Psalms 136: 21 Commentary

B.Watson: I HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT GOD IS GOOD DESPITE ALL MY BADNESS & SINFULNESS THEREFORE I TESTIFY TOGETHER WITH THE ISRAELITES THAT…..

T H E M E R C Y O F T H E L O R D E N D U R E S 4 E V E R !

That it is repeated here many times in the psalms, is to remind us of God’s Mercy:
“…with YOU (o God) there is forgiveness so that YOU can be feared.”
Psalm 130:4.

By TIUCHE (wrote 2756 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 8/20/2011 10:38 am

Bruce Watson: Neat story! I am trying to search for information on it and can’t find anything. Many Jewish legends are written in the Talmud, I will try to search there.

By James Richter (wrote 536 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 8/20/2011 06:56 am

I heard on a radio program that this Psalm was song by the tribes of Isreal as they were divided between two mountains. In the fashion of call and response, one group would call out to the other… “Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good!” The other group would respond… ” For His mercy endures forever.” This call and response would alternate back and fourth until all of the verses were shouted accross the valley. My question is this, is this information correct? I have never heard this before and have not been able to find any information or commentary that states anything like this.

Thank you for your time and attention’
Bruce

By Bruce Watson (wrote 1 Bible Commentary - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 8/20/2011 04:43 am

