1. I shall use the text as a solace to the past. The year is all but gone. Have we not found, up till now, that His mercy has endured for ever?
2. Our text is also a very sweet consolation as to the present. Have we at this moment a sense of present sin? Then, His mercy endureth for ever.
3. As to the future. Ah! we are poor fools when we begin to deal with the future. It is a sea which we are not called upon to navigate. The present is the whole of life, for when we enter into the future, it is the present. When these fingers cannot perform their daily work, when my brow is wrinkled, and I can scarcely totter to my toil, what shall I do? Ah! His mercy endureth for ever.
III. A sermon. His mercy endureth for ever. Then--
1. Let our mercy endure.
2. Let us learn the duty of hoping for everybody.
3. See the duty of hoping for yourself.
IV. A summons. His mercy endureth for ever.
1. Is not that a most loving and tender summons to the wandering child to return to his Father? to the backsliding professor to approach his God? to the chief of sinners to humble himself before the mercy-seat? There is mercy--seek it. There is mercy in Jesus--believe in Him.
2. Believers, the summons is also meant for you. It says this, His mercy endureth for ever; therefore let your love to souls continue; let your labour for conversion abide; let your generosity to Gods cause abound; let your endeavours to extend the kingdom of Christ endure evermore. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The duty of praise and thanksgiving
I. The duty, It implies--
1. A grateful sense of the Divine benefits. Here the duty begins, though it ends not here; in acts of the mind, in attentive meditations on the loving-kindness of God, and lively warm affections produced and cherished by these meditations.
2. A suitable expression of gratitude. The heart will awaken the tongue, and the affections of the inner man direct and influence the actions of the outward.
II. The persons called upon.
1. The whole world of mankind are by the psalmist invited to pay their common tribute of praise to their supreme and universal Lord; even all the nations of this widespread and many-peopled earth, by whatever name, or language, or religion they are distinguished; seeing how much soever they differ in these and other respects, they all partake of the light of reason, which discovers a God to them, a first and most perfect Being, and directs them to make Him the universal object of their worship, and trust, and obedience.
2. The Church of God is more immediately and expressly spoken to.
3. All those are particularly called upon to give thanks who have received any fresh or remarkable instances of the Divine favour and interposition on their behalf; such as have been prospered in their designs, and perhaps beyond their own expectations; or have been happily disappointed (for frequent experience shows there are such things as happy disappointments), have had light and comfort in a day of trouble; succour in threatening dangers and temptations; have been raised up from beds of sickness, or blessed with extraordinary measures of health; have had considerable turns in their lives, and seen the hand of God guiding and overruling events to their good.
III. The reason or foundation of it heres assigned.
1. Men should give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good. Other perfections challenge our reverence, and fear, and admiration; this demands our gratitude.
2. Men should give thanks unto the Lord, because His mercy endureth for ever. This may be understood--
(1) In opposition to the anger of God.
(2) To the favour of men.
(3) More absolutely of the unchangeableness and perpetuity of the Divine mercy.
Application.
1. Does religion invite and oblige us to give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good? and does a great part of religion consist in the duty of thanksgiving rightly performed? then, certainly, religion can neither be an unreasonable nor a tiresome service.
2. Since the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever, let us resolve that we will serve, and praise, and trust in Him for ever. (H. Bonar, D. D.)
For His mercy endureth for ever.--
Gods goodness and mercy
I. Gods goodness.
1. Goodness is the perfection of things for which they are desirable; perfection imports freedom from all defects, and fulness of all excellences, and is chiefly seen in the being, working, end of things; that which hath the noblest being, and therefore end, and therefore operations, is ever best and most desirable; desire is the reaching of the soul after that that likes us, because it is like us. Now the all-sufficient God is His own Being, His own end, His own act, or rule in action; yea, He is the Author of all good, the end and desire of all things (in natural respects), and therefore the perfection of all, and so all perfection and goodness.
2. God is--
(1) Essentially good.
(2) Causally good.
(3) Eminently good.
(4) Originally and absolutely the only good. Uses--
1. God is good, let us put it to good use; first, for humbling, see what we were once, good; for of goodness can come nothing but goodness; secondly, what we are now by nature, bad; for first, we are sunk as far from God as hell is from heaven.
2. See what we should be, good; goodness is ever admirable, and therefore (saith the philosopher) imitable. Now, Psa_119:68 tells us that God is good, and doth good, and He is our copy and rule. First, therefore, we must be good, and then do good; first the sap must be good, and then the fruit, for as things be, so they work.
