Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

• Psalm 136:1-26

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“The scope of this psalm is the same with that of the Ps. 135:1-21, but there is something very singular in the composition of it; for the latter half of each verse is the same, repeated throughout the psalm, ‘for his mercy endureth for ever,’ and yet no vain repetition. It is allowed that such burdens, or ‘keepings,’ as we call them, add very much to the beauty of a song, and help to make it moving and affecting; nor can any verse contain more weighty matter, or more worthy to be thus repeated, than this, that God’s mercy endureth for ever; and the repetition of it here twenty-six times intimates, 1. That God’s mercies to his people are thus repeated and drawn, as it were, with a continuando from the beginning to the end, with a progress and advance in infinitum. 2. That in every particular favour we ought to take notice of the mercy of God, and to take favour we ought to take notice of the mercy of God, and to take notice of it as enduring still, the same now that it has been, and enduring for ever, the same always that it is. 3. That the everlasting continuance of the mercy of God is very much his honour and that which he glories in, and very much the saints’ comfort and that which they glory in. It is that which therefore our hearts should be full of and greatly affected with, so that the most frequent mention of it, instead of cloying us, should raise us the more, because it will be the subject of our praise to all eternity. This most excellent sentence, that God’s mercy endureth for ever, is magnified above all the truths concerning God, not only by the repetition of it here, but by the signal tokens of divine acceptance with which God owned the singing of it, both in Solomon’s time (2 Chron. 5:13; when they sang these words, ‘for his mercy endureth for ever,’ the house was filled with a cloud) and in Jehoshaphat’s time (when they sang these words, God gave them victory, 2 Chron. 20:21, 22), which should make us love to sing, “His mercies sure do still endure, eternally.” We must praise God, I. As great and good in himself, ver. 1-3. II. As the Creator of the world, ver. 5-9. III. As Israel’s God and Saviour, ver. 10-22. IV. As our Redeemer, ver. 23, 24. V. As the great benefactor of the whole creation, and God over all, blessed for evermore, ver. 25, 26.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 136 “This psalm celebrates the faithful love (Hebrew, hesed) of God, his steadfast and never failing love toward his covenant people. It includes a beautiful line repeated throughout: His faithful love endures forever. Probably after the priest sang each verse, the entire congregation would respond by singing this refrain.”

• Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

“His love endures forever.”  Twenty-six verses.  Twenty-six mentions of that sentence.

God is good.  He is the God of gods and the Lord of lords.  God is good makes sense, but the psalmist is not saying that there are any other gods, but since people on earth worship a variety of things that are made by God, then God is the God of everything God made.  The same thing is true about anyone who exerts power over another human.  God is the ultimate authority no matter how powerful the earthly power thinks they are.

And to carry that thought further, God created all things.

God produced great wonders in Egypt and freed the Israelites, parting the Red Sea.  God guided them through the wilderness.

With Joshua leading the army, the Israelites had great victories over a variety of kings.

And during the time of the judges, God lifted up His people.

His love endures forever.

Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
    we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
    while in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
    my highest joy.
Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
    on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
    “tear it down to its foundations!”
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them against the rocks.

• Psalm 137:1-9

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“There are divers psalms which are thought to have been penned in the latter days of the Jewish church, when prophecy was near expiring and the canon of the Old Testament ready to be closed up, but none of them appears so plainly to be of a late date as this, which was penned when the people of God were captives in Babylon, and there insulted over by these proud oppressors; probably it was towards the latter end of their captivity; for now they saw the destruction of Babylon hastening on apace (ver. 7), which would be their discharge. It is a mournful psalm, a lamentation; and the Septuagint makes it one of the lamentations of Jeremiah, naming him for the author of it. Here I. The melancholy captives cannot enjoy themselves, ver. 1, 2. II. They cannot humour their proud oppressors, ver. 3, 4. III. They cannot forget Jerusalem, ver. 5, 6. IV. They cannot forgive Edom and Babylon, ver. 7-9. In singing this psalm we must be much affected with the concernments of the church, especially that part of it that is in affliction, laying the sorrows of God’s people near our hearts, comforting ourselves in the prospect of the deliverance of the church and the ruin of its enemies, in due time, but carefully avoiding all personal animosities, and not mixing the leaven of malice with our sacrifices.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 137:4 “’How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? … If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth-if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.’ To sing Zion’s songs for the pleasure of Zion’s foes would be to forget the Holy City. Each Jew declares for himself that he will not do this, for the pro-noun alters from ‘we’ to ‘I.’ Individually the captives pledge themselves to fidelity to Jerusalem, and each one asserts that he had sooner forget the art that drew music from his harp strings than use it for Babel’s pleasure. Better far that the right hand should forget its usual handicraft and lose all its dexterity than that it should fetch music for rebels out of the Lord’s instruments or accompany with sweet skill a holy psalm desecrated into a common song for fools to laugh at. Not one of them will thus dishonor Jehovah to glorify a Babylonian god and gratify his followers. Solemnly they imprecate vengeance upon themselves should they so falsely, so faithlessly prove.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

This psalm can be divided into a few parts.

