Psalms 136:4

To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. TO HIM WHO ALONE DOETH GREAT WONDERS - (.)...

4._Who alone hath done great wonders _Under this term he comprehends all God’s works from the least to the greatest, that he may awaken our admiration of them, for notwithstanding the signal marks of inconceivably great wisdom and divine power of God which are inscribed upon them we are apt through thoughtlessness to undervalue them. He declares that whatever is worthy of admiration is exclusively made and done by God, to teach us that we cannot transfer the smallest portion of the praise due to him without awful sacrilege, there being no vestige of divinity in the whole range of heaven and earth with which it is lawful to compare or equal him. He then proceeds to praise the wisdom of God, as particularly displayed in the skill with which _the heavens are framed, _giving evidence in a surprising degree of the fine discrimination with which they are adorned. (173) Next he comes to speak o...

1-9 Forgetful as we are, things must be often repeated to us. By "mercy" we understand the Lord's disposition to save those whom sin has rendered miserable and vile, and all the provision he has made for the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ. The counsels of this mercy have been from everlasting, and the effects of it will endure for ever, to all who are interested in it. The Lord continues equally ready to show mercy to all who seek for it, and this is the source of all our hope and comfort....

Verse Psalms 136:4. _WHO ALONE DOETH GREAT WONDERS_] MIRACLES. No power but that which is _almighty_ can work miracles, נפלאות _niphlaoth_, the _inversion_, or _suspension_, or _destruction_ of the laws of nature....

TO HIM WHO ALONE DOETH GREAT WONDERS - Miracles; marvelous things; things which spring from his direct and absolute power; things lying beyond the range of natural laws. See the notes at Psalms 72:18. FOR HIS MERCY ... - For all these mighty wonders are performed in carrying out purposes of mercy. So the wonders which were done in Egypt were for the deliverance of an oppressed people; so the miracles performed by the Saviour and his apostles were to remove disease and pain, and to establish a religion of mercy; so the divine interpositions among the nations are to assert the principles of righteousness, to secure the reign of order and love, and to promote the welfare of mankind....

EXPOSITION A PSALM with a familiar refrain (comp. Psalms 118:1, Psa 118:29; 2 Chronicles 5:13; Ezra 3:11) at the end of each line. In the main Psalms 134:1; follows the line of Psalms 135:1, calling upon Israel to praise God, and basing the call upon his glorious manifestations of himself in nature (Psalms 135:5) and history (veto. 10-24), repeating in the latter case the very same facts. Metrically, the psalm is arranged,

TO HIM WHO ALONE DOETH GREAT WONDERS,.... As in the works of creation at first, having no help from angels or men; so in the works of providence, many of which are unsearchable, and past finding out, and in which he has no assistance from creatures; and in the works of grace, redemption, and salvation, which his own arm has wrought out; as well as what he did when here on earth in our nature; the miracles then wrought by his omnipotent arm alone; and even all the wonders which Moses and Elijah did under the Old Testament, and the apostles of Christ under the New, were done, not by their power, but by his alone; who will do still greater wonders, when he shall create all tidings new, raise the dead, and summon all nations before him, and render to everyone according to his works; FOR HIS MERCY [ENDURETH] FOR EVER: towards his people, for whose sake all these wonders are wrought....

When the chorus was taken up by the whole of the people, accompanied by a blast of trumpets, this must have been a magnificent hymn of praise. Psalms 136:1. _O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever._ The Psalm begins with the august name, the incommunicable title of the one living and true God, Jah, Jehovah. For this name the Jews had a high respect, which degenerated into superstition, for they would not write it in their Bibles, and put another word instead, in which our translators have imitated them, not to the improvement of the version. Surely, if it is «Jehovah» in the original, we should have it «Jehovah» here. The name is a very wonderful one,» Je-ho-vah.» No man knows exactly how it should be pronounced; it is said to consist of a succession of breathings, therefore is it written, «Let every thing that hath breath pra

Psalms 136 His Mercy Endureth Forever This is a historical Psalm of praise, as His grateful people Israel think of all He has done. Twenty-six times we read “His mercy endureth forever.” The Psalm begins with a threefold call to give thanks unto the Lord, the God of gods, and the Lord of lords; the triune God is thus adored. And after this the brief sentences which rehearse His mighty deeds of the past as Creator and as the God of Israel, are followed by the praise of His mercy. This Psalm was undoubtedly used in the Temple worship. The Jews in their ritual call it “the great Hallel.” It will probably be used in the future, when in the new temple Israel will sing the praises of His Name....

CXXXVI. A LONG HYMN OF PRAISE FOR YAHWEH'S POWER AND HIS CARE OF HIS PEOPLE FROM EGYPT TILL THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN. Psalms 136:1 based on Genesis 1. Yahweh the Maker of all. Psalms 136:6. For the waters below the earth, see on Psalms 24:2. PSALMS 136:10. Yahweh's vengeance on Pharaoh and the kings who opposed Israel's entrance into the promised land. His mercy to Israel in later days. PSALMS 136:23. Gratitude for recent deliverance....