Psalm 136 - The Great Hallel

Introduction

Psalm 136 is a psalm unlike any other. It is designed to be sung responsively by the people of God. The leader would declare the mighty acts of the Lord, and the congregation would respond again and again with the same refrain: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” You can almost hear it as you read, line after line, verse after verse, this steady rhythm of mercy rolling through the psalm like the unending tide of the sea. It reminds us that every act of God, from the creation of the world to the redemption of His people, flows out of one eternal reality: His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Psalm 136 was likely sung during Israel’s great festivals, perhaps most memorably during Passover, when families gathered to remember how God had delivered them from Egypt. Imagine the scene: fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, priests and Levites, all lifting their voices in worship. The leader would recount God’s wonders, the creation of the heavens, the defeat of Pharaoh, the parting of the sea, the journey through the wilderness, and the gift of the promised land and after every declaration, the people would respond together: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” It was more than a psalm; it was a memorial. It was how Israel taught their children that history itself was not random, but covenantal. It was how they reminded themselves that the God who began His good work in creation would not abandon it midway.

The key word in this psalm, translated “lovingkindness” in the NASB, is the Hebrew word ḥesed (חֶסֶד). It is one of the richest, most theologically significant words in the Old Testament. Ḥesed means covenant love: steadfast mercy, loyal faithfulness, unwavering grace. It is the love that keeps covenant when everything else breaks. It is the mercy that follows Adam out of the garden, that calls Abraham out of Ur, that forgives Israel time and again, and that ultimately carries a cross up Calvary’s hill. When the psalmist says, “For His lovingkindness is everlasting,” he is not merely describing what God does, but who God is. The Lord’s very nature is steadfast love: unchanging, unbreakable, and everlasting.

Psalm 136, then, is nothing less than the heartbeat of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, from the first day of creation to the final day of consummation, this refrain pulses beneath every story of Scripture. In creation, His lovingkindness is everlasting. In the flood, His lovingkindness is everlasting. In the call of Abraham, the Exodus, the wilderness wanderings, the kings, the exile, and finally the cross of Christ, His lovingkindness is everlasting. Every chapter of redemptive history hums with this melody: the everlasting covenant love of God.

But why do we need this psalm today? Because we are a forgetful people. Our hearts grow cold, our memories fade, and the noise of the world often drowns out the music of mercy. We forget that history is not held together by politics or power, but by ḥesed. We forget that our lives are not sustained by luck or strength, but by ḥesed. Psalm 136 reorients us. It teaches us to see the world through the lens of covenant love, to view every sunrise, every trial, every breath as another verse in the great song of God’s mercy.

As we walk through this psalm together, we will trace three great movements of God’s covenant love. First, His love is declared in who He is (verses 1–3). Second, His love is displayed in what He has done (verses 4–22). And third, His love is demonstrated in how He continues to care for His people (verses 23–26). In each of these movements, we will see that the refrain of Israel’s worship is also the refrain of the Christian life: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

And so, my prayer simple, that when you leave here today, this truth will echo in your heart. When the week grows dark, when sin weighs heavy, when the world feels uncertain, may this refrain rise again from your soul like Israel’s ancient song: “The Lord’s steadfast love never ends.”

I. God’s Covenant Love Declared (vv. 1–3)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.Give thanks to the God of gods,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.Give thanks to the Lord of lords,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”(Psalm 136:1–3, NASB)

The psalm begins with a call to worship, a summons not to feel something first, but to know something first. Worship in Scripture always begins with truth, not emotion. The psalmist is not trying to stir up sentiment; he is calling God’s people to acknowledge who God is and to respond with gratitude. Three times we hear the same exhortation: “Give thanks… Give thanks… Give thanks.” The Hebrew word here (yādâ) means to confess, to declare, to make known with one’s whole being. Gratitude in Scripture is not passive; it is confessional. When we “give thanks,” we are publicly confessing that God is good and that all goodness finds its source in Him.

Notice how the psalmist begins: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.” That statement alone is a world of theology. God’s goodness is not simply what He does, it is who He is. The goodness of God is intrinsic, eternal, and unchanging. He is not sometimes good and sometimes not; He is goodness itself. Everything He ordains, everything He permits, everything He accomplishes, even what confuses us, flows from His unchanging goodness. When the psalmist invites us to give thanks to God because He is good, he is inviting us to rest in that unshakable truth: that the moral and spiritual center of the universe is not cruelty or chaos, but covenant love.

