PSALMS LESSON 139
We will begin by giving the 136th Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 136
Verse 1. "PRAISE God, for he is kind: His mercy lasts for aye: Give
thanks with heart and mind To God of gods alway: For
certainly His mercies dure Most firm and sure Eternally."
Verse 2. "The Lord of lords praise ye, Whose mercies always last: The
Lord alone is he Who doeth wonders vast. For certainly,
etc."
Verse 3. "To him, by wisdom's hand, Who heavens did create; To him
who stretched the land Above the waters great. For
certainly, etc."
Verse 4. "To him great lights that made, the sun to rule by day; The
moon and stars arrayed; To rule the night are they. For
certainly, etc."
Verse 5. "To him who Egypt smote In first-born everywhere; And Isr'el
thence he brought, From those who en'mies were. For
certainly, etc."
Verse 6. "Who, with strong hand to guide, And arm that stretched out
was, The Red sea did divide, And through made Isr'el pass.
for certainly, etc."
Verse 7. "But Phar'oh overthrew In Red sea with his host; And led his
people through The deserts to their coast. For certainly,
etc."
Verse 8. "To him who great kings smote, Yea famous kings he slew;
Sihon of Am'rites lot, And Og of Bashan, too. For certainly,
etc."
Verse 9. "By lot he gave their lands To Israel for aye: To those who
his commands Did faithfully obey. For certainly, etc."
Verse 10. "He thought on us when foes Had brought to low estate; And
he from all our woes Did grant deliv'rance great. For
certainly, etc. "
Verse 11. "And from his bounty he All flesh its food hath given. O
thanks to God give ye; He is the God of heav'n. For
certainly, etc."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 136th Psalm.
Psalms 136:1 "O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good: for his
mercy [endureth] for ever."
The psalmist is not just praising the LORD himself, but
encourages others to praise Him, as well. There is only one good, and
that is God. He is not just good, He is goodness in its entirety. His
mercy is like He is, it is everlasting.
Psalms 136:2 "O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever."
He is the Creator of all these things that people have for little
gods in this earth. We have already gone into the fact that He has
proved, over and over, His superiority to all gods.
Psalms 136:3 "O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever."
The One we have known as our Saviour will return to the earth,
and He will be Lord of lords. The little letter lords will be those
who will rule with Him as his subordinates.
Psalms 136:4 "To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever."
We know that the miracles that Jesus did were so many, that there
would not be enough books in all the world to contain them, if they
were all written down.
Psalms 136:5 "To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his
mercy [endureth] for ever."
This we have spoken of so many times. The powers in the world
that are really powers, are the spoken and the written Word. The
spoken Word brought the heavens into existence.
Psalms 136:6 "To him that stretched out the earth above the
waters: for his mercy [endureth] for ever."
In Genesis it says, God said and it was. In John chapter 1, it
says that the Word made it all. In fact, it says that without Him, was
not anything made that was made.
Psalms 136:7 "To him that made great lights: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever:"
A more understanding way to say this would be the great
containers for the Light. The sun and the moon are two fixtures that
we see light in, but they are not creative Light. Jesus is that Light.
Jesus is the source of all Light. His Light gives all things the power
to exist.
Psalms 136:8 "The sun to rule by day: for his mercy [endureth]
for ever:"
Now we see the purpose in the sun. It is to rule over the day.
The word endureth means continues to endure.
Psalms 136:9 "The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever."
The moon, being a lesser light, is to rule over the darkness. All
of these things were made to benefit man. We can easily see why we can
say His mercy endureth forever.
Psalms 136:10 "To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for
his mercy [endureth] for ever:"
This, too, was an act of love for His chosen. He did this to make
the Pharaoh let His people go. His mercy was great in this, in the
fact that the firstborn of the Hebrews were saved by the blood of the
lamb over their door.
Psalms 136:11 "And brought out Israel from among them: for his
mercy [endureth] for ever:" Psalms 136:12 "With a strong hand, and
with a stretched out arm: for his mercy [endureth] for ever."
