Psalm 141, Even My Words and Thoughts

A psalm of David.

David sings an evening song of supplication and commitment.

Psalm 141:1-2, Incense and lifted hands

O LORD, I call to you;

 come quickly to me. 

Hear my voice when I call to you.

 May my prayer be set before you like incense;

 may the lifting up of my hands 

be like the evening sacrifice.

David's prayer is urgent and emotional -- and he desires that his prayer and uplifted hands will be like incense in the evening sacrifice. In many places, prayer is viewed as equivalent to a fragrant incense to God. (In the New Testament, see for example Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4.)

Psalm 141:3-4, Words and meditations

 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, 

to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; 

let me not eat of their delicacies.

David asks not ask just for righteous actions but that his thoughts and speech be righteous. He wants his heart and lips to be guarded. This echoes another request of David in Psalm 19:14.

Psalm 141:5a, Rebuke and oil

 Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; 

let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head. 

My head will not refuse it. 

This passage, and the next few verses, are crabbed and difficult (Alter, Kidner.) The sense of the Hebrew seems to be that being watched, even rebuked, by righteous people is a gift (like fragrant oil on one's head; as in Psalm 133, oil serves as a valuable and uplifting perfume.)

Psalm 141:5b-7, Thrown from the cliffs

Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;

 their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, 

and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.

 [They will say,] "As one plows and breaks up the earth, 

so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave."

The Hebrew text is still difficult (Alter calls it "baffling") and the NIV attempts to create a consistent interpretation here. It is unclear as to whose bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol; one interpretation is that David may be afraid that the bones of him and his compatriots are in trouble. The NIV (see the text in braces) assumes that the bones are those of David's enemies.

Psalm 141:8-10, Fixed on you

 But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD;

in you I take refuge--do not give me over to death.

 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, 

from the traps set by evildoers.

 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, 

while I pass by in safety.

Fixing his eyes on YHWH, David expects to be saved from the traps all around him. He will pass through the minefields while his enemies are caught.

First published November 26, 2025; updated November 26, 2025

Psalm 140, In the Face of Violence

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The Hebrew word chamas, "violence", appears six times in Habakkuk and fourteen times in the psalms, three of those times here, in verses 1, 4 and 11. The Arabic version of the word, hamas, was chosen as a name by the Palestinian group controlling the Gaza strip, the violent group which committed the atrocities of October 7, 2023 in Israel. Violence is an intrinsic part of human nature. Here David seeks salvation from it.

Psalm 140:1-3, Poisonous tongues

 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; 

protect me from men of violence,

 who devise evil plans in their hearts 

and stir up war every day.

 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;

 the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Selah.

Evil men are described as desiring violence and war. They are men with sharp and poisonous tongues.

Psalm 140:4-5, Hidden snares

 Keep me, O LORD, 

from the hands of the wicked; 

protect me from men of violence 

who plan to trip my feet.

 Proud men have hidden a snare for me; 

they have spread out the cords of their net 

and have set traps for me along my path.

Selah.

David asks for protection from those who plant snares and traps.  The words "trip", "snare", "cords", "traps" all point to devious predators seeking to bring David down.

Psalm 140:6-8, Strong deliverer

 O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God." 

Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.

 O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, 

who shields my head in the day of battle--

 do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; 

do not let their plans succeed, 

or they will become proud.

Selah.

After laying out the attacks against him, David pleads for help from YHWH, seeking from Him security and protection. David is committed to YHWH mercy and righteousness and so seeks His help.

Psalm 140:9-11, Falling coals

 Let the heads of those who surround me 

be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.

 Let burning coals fall upon them; 

may they be thrown into the fire, 

into miry pits,

 never to rise.

 Let slanderers not be established in the land; 

may disaster hunt down men of violence.

After pleading for help, David asks that his enemies be pulled down, destroyed, thrown into the fire, with burning coals poured upon them. This natural imprecatory passage is a response to the many attempts the violent have made on his life.

Psalm 140:12-13, Justice and righteousness

 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor 

and upholds the cause of the needy.

 Surely the righteous will praise your name

 and the upright will live before you.

At the end of the psalm, David leans on the righteousness of God and allies himself with justice and the poor. The righteous will, of course, live with YHWH and praise Him.

First published November 25, 2025; updated November 25, 2025

Psalm 139, All Knowing, Ever Present

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

Psalm 139 is a powerful song about God's sovereignty and care.  The 24 verses break into four stanzas, reflecting on God's omniscience, omnipresence, creativity and righteousness. Each passage gives important insight into the relationship of God with his people. Alter calls this "one of the most remarkably introspective psalms" and Kidner calls this psalm "intensely personal." According to Kidner, the Gelineau translation gives this psalm the heading, "The Hound of Heaven."

