This psalm repeats a single line twenty-six times, once after every verse without exception — “for his mercy endureth for ever.” Jewish tradition calls it the Great Hallel, and it was almost certainly sung antiphonally, one half of a congregation naming God’s works while the other half answered with this same unchanging refrain.
A study in Psalm 136 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 12 min read
O Give Thanks Unto The LORD, For He Is Good
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:1-3
Every single verse in this psalm, all twenty-six of them, closes with the identical eight words — a structure this deliberate is not accidental repetition but a chosen teaching method, drilling one truth so thoroughly it could never be forgotten.
To Him That By Wisdom Made The Heavens
“To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:4-6
“By wisdom” is a small but pointed phrase — creation was never simply an exercise of raw power, but of genuine intelligence, every element deliberately reasoned out rather than merely forced into place.
With A Strong Hand, And With A Stretched Out Arm
“To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever: and brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:10-12
The tenth plague, the exodus itself, and every subsequent battle Israel would fight are all called, without exception, evidence of God’s enduring mercy — a genuinely striking claim, applying the gentlest possible word to some of the most severe judgments recorded in Scripture.
“To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: and made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:13-15
Rescue and judgment happen in the very same event here, Israel passing safely through the identical sea that immediately afterward drowned Pharaoh’s army — the psalm insists mercy runs through both halves of that single moment, not only the half that looks like deliverance.
Who Remembered Us In Our Low Estate
“Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: and hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:23-25
The psalm shifts here from ancient cosmic and national history down to something far more universal — food given to all flesh, not only Israel, the same enduring mercy already traced through creation and the exodus now extended to every living creature that simply needs to eat.
“O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:26
The psalm’s final line returns to its opening command, thanksgiving, closing the same way it began — twenty-six verses, twenty-six identical refrains, and still, at the very last, one more invitation to actually give thanks rather than simply having heard the reasons for it.