Then the psalmist builds upward in a kind of doxological crescendo. He says, “Give thanks to the God of gods,” and “Give thanks to the Lord of lords.” These are not polytheistic acknowledgments, as though there were other true gods alongside Yahweh. Rather, this is polemical poetry. In the ancient world, nations had many so-called gods, deities of fertility, war, weather, and kingship, but Israel’s confession was clear and uncompromising: Yahweh alone is God. The phrase “God of gods” means He is supreme over every pretended power. “Lord of lords” means He reigns over every earthly ruler. There is none beside Him. Every idol is silent before Him. Every king is subject to Him. Every cosmic force bows to His authority.

This opening section of the psalm establishes a profoundly important truth: the covenant love of God is grounded in the character of the only true and sovereign Lord. We do not worship a local deity, nor a powerless idol who must be appeased by our offerings. We worship the eternal Creator, the moral governor of all reality, the King who rules from heaven and governs history for the good of His people. His goodness is not fragile or fleeting; it is everlasting. That is why the refrain follows every declaration: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

The psalmist is teaching us something vital about the relationship between theology and thanksgiving. True worship flows out of right doctrine. When we see God rightly, when we behold His goodness, His supremacy, His covenant faithfulness, then gratitude wells up naturally from our hearts. Thanksgiving without theology is shallow sentimentality; theology without thanksgiving is cold orthodoxy. But when we hold the two together, sound doctrine and heartfelt gratitude, we enter into the kind of worship that Psalm 136 models for us: worship that is both confessional and celebratory, both reverent and rejoicing.

Now pause and consider how this refrain applies to you personally. When you confess, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,” you are proclaiming that His goodness stands even when your circumstances do not. When you say, “Give thanks to the God of gods,” you are declaring that no rival power, not Satan, not suffering, not sin, not even death, can overrule His covenant purpose for you in Christ. When you say, “Give thanks to the Lord of lords,” you are acknowledging that even the rulers of this age, the systems of this world, and the powers of darkness are all under His dominion.

And what is the reason for such unshakable confidence? The psalm gives it to us in the refrain: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” The word “everlasting” (lʿōlām) means “to eternity,” “without end.” It points to the unbreakable continuity of God’s covenant faithfulness. His love did not begin when you believed; it began before the foundation of the world. His love does not end when you falter; it endures forever because it rests not on your performance but on His promise.

This opening call to worship, then, is not mere liturgy. It is a theological declaration of reality. The God who is good, the God who is supreme, the God who is sovereign over all, this God has bound Himself to His people in everlasting love.

For the Christian, this finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the incarnation of the LORD’s goodness, the revelation of the “God of gods” in human flesh, the “Lord of lords” who reigns from the cross. Every word of Psalm 136 finds its yes and amen in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20). In Christ we see the covenant love of God declared not just in words but in wounds. The everlasting ḥesed of the LORD became visible when Jesus, the Son of God, bore our sin and conquered our death. When you stand at the foot of the cross, you can say with more assurance than even the psalmist knew: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

So as the psalm begins with this threefold call to thanksgiving, it reminds us that worship is not an emotional reaction to what we see around us, but a rational and spiritual response to who God is eternally good, supremely sovereign, and covenantally faithful. When we gather as the church on the Lord’s Day and lift our voices in song, we join the ancient chorus of Israel and the redeemed saints of all ages, declaring together:

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

II. God’s Covenant Love Displayed (vv. 4–22)

After calling us to give thanks to God for who He is, the psalmist now moves to what God has done. Verses 4 through 22 form the great narrative section of Psalm 136, a sweeping rehearsal of Yahweh’s mighty acts in creation, redemption, and preservation. Every verse recounts another act of divine grace, and every act is followed by the same refrain: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Here the psalmist wants us to see that God’s ḥesed, His covenant love, is not an abstract doctrine but an active force in history. His mercy does not merely sit enthroned in heaven; it moves, it acts, it creates, it delivers, it sustains. This is the God who works wonders, and His wonders are displays of covenant love.

The section begins with creation: “To Him who alone does great wonders, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; to Him who made the heavens with skill, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; to Him who spread out the earth above the waters, for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (vv. 4–6). Notice that creation is described as a “great wonder.” In Hebrew, the term carries the sense of something only God could do, an act that inspires reverence. The psalmist does not present creation as a sterile scientific event, but as an act of worship. The universe exists because of covenant love. Every star that burns, every ocean that stirs, every creature that breathes does so because of ḥesed. The creation account in Genesis is not merely the beginning of time, it is the first sermon of grace. When God said, “Let there be light,” He was already revealing His benevolence, His delight in doing good to what He had made.