Psalm 139:1-4, Completely known!

O LORD, you have searched me 

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; 

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; 

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue 

you know it completely, O LORD.

The words used in this passage are strong and vivid. The Hebrew word reba (רֶבַע) is translated "lying down." It appears only here in the Old Testament. Alter argues that it is a rare word that one might associate with an animal's lair, a place for an animal to rest. Another vivid word in verse 3 is zarah (זָרָה), translated "discern" by the NIV, but meaning "to analyze." Alter argues that the word is an agricultural term, "to winnow." 

Psalm 139:5-6, Behind and before

You hem me in‑‑behind and before; 

you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 

too lofty for me to attain.

The phrase "laid your hand upon me," is a comforting phrase, reminiscent of the potter's molding hand on the clay (Alter.) The guidance of God's comforting hand is beyond understanding, says the psalmist.

Psalm 139:7-10, Omniscience

Where can I go from your Spirit? 

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me, 

your right hand will hold me fast.

Even if David could fly with the sun, rising in the east at dawn and traversing westward across the world, to set into the sea, even there, God is with David. The sea, possibly meant to be the Mediterranean Sea to the far west of Israel, might also, in the culture of the ANE, represent the chaos of Sheol.

The passage echoes, in a much more positive way, the omniscience described in Amos 9:2. Not only is God omniscient, but His knowledge is personal, focused on the psalmist. In the New Testament, Paul offers similar wonder in Romans 8:35‑39.

David's claim, in verse 10, that God guides him (nachah, נָחָה, to lead, guide) reappears as a final request in the final verse of the song.

Psalm 139:11-12, Even in darkness

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me

 and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you; 

the night will shine like the day, 

for darkness is as light to you.

Darkness is an undercurrent of this psalm, sometimes explicit (as in these verses), sometimes subtly in the background. We will see that in verses that follow. Darkness is often, in ANE culture, a metaphor for death and Sheol.

Psalm 139:13-16, Knit in the womb

For you created my inmost being; 

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, 

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you 

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together

 in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body. 

All the days ordained for me were written in your book 

before one of them came to be.

The dark chaotic sea of verse 9 was a safe place; here David described being formed in the darkness of his mother's womb, in "the secret place", in the depths of the earth." The "depths of the earth" might merely be a metaphor for the womb but it also hints at Sheol and darkness.

Job also expresses, as part of a lament (see Job 10), his awareness that God has shaped him in detail.

Psalm 139:17-18, Your thoughts and nearness

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand. 

When I awake, I am still with you.

Now David's psalm turns to God's personal interaction with David. The God who never sleeps (Psalm 121:3-4) is still thinkgin about David when David awakes in the morning.

Psalm 139:19-22, I hate those who hate you!

If only you would slay the wicked, O God! 

Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent; 

your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, 

and abhor those who rise up against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them; 

I count them my enemies.

The sudden anger at the wicked is typical of the psalms. Although these "imprecatory" passages are disquieting to some, I think David's energetic rejection of evil is a natural part of his prayer. (See this blogpost on imprecatory psalms.)

The Hebrew word for God in verse 19 is eloah (אֱלוֹהַּ), an unusual term which, says Alter, "occurs only in poetry and is especially common in Job."

Psalm 139:23-24, Lead me!

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Verse 23 echoes the request in verse 1, to be searched and known. The guidance of verse 10 becomes a particular request to be led along God's righteous way.

Some Hebrew Vocabulary 

The Hebrew word nachah, 

נָחָה

is a verb to lead, to guide.

Some Random Thoughts

Jan and I memorized this psalm around 1975, when we were dating. Later, with friend Tina Elacqua, we led a four-week study of this psalm at Mt. Pleasant Community Church in January 1996. Each class period focused on a stanza of six verses.

I remember, when Jan and I were dating (and reciting this psalm) of being especially impressed that my girlfriend was wonderfully made (verse 14)! Maybe it took some faith to believe I was wonderfully made, but Jannie's beauty was pretty obvious to me. (Still is.)

First published November 24, 2025; updated November 24, 2025

Discussion and Study Questions for Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a powerful song about God's sovereignty and care.  The 24 verses break into four stanzas, reflecting on God's omniscience, omnipresence, creativity and righteousness.  Each passage gives important insight into the relationship of God with his people.

         

Jan and I memorized this psalm around 1975, when we were dating. Later, with friend Tina Elacqua, we led a four-week study of this psalm at Mt. Pleasant Community Church in January 1996. Each class period focused on a stanza of six verses. 