II. Gods mercy.
1. It is everlasting.
(1) His essential mercy is everlastingness itself; for it is Himself, and God hath not, but is, things. He is beginning, end, being, and that which is of Himself, and ever Himself, is eternity itself.
(2) His relative mercy (which respects us, and makes impression on us) is everlasting too, in a sense; for the creatures, ever since they had being in Him, or existence in their natural causes, did ever, and ever will, need mercy, either preserving or conserving.
2. Reasons.
(1) From Gods nature. He is good. Mercy pleaseth Him. First, it is no trouble for Him to exercise mercy. Secondly, it is His delight; we are never weary of receiving, therefore He cannot be of giving; for as it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive, so God takes more content in the one than we in the other.
(2) From His unchangeable word and covenant (Isa_54:10).
(3) From our need; every creature is compounded of perfection and imperfection; the first is the ground, the second is the object of mercy. Uses--
1. Dwell upon the mercy of God.
2. Put it to use.
3. Be ye merciful, as He is--to mens souls, bodies, estates, names. (R. Harris, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 136
Psalms 136
THIS psalm is evidently intended for liturgic use. It contains reminiscences of many parts, of Scripture, and is especially based on the previous psalm, which it follows closely in Psa_136:10-18, and quotes directly in Psa_136:19-22. Delitzsch points out that if these quoted verses are omitted, the psalm falls into triplets. It would then also contain twenty-two verses, corresponding to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The general trend of thought is like that of Psalms 135; but the addition in each verse of the refrain gives a noble swing and force to this exulting song.
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The first triplet is a general invocation to praise, coloured by the phraseology of Deuteronomy. Psa_136:2 a and Psa_136:3 a quote Deu_10:17. The second and third triplets (Psa_136:4-9) celebrate Jehovahs creativepower. "Doeth great wonders" (Psa_136:4) is from Psa_72:18. The thought of the Divine Wisdom as the creative agent occurs in Psa_104:24, and attains noble expression in Proverbs 3. In Psa_136:6 the word rendered spread is from the same root as that rendered "firmament" in Genesis. The office of the heavenly bodies to rule day and night is taken from Genesis 1. But the psalm looks at the story of Creation from an original point of view, when it rolls out in chorus, after each stage of that work, that its motive lay in the eternal lovingkindness of Jehovah. Creation is an act of Divine love. That is the deepest truth concerning all things visible. They are the witnesses, as they are the result, of lovingkindness which endures forever.
Psa_136:10-22 pass from world wide manifestations of that creative lovingkindness to those specially affecting Israel. If Psa_136:19-22 are left out of notice, there are three triplets in which the Exodus, desert life, and conquest of Caanan are the themes, -the first (Psa_136:10-12) recounting the departure; the second (Psa_136:13-15) the passage of the Red Sea; the third (Psa_136:16-18) the guidance during the forty years and the victories over enemies. The whole is largely taken from the preceding psalm, and has also numerous allusions to other parts of Scripture. Psa_136:12 a-is found in Deu_4:34, etc. The word for dividing the Red Sea is peculiar. It means to hew in pieces or in two, and is used for cutting in halves the child in Solomons judgment; {1Ki_3:25} while the word "parts" is a noun from the same root, and is found in Gen_15:17, to describe the two portions into which Abraham clave the carcasses. Thus, as with a sword, Jehovah hewed the sea in two, and His people passed between the parts, as between the halves of the covenant sacrifice. In Psa_136:15 the word describing Pharaohs destruction is taken from Exo_14:27, and vividly describes it as a "shaking out," as one would vermin or filth from a robe.
In the last triplet (Psa_136:23-25) the singer comes to the Israel of the present. It, too, had experienced Jehovahs remembrance in its time of need, and felt the merciful grasp of His hand plucking it, with loving violence, from the claws of the lion. The word for "low estate" and that for "tore us from the grasp" are only found besides in late writings-the former in Ecc_10:6, and the latter in Lam_5:8.
