The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Wonders” it comes from the Hebrew Word “pele” which means “wonder, marvel.”
This psalm repeats God’s enduring mercy as a refrain after every single line of praise. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Psalm 136.
The psalmist calls everyone to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever, to give thanks to the God of gods, and to the Lord of lords, describing Him as the one who alone does great “wonders,” “pele” in Hebrew, who by wisdom made the heavens, who stretched out the earth above the waters, who made great lights, the sun to rule by day, the moon and stars to rule by night.
The psalmist recounts the exodus, God smiting Egypt in their firstborn, bringing Israel out from among them with a strong hand and a stretched out arm, dividing the Red Sea into parts, making Israel pass through the midst of it, overthrowing Pharaoh and his host in it, leading His people through the wilderness, smiting great kings, Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, giving their land as a heritage, even a heritage to Israel His servant.
The psalmist closes declaring that God remembered them in their low estate, and has redeemed them from their enemies, giving food to all flesh, urging everyone to give thanks to the God of heaven, this entire psalm repeating the refrain, “for his mercy endureth for ever,” after every single line, an unusual and deliberate structural choice reinforcing this central truth through sheer, sustained repetition throughout the entire psalm.
This psalm’s unusual structure, repeating for His mercy endures forever after every single line, uses deliberate repetition to drive home this central truth so thoroughly that it becomes almost impossible to read without genuinely absorbing its message. This distinctive literary technique models how sometimes the most important truths deserve sustained, repeated emphasis rather than being stated only once and then simply assumed.
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