A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM CXXXVI.
_An exhortation to give thanks to God for particular mercies._ 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. 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. To him that made great lights: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. The sun to rule by day: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. To him that smote Egypt in their first-born: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. And brought out Israel from amongst them: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever: With a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. 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.
To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. To him which smote great kings: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever: And slew famous kings: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever: And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever: And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever: _Even_ an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. 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. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy _endureth_ for ever. This Psalm is a blessed and general thanksgiving for the infinite, unspeakable, and never-failing mercies of God, both with respect to the body and the soul. In this golden and glorious Psalm, the Psalmist’s design is to embrace and set forth a summary, as it were, to all priests and ministers of the word; as a pattern for the subject matter of all sermons, exhortations, and Psalms to be delivered to the people: that all false and wicked doctrine might be avoided, and also all false worship of God; and that God might be worshipped truly with that worship required by the first commandment of the Decalogue.
For this ought to be the sum and substance of all true worship,—“Let us praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever:” that is, praise, laud, and proclaim, without ceasing, the infinite largeness of his grace. Learn ye, from his word, that as he hath promised, so he is ever present with us, and continually bestows his blessings upon us; and that the riches of his goodness are boundless and inexhaustible. To fortify our hearts, therefore, against the devil, (whose whole aim and employment is to destroy in our hearts faith in God, and the knowledge of his goodness and mercy, and to cast us under doubting and sorrow,) the Psalmist repeats this holy sentence at the end of every verse—“For his mercy endureth for ever:” by which words, so often repeated, the holy man wishes to impress and fix on our hearts the doctrine of grace and the worship of the first commandment: as if he had said, it is the infinite goodness of God, and not any human works or merits of your own, that has done all these wonderful things for you. It is the pure and unspeakable greatness of God’s goodness and grace, that pours forth all these things upon you, and therefore they are poured forth upon you freely and without any merit or deserving of yours, and even while you are wholly undeserving of such mercies.
In this repeated expression also the Psalmist refers, after the manner of the prophets, to the promise of Christ to come; for it was from no works of men, nor from any merit of theirs, that the promise of Christ was given unto Abraham, which said, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Learn, thou, therefore, to rehearse and impress upon thine own heart, and on the hearts of others also, this repeated conclusion of each verse; that it may be a bulwark for thee against the devil, who is ever maliciously jeering our temptations, and saying, that it is not the _mercy_ of God, but his _judgment_, that “endureth for ever.” Hypocrites and enthusiasts sing not, nor can sing, this blessed conclusion of the verses, “For his mercy endureth for ever.” They can only sing, ‘For our goodness endureth for ever.’ But do thou, Christian brother, hold fast this doctrine of a Davidical heart; the truly divine and heavenly doctrine of the remission of sins; a remission “enduring for ever,” and which sin can never destroy; which alone overcomes the devil and all errors, and which alone can give the conscience rest under all temptations, and the agonizing conflicts of death.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.