But the song will not close with reference only to Israels blessings. He gives bread to all flesh. "The lovingkindness which flashes fortheven in destructive acts, and is manifested especially in bringing Israel back from exile, stretches as wide in its beneficence as it did in its first creative acts, and sustains all flesh which it has made. Therefore the final call to praise, which rounds off the psalm by echoing its beginning, does not name Him by the Name which implied Israels special relation, but by that by which other peoples could and did address Him, "the God of heaven," from whom all good comes down on all the earth.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 “This Psalm,” says Perowne, “is little more than a…
INTRODUCTION
“This Psalm,” says Perowne, “is little more than a variation and repetition of the preceding Psalm. It opens with the same liturgical formula with which the 106th and 118th Psalms open, and was evidently designed to be sung antiphonally in the Temple worship. Its structure is peculiar. The first line of each verse pursues the theme of the Psalm, the second line, ‘For His loving-kindness endureth for ever,’ being a kind of refrain or response, like the responses, for instance, in our Litany, breaking in upon and yet sustaining the theme of the Psalm: the first would be sung by some of the Levites, the second by the choir as a body, or by the whole congregation together with the Levites. We have an example of a similar antiphonal arrangement in the first four verses of the 118th Psalm; but there is no other instance in which it is pursued throughout the Psalm. The nearest approach to the same repetition is in the ‘Amen’ of the people to the curses of the Law as pronounced by the Levites (Deu_22:14).”
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The Subjects Mentioned as the ground of the praise of the eternal mercy of God have so frequently engaged our attention in previous Psalms as to require but little additional illustration.
MERCY IN GOD AND IN CREATION
(Psa_136:1-9)
I. Mercy in the Divine Being and Character (Psa_136:1-3). We have here—
1. A revelation of God in the names applied to Him.
(1.) “O give thanks unto Jehovah.” Jehovah = ὁ ὤν = the Self-Existing, the Continuing, the Permanent, the Everlasting.
(2.) “O give thanks unto the God of gods,”—the Most High God, the Supremely Powerful, who is far above all that is called God or worshipped as God.
(3.) “O give thanks to the Lord of lords,”—the Ruler of rulers, whose authority is supreme over all governors, princes, and kings. Such, then, are the ideas of God embodied in the names which are applied to Him by the poet—the Self-Existing, the Supremely Powerful, and the Supremely Authoritative.
(2.) A revelation of God in His character. “O give thanks unto Jehovah; for He is good.” (See Hom. Com. on Psa_106:1; Psa_135:3.) He is good both in Himself and in His dealings with His people.
3. A revelation of God in His relation to men. “His mercy endureth for ever.” Mercy is a modification of goodness. It is goodness in its relation to the sinful, the ill-deserving, and the miserable. To men “God is rich in mercy.” He delights in showing mercy to them. Connect the mercy of God with those aspects of His Being which are brought into view in the names applied to Him. “Jehovah,” the Self-Existing, is essentially merciful. His mercy is eternal as His Being. “The God of gods,” the Supreme Deity, the Omnipotent, is merciful. We cannot reverence mere power. Might is sometimes terrible. But the Most High is as tender as He is strong. He is infinite in mercy as in power. “The Lord of lords,” the Supreme Ruler over all kings and magistrates, is a merciful Being. His compassion is as wide and deep and lasting as His authority. For these reasons let us praise Him.
II. Mercy in the Divine work in Creation (Psa_136:4-9). To the Psalmist the universe was neither eternal, nor self-originated, but a creation of God.
1. Creation is a work of wonder to man. “To Him who alone doeth great wonders.” The contrivances and constructions of the universe are wonderful in their skill and in their strength. The more thoroughly man becomes acquainted with the heavens and the earth, the more astonishing are the evidences which he discovers of infinite intelligence in designing and almighty power in creating them.
2. Creation is an embodiment of the wisdom of God. “To Him that by wisdom made the heavens.” The scientific student discovers design and the most benevolent and beautiful adaptations in every department of nature. Only a being of infinite intelligence could have designed the universe with its indescribable wonders, beauties, and utilities.