The people are sorrowful.  They have been taken into captivity.

Then the Babylonians demand a song.  But when you have lost everything, even the temple where you worship God, is it possible to sing praises to God?

The answer to that question is that you can sing praises.  James says to count it all Joy when you face trials.  Our faith is being tested.  And our faith grows under such stress.

But then, dashing infants on the rocks is over the top.  If the premise of the psalm is the reason to have the psalm, then it was a test to see if the Babylonians could translate it.  If they could, they would not like the lyrics.

Odd how my list of the types of psalms does not list this psalm as imprecatory.  We should love our enemies and not wish for the infants to be bashed against the rocks.

This “wish” may have been prevalent among the captives, but in turning from God, they deserved the punishment.  Judah put itself in that sorrowful situation.

Psalm 138

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
    and will praise your name
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.
When I called, you answered me;
    you greatly emboldened me.
May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed.
May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for the glory of the Lord is great.
Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
    though lofty, he sees them from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
    with your right hand you save me.
The Lord will vindicate me;
    your love, Lord, endures forever—
    do not abandon the works of your hands.

• Psalm 138:1-8

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s mercies to individuals:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“It does not appear, nor is it material to enquire, upon what occasion David penned this psalm; but in it, I. He looks back with thankfulness upon the experiences he had had of God’s goodness to him, ver. 1-3. II. He looks forward with comfort, in hopes, 1. That others would go on to praise God like him, ver. 4, 5. 2. That God would go on to do good to him, ver. 6-8. In singing this psalm we must in like manner devote ourselves to God’s praise and glory and repose ourselves in his power and goodness.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 138:2 “’For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.’ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the divine word will not pass away, and in this respect especially it has a preeminence over every other form of manifestation. Moreover the Lord lays all the rest of His name under tribute to His word: His wisdom, power, love, and all His other attributes combine to carry out His word. It is His word that creates, sustains, quickens, enlightens, and comforts. As a word of command it is supreme, and in the Person of the incarnate Word it is set above all the works of God’s hands. Let us adore the Lord who has spoken to us by His word and by His Son, and in the presence of unbelievers let us both praise His holy name and extol His holy Word.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is attributed to David.

Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord’s name.  David is saying that before other gods, he will praise God.  David knew there was no other God, but in stating this, he puts the false gods in their place.

David worshipped God, and when he called upon God, God answered him.

David says that all the nations should worship the Lord, and in the End, the nations will worship God.

God may be highly exalted, and He is, but God sees the plight of the lowly and He looks over them.

God will protect His people and he will vindicate those who love Him and keep His commandments.

And the psalm ends with a common phrase from Psalm 136.  His love endures forever.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 136

“1. What are some modern day ‘gods’ and ‘lords’? How do they vie for your attention from time to time?
“2. Which of the wonders listed especially moves you to thanksgiving? What ‘wonder’ from your own life would you add to the litany?
“3. Why do you suppose God so earnestly calls us to give thanks in this and other psalms? Is there anything you don’t want to thank God for? Why? Is it possible that you have stopped believing in God’s ability to do ‘great wonders’ there?
“4. Do you consciously or unconsciously tell yourself that God’s, love for you is conditional, limited or de-pendent upon your performance? How can you hold the reality of God’s love in the forefront of your mind? What practical difference would it make?
“5. How do you feel when those who are evil suffer? Do you rejoice that justice is done? Are you sad when anyone suffers? Do you have mixed feelings?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 137

“1. Have you or a loved one experienced deep grief? Did you ‘hang your harps’? Or were you pressured to keep playing and singing as before? When is it OK to hang our harps?
“2. Do you feel a sense of belonging in the group, or are you in a ‘foreign land’? How could you feel at home?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 138

“1. What exterior factors encourage you to praise God? What interior ones?
“2. Why is humility a prerequisite for asking God to grant a request? How do humility and weakness differ?
“3. Do you feel that God is fulfilling a purpose in you? What? How do you find it? Can the group help?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.