Psalms 136

Thanks for the LORD'S Goodness to Israel.

1 ¹Give thanks to the LORD, for ²He is good, For ³His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Give thanks to the ⁴God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

3 Give thanks to the ⁵Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

4 To Him who ⁶alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

5 To Him who ⁷made the heavens ⁸with skill, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

6 To Him who ⁹spread out the earth above the waters, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

7 To Him who ¹⁰made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:

8 The ¹¹sun to rule by day, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

9 The ¹²moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

10 To Him who ¹³smote the Egyptians in their firstborn, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

11 And ¹⁴brought Israel out from their midst, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

12 With a ¹⁵strong hand and an ¹⁶outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

13 To Him who ¹⁷divided the Red * Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

14 And ¹⁸made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

15 But ¹⁹He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red * Sea, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

16 To Him who ²⁰led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

17 To Him who ²¹smote great kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

18 And ²²slew mighty kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:

19 ²³Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

20 And ²⁴Og, king of Bashan, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

21 And ²⁵gave their land as a heritage, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

22 Even a heritage to Israel His ²⁶servant, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

23 Who ²⁷remembered us in our low estate, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

24 And has ²⁸rescued us from our adversaries, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

25 Who ²⁹gives food to all flesh, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

26 Give thanks to the ³⁰God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

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Psalms 136 Commentary

Chapter 136

God to be praised as the Creator of the world. (1-9) As Israel's God and Saviour. (10-22) For his blessings to all. (23-26)

Verses 1-9 Forgetful as we are, things must be often repeated to us. By "mercy" we understand the Lord's disposition to save those whom sin has rendered miserable and vile, and all the provision he has made for the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ. The counsels of this mercy have been from everlasting, and the effects of it will endure for ever, to all who are interested in it. The Lord continues equally ready to show mercy to all who seek for it, and this is the source of all our hope and comfort.

Verses 10-22 The great things God did for Israel, when he brought them out of Egypt, were mercies which endured long to them; and our redemption by Christ, which was typified thereby, endures for ever. It is good to enter into the history of God's favours, and in each to observe, and own, that his mercy endureth for ever. He put them in possession of a good land; it was a figure of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verses 23-26 God's everlasting mercy is here praised for the redemption of his church; in all his glories, and all his gifts. Blessed be God, who has provided and made known to us salvation through his Son. May we know and feel his redeeming power, that we may serve him in righteousness all our days. May He who giveth food to all flesh, feed our souls unto eternal life, and enliven our affections by his grace, that we may give thanks and praise to his holy name, for his mercy endureth for ever. Let us trace up all the favours we receive to this true source, and offer praise continually.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 30

1. 1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 107:1; Psalms 118:1; Jeremiah 33:11
2. 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Psalms 100:5
3. 1 Chronicles 16:41; 2 Chronicles 20:21; Psalms 118:1-4
4. Deuteronomy 10:17
5. Deuteronomy 10:17
6. Deuteronomy 6:22; Job 9:10; Psalms 72:18
7. Genesis 1:1
8. Psalms 104:24; Proverbs 3:19; Jeremiah 10:12; Jeremiah 51:15
9. Gen 1:2, 6, 9; Psalms 24:2; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 44:24; Jeremiah 10:12
10. Genesis 1:14-18; Psalms 74:16
11. Genesis 1:16
12. Genesis 1:16
13. Exodus 12:29; Psalms 78:51; Psalms 135:8
14. Exodus 12:51; Exodus 13:3; Psalms 105:43
15. Exodus 6:1; Exodus 13:9; 1 Kings 8:42; Nehemiah 1:10; Psalms 44:3; Jeremiah 32:21
16. Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15; Deuteronomy 7:19; Deuteronomy 9:29; Deuteronomy 11:2; 2 Kings 17:36; 2 Chronicles 6:32; Jeremiah 32:17
17. Exodus 14:21; Psalms 66:6; Psalms 78:13
18. Exodus 14:22; Psalms 106:9
19. Exodus 14:27; Psalms 78:53; Psalms 106:11
20. Exodus 13:18; Exodus 15:22; Deuteronomy 8:15; Psalms 78:52
21. Psalms 135:10-12; Psalms 136:17-22
22. Deuteronomy 29:7
23. Numbers 21:21-24
24. Numbers 21:33-35
25. Joshua 12:1
26. Psalms 105:6; Isaiah 41:8; Isaiah 44:1; Isaiah 45:4
27. Psalms 9:12; Psalms 103:14; Psalms 106:45
28. Judges 6:9; Nehemiah 9:28; Psalms 107:2
29. Psalms 104:27; Psalms 145:15
30. Genesis 24:3, 7; 2 Chronicles 36:23; Ezra 1:2; Ezra 5:11; Nehemiah 1:4

Footnotes 10

[a]. I.e. wonderful acts
[b]. Lit "with understanding"
[c]. Or "over the"
[d]. Or "over the"
[e]. Lit "Egypt"
[f]. Lit "Sea of Reeds"
[g]. Lit "in parts"
[h]. Lit "shook off"
[i]. Lit "Sea of Reeds"
[j]. Lit "majestic"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 136

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 them 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. The subject of it is much the same with the preceding psalm; its composition is very singular; the half of every verse: in it is, "for his mercy endureth for ever"; this is the burden of the song; and the design of it is to show, that all blessings of every kind flow from the grace, goodness, and mercy of God, which is constant and perpetual; and to impress a sense of it upon the minds of men: the inscription of the Syriac version is,

``it is said of Moses and Israel praising the Lord for those who were delivered; and concerning the deliverance of souls out of hell from Pharaoh, the devil, by Christ our Saviour, the Redeemer of them.''

R. Obadiah says it is an exhortation to the children of God in the days of the Messiah to praise the Lord.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Psalms 136 Commentaries

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete)

John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Geneva Study Bible