Psalm 135 [MT 136]

"Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 136:1]. This Psalm contains the praise of God, and all its verses finish in the same way. Wherefore although many things are related here in praise of God, yet His mercy is most commended; for without this plain commendation, he, whom the Holy Spirit used to utter this Psalm, would have no verse be ended. Although after the judgment, by which at the end of the world the quick and the dead must be judged, the just being sent into life eternal, the unjust into everlasting fire, [Matthew 25:46] there will not afterwards be those, whom God will have mercy on, yet rightly may His future mercy be understood to be for ever, which He bestows on His saints and faithful ones, not because they will be miserable for ever, and therefore will need His mercy for ever, but because that very blessedness, which He mercifully bestows on the miserable, that they cease to be miserable, and begin to be happy, will have no end, and therefore "His mercy is for ever." For that we shall be just from being unjust, whole from being unsound, alive from being dead, immortal from being mortal, happy from being wretched, is of His mercy. But this that we shall be, will be for ever, and therefore "His mercy is for ever." Wherefore, "give thanks to the Lord;" that is, praise the Lord by giving thanks, "for He is good:" nor is it any temporal good you will gain from this confession, for, "His mercy endures for ever;" that is, the benefit which He bestows mercifully upon you, is for ever.

Notice how in Psalm 136 the poet passes from God's creation of Nature to the delivering of Israel out of Egypt: both are equally great deeds, great victories. Believing in Creation is to see Nature not as a mere datum but as an achievement. God has given to His works His own character of emeth; they are watertight, faithful, reliable, not at all vague or phantasmal.

And that this is the opinion either of all or the best of the Platonists can be ascertained by their writings. And regarding the name itself, if they see fit to call such blessed and immortal creatures gods, this need not give rise to any serious discussion between us, since in our own Scriptures we read, "The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken;" and again, "Confess to the God of gods;" and again, "He is a great King above all gods." And where it is said, "He is to be feared above all gods," the reason is forthwith added, for it follows, "for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens." He said, "above all gods," but added, "of the nations;" that is to say, above all those whom the nations count gods, in other words, demons. By them he is to be feared with that terror in which they cried to the Lord, "Hast Thou come to destroy us?" But where it is said, "the God of gods," it cannot be understood as the god of the demons; and far be it from us to say that "great King above all gods" means "great King above all demons."

Then follows, "Give thanks to the God of gods, for His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 136:2]. "Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 136:3]. We may well enquire, Who are these gods and lords, of whom He who is the true God is God and Lord? And we find written in another Psalm, that even men are called gods. The Lord even takes note of this testimony in the Gospel, saying, "Is it not written in your Law, I have said, You are gods?" [John 10:34] ...It is not therefore because they are all good, but because "the word of God came to them," that they were called gods. For were it because they are all good, He would not thus distinguish between them. He says, "He judges between the gods." Then follows, "How long do ye judge iniquity!" and the rest, which He says certainly not to all, but to some, because He says it in distinguishing, and yet He distinguishes between the gods.

Let us therefore "give thanks to the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, for His mercy," etc. "Who alone did wonderful things" [Psalm 136:4]. As at the last part of every verse, it is written, "For His mercy endureth for ever," so we must understand at the beginning of each, though it be not written, "Give thanks." Which indeed in the Greek is very plain. It would be so in Latin, if our translators had been able to make use of that expression. Which indeed they could have done in this verse, if they had said, "To Him who doeth wonderful things." For where we have, "who did wonderful things," the Greek has τῷ ποιήσαντι, where we must necessarily understand, "give thanks." And I would they had added the pronoun, and said to Him, "who did," or to Him "who doeth," or to Him "who made sure;" because then one might easily understand, "let us give thanks." For now it is so obscurely rendered, that he who either knows not or cares not to examine a Greek manuscript may think, "who made the heavens, who made sure the earth, who made the luminaries, for His mercy endureth for ever," has been so said, because He did these things for this reason, "because His mercy endureth for ever:" whereas they, whom He has freed from misery, belong to His Mercy: but not that we should believe that He makes sky, earth, and luminaries, of His Mercy; since they are marks of His Goodness, who created all things very good. For He created all things, that they might have their being; but it is the work of His Mercy, to cleanse us from our sins, and deliver us from everlasting misery. And so the Psalm thus addresses us, "Give thanks unto the God of gods, give thanks unto the Lord of lords." Give thanks to Him, "who alone doeth great wonders;" give thanks to Him, "who by His wisdom made the heavens;" give thanks to Him, "who stretched out the earth above the waters;" give thanks to Him, "who alone made great lights." But why we are to praise, he setteth down at the end of all the verses, "for His mercy endureth for ever."

