Reflections on Psalm 136

Psalms 136 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Praise the LORD! He is good. God's love never fails.
   
2. Praise the God of all gods. God's love never fails.
   
3. Praise the Lord of lords. God's love never fails.
   
4. Only God works great miracles. God's love never fails.
   
5. With wisdom he made the sky. God's love never fails.
   
6. The Lord stretched the earth over the ocean. God's love never fails.
   
7. He made the bright lights in the sky. God's love never fails.
   
8. He lets the sun rule each day. God's love never fails.
   
9. He lets the moon and the stars rule each night. God's love never fails.
   
10. God struck down the first-born in every Egyptian family. God's love never fails.
    
11. He rescued Israel from Egypt. God's love never fails.
    
12. God used his great strength and his powerful arm. God's love never fails.
    
13. He split the Red Sea apart. God's love never fails.
    
14. The Lord brought Israel safely through the sea. God's love never fails.
    
15. He destroyed the Egyptian king and his army there. God's love never fails.
    
16. The Lord led his people through the desert. God's love never fails.
    
17. Our God defeated mighty kings. God's love never fails.
    
18. And he killed famous kings. God's love never fails.
    
19. One of them was Sihon, king of the Amorites. God's love never fails.
    
20. Another was King Og of Bashan. God's love never fails.
    
21. God took away their land. God's love never fails.
    
22. He gave their land to Israel, the people who serve him. God's love never fails.
    
23. God saw the trouble we were in. God's love never fails.
    
24. He rescued us from our enemies. God's love never fails.
    
25. He gives food to all who live. God's love never fails.
    
26. Praise God in heaven! God's love never fails.
    

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This psalm rehearses for us an overview of Israel's history while listing ways in which God has demonstrated His love toward Israel throughout that history. It is an overview that is seen in many forms throughout the Old Testament. Obviously this psalm was intended for public worship used in a responsive fashion with one group or individual reading the leading statement of each line and another giving the response, "His love is eternal." As I imagine this being done in worship I imagine this responsiveness building with a crescendo all the way through until it is nearly a shout at the end.

I like what Matthew Henry says of this repetition at the end of each line. He says it intimates 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." So as this psalm is used in worship the continual repetition both tells and illustrates the eternal repetition of God's love. There is both a generic and a personal nature to this psalm about God's love. In the beginning it suggests to us that God's creation of the universe is a demonstration of His love. At this point it is of a generic nature, for this act of creation and demonstration of His love is for all, not just for Israel. But then at verse 10 it turns to the personal nature of God's love in the telling of what He did for Israel. And why did God perform the great works such as parting the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross safely? Was it to demonstrate His capabilities? Maybe in part. Was it to fulfill His purpose for Israel? Probably. Was it to bring judgment upon Egypt? Could be. But the point of this psalm is that whatever the reasons for why God does what He does, the motivating factor behind it is His love. His love for me and His love for whoever is reading this.

That thought provides another wrinkle for anyone who is in doubt that God is concerned about us personally. Maybe He created the universe, but if He did, once He accomplished it He went on about His business and left the people He made to shift for themselves. So goes the thinking of some. But no, this psalm is telling us that God was motivated in the act of creation by love. Love for whom? It was for no other than the people He made. And it is not just people in general, but it was also for me. He is not an impersonal God. He is a very personal God.