3. Creation is an expression of the mercy of God. It exhibits the benevolence as well as the wisdom of the Creator. In the devout student it excites not only wonder and admiration, but gratitude and praise. His mercy is manifest in the heavens. In their order and harmony and beauty, and in their benign influences, we discover indications of His mercy. It is manifest also in the earth. In making the earth fit for human habitation, and a pleasant habitation; in making it so fruitful, so safe, and so varied and beautiful in appearance, we see His kindness. It is manifest in the sun and the day. The sun is the source of light, warmth, life, and beauty. The reign of darkness would soon lead to the reign of death. By its light and warmth the sun sustains life and promotes joy. In a great measure the beauties of the universe are produced by his influence, and without his light no gleam of beauty would be discernible. So we see in the sun and the day the kindness of the Creator. His mercy is manifest in the night and the moon and stars. Night with its darkness and silence so eminently adapted for sleep and rest, with its enchanting and refining beauties of moon and stars in the heavens, and their reflection on the rippling surface of rivers and the restless waves of the sea,—for these we have felt deep thankfulness times innumerable. But the Psalmist represents the sun as ordained “to rule by day,” and “the moon and stars to rule by night.” (a.) They rule by determining the duration of day and night. (See Hom. Com. on Psa_104:19-23.) (b.) Their rule is an illustration of the principle taught by our Lord that he who is chief in service shall be chief in sovereignty,—the true ruler most diligently and heartily serves those whom he governs. (Luk_22:25-27.)
The mercy of God which is manifested in creation is eternal. “His mercy endureth for ever;” literally: “For unto eternity His mercy.” When the heavens and the earth shall have passed away, the mercy which was manifested in them shall continue. We shall need mercy throughout this life, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment; and mercy will still endure and meet our need. The generations that shall tread this globe in the future will need mercy as much as we do, and for them also mercy shall remain as free and plenteous as ever. “Unto eternity is His mercy.”
Let us—
“Make life, death, and that vast for-ever,
One grand sweet song”
of praise to Him whose mercy, like Himself, is eternal.
MERCY IN THE REVOLUTIONS OF PROVIDENCE
(Psa_136:10-22)
There is no difficulty in discovering the kindness of the dealings of God with Israel. But where is mercy manifest in His treatment of the people of Egypt, of Pharaoh, Sihon, and Og? This we will endeavour to show. There was—
I. Mercy in the judgments upon Egypt. “O give thanks to him that smote Egypt in their firstborn; for His mercy endureth for ever.” The Egyptian oppression of the Israelites was unjust, wicked, cruel; they had reduced them to slavery; they treated them with brutality; they refused to liberate them, although the command to do so was authenticated by extraordinary wonders and signs; judgments of less severity had produced only a transient and brief effect upon them; and so the Lord brought upon them the severe stroke of the death of the firstborn, both of man and beast, and of small and great. It is not only right but merciful to compel the strong to respect the rights of the weak, if they will not do so without compulsion. It is merciful to insist upon the doing of justice amongst men.
II. Mercy in the destruction of tyrannical kings. “O give thanks to Him who overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; for His mercy endureth for ever. To Him who smote great kings,” &c. (Psa_136:15; Psa_136:17-20). (See Hom. Com. on Psa_135:8-11.) We hold that it is in mercy that tyrannical and oppressive rulers are swept from the earth.
1. It is a mercy to themselves.
(1.) Supposing there be no retributory state in the future, then it is a mercy to terminate their existence; for their life must be tormented by the passions which they cherish in their breasts. Ambition, lust of power, cruelty, impoison their life at its very springs.
(2.) Supposing there be a retributory state in the future (and the evidence for the existence of such a state is to us irresistible), then it is a mercy to terminate the earthly existence of the incorrigibly evil; for while it continues, they are increasing their guilt, and “treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” For them prolongation of life in the present will involve corresponding increase of misery in the future, therefore it is merciful to them to cut short their wicked career.
2. It is a mercy to mankind. The existence of cruel and tyrannical oppressors afflicts humanity like some terrible nightmare. When they are removed the race breathes freely once again. Such ambitious tyrants, if unchecked, would convert the fair world into a slaughterhouse reeking with human gore. The peace and progress of mankind unite in demanding the removal of ambitious tyrants and cruel oppressors from the face of the earth. To destroy such men is a mercy to the entire human race. Therefore let us “give thanks to Him who smote great kings; for His mercy endureth for ever.”
III. Mercy in the history of Israel. It was manifest—
1. In their emancipation from Egypt and its bondage. This was not accomplished by a single act or effort. It involved a series of Divine interpositions. The poet here mentions:—
(1.) Their deliverance from slavery and from the land of Egypt (Psa_136:10-12). It was in mercy to them and to mankind that the Israelites were rescued from the crushing burdens which their oppressors imposed upon them. The greatness of the mercy may be approximately estimated by the severity of the sufferings from which it rescued them, and by the persistency and power exerted in doing so. Blessings have flowed to the entire human race through the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
(2.) Their deliverance from peril at the Red Sea (Exodus 14). Point out their extremely perilous position. Can they be rescued from it? And how? Jehovah answers (α.) By dividing the waters of the sea. “To Him that divided the Red Sea into parts.” (β.) By nerving them to pass through the watery walls. “And made Israel to pass through the midst of it.” He manifested His power over the waters in dividing them, and over the hearts of the dismayed people by giving them courage to travel through a passage so unprecedented, and apparently so perilous. (γ.) By the destruction of their enemies by the same sea. “And overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea.” Thus the Lord completely and gloriously delivered them from the hands of their enemies, and conspicuously displayed His mercy to them.