Verse 5 adds that He made the heavens “with skill.” That word means wisdom or understanding, it suggests artistry and intentionality. The cosmos is not a random accident; it is an ordered expression of divine wisdom. The sun and moon in verses 7–9 are not celestial deities, as the nations believed, but servants of the LORD who mark the rhythms of His world. The psalmist is saying that all of creation is evidence that the LORD is not only powerful but personal. He is both transcendent and tender. His love is not confined to redemption; it is woven into the very fabric of creation itself. Every sunrise is a testimony to His faithfulness; every star is a reminder that His mercy endures forever.

But the psalmist does not stop with creation. He moves next to redemption, specifically, the redemption of Israel from Egypt. Verses 10 through 15 recall the events of the Exodus: “To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; and brought Israel out from their midst, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Here we see that God’s ḥesed is not only creative but redemptive. His love acts decisively to save His people. The judgment on Egypt was not an act of cruelty, but of covenant fidelity. God had promised Abraham that He would deliver his descendants from bondage (Genesis 15:13–14). The plagues and the Passover were the fulfillment of that promise. Notice how the psalmist frames it, not as wrath detached from mercy, but as mercy expressed through judgment. God’s steadfast love for His people meant He would not leave them enslaved. To save Israel, He struck Egypt. To redeem the covenant family, He confronted the oppressor. His “strong hand and outstretched arm” are covenant metaphors, used throughout the Pentateuch to describe divine deliverance. They speak of strength guided by love, omnipotence exercised in mercy.

The psalm continues: “To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder… and made Israel pass through the midst of it… but He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (vv. 13–15). The parting of the sea stands as the supreme emblem of redemption in the Old Testament. It is the moment when God’s people are saved not by their effort but by His power. Israel contributes nothing but faith and obedience; God does everything. The sea divides, the path appears, the enemy is destroyed, all by divine initiative. The psalmist wants us to remember: that is what covenant love looks like. It is deliverance by grace alone.

For the Christian, of course, the Exodus points forward to the cross. Just as God struck down the firstborn of Egypt to save Israel, so He gave His own Firstborn Son to save the world. Just as Israel passed through the waters of death into life, so we pass through the waters of baptism, united to Christ in His death and resurrection. The strong hand and outstretched arm of Yahweh find their ultimate expression in the arms of Christ stretched out on the cross. The refrain has never rung truer: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

The psalmist next recounts God’s sustaining love in the wilderness. Verse 16 says, “To Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” What a simple yet staggering line. The wilderness was a place of rebellion, fear, and failure, forty years of murmuring and unbelief and yet the psalmist remembers it as evidence of divine mercy. The people may have grumbled, but God still guided. They may have doubted, but He still provided. Their shoes did not wear out, their clothes did not fail, manna fell from heaven, water flowed from the rock, all because His lovingkindness endures forever. Even their discipline was mercy. Even His chastening hand was an expression of covenant love.

The section concludes with verses 17–22, celebrating God’s faithfulness in conquest: “To Him who smote great kings… and slew mighty kings… Sihon king of the Amorites… and Og king of Bashan… and gave their land as a heritage… even a heritage to Israel His servant, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” The psalmist remembers how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by giving their descendants an inheritance. What began as a covenant promise in Genesis becomes a covenant possession in Joshua, all by the unrelenting love of God.

These final verses in the section remind us that God’s ḥesed is a fighting love, a love that conquers. He is not indifferent to evil; His mercy does not make Him passive. His steadfast love secures victory for His people. Every victory in Israel’s history was a demonstration of His covenant faithfulness. He does not merely rescue; He establishes. He does not merely redeem; He gives rest. The God who brings His people out also brings them in, out of bondage, into inheritance; out of slavery, into sonship.