PSALM 136 AND COMMENTARY VERSE BY VERSE: 5/11/2010
1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. for His mercy endures forever.
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 perfected of good, and the rewarded of good. For this he deserves the constant gratitude of his people. For his mercy endures for ever.
2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! for His mercy endures forever.
Jehovah is our God, to be worshipped and adored, and he is worthy of our reverence to the highest degree. If the heathen cultivate the worship of their gods with zeal, how much more intently should we seek the glory of the God of gods–the only true and real God?
3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! for His mercy endures forever:
Let us arouse ourselves to laud our glorious Lord! A third time let us thank him who is our Jehovah, our God, and our Lord; and let this one reason suffice us for three thanksgivings, or for three thousand-
4 To Him who alone does great wonders, for His mercy endures forever;
None can be likened unto him; he is alone in wonderland, the Creator and Worker of true marvels, compared with which all other remarkable things are as child’s play. His works are all great in wonder even when they are not great in size; in fact, in the minute objects of the microscope we behold as great wonders as even the telescope can reveal.
5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, for His mercy endures forever;
He set his wisdom to the task of fashioning a firmament, or an atmosphere suitable for a world upon which mortal men should dwell.
6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, for His mercy endures forever;
To him that stretched out the earth above the waters. Lifting it up from the mingled mass, the dank morass, the bottomless bog, of mixed land and sea; and so fitting it to be the abode of man.
7 To Him who made great lights, for His mercy endures forever—
Thanks are to the Lord, who has not consigned us to darkness. In great mercy he has not left us to an uncertain, indistinct light, floating about fitfully, and without order; but he has concentrated light upon two grand luminaries, which, as far as we are concerned, are to us “great lights.”
8 The sun to rule by day, for His mercy endures forever;
The sun rules because God rules; it is not the sun which we should worship, like the Parsees; but the Creator of the sun, as he did who wrote this sacred song. For his mercy endures for ever.
9 The moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy endures forever. The moon with her charming changes and the stars in their fixed spheres gladden the night. When the season would be dark and dreary because of the absence of the sun, forth come the many minor comforters.
10 To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, for His mercy endures forever;
To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn. The last and greatest of the plagues struck all Egypt to the heart. The sorrow and the terror which it caused throughout the nation it is hardly possible to exaggerate. From king to slave each one was wounded in the tenderest point.
11 And brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy endures forever;
Scattered as the tribes were up and down the country, and apparently held in a grasp which would never be relaxed, the Lord wrought their deliverance, and severed them from their idolatrous task masters. None of them remained in bondage. The Lord brought them out; brought them all out; brought them out at the very hour when his promise was due; brought them out despite their being mingled among the Egyptians; brought them out never to return.
12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy endures forever;
He dashed in pieces the enemy with his right hand. He led forth his people in no mean or clandestine manner. “He brought them forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person in all their tribes.” Egypt was glad when they departed.
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, for His mercy endures forever;
He made a road across the sea bottom, causing the divided waters to stand like walls on either side. Men deny miracles; but, granted that there is a God, they become easy of belief. Since it requires me to be an atheist that I may logically reject miracles, I prefer the far smaller difficulty of believing in the infinite power of God.
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, for His mercy endures forever;
HE gave the people courage to follow the predestined track through the yawning abyss, which might well have terrified a veteran host. It needed no little generalship to conduct so vast and motley a company along a way so novel and apparently so dangerous.
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever;
The chariots were thrown over, the horses were overthrown. The King and his warriors were alike overwhelmed; they were hurled from their chariots as locusts are tossed to and fro in the wind. Broken was the power and conquered was the pride of Egypt. 16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endure forever;
To him which led his people through the wilderness. He led them into it, and therefore he was pledged to lead them through it. They were “his people”, and yet they must go into the wilderness, and the wilderness must remain as barren as ever it was; but in the end they must come out of it into the promised land.
17 To Him who struck down great kings, For His mercy endures forever;
The Lord who smote Pharaoh at the beginning of the wilderness march, smote Sihon and OG at the close of it. How could these kings hope to succeed when even mercy itself was in arms against them.
18 And slew famous kings, for His mercy endures forever—
As they opposed God they became infamous rather than famous. Their deaths made the Lord’s fame to increase among the nations while their fame ended in disgraceful defeat.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites, For His mercy endures forever;
Sihon smote Moab, but he could not smite Israel, for the Lord smote him. He was valiant and powerful, so as to be both great and famous; but as he willfully refused to give a peaceful passage to the Israelites, and fought against them in malice, there was no choice for it but to let him run into that destruction which he courted.
20 And Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever—
Og king was of the race of the giants, but he was routed like a pygmy when he entered the lists with Israel’s God. The Lord’s people were called upon to fight against him, but it was God who won the victory.
21 And gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy endures forever;
He was of the race of the giants, but he was routed like a pygmy when he entered the lists with Israel’s God. The Lord’s people were called upon to fight against him, but it was God who won the victory.
22 A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever.
The lands of the heathen kings were given to “Israel”, the name by which the chosen seed is here mentioned for the third time in the Psalm, with the addition of the words, “his servant.”
23 Who remembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever;
The lands of the heathen kings were given to “Israel”, the name by which the chosen seed is here mentioned for the third time in the Psalm, with the addition of the words, “his servant.”
24 And rescued us from our enemies, for His mercy endures forever;
Israel’s enemies brought the people low; but the Lord intervened, and turned the tables by a great redemption. The expression implies that they had become like slaves, and were not set free without price and power; for they needed to be “redeemed.”
25 Who gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever?
If we think of heavenly food, by which all saints are supplied, our praises rise to a still greater height; but meanwhile the universal goodness of God in feeding all his creatures is as worthy of praise as his special favors to the elect nation.
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy endures forever.
The Lord is God in the highest realms, and among celestial beings. His throne is set in glory, above all, out of reach of foes, in the place of universal oversight.
He made the moon and stars to rule the night. His love continues forever.

By Mike Malik (wrote 1 Bible Commentary - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 5/11/2010 21:50 pm

Sihon and Og were the Amorite kings. These kings were very great in stature like cedar. They look like gaints whom no one can defeat.But the Lord slew them and gave their lands to Israel for an heritage. Similarly, I believe that God gives victory to His obedient children. We may come across many people who have worldly strengths more than us or they may be financially and socially strong. But, when they compete with us or try to conquer us, the Lord will give us a stupendous victory.Infact, the Lord gives us as a heritage what they are fighting for.

By Rajesh Gottimukkala (wrote 1 Bible Commentary - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 12/11/2008 19:26 pm