2. In leading them through and supporting them in the wilderness. “To Him which led His people through the wilderness; for His mercy endureth for ever.” For the space of forty years He protected them from their enemies, provided for their necessities, and guided them in their wanderings by supernatural agencies; and He did this notwithstanding their oft-repeated unbelief and rebellion against Him. In His dealings with them in the wilderness, we have a most impressive display of His mercy to them.
3. In giving to them the land of Canaan for an inheritance. He “slew famous kings; and gave their land for an heritage unto Israel, His servant; for His mercy endureth for ever.” (See the Hom. Com. on Psa_135:12.) The land had been defiled by the wars, the crimes, and the idolatries of the ancient Canaanites, so God overthrew and disinherited them, and gave their land for an heritage to the people of His choice. God manifests His mercy to His people by a special regard to their interests in His providential government of the world.
CONCLUSION.—Inasmuch as the mercy of the Lord is perpetual—
1. Let oppressors take warning. The constancy of His mercy towards His people is a pledge of the constant course of His justice against their enemies.
2. Let the oppressed and afflicted take encouragement. His mercy is far greater than their misery; it is infinite, and it “endureth for ever.”
MERCY IN HUMAN REDEMPTION AND PROVISION
(Psa_136:23-26)
The poet refers in the 23rd and 24th verses to the deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. But this section of the Psalm may appropriately be applied to the spiritual redemption and sustentation of man. Consider—
I. The mercy of God in redemption (Psa_136:23-24).
1. The need of redemption. This arose from
(1.) Man’s depressed condition. “Our low estate.” From his high estate man fell by sin; the crown and glory of his being are gone; the completeness of his moral power is broken; he is a degraded, ruined being.
(2.) Man’s oppressed condition. He is troubled from without as well as from within. He is begirt by “enemies.” The Chaldeans had taken the Jews into captivity and oppressed them. Man is enslaved by sin, led captive by the devil; his spiritual enemies are many and subtle and strong; and he is unable to cope successfully with them. He needs an emancipator, a redeemer.
2. The stages of redemption. The poet mentions two steps in the process of the redemption of man.
(1.) The exercise of Divine thoughtfulness. He “remembered us in our low estate.” It is unspeakably assuring and encouraging to know that the Lord thinketh upon us in our helplessness and need. He is interested in us. He careth for us. We never pass beyond His kindly notice and care.
(2.) The exertion of Divine power. “He hath redeemed us from our enemies.” He set free the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. He has redeemed sinful and lost men by the power of His love, manifested in the teaching and work, the life and death, of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.” “We have redemption through His blood,” &c.
3. The source of redemption. “For His mercy endureth for ever.” In the heart of God our redemption took its rise. The streams of mercy by which we are refreshed, strengthened, and saved, flow from the throne of God. Our redemption must be traced to the loving-kindness of the Lord God. “O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.”
II. The mercy of God in provision. “He giveth food to all flesh; for His mercy endureth for ever.” “At length,” says Calvin, “He extends the fatherly providence of God indiscriminately, not only to the whole human race, but to all animals, so that it might not appear wonderful He should be so kind and provident a Father towards His own elect, since He does not reckon it a burden to provide for oxen and asses, ravens and sparrows.” (Comp. Psa_104:27-28.) Two inquiries may fairly be proposed here—
1. If He giveth food to the beasts, will He be unmindful of the needs of man who is made in His own image? “How much then is a man better than a sheep?” “Ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (Psa_34:9-10.)
2. If He provides food for man’s bodily necessities, will He not much more provide for His spiritual needs? He who has redeemed us from sin has also promised us strength to empower us for life’s duties, and grace to sustain us in life’s trials. “The Lord will give grace and glory; no good will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” The mercy to which we owe so many and great blessings, both in the past and in the present, will never fail us. Through all eternity it will continue to enrich us with purest and most precious treasures. “O give thanks unto the God of heaven; for His mercy endureth for ever.”
