Psalm 136 is a paean of praise to God with a repeated refrain at the end of each of its twenty-six verses. Known as the great “Hallel” or praise or Hallelujah Psalm, it expresses exuberance that overflows with fervor from the worshiper who recognizes with both awe and gratitude that mercy comes forever from the Lord God.
Mercy is a word with deep meaning for our religious experience. Used as it is by the Psalmist in Psalm 136, it means the undeserved favor of God, extending kindness, favor and forgiveness to those who do not deserve it. In an exercise of remembering God’s favor through many events, including the very creation itself, the Israelites sojourn in Egypt and their deliverance, their battles to win the Promised Land, and even to the Psalmist himself and his personal, lowly estate, the Lord’s mercy has endured through all.
This Psalm is a reminder to us that we, too, should take time to make an inventory, a list of the blessings that have come to us, undeserved, from the merciful hand of God. Where would we begin? Could we ever finish the list? Of course it would be impossible to list all the benefits from God’s mercy. But even our incomplete list would show a heart of gratitude, one like that of the Psalmist that bursts forth in a mighty refrain: “For His mercy endures forever!”
In the light of New Testament teachings and the compassion (mercy) of God as demonstrated in the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have an even deeper understanding of the extent of God’s mercy.
His mercy was always one of the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23), something His people should have been practicing all along, but many times failed to do. Salvation is not by works but “according to God's own mercy” (Titus 3:5). We are admonished to draw near to God that we may “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
God is merciful to us. The Psalmist had a wonderful idea of expressing “His mercy endures forever,” with his listing of many blessings. We need an acute awareness of God’s mercy, as our Doxology expresses, and “praise God from Whom all blessings flow!” Since God is merciful, and His mercy endures forever, He expects merciful action to others on the part of His followers. esus gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach us the value of practicing mercy, and to show us that as we progress through life there are those who need our help and our merciful attention.
After reading and studying Psalm 136, may we be more aware of God’s mercy and of expressing gratitude for God’s undeserved favor—His mercy that endures forever.
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