Psalm CXXXVI
1 O GIVE thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endurcth for
ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods; for his mercy endureth for ever,
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.
5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
7 To him that made great lights; for his mercy endureth for ever:
8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
10 To him that smote Egypt in their first-born: for his mercy endureth for
ever:
1 1 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:
12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm: for his mercy endurt;tli
for ever.
13 To him which divided the Red Sea into parts: for his mercy endurcth for
ever:
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth
for ever: lo But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endurcth for ever:
21 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:
22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.
23 Who redeemed us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:
24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureih forever.
25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven! for his mercy endureth for ever.
The theme of last Psalm is taken up again; but whereas the glory of Jehovah was chiefly dwelt upon there, now it is his love. The same acts display more than one illustrious perfection, and may therefore call forth variety of praise.
That “God is love” h iherpervdmg view; or, in other words, “God is good, and his mercy endureth forever” — the fountain and the stream, the fountain sendcth forth its streams on our scorched and blighted world, streams that shall never be withdrawn, and which are not like the brook Cedron, flowing only now and then, but are perennial and perpetual. We refer back to what was said on Psalm cvii. 1, in reference to this theme and this view of Jehovah being taught at the altar: it was taught there most specially, and is still taught by the blood of Him who was the sacrifice. Indeed, we may say that it is only when standing by His side that we can truly sing this Psalm. He raises the tune; he calls on us thus to sing —
“Praise ye OlSn) Jehovah;” not as in Psa. cxxxv, 1, “Hallelujah,” but varying the words, “Be ye Judahs to the Lord!”
Praise him for what he is, (ver 1-3).
Praise him for what he is able to do, (ver. 4).
Praise him for what he has done in creation, (ver. 5-9).
Praise him for what he did in redeeming Israel from bondage, (ver. 10-15).
Praise him for what he did in his providence toward them, (ver. 16-22).
Praise him for his grace in times of calamity, (ver. 23, 24).
Praise him for his grace to the world at large, (ver. 25).
Praise him at the remembrance that this God is the God of heaven, (ver. 26). Is he “God of gods?” (ver. 2.) Well may we praise him, and be sure that the mercy which has issued forth from his throne, like the crystal river of the Apocalypse, shall flow on for ever; for there is none higher than himself; no rival to mar his plans, or interfere with his schemes. Yes, he is as Moses described in Deut. x. 17, — so infinitely higher than any creature that ever bore the name of “god,” that they dared not be named in his presence.
Is he “Lord of lords?” (ver. 3) as Moses also said long ago in Deut. x. 17. Then no principality in heaven, no power in hell, no assumed lordship in earth, can at all resist him: his mercy shall be impeded by none. It is the mercy of the “God of gods and the Lord of lords I” What height, depth, length, breadth, in his mercy! And you may sing on the banks of
41 2 PSALM CXXXVI. — PRAISE TO JEHOVAH, WHOSE MERCY
this river that fertilizes our desert world — “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Rom. viii. 88, 39).
Does he “alone” do great wonders? (ver. 4.) That means, he does so by himself, unaided, needing nothing from others, asking no help from his creatures. As the Nile from Nubia to the Mediterranean rolls on 1300 miles in solitary grandeur, receiving not one tributary, but itself alone dispensing fertility and fatness wherever it comes; so our God “alone” does wonders. (See Deut. xxxii. 12, Psa. lxxii. 18, &c.) No prompter, no helper; spontaneously he goes forth to work, and all he works is worthy of God. Then we have no need of any other; we are independent of all others; all our springs are in him.
Did he “make the heavens by his understanding?” (py2r) (ver. 5) — not only the firmament, but the third heavens, too, where all is felicity, where is the throne of glory. Then, I infer, that if the mercy which visits earth is from the same Jehovah who built that heaven and filled it with glory, there must be in this mercy something of the same “understanding,” or wisdom. It is wise, prudent mercy; not rashly given forth; and it is the mercy of Him whose love has filled that heaven with bliss. The same architect — the same skill — the same love!
It is he who “spread the earth above the waters” (ver. 6), making a solid platform for man’s abode. The Creator is he who sheweth mercy on us. He was preparing a theatre for the display of mercy. He was thinking thoughts of grace ere ever man appeared, so that his love has a deep source, and was issuing forth from its far back source all the time he was forming our earth.
It is he who “inade the great lights,” (ver. 7). Instead of causing the light that was shot out from his presence, on the three first days of creation, to serve our earth. He kindly prepared the “Great Lights.” That our comfort might be fully attended to, two great orbs were so placed, or our earth so placed towards them, as that our habitation might thus be full of cheerful light. Was he not remembering man? O praise him! And think as you praise, “His mercy endures for ever!”
He made “the sun to rule by day,” (ver. 8). Though he knew how our earth would abuse its mercies, and sinners employ the light in order to carry on schemes of wickedness, yet still he made it thus, and left it thus after the fall, to shine on the fields and dwellings even of the ungodly. Yea, and “the moon and stars by night” (ver, 9),* — the same that shone in Paradise and Eden. He has not withdrawn them. “His mercy endure th for ever!”
But again; this is he who ‘^ smote Egypf s first-horn,’’’ (ver. 1 0). Remember his sovereign grace, when righteousness would shew itself upon the guilty. There was mercy even then to Israel — drops of that mercy that for ever endureth — at the very time when judgment fell on others. Should not this give emphasis to our praises? The dark background makes the figures in the foreground more prominent.
He “hr ought out Israel from among them,” (ver. ] 1). This was mercy, separating them from all the evil and all the misery there. Aye, and with “a strong hand” (ver. J 2): for mercy prompted him to exercise power against the mighty. What a ground of encouragement in after ages to his own! That same “strong hand” ready at mercy’s call to do such acts, and that mercy enduring for ever!
