Psalms 136:10 - Meaning and Application

The great things God did for Israel, when he first formed them into a people and set up his kingdom among them, are often mentioned in the Psalms as proof of both his power and his special love for Israel. See (Psalm 135:8). Here the writer remembers how God brought them out of Egypt, and he did it in a way that showed lasting mercy. That mercy lasted for Israel a long time, and our rescue through Christ, which the Exodus pointed to, truly lasts forever, because it is an eternal rescue.

Of all the plagues in Egypt, only the death of the firstborn is mentioned here, because it was the blow that broke Pharaoh’s power. By that plague, God, who had always set the Israelites apart from the Egyptians, finally brought his people out from among them. He did it, not by trickery, but with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, that is, with open and mighty power. These miracles of mercy proved Moses’s calling to give the law to Israel, and they also placed Israel under a lasting duty to obey that law (Exodus 20:2).

God also forced a way for them through the Red Sea, which blocked them at the start of their journey. By his power over the normal course of nature, he split the sea in two and opened a path between the waters, so Israel could pass through as they entered into covenant with him. See (Jeremiah 34:18). He not only divided the sea, but also gave his people courage to walk through it when it was divided. That showed his power over human hearts as well as over the waters. To make it a miracle of justice as well as mercy, the same Red Sea that became a path for Israel became a grave for their enemies. There he overthrew Pharaoh and his army.

He then led them through a great, wild wilderness. There he guided them and fed them. For forty years, their camp was kept alive and protected by a steady chain of miracles, and even though they wandered and delayed, they were not lost. In this, God’s mercy, and the steady strength of that mercy, were even more striking because they often rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert.

He also destroyed kings before them, to make room for them (Psalm 136:17-18). He did not merely remove them from power or send them away, but struck them down and killed them. In that, we see both his anger against those kings and his never-ending mercy to Israel. What makes this even greater is that these were great and famous kings, yet God brought them down as easily as if they had been the least and weakest people. They were wicked kings, so their rank and glory could not protect them from God’s justice. The greater and more famous they were, the more clearly God’s mercy to Israel appeared in giving such kings over to them. Sihon and Og are named especially, because they were the first two kings conquered on the far side of the Jordan (Psalm 136:19-20).

It is good to look carefully at each of God’s blessings, not just think of them in a general way. In every one of them, we should notice and confess that God’s mercy endures forever. He also gave them a good land (Psalm 136:21-22). The one who owns the earth and everything in it, the world and all who live in it, took land away from one people and gave it to another, just as he pleased. The wrongdoing of the Amorites had now become full, so the land was taken from them. Israel was his servant, and though they had often provoked him in the wilderness, he still meant to get service from them, because the service of God belonged to them.

As he said to the Egyptians, “Let my people go,” so he said to the Canaanites, “Let my people in, so that they may serve me.” In this way, God’s mercy to them endures forever, because it pointed ahead to the heavenly Canaan, the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.