Psalms 136:1-26; 138:1-8
Psalm 136 seems to be an expansion of Psalm 135 covering God's accomplishments in His dealings with Israel. It is a repetitious usage of the term "For His Mercy Endures Forever;" but it should ring a profound message in our hearts as we today are part of the FOREVER mentioned at the Psalmist's time! Psalm 136 is also called the "Hallel Psalm" as it was sung at the opening of the Passover. (Read 1 Chronicles 16:41-David; 11 Chronicles 7:1-3-Solomon; 20:21-Jehoshaphat; Ezra 3;11-Rebuilt Temple).
I choose to number these verses as they continue to use the phrase mentioned above in every verse of all 26. I feel we can follow it better this way and I am using the exact verse number for each for your own reference purposes. Psalm 136:1-3-(NKJV)-:
1. "Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good!
FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER."
(Psalms 35:18; 105:1; 106:1; 122:4; public thanks)
2. "Oh, give thanks to the God of god's!
FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER."
(He is the Real God as opposed to the fake god's. He is a Supreme Deity! Deuteronomy 10:17)
3. "Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!"
FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER."
(Lords of the world do not take pre-eminence over the Lord of lords. He is the SUPREME RULER.)
In Psalm 136:4-9 we continue in (TLB):
4. "Praise Him who alone does Mighty Miracles,
FOR HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
(Note the change of wordage in this translation; but it does not take away from the NKJV meaning; the Miracles here refer to creation; Psalms 19:1-6; 72:18-19)
5. "Praise Him who made the heavens,
FOR HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
(Jeremiah 51:15; 10:12)
6. "Praise Him who planted the water within the earth,"
FOR HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
(Jeremiah 10:13; actually this means He separated the earth from the oceans so that dry land appeared for humans and animals; Genesis 1:6)
7. "Praise Him who made the Heavenly lights,
FOR HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
(Genesis 1:14-18)
8. "The sun to rule the day,
FOR HIS LIVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
(Genesis 1:16)
9. "And the moon and stars at night,
FOR HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
(Genesis 1:18; Psalm 8:3)
Psalm 136:10-15-(CEB)-:
10. "Give thanks to the One who struck down the Egyptians' oldest offspring-
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER."
(Exodus 12:29; Psalms 78:12-13; 135:8-9; note the new ending for each verse. In this translation.)
11. "Give thanks to the One who brought Israel out of there-
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER."
(Still the ending phrase means the same as NKJV-and TLB; Exodus 12:51; 13:3, 16)
12. "With a strong hand and outstretched arm -
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER!"
(Exodus 6:6; 15:6; Psalm 18:17)
13. "Give thanks to the One who split the Red Sea in two-
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER."
(Exodus 14:21)
14. "Give thanks to the One who brought Israel through-
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER."
(Exodus 15:8)
15. "And tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea-
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER!"
(Exodus 14:27; God provided deliverance for the Israelites through the Red Sea and destruction for the pursuing Egyptians by the RedSea. Only God could TIME this so exactly!)
Note the different wordage of the same phrase, HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER" in Psalm 136:16-22-(TEV)-:
16. He led His people in the desert;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL."
(Exodus 13:18; 15:22; Here we see the new phrase with the same meaning.)
17. "He killed powerful kings;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL;"
(Remember Psalm 135:11-12; Og and Siphon)
18. "He killed famous kings;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL;"
(Deuteronomy 29:7-Og)
19. "Siphon, king of the Amorites;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL;"
(Numbers 21:21)
20. "And Og, king of Bashan;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL."
(Numbers 21:33)
21. "He gave their land to His people;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL."
(Joshua 12:1)
22. "He gave it to Israel, His servant;
HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL."
(Yes, "HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER"; and "HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL"; and "HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER!" He is my God also so I accept His promises for He is the One I praise!)
Again in Psalm 136:23-25 I will repeat the numbering so you can see the multiple times God moved to restore Israel to His Presence in Jerusalem. Again I repeat the familiar phrase as this song of Israel does in (NKJV):
25. " Who remembered us in our lowly state,
FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER;"
(Psalm 135 comes to mind; Genesis 8:1-Moses found this true when Israel was in Egypt; also in Babylon we referred to before.)
24. "He rescued us from our enemies ,
FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER;"
(Psalm 44:7)
25. "Who gives food to all flesh,
FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER."
(Psalms 104:27; 145:15)
Then the climax to Psalm 136:26 faces us-(CEB)-:
26. GIVE THANKS TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN-
GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER!"
(That's why I say also this Psalm expresses my praise also!
"HE IS GOOD FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!"
Now read Psalm 138:1-8 as a closing reading without comments from me, as it is self-explanatory. (NKJV):
"I give praise to You with my whole heart; Before the god's I will sing praises to You." (Psalm 46:1 and 119:46)
"I will worship toward Your Holy temple, and praise Your Name for Your Loving Kindness and Your truth; (Psalm 115:11; Isaiah 42:21)
"For You magnified Your Name, above all Your Name." (Psalm 28:2; 1 Kings 8:29)
"In the day I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with Strength in my soul."
(TLB)-"Every king in all the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord, for all of them shall hear Your voice" (Psalm 102:15)
"Yes, they shall sing about Jehovah's Glorious Way, for His Glory is Very Great. Yet, though He is so Great, He respects the humble, but proud men must keep their distance."
(Psalms 86:14; 113:4-7; 147:6; James 4:6)
"But I am surrounded by troubles, You keep me safe; You oppose my angry enemies, and save me by Your Power." (Psalm 23)
"You will do everything You have promised me;" (Psalm 57:2)
"LORD, YOUR LOVE IS CONSTANT FOREVER: COMPLETE THE WORK THAT YOU HAVE BEGUN." (Job 10:3, 8)
AMEN! COMPLETE THE WORK IN ME "THAT YOU HAVE BEGUN!"
Think about it!
"FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER,"
"FOR HIS LOVING KINDNESS CONTINUES FOREVER."
"GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE LASTS FOREVER."
"HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL."
Next time...