EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Psalms 136:1-26
Gordon Churchyard
The *Kind Love of the *LORD
Psalms 136
The Great *Hallel
Jesus said, "This is how God loved the world" (John 3:16).
Psalms 136
v1 Thank the *LORD, because he is good!
Thank him because his kind love will always continue.
v2 Thank God, (who is) the greatest of the gods.
Thank him because his kind love will always continue.
v3 Thank the *Lord, (who is) the greatest *lord.
Thank him because his kind love will always continue.
v4 - v9 (Thank the *LORD because):
• only he does great *miracles
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he made the skies with understanding
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he put the earth on the waters
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he made the great lights
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• (he made) the sun to rule the day
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• (he made) the moon and stars to rule the night
(and) his kind love will always continue.
v10 - v16 (Thank the *LORD because):
• he destroyed the *firstborn in Egypt
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he brought Israel out from (Egypt)
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• (he did this) with a strong hand and a powerful arm
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he cut the Red Sea into two parts
(and) because his kind love will always continue
• he brought Israel through the middle of it
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he pushed Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) and his army into the Red Sea
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he led his people through the *desert
(and) because his kind love will always continue.
v17 - v22 (Thank the *LORD because):
• he destroyed great kings
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he killed very strong kings
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• (he killed) Sihon, king of the Amorites
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• (he killed) Og, the king of Bashan
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he gave their land as a gift
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• (he gave it) as a gift to his servant Israel
(and) because his kind love will always continue.
v23 - v25 (Thank the *LORD because):
• he remembered us when we were very sad
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he made us free from our enemies
(and) because his kind love will always continue;
• he gives food to everything that he has made
(and) because his kind love will always continue.
v26 Thank the God of *heaven!
Because his kind love will always continue.
The Story of Psalms 136
In this psalm, one group says something and another group answers. Perhaps it was the psalm they used in Ezra 3:11. There it says, "They answered each other, *praising and thanking the *LORD. They said, 'He is good. His kind love will always continue to Israel'."The *Jews called this psalm "the great hallel". Other hallels are Psalms 113:118 and 135. They are psalms that *praise the *LORD, (or tell the *LORD that he is really great). But this psalm is different from the other psalms. One group of people tell part of the story of what God has done. Then the other people repeat a chorus (some words that are the same each time). The chorus says, "Because his kind love will always continue". "Kind love" is a very special Bible word. The *Jews wrote the psalms in their own language, Hebrew. The Hebrew word we translated "kind love" is "hesed". Really, there is no English word that can translate "hesed". "Kind love" is the best we can do. It comes from the old English Bible that translated it "lovingkindness". People have written a lot about "hesed". But we must remember that it means at least two things:
• God does not have to love us but he still loves us;
• God will always love us.
Look again at the psalm. Really, verses 1-3 should come before every verse! That is why we put "Thank the *LORD because" before each part of the psalm. It is there to help us to remember this.
What Psalms 136 means
There are 5 parts in this psalm:• verses 1 - 3 and 26 tell us to thank the *LORD;
• verses 4 - 9 tell us that God made earth, sky, sun, moon and stars;
• verses 10 - 16 tell us how God saved the *Jews from Egypt;
• verses 17 - 22 tell us how God took his people from Egypt to Canaan;
• verses 23 - 25 tell us that God gives us all that we need.
In verses 1 and 3 we have the words *LORD and *Lord. They are not the same word in Hebrew. *LORD is the *covenant name for God. A *covenant is when people agree. Here, God agrees to love his people and to give them help. His people agree to love and obey God. *Lord is a word for someone with authority. In Hebrew, "the *Lord who is the greatest *lord" is "*Lord of *lords".
In verse 4, miracles are things that only God can do. Only he could make the earth, the moon, the stars and the sun.
The firstborn in verse 10 means the first child (or animal) to be born to its parents.
The *desert in verse 16 is the wild country between Egypt and Palestine. The old name for Palestine was Canaan. God gave this land as a gift to his people, verses 21 and 22. But they still had to fight to get into it.
The enemies in verse 24 made them sad in verse 23.
Something to do
Read the psalm as they did in Ezra 3:11. Get two groups of people. Everybody reads verses 1, 2 and 3 (and also verse 26 at the end). Then, the first group reads the first part of verses 4-25. The second group answers them.Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.
firstborn ~ the first child that a man and woman have.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
heaven ~ the home of God.
praise ~ to say how great someone is; or, words that say how great someone is.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.