It was the mighty hand of God that brought them out. He had mercy
on them and delivered them from Egypt {the world}.
Psalms 136:13 "To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for
his mercy [endureth] for ever:" Psalms 136:14 "And made Israel to pass
through the midst of it: for his mercy [endureth] for ever:"
He saw the terrible situation the Israelites with their backs to
the sea, and the Pharaoh facing them. He had mercy on them and opened
the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land. He even held the Pharaoh
back with His flame, until the Israelites had everyone crossed the Red
Sea.
Psalms 136:15 "But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea:
for his mercy [endureth] for ever."
When, the nearly 3 million Israelites had finished crossing over,
the Lord removed the fire, and Pharaoh's chariots and soldiers
followed into the sea. When they were all in the sea, the Lord
released the walls of water and drowned all of Pharaoh's army. Why?
Because His mercy toward Israel endures forever.
Psalms 136:16 "To him which led his people through the
wilderness: for his mercy [endureth] for ever."
He led them with a fire by night and a cloud by day. He has such
tender mercy for them that even their shoes did not wear out in 40
years. He fed them with bread from heaven, because of His great mercy
toward them.
Psalms 136:17 "To him which smote great kings: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever:" Psalms 136:18 "And slew famous kings: for his
mercy [endureth] for ever:"
The Lord fought for Israel. It did not make any difference that
the king was great in the land. God removed them from the way of the
Israelites, because His mercy toward Israel endures forever.
Psalms 136:19 "Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever:" Psalms 136:20 "And Og the king of Bashan: for
his mercy [endureth] for ever:"
This is not just kings in general, but specific powerful rulers
who God destroyed for passage for His chosen, Israel.
Psalms 136:21 "And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever:"
This may seem cruel to many, but God gave them time to repent,
and they did not. This was the land God had promised to their
ancestor, Abraham, as a heritage. God's Word is good.
Psalms 136:22 "[Even] an heritage unto Israel his servant: for
his mercy [endureth] for ever."
Israel was God's chosen people and this land had been their
heritage since Abraham. God does not have to explain to us why He does
these things, but He does explain that His mercy toward Isreal endures
forever.
Psalms 136:23 "Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever:" Psalms 136:24 "And hath redeemed us from our
enemies: for his mercy [endureth] for ever."
The psalmist puts a little personal note in here by saying, our
low estate. Surely Israel was about as low as they could have gotten.
They were really slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and God brought them out
to inherit this land.
Psalms 136:25 "Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy
[endureth] for ever."
Not only were the physical house of Isreal fed with the bread
from heaven, but the spiritual house of Israel can daily feed upon His
Word {Bread}. Even our physical food comes from the miracle of God
providing food for everyone from the earth.
Psalms 136:26 "O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his
mercy [endureth] for ever."
The God of heaven is the true God, who has mercy toward all His
children that endures forever. The very least we can do, is thank Him
with everything within us.
Questions 139
1. Quote Psalms chapter 136 verse 1.
2. What is the psalmist doing, besides praising God?
3. What is God called in verse 2?
4. Who will Jesus be, when He returns to the earth to set up His
kingdom?
5. How many miracles did Jesus do?
6. What are the two powers in the world?
7. Where do we find the statement, that The Word made it all?
8. The great lights, in verse 7, were what ?
9. Who is the source of all Light?
10. What was the sun made for?
11. What were the sun and moon made to benefit?
12. Who killed the firstborn of Egypt? What saved the firstborn of the
Hebrews?
13. How did He bring them out?
14. Why did God part the Red Sea?
15. How did He hold Pharaoh and his men back, until the Israelites
crossed the sea?
16. What happened to Pharaoh's men?
17. What did God use to lead the children of Israel across the
wilderness?
18. Who were two specific rulers the Lord removed from before Israel?
19. Who had God originally promised this land of promise to?
20. Who were God's chosen people?
21. How did the psalmist put a little personal note on this?
22. What was the low estate they had been in?
23. What Bread should the Christians feed on?
24. Who is the God of heaven?
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