And again, all of this finds its fulfillment in Christ. In Him, God’s people have their greater Exodus, their true inheritance, their eternal rest. Jesus is the One who conquers our enemies, sin, death, and the devil, and gives us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The conquest of Canaan points forward to the triumph of the cross. The land of promise points forward to the new creation. In all of it, we can trace the golden thread of Psalm 136: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

When you look back over your own life, when you trace the moments of provision, the deliverances you didn’t deserve, the wildernesses you survived, the victories God granted despite your weakness, you can join the psalmist’s song. Every breath, every answered prayer, every trial endured, every sin forgiven bears the same inscription: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

This section of the psalm is a call to remember. We are so quick to forget God’s past mercies when we face present troubles. The psalmist takes us by the hand and leads us through sacred history so that we will learn to interpret our own history the same way. Behind every event stands the same faithful God. Whether in creation or in crisis, in deliverance or in discipline, in provision or in conquest, His covenant love remains. And the refrain still holds true for the church today, as it did for Israel then: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

III. God’s Covenant Love Demonstrated (vv. 23–26)

After recounting the grandeur of God’s works in creation, redemption, and conquest, the psalmist ends on a remarkably intimate note. The last four verses of Psalm 136 draw the vast sweep of history down to the personal experience of grace. Listen to the words:

“Who remembered us in our low estate,For His lovingkindness is everlasting,And has rescued us from our adversaries,For His lovingkindness is everlasting;Who gives food to all flesh,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.Give thanks to the God of heaven,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”(Psalm 136:23–26, NASB)

Do you hear the shift? The psalm has been recounting cosmic acts and national deliverances, the creation of the universe, the parting of the sea, the defeat of kings, but now, suddenly, it becomes personal: “Who remembered us.” The Lord of heaven stoops down to remember His people in their “low estate.” That phrase describes more than humiliation or poverty; it speaks of helplessness. The people of God were oppressed, afflicted, weak, and undeserving, yet the Almighty remembered them.

That word “remembered” is one of the richest covenant terms in all of Scripture. When the Bible says that God “remembers,” it never means that He had once forgotten and suddenly recalled. It means He has chosen to act according to His covenant promises. In Genesis 8:1, “God remembered Noah” and the floodwaters began to subside. In Exodus 2:24, “God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” and deliverance began for Israel. To say that “God remembered us” is to say that He moved toward us in mercy, that He kept His promise, that His covenant love translated into concrete action.

What a contrast to human forgetfulness! We forget God’s goodness, but He never forgets His grace. We forget His promises, but He never forgets His people. When we were at our lowest, when we had nothing to offer, when our strength was gone and our righteousness was empty, God remembered us. That is the heart of the gospel, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). The cross is God’s remembrance made visible.

The psalm continues, “And has rescued us from our adversaries, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” For Israel, this was a reminder that every military victory, every deliverance from danger, was an act of divine mercy. They never triumphed because of their strength; they triumphed because of His steadfast love. But this verse reaches beyond ancient battles to the greater spiritual reality of our redemption in Christ. The greatest adversaries we face are not flesh and blood but sin, death, and Satan, and God has rescued us from them all.

Christ has triumphed over every enemy. He has disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). Every believer can sing with full assurance: “He has rescued us from our adversaries, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Then comes verse 25: “Who gives food to all flesh, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Here the psalmist moves from redemption to providence. The God who parted the sea also provides daily bread. His ḥesed is not only mighty but mundane, it reaches into the ordinary details of life. The Creator feeds His creatures. Every meal, every drink of water, every harvest, every heartbeat is a manifestation of His mercy. This verse broadens the scope again to “all flesh,” not just Israel. God’s covenant love overflows the boundaries of Israel to touch all creation. It is what theologians call common grace, the kindness of God that sustains the whole world. Jesus would later remind us of this same truth when He said that the Father “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Even those who reject Him live every day under the gentle shadow of His enduring mercy.

But for those who belong to Christ, that providence takes on deeper meaning. The God who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field has pledged Himself to provide for His redeemed children. Every loaf of bread on our table, every answered prayer, every quiet provision is stamped with the same refrain: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

The psalm concludes with a final call to worship: “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” It is as though the psalmist, after surveying all of God’s works, in creation, in redemption, in providence, lifts his eyes one final time to the throne of glory and says, “Now praise Him, all creation! Praise the God of heaven!” The title “God of heaven” emphasizes His transcendence. He reigns above all. He is beyond all. And yet this transcendent God bends down to remember, to rescue, and to feed. The infinite and the intimate meet in the refrain: His lovingkindness is everlasting.

This ending gathers the entire psalm into one final, majestic note of gratitude. The God of heaven is not distant. His throne is not cold. The One who hung the stars is the same One who stoops to feed the hungry and to save the lost. His cosmic sovereignty and His covenant mercy are not in tension but in harmony. The greatness of His power magnifies, not diminishes, the tenderness of His love.