HUMAN WRETCHEDNESS AND DIVINE COMPASSION
(Psa_136:23-24)
Any one would remember us in a high estate; but Jesus remembers us in a low one.
I. To take a view of the wretched condition of mankind, in consequence of their apostacy from God.
Language does not afford a more emphatic description of complete wretchedness than to say of a man that he is lost—a captive—a subject of corruption—dead!
1. Man has gone astray from the path of life and happiness. Apart from Revelation, human nature itself bears witness to itself by evident marks of degeneracy and corruption. The passions which enslave our minds; the diseases that afflict our bodies; the disorders in the natural and moral world around us; the various wretchedness of man; and the universal law of mortality, all proclaim that some unhappy change has passed on our nature since its original formation. Various conjectures have been formed to account for this state of things. But the Bible alone solves the appearances so difficult to be reconciled by unassisted reason. Here we are taught that man, by transgression, has debased himself below the rank originally assigned him in the creation of God; and that the consequences of the sin of our first parents attach to all their offspring, in the evils which arise from a sinful, sorrowful, and mortal condition. Our steps are now voluntarily turned far away from the only path of happiness. (See Job_21:14; Jer_2:13; Rom_3:11-12.). For this is the habitual state of mind, not of the more grossly profligate and abandoned only, but of mankind generally, however improved by culture and enlightened by education—the active principle of rebellion against God, which Grace alone can subdue.
2. Man has not only left the path of life, but stands exposed to the fatal effects of Divine displeasure, by actual transgression. The sentence of the broken law holds in full force (Gal_3:10; Col_3:6). And who knoweth the power of God’s anger? Who can imagine the judgments which God has in store against the enemies of truth and righteousness? (Job_34:29; Job_38:22-23; Psa_39:11). If such be the effect of His fatherly chastisement under a dispensation of mercy, how dreadful must His fiery indignation be when Guilt has run its full course, and Justice is compelled to take its unrestricted sway! (Heb_10:31.). There is not a part of these fleshly tabernacles which He cannot visit with exquisite anguish; and if but a spark of His wrath fall upon the soul, how dreadful is the ruin! Witness Cain, Judas, Simon Magus, Ananias, and Sapphira.
3. That we are unequal to our own deliverance.
II. To admire the method of Divine compassion to man in his rescue from this state of guilt and misery.
1. By the incarnation and death of the Son of God. Throwing a veil over the dazzling glories of Divinity, He came among us in great humility, bearing the attractive character of a kinsman and a friend. He is a Physician to heal, a Shepherd to seek, and a Saviour to restore. (Luk_19:10.)
To see the nature and importance of His work, look back to the Old Testament. See what a space our redemption has occupied in the Divine counsels; see how all events in Providence were made to prepare for it; see what lofty representations are given of it by the ancient prophets; see how all the types and institutions of the law prefigured His approach, and how all these ancient prefigurations are accomplished in His death.
You become convinced of His high qualifications for this important work, when you observe the perfection of His mediatorial nature, blending the attributes of earth and heaven—all the tenderness of suffering humanity with all the glory of the unapproached Divinity. In magnitude the work of redemption has no rival; and none but the Lord of life and glory was equal to such a work. We know that Infinite Wisdom would not make choice of a weak and ineffectual instrument, or appoint to so important an office one unqualified to perform it. All objections vanish and all fears are banished when we read of Him as “Emmanuel, God with us.” (Mat_1:23; Joh_1:14; 1Ti_3:16). You may see the ability of Christ to save in the high attestations He received. Thrice did the Voice from heaven proclaim, “This is My beloved Son,” &c. On the Cross, when He offered Himself a sacrifice holy and acceptable, all nature was convulsed, and the veil of the Temple was rent in twain. At His resurrection the stone was rolled away from the door of the sepulchre, and He was declared to be the Son of God with power. By His ascension He rose victorious to heaven, that he might fill all things. And He is now exalted at the right hand of power as a Prince and a Saviour. (Heb_7:25). Meditate much, therefore, upon His equal ability and willingness to save. As the merit of His atonement exceeds by infinite degrees the guilt of your sin, so does the power of His grace surpass the strength of your corruption.
2. By the work and agency of His Blessed Spirit. He who made your hearts can surely renew them; and He who glorified Christ in the days of the Apostles can glorify Him still in your experience, by applying the testimony of the Word, and raising you from the death of sin to the life of holiness. Commit yourself to Christ, therefore, as the great Physician. He will purify your souls by His Spirit, &c.
