‘His lovingkindness is everlasting’ is repeated in each of the twenty-six verses in Psalm 136. We have an example to take notice of God’s mercy in all things and at all times. We have an encouragement and reminder that God’s compassions to His children are unceasing. When our hope and comfort is placed in God, we are secure.
Ps 136:4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
Who alone deserves our praise? Why?
God is the only One worthy of praise. In this verse, the concentration is on what He has done. Think of His miracles. God is the source of amazing and wonderful supernatural events. A miracle [veoseh niphlaoth] is the inversion, or suspension, or destruction of the laws of nature. “Thou art the Worker of miracles. This thou hast done in numerous instances, and thereby showed thy infinite power and wisdom.” Adam Clarke’s Commentary
Among everything we see, what comes to mind is the miracle of calling us His children. Who else is able to change a heart from complete depravity and selfishness to acknowledge a need for God and desire to live for Him?
Ps 72:18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.
Consider. Anything and all that man is able to accomplish is only because of God. We exist because of God. We breathe because of God. We walk and talk because of God. And on and on. Without God’s help, we are nothing and we can do nothing.
God has always existed and has created all things without the help of anyone or anything.
God is to be praised because of His nature – He is good (Ps 136:1), because He is God (Ps 136:2), because He is Lord (Ps 136:3), and because of His works (Ps 136:4).
Ps 86:10 For Thou art great and doest wondrous deeds; Thou alone art God.
Ex 15:11 "Who is like Thee among the gods, O LORD? Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?
Job 5:8-9 "But as for me, I would seek God, and I would place my cause before God; 9 Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.
Re 15:3 And they *sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations.
Ps 72:17-19 May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun [shines]; and let [men] bless themselves by him; Let all nations call him blessed. 18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. 19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
“All the works of his unrivalled skill are wrought by him alone and unaided, and to him, therefore, must be undivided honour … The Lord causes us often to sit down in amazement as we see what his mercy has wrought out and prepared for us: "wonders of grace to God belong", yea, great wonders and unsearchable. Oh the depth! Glory be to his name world without end!” Treasury of David
God is excellent, God is perfection, God is infinitely good and He chooses to shower His mercy upon His creation. For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Ps 136:5 To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
In the previous verse, the great wonders or miracles of God were addressed. The scope of God’s creation is now enlarged to the celestial heavens. Take a moment to consider a butterfly or a tiny little insect. It is a marvel to study the color and texture and minute details and workings of such small things. We see the hand of God all around us. We also see God’s hand in the heavens above us. The moon shines forth at night and determines the tides; the sun warms our day.
It is true that man has made many marvelous structures and discoveries. Buildings have become increasingly complex in their design and size, and new innovation and understanding of how our physical bodies work have led to several breakthroughs in fighting disease. The world we live in continues to move forward at increasing speed in the area of technology. Yet, with all this in mind, only God has created something from nothing. Only God has His imprint on the heavens and the earth we call home.
Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Pr 3:19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.
Jer 51:15 [It is] He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.
The word skill in Psalm 136:5 is translated for us as wisdom, intelligence and understanding. God purposed the heavens. Each planetary object has been placed in its exact place according to our Great Creator. God’s wisdom, intelligence and understanding far outweighs the most genius of humankind.
“In the contrivance of the celestial bodies--in their specific gravities, relations, connections, influences on each other, revolutions, etc.; and in the wonderful adaptation of the atmosphere for the purposes of refracting the light, forming rain, dew, snow, etc., are exhibited the most astonishing displays of the Divine wisdom.” The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
“We find that God has built the heavens in wisdom, to declare his glory, and to show forth his handiwork. There are no iron tracks, with bars and bolts, to hold the planets in their orbits. Freely in space they move, ever changing, but never changed; poised and balancing; swaying and swayed; disturbing and disturbed, onward they fly, fulfilling with unerring certainty their mighty cycles. The entire system forms one grand complicated piece of celestial machinery; circle within circle, wheel within wheel, cycle within cycle; revolutions go swift as to be completed in a few hours; movements so slow, that their mighty periods are only counted by millions of years.” --From "The Orbs of Heaven", 1859.
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Consider. The God who has shown infinite skill and wisdom in making the heavens, the atmosphere, and all the skies contain and even the air we breathe, is merciful towards us. Not just momentarily, but always, even while we are undeserving.
“Then, I infer, that if the mercy which visits earth is from the same Jehovah who built that heaven and filled it with glory, there must be in his mercy something of the same "understanding" or "wisdom." It is wise, prudent mercy; not rashly given forth; and it is the mercy of him whose love has filled that heaven with bliss. The same architect, the same skill, the same love!” --Andrew A. Bonar.
Ps 136:6 To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
How big is the earth? According to NASA the radius at the equator is 3,963 miles. The circumference is just over 24,000 miles; the earth’s mass is 6.6 sextillion tons and its volume is about 260 billion cubic miles. The total surface area is about 197 million square miles. Mount Everest is the highest place on Earth above sea level at 29,028 feet.
How big is God? Psalm 136:6 says He ‘spread out the earth above the waters’! We cannot fathom how big God is, His greatness is immeasurable. His creation surrounds us. We are unable to fully comprehend God’s glory. Consider the smallest grain of sand and then look upward to the star filled sky.
Jer 10:12 [It is] He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
Ps 104:2-3 Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like a [tent] curtain. 3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind;
God, in all His greatness and glory, chose to bless mankind.
“O thou Creator of all things, we magnify the mercy which shines in all thy handiworks.” Spurgeon’s Devotional Commentary
Praise God! His mercy endures forever!
