Psalms 136:26

136:23-26 God's everlasting mercy is here praised for the redemption of his church; in all his glories, and all his gifts. Blessed be God, who has provided and made known to us salvation through his Son. May we know and feel his redeeming power, that we may serve him in righteousness all our days. May He who giveth food to all flesh, feed our souls unto eternal life, and enliven our affections by his grace, that we may give thanks and praise to his holy name, for his mercy endureth for ever. Let us trace up all the favours we receive to this true source, and offer praise continually.

O give thanks unto the God of heaven,.... the Maker of it, in which the glory of his wisdom and power is displayed; the possessor of it, where he dwells, has his throne, and keeps his court; from whence all blessings, temporal and spiritual, come and where he has prepared glory and happiness for his people hereafter, a house eternal in the heavens, an inheritance reserved there, a better and a more enduring substance; for his mercy endureth for ever; for though the above character is expressive of his sovereignty and dominion, yet he exercises it in a way of grace and mercy to the sons of men; and therefore they have reason to give thanks unto him and praise him for his kindness and favours shown to them on earth.

26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven, for his mercy endureth for ever. "O give thanks unto the God of heaven." The title is full of honour. 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 who feeds ravens and sparrows is yet the glorious God of the highest realms. Angels count it their glory to proclaim his glory in every heavenly street. See herein the greatness of his nature, the depth of his condescension, and the range of his love. Mark the one sole cause of his bounty - "For his mercy endureth for ever." He hath done all things from this motive; and because his mercy never ceases, he will continue to multiply deeds of love world without end. Let us with all our powers of heart and tongue give thanks unto the holy name of Jehovah for ever and ever. Change and decay in all around Isee, O thou who changest not, abide with me.

(26) God of heaven. —See Nehemiah 1:4 ; Nehemiah 2:4 . This title, though implied in Psalm 11:4 and similar passages, was not used before the exile. Away from Zion and the visible token of the Divine presence, the hearts of the faithful began more and more to dream of their God as “One that His mansion hath on high Above the reach of mortal eye.” At the end the Vulgate repeats Psalm 136:3. (See Prayer Book.)

Verse 26. - Oh give thanks unto the God of heaven , "The God of heaven" is a favorite designation of God in the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel ( Ezra 1:2 ; Ezra 5:11, 12 ; Ezra 6:9, 10 ; Ezra 7:12, 21 ; Nehemiah 1:4, 5 ; Nehemiah 2:4, 20 ; Daniel 2:18, 19, 37, 44 ). It was a phrase known to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians. For his mercy endureth forever . Psalm 136:26

26 . the God of heaven ] A late title, occurring here only in the Psalter. It is found in Ezra 1:2 , &c.; Nehemiah 1:4 ; Nehemiah 2:4 ; 2 Chronicles 36:23 ; Jonah 1:9 ; Daniel 2:18 , &c. Cp. Revelation 11:13 ; Revelation 16:11 . The P.B.V. adds “O give thanks unto the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.” This repetition of Psalm 136:3 is taken from the Gallican Psalter, but is not found in any extant MS of the LXX.

O give thanks unto the God of heaven - The God who reigns in heaven; whose home is heaven. For his mercy ... - In view of all this - of all that he does in heaven and on earth - let praise be ascribed to him. To know the measure of the praise due to him; to see how great is his "mercy," it would be necessary to know all that he does in heaven and on earth. That will not be known here. It will constitute the theme of contemplation and praise forever and ever. Enough, however, is known here to show the propriety of repeating again, again, and again, as in this psalm, the language, "For his mercy endureth forever;" "For his mercy endureth forever;" "For his mercy endureth forever."

Up to this point it is God the absolute in general, the Creator of all things, to the celebration of whose praise they are summoned; and from this point onwards the God of the history of salvation. In Psalm 136:13 גּזר (instead of בּקע, Psalm 78:13 ; Exodus 14:21 ; Nehemiah 9:11 ) of the dividing of the Red Sea is peculiar; גּזרים ( Genesis 15:17 , side by side with בּתרים) are the pieces or parts of a thing that is cut up into pieces. נער is a favourite word taken from Exodus 14:27 . With reference to the name of the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh (Herodotus also, ii. 111, calls the Pharaoh of the Exodus the son of Sesostris-Rameses Miumun, not Μενόφθας, as he is properly called, but absolutely Φερῶν), vid., on Psalm 73:22 . After the God to whom the praise is to be ascribed has been introduced with ל by always fresh attributes, the ל before the names of Sihon and of Og is perplexing. The words are taken over, as are the six lines of Psalm 136:17-22 in the main, from Psalm 135:10-12 , with only a slight alteration in the expression. In Psalm 136:23 the continued influence of the construction הודוּ ל is at an end. The connection by means of שׁ (cf. Psalm 135:8 , Psalm 135:10 ) therefore has reference to the preceding "for His goodness endureth for ever." The language here has the stamp of the latest period.

It is true זכר with Lamed of the object is used even in the earliest Hebrew, but שׁפל is only authenticated by Ecclesiastes 10:6 , and פּרק, to break loose equals to rescue (the customary Aramaic word for redemption), by Lamentations 5:8 , just as in the closing verse, which recurs to the beginning, "God of heaven" is a name for God belonging to the latest literature, Nehemiah 1:4 ; Nehemiah 2:4 . In Psalm 136:23 the praise changes suddenly to that which has been experienced very recently. The attribute in Psalm 136:25 (cf. Psalm 147:9 ; Psalm 145:15 ) leads one to look back to a time in which famine befell them together with slavery.