3. By the combined influence of His Providence and Grace. Christ is engaged to bring many sons to glory; and He overrules all the scenes of their earthly lot and mortal history, to guide their footsteps through time and discipline their hearts for the purity and bliss of heaven. (Isa_26:7; Psa_16:11.)—Samuel Thodey.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 The confirmation.
The confirmation.
The answer is now given to this call to bear witness, and the ground traveled over in the former psalm is gone over here again, but in short sentences to every one of which the celebration of Jehovah’s loving-kindness in what is spoken of is attached. Be it creation; be it redemption; judgment on their enemies,or mercy to themselves, this seal is set upon all His work, that Jehovah’s loving-kindness has been working in it. And indeed in all His acts all that He is must act: if He be good, as God is, He must be good in everything He does.
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1. First of all He is Jehovah, the Unchangeable, the covenant-God God of gods, the alone Supreme, and Lord of lords, -exhibiting now this supremacy.
2. Then He is spoken of in His works of wisdom, the One who alone doeth great wonders. His creative work -as given in the second, third, and fourth verses -evidently corresponds to that of the second, third, and fourth of the six days. The second speaks of the firmament of the heavens, therefore, the separation of the waters from the waters. The third, of the bringing up of the dry land from under the waters, by which man’s abode was formed for him. The fourth, of the luminaries, which condition, by the changing seasons which they occasion; all the activities of his practical life.* But this the psalmist cannot pass so briefly, but must expand it in the two following verses. In the fifth place, the sun, as ruler in the day, is really the physical governor of man’s earth, and so of man: among material things the fullest representative of that goodness of God which wakes up all Nature in response, to minister to him. The moon; on the other hand, is but, as it were, a delegate of the sun; and can only imperfectly reflect his rays so as to limit the darkness. All this has abundance of teaching for us, and should help to make Nature, what God would have it for us, a great open lesson-book. But we have not space to dwell upon it here.**
{*See Appendix 3, on the Numerals, at the end of the volume.
** See, for more remarks on this, Appendix 3, on the Creative Days.}
3. The psalmist turns now to speak of God’s manifestations of Himself for His peculiar people; and as in the previous psalm; but in more detail, speaks first of His wonders in Egypt. First, the smiting of the first-born, smiting off their fetters. Then what was the direct consequence, their being brought out; the outstretched arm which manifested Him to all in this; the Sea yielding to His hand, and Himself bringing the people through; the victory over Pharaoh and all his host. The brief notice of the wilderness rounds off this section, completing, as it were, the deliverance in Egypt.
4. We now come to the land, in which the nations, dispossessed because of their sin, have now to yield to Israel their inheritance. The six verses here seem to be plainly three couplets: the first dwelling upon the power of those who are made to yield; the second specifies the twin Amorite kingdoms that opposed themselves at the threshold of their inheritance; the third speaks of the inheritance itself as made over to them. The language is of the very briefest. What seems possible in the way of spiritual application has been elsewhere dwelt upon; but here it is Israel’s song of praise, and doubtless for them these old histories may have new light shed upon them by their latter-day experiences.
5. The psalm closes with God’s remembrance of their low estate, and their new deliverance in the time to which the Psalms as a whole so constantly point forward. The third verse abruptly widens out to the acknowledgment of the full satisfaction for all flesh which the Lord of all has provided, and which may be surely applied in the fullest way to every kind of need. With Israel’s blessing, we are reminded that the blessing of the whole earth comes in; and the last verse may naturally be taken as the praise of all.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 A song of praise to God ever merciful. It…
A song of praise to God ever merciful. It is sometimes known as the great Hallel, although the Talmud includes also Psalms 120-135 under this title. It differs from all other Pss. in the Psalter in that each v. closes with a refrain.
6. Cp. Psa_24:2.
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19-22. Cp. Psa_135:11, Psa_135:12.
23. Low estate] i.e. condition of abasement, perhaps the exile or subjection to a foreign yoke.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v24 (See Scofield "Isa 59:20"). See Scofield "Exo 14:30".
redeemed
(See Scofield "Isa 59:20"). See Scofield "Exo 14:30".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 136
Psalm 136
His Mercy Endureth Forever
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This is a historical Psalm of praise, as His grateful people Israel think of all He has done. Twenty-six times we read “His mercy endureth forever.” The Psalm begins with a threefold call to give thanks unto the Lord, the God of gods, and the Lord of lords; the triune God is thus adored. And after this the brief sentences which rehearse His mighty deeds of the past as Creator and as the God of Israel, are followed by the praise of His mercy. This Psalm was undoubtedly used in the Temple worship. The Jews in their ritual call it “the great Hallel.” It will probably be used in the future, when in the new temple Israel will sing the praises of His Name.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Exhortation to Give Thanks to God.