“He divided the Red Sea into parts,” (ver. 13). Obstacles are nothing to him whose “mercy endureth for ever.” The divided Red Sea is a “pawn of his purpose and power to deliver his Church” in all ages. He “made Israel pass through the midst of it” (ver. 14), making the very bed of the sea their highway of safety; as he has often done since then, when the very calamities of his own have become their blessings.
Did he “shake off” (-ly) (ver. 1 5, as Exod. xiv. 27) Phai-aoh
* In this verse the expression “to rule” is JliVli^OD in the plural; whereas in Gen. i. 16 there is the repetition of pb^D’O- it is, q. d., their jurisdictions over night: for the term seems properly to mean the post of a ruler, the office he fills as a ruler.
414’ PSALM CXXXVI. — PRAISE TO JEHOVAH, WHOSE MERCY
and his host, as he did the locusts, into the Red Sea, and this when they would have hung on Israel’s rear, and clung to his skirts? This was mercy to his own, their foes overthrown; such mercy as shall awake hallelujahs when Antichrist is destroyed, in the last days, (Rev. xix. 1, 2).
Did he ‘’make his people walk in the wilderness?” (ver. 16.) Such a floor! such a pathway! Yet who has not heard of their safety and well-being there? Now, this mercy shall still act thus — for ever! All through the desert, and till it is done, his people shall be kept.*
Aye, but enemies again appear: “He smote great kings,” (ver. 1 7). Great as they were, it availed nothing; they lost their credit and prestige of greatness. And “noble kings,” too (ver. 18), were shorn of their pomp when they touched his anointed. Such is his mercy — mercy that lasts still for us in these last days. Yea, “Sihon, king of Annorites” (ver. 19), like the goodly cedar (Amos ii. 9), and the first that opposed their entrance into their land — lie fell; an example to those who might afterwards dare to oppose the Lord’s people. And when “Og, the king of Bashan” (ver. 20), took the field, a giant, a new and more terrific foe, he too fell. And the mercy that thus dealt with enemies so great, enemies so strong, one after another, “endureth for ever.” When Antichrist raises up his hosts in the latter days, one after another — when the great, the famous, the mighty, the noble, the gigantic men, in’ succession assail the Church, they shall perish. “For his mercy endureth for ever.”
But celebrate the Lord’s praise again; for “he gave their land for an inheritance,” (ver. 21). His mercy to his own soon comforted them for all their toils and conflicts, in a land flow-
* The Arabic interpolates,
“And made the waters flow from the .folid rock: For his mercy endureth for ever.” This, however, is of no authority, and may have originally been the pious amplification of some reader who felt that these were but samples of God’s many doings. Like that devout soul who said to a friend that we might, in the very spirit of this Psalm, give thanks for affliction, singing, “To Him who withered our grounds; For his mercy endureth for ever.”
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ing with milk and honey — a type of that inheritance awaiting his saints now, after conflict is over. It was “an inheritance to Israel, his servant,” (ver. 22); to Israel who had served him, and who would yet serve him Letter. Mercy gave this reward; it was not merit that won it; and so it shall be to the end, even in the case of the Lord’s servants who labour most for him. Israel and all the saints are debtors to mercy to the last.
He was the God “who remembered us when we were brought low,” (ver. 23). He did thus to Israel in times when sin brought on chastisement, as in Judges ii., iii., iv., &c., or 2 Kings xiii. 4, xiv. 26, 27. In backsliding times he still kept hold of us, not forgetting us when we forgot him. Oh what mercy! Like the mercy of Him whose love changes not! The river flowed on day and night, even when we came not to draw! “And redeemed us (broke us off) fro77i our enemies,” (ver. 24). Grace interposed for the helpless, the doubly helpless; and redeemed the backsliding ones from the very adversaries whom their sins raised up to chastise them. And thus mercy will do in the latter day to Israel again; and thus it is ever doing for saints at this present time.
We might fancy that they who have so much to sing of in regard to themselves, so much done for their own souls, would have little care for others. We might fear that they would be found selfish. But not so; the love of God felt by a man makes the man feel as God does towards men; and as God’s love is ever going forth to others, so is the heart of the man of God. We see how it is even as to patriotism — a man’s intensest patriotic feelings do not necessarily make him indifferent to the good of other countries, but rather make him wish all countries to be like his own; so it is, much more certainly and truly, with the Lord’s people in their enjoyment of blessing. Their heart expands toward others; they would fain have all men share in what they enjoy. They therefore cannot close their song without having this other clause — Praise Him who is
“The giver of bread to alljiesh I” (Ver. 25.) Not to Israel only does he give blessing. Israel had their manna; but, at the same time, the earth at large has its food. So in spiritual things. Israel’s God is he who giveth himself as Bread of Life to the world. Perhaps at this point the Psalmist’s eye may be supposed to see Earth in its state of blessedness, after Israel is for the last time redeemed from all enemies, and become “life from the dead” to the world — when Christ reigns and dispenses bread of life to the New Earth, as widely as he gave common food — “the feast of fat things to all nations,” (Isa. xxv, 10); for his mercy will not rest till this is accomplished.
“0 gwe praise (•ll’irT) to the God of heaven I” (Ver. 26.) Whom having not seen we love, for his mercy endureth for ever; whom seated in heaven, we see not, but from whom all these blessings come down to earth. It is Heaven that blesses Earth, and shall not Earth send up its praise to Heaven. Oh, that all men were Judahs — joining in this song to Jehovah — Praise to Jehovah because of his mercy that has blessed, and will bless, for ever!