10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
11 And brought out Israel from among them, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
12 With a powerful hand and with a stretched-out arm, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
13 To him that divided the Red sea into parts, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
15 And overturned Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
16 To him that led his people through the wilderness, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
17 To him that smote great kings, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
18 And slew famous kings, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
19 Sihon king of the Amorites, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
20 And Og king of Bashan, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
21 And gave their land for an inheritance, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
22 An inheritance unto Israel his servant, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 136
Commentary on Psalms 136 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 136
The scope of this psalm is the same with that of the foregoing psalm, 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,
Psa 136:1-9
The duty we are here again and again called to is to give thanks, to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, not the fruits of our ground or cattle, but the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name, Heb. 13:15. We are never so earnestly called upon to pray and repent as to give thanks; for it is the will of God that we should abound most in the most pleasant exercises of religion, in that which is the work of heaven. Now here observe,
Psa 136:10-22
The great things God for Israel, when he first formed them into a people, and set up his kingdom among them, are here mentioned, as often elsewhere in the psalms, as instances both of the power of God and of the particular kindness he had for Israel. See Ps. 135:8, etc.
Psa 136:23-26
God's everlasting mercy is here celebrated,