If Psalm 136 has taught us anything, it is that the whole story of Scripture, indeed, the whole story of your life, can be summed up in this refrain: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” When you look up to the heavens, His ḥesed is there. When you look back to the cross, His ḥesed is there. When you look around at your daily bread and the mercies that meet you each morning, His ḥesed is there. And when you look ahead to eternity, His ḥesed will still be there. The psalm that began with “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good” ends with “Give thanks to the God of heaven,” because from beginning to end, the story of God and His people is the story of everlasting love.

The everlasting refrain of Israel has become the everlasting refrain of the church. It is the song of the redeemed, the anthem of heaven, the melody of the new creation. And when the final trumpet sounds and all the saints stand before the Lamb who was slain, the refrain will rise again in perfection: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Conclusion: The Endless Refrain of the Redeemed

As Psalm 136 comes to a close, we can almost hear the echo of that ancient refrain fading into eternity: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Yet the truth it proclaims does not fade. It still reverberates through creation, through redemption, through providence, and through the hearts of God’s people. From the first verse to the last, this psalm has taught us to view everything, every event, every mercy, every breath, through the lens of divine covenant love.

We began with the declaration of who God is: the LORD, the God of gods, the Lord of lords: good, sovereign, and faithful. We saw His ḥesed displayed in His mighty acts: the heavens stretched out by His hand, the sea parted by His power, the wilderness traversed by His guidance, the inheritance secured by His faithfulness. We ended with His ḥesed demonstrated in His remembrance, His rescue, and His daily provision. From heaven’s heights to humanity’s hunger, one refrain unites it all: His lovingkindness is everlasting.

But this refrain finds its fullest voice, its deepest meaning, in the person of Jesus Christ. In Him, the covenant love of God has taken on flesh. In Him, the eternal God has remembered us in our low estate. At the cross, the refrain of Psalm 136 is no longer just sung, it is embodied. The everlasting love of God is nailed to a tree, bleeding for sinners, bearing the wrath we deserved, and declaring with every drop of blood: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Every theme of this psalm converges at Calvary. In creation, God spoke light into darkness; in redemption, He spoke life into death. In the wilderness, He led His people; in the gospel, He leads His church. In the conquest, He defeated earthly kings; at the cross and empty tomb, He conquered sin, death, and hell. In the wilderness, He fed Israel with manna; now He feeds us with the true bread from heaven, Christ Himself. Every line of Psalm 136 points forward to Him, and every believer can look back through the cross and say with even greater confidence than the psalmist: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

And so, dear church, this psalm teaches us how to interpret not only Scripture, but life.

When the day is bright and blessings overflow,

say it: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 

When the night is long and the valley is dark,

say it still: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

When your strength fails, when prayers go unanswered, when the way seems unclear, this refrain becomes your anchor: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

There will be days when you do not feel His love, when providence seems harsh, when the heavens feel silent. But the refrain is not based on what you feel, it is based on who He is. The love that created the world, that redeemed His people, that sustained the saints of old, that sent the Son into our flesh and raised Him from the dead, that same love holds you fast today. It is not fickle. It is not fragile. It is forever.

One day, this refrain will become the song of eternity. Revelation 5 tells us that all the redeemed will gather before the throne and sing a new song: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.” And though the words will be new, the melody will be ancient, it will be the everlasting refrain of Psalm 136 transformed into heavenly harmony. The saints will sing of His lovingkindness forever, for they will see it face to face.

Until that day, beloved, keep singing. Let this refrain become the rhythm of your worship, the anchor of your theology, the comfort in your sorrow, the confession of your faith. Let every prayer, every praise, every sigh of your soul end the same way: “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

And when your voice falters and your earthly song comes to an end, fear not, the refrain will continue. It will be carried by the saints before the throne, by the angels who never tire of His praise, and by the risen Christ Himself, who ever lives to intercede for you. His lovingkindness will outlast your sin, your suffering, your doubts, and your days.

And so, beloved, if you do not yet know this everlasting love, hear the invitation of the gospel: the same God who remembered Israel in her low estate has remembered you in yours. He has stretched out His hand not through the Red Sea, but through the nail-scarred hands of His Son. Christ died for sinners, rose in victory, and now offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will repent and believe in Him. Come to Him, receive the love that never ceases, the mercy that never runs dry, the grace that is stronger than your sin. Then you too will join the song of the redeemed, lifting your voice with all creation in that eternal refrain: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

So, as the psalmist began, so we end:

“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Amen.

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