Exhortation to Give Thanks to God.
An antiphonal hymn, which takes up the theme of the preceding psalm and was intended to be sung in alternation by the choir and the congregation, the former chanting the invitation and the latter responding with the call, stating the reason for the hymn of praise.
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v. 1. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, exhibiting His goodness in all His works for the benefit of His children; for His mercy, His free favor and unmerited loving-kindness, endureth forever.
v. 2. O give thanks unto the God of gods, the Sovereign, whose creative and providential power is over every rank of government and everything that is worshiped falsely; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 3. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, in whose hands is all power, the direction of all affairs of the universe; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 4. To Him who alone doeth great wonders, all help and interference on the part of any creature being excluded; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 5. To Him that by wisdom, by the application of divine knowledge and understanding. made the heavens; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 6. To Him that stretched out the earth above the waters, the water of the world being partly visible, in the oceans, and partly invisible, in the underground streams and springs; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 7. To Him that made great lights, Gen 1:14; for His mercy endureth forever:
v. 8. the sun to rule by day, to have dominion in controlling the division of time; for His mercy endureth forever:
v. 9. the moon and stars to rule by night, Gen 1:16; for His mercy endureth forever. The deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt is next proclaimed:
v. 10. To Him that smote Egypt in their first-born, Exo 12:29; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 11. and brought out Israel from among them, Exo 12:51; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 12. with a strong hand and with a stretched-out arm, with a manifestation of His majesty and power; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 13. To Him which divided the Red Sea into parts, when Moses, at His command, stretched out his staff over the sea, Exo 14:21-22; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 14. and made Israel to pass through the midst of it, the waters standing on either side like walls; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 15. but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, literally, "shaking them," as one would shake small particles in a bottle, the figure picturing the utter annihilation of the enemies; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 16. To Him which led His people through the wilderness, during the forty-year journey, Deu 8:15; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 17. To Him which smote great kings, such as possessed great power, mighty armies; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 18. and slew famous kings, such as were celebrated far and wide for their power; for His mercy endureth forever:
v. 19. Sihon, king of the Amorites; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 20. and Og, the king of Bashan; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 21. and gave their land for an heritage; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 22. even an heritage unto Israel, His servant; for His mercy endureth forever. Cf Psa 135:10-12; Deu 2:32 to Deu 3:11.
v. 23. Who remembered us in our low estate, either in the bondage of Egypt or in the captivity of Babylonia; for His mercy endureth forever;
v. 24. and hath redeemed us from our enemies, snatching them suddenly out of the hands of their adversaries; for His mercy endureth forever.
v. 25. Who giveth food to all flesh, His providential care embracing all His creatures; for His mercy endureth forever. The psalmist therefore sums up his exhortation in one final call:
v. 26. O give thanks unto the God of heaven, the great Ruler of the heavens and therefore the Sovereign of the earth as well; for His mercy endureth forever. It is a wonderful prayer of thanksgiving, which the Church and all its members will gladly send up to the throne of grace at all times.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 24 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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Oh
This is an exclamation that should be translated with whatever exclamation of emphasis you have in your language to make it sound natural. (See: Exclamations)
for his covenant faithfulness endures forever
The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with an adjective. AT: "because he remains faithful to his covenant forever" (See: Abstract Nouns)
the God of gods
the God who is greater than the gods that other people worship (See: Idiom)
translationWords
Yahweh
good
covenant faithfulness
endure
eternity
God
false god
lord
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 10, 23, 25, 26 Ps 136 This is the last of the Great…
Ps 136 This is the last of the Great Hallel psalms (Pss 120–136). It distinctively repeats the refrain His faithful love endures forever in every verse. The hymn is framed by a call to praise (136:1-3, 26). It proclaims the Lord as the Creator of all and the Redeemer of Israel, both in the distant (136:10-22) and in the recent past (136:23-24).
136:1-3 The psalmist invites the community to praise the Lord, who is good and full of love, the true Lord of humanity. Verse 1 alludes to the poetic expression in 2 Chr 5:13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.