But what means, "who alone does great wonders"? Is it because many wonderful things He has done by means of angels and men? Some wonderful things there are which God does alone, and these he enumerates, saying, "who by His wisdom made the heavens" [Psalm 136:5], "who stretched out the earth above the waters" [Psalm 136:6], "who alone made great lights" [Psalm 136:7]. For this reason did he add "alone" in this verse also, because the other wonders which he is about to tell of, God did by means of man. For having said, "who alone made great lights," he goes on to explain what these are, "the sun to rule the day" [Psalm 136:8], "the moon and stars to govern the night" [Psalm 136:9]; then he begins to tell the wonders which He did by means of angels and men: "who smote Egypt with their first-born" [Psalm 136:10], and the rest. The whole creation then God manifestly made, not by means of any creature, but "alone;" and of this creation he has mentioned certain more eminent parts, that they might make us think on the whole; the heavens we can understand, and the earth we see. And as there are visible heavens too, by mentioning the lights in them, he has bid us look on the whole body of the heavens as made by Him.

"Who brought out Israel from the midst of them" [Psalm 136:11]. He brought out also His saints and faithful ones from the midst of the wicked.

"With a mighty Hand and stretched-out Arm" [Psalm 136:12]. What more powerful, what more out-stretched, than that of which is said "To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed?" [Isaiah 53:1]

Although heavenly Scripture frequently changes the divine countenance to human form when it says "the eyes of the Lord are on the just"; or "the Lord God smelled the scent of a good fragrance" or "tables written with the finger of God" are given to Moses; or the children of Israel are delivered from the land of Egypt "with a mighty hand and uplifted arm." Again Scripture asserts, "The mouth of the Lord has spoken these things"; or when the earth is considered "the footstool of God"; or when it says, "Incline your ear, and hear." We who say "that the law is spiritual" do not confine the measure or form of the divine Majesty within these outlines of our own bodily frame. On the contrary, we extend it infinitely over the field, if I may use the expression, of its own illimitable greatness. For it is written, "If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into hell, you are present; and if I take my wings and depart across the sea, there shall your hand take hold of me and your right hand hold me fast." We know the meaning of holy Scripture from the unfolding of the divine dispensation. The prophet, at that time, was still speaking about God in parables according to the faith of the times, not as God really was but as the people were able to comprehend him. The use of such language to describe God must be attributed to the people, not to God. Thus the people were permitted to erect the tabernacle, although God cannot be contained within a tabernacle. The temple was constructed, although God cannot possibly be enclosed within the narrow limits of a temple. God is not finite, but the people's faculty of perceiving is finite. God is not restricted, but rather the understanding of people's minds is limited. Accordingly, our Lord said in the Gospel, "The hour shall come when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father," and he gave the reason: "God is spirit, and therefore they who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." Thus it is the divine powers that are represented there by means of bodily members, and neither any external appearance nor bodily features of God are set before us.

"Who divided the Red Sea in two parts" [Psalm 136:13]. He divided also in such wise, that the same baptism should be to some unto life, to others unto death.

"And brought out Israel through the midst of it" [Psalm 136:14]. So too He brings out His renewed people through the laver of regeneration.

"And overthrew Pharaoh and his power in the Red Sea" [Psalm 136:15]. He quickly destroys both the sin of His people and the guilt thereof by baptism.

"Who led His people through the wilderness" [Psalm 136:16]. Us too He leads through the drought and barrenness of this world, that we perish not therein.

"Who smote great kings" [Psalm 136:17], "and slew famous kings" [Psalm 136:18]. From us too He smites and slays the deadly powers of the devil.

"Sehon king of the Amorites" [Psalm 136:19], an "useless shoot," or "fiery temptation," for so is Sehon interpreted: the king of "them who cause bitterness," for such is the meaning of Amorites.

"And Og, the king of Basan" [Psalm 136:20]. The "heaper-together," such is the meaning of Og, and, king of "confusion," which Basan signifies. For what else does the devil heap together but confusion?

"And gave away their land for an heritage" [Psalm 136:21], "even an heritage unto Israel His servant" [Psalm 136:22]. For He gives them, whom once the devil owned, for an heritage to the seed of Abraham, that is, Christ.

"Who remembered us in our low estate" [Psalm 136:23], "and redeemed us from our enemies" [Psalm 136:24] by the Blood of His only-begotten Son.

"Who giveth food to all flesh" [Psalm 136:25], that is, to the whole race of mankind, not Israelites only, but Gentiles too; and of this Food is said, "My Flesh is meat indeed."

"Give thanks unto the God of Heaven" [Psalm 136:26]. "Give thanks unto the Lord of lords" [Psalm 136:3]. For what he here says, "the God of Heaven," I suppose that he meant to express in other words what He had before said, "the God of gods." For what there he subjoined, he has here also repeated. "Give thanks unto the Lord of lords." "But to us there is but one God," etc., "and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him;" [1 Corinthians 8:5-6] to whom we confess that "His mercy endureth for ever."