Here are some questions and notes that went with that study.

Some discussion questions on Psalm 139:1-6

• The characteristic of God revealed in this passage is                                                               .
• How are the words "search" or "scrutinize" stronger than "know"?
• What does it mean for God to "enclose us" (vs. 5)?
• What does it mean for God to lay His hand on us?  Does He lay his hand on
• everyone?
• What should be our reaction to God's knowledge?
• What does it mean to "attain" to this knowledge?  Why can't we attain it? Should we try?

Many mistakes we make as Christians is due to our lack of understanding of God and His power.  Look at these passages:

        Matt 10: 29, 30  (Look at your fingernails...)

        Matt 6:8, Col 1: 15‑20, Psalm 147: 4,5,  Matt 6:25‑33, Ps 33:6‑22

For next time:  Read verses 7‑12 several times (& memorize or meditate on them.)  Can you think of a Biblical figure who forgot the truth of this passage?

Some discussion questions on Psalm 139:7-12

• The characteristic of God revealed in this passage is                                                .
• Why would one flee from God?  Can you think of an example of a believer fleeing God?  (Examples ‑‑ from your experiences or from the Bible.)
• What is Sheol?  (See Amos 9:2, Psalms 88:5, Isaiah 38:18.  Compare with Job 26 and Psalm 88:10-11.)
• Have you ever taken the wings of the dawn?  What does it mean to go to the remotest part of the sea?
• What areas in your life do you think you can hide from God?
• What does the darkness represent?  How is God there, even in darkness?
• Have you ever had times where you wished you could see in the dark?
• What hints do you see that indicate the psalmist has dealt with despair, depression, fear?
• Compare with Romans 8:35‑39.
• You don’t see the words “love” or “care” in Psalms 139: 7‑12 but still the passage conveys that message.  How?
• My reaction to this passage is                                                           .

Omnipresence: See Prov 15: 3, Jer 23:23, 24, Act 17: 27. 28, Rom 10: 6 ‑ 8, Heb 4:13.

           

For next time: Read verses 13‑18.  Think about the following questions.

            What other places do you see God's creative works?

            Why does the psalmist include these 6 verses within a passage that describes God's omniscience, omnipresence, and righteousness? 

            How do you feel knowing that God knew all about you even before the first day you were born?

            The last two verses are different from our first four here.  In what way?

            Do any of the verses provide us with an indication of where we should derive our self-esteem?

Some discussion questions on Psalm 139:13-18.

• What is the main idea of the next section (verses 13 to 18)?
• What is the characteristic of God that is revealed in this passage?
• What work of art is being discussed in this passage?
• What other places do you see God's creative works?
• Why does the psalmist include these 6 verses within a passage that describes God's omniscience, omnipresence, and righteousness? 
• Does God see you as a unique individual while being formed in your mother's womb?
• What does it mean for God to form our "inward parts" (vs.13)?
• What is the "soul?"
• What does it mean to be "fearfully and wonderfully made" (vs. 14)?
• What are the "depths of the earth" (vs. 15)?  Do we have a lack of understanding of biology here?
• What is God's book?  What does it mean for our days to be written there?
• From eternity past, did God know the day of your birth?  The day of your death?  Of all your great-great grandchildren?
• How do you feel knowing that God knew all about you even before the first day you were born?
• The last two verses are different from our first four here. In what way?
• Do any of the verses provide us with an indication of where  we should derive our self-esteem?
• Why does the psalmist "awake" (vs. 18)?  What is that about?
• The characteristic of God revealed in this passage is                                                                                      .
• Compare with Micah 5:2.
• The last two verses are different from the first four here.  In what way?
• Why does the psalmist "awake"?  What is that about?

See also Micah 5:2, Gal 4:4, Mt 6:25‑33, Ps 33:6‑22

Some discussion questions on Psalm 139:19-24.

The characteristic of God revealed in this passage is                                                .

Why does this passage suddenly appear?  How does it fit with the rest of the psalm?

What are your reactions to David's anger?

A.  On Evil

These verses of Psalm 139 are an “imprecatory” or “cursing”  passage.  Other imprecatory passages in the psalms are:

         Psalm 69:16-28,

         Psalm 109 (all of it -- but read, say, the first ten verses)

         Psalm 137: 7-9

Read these passages.  Summarize the passages you read in one or two sentences (for the rest of the class).  Then answer the following questions:

1.  Is it wrong to hate?  To ask God to slay people?  Are God's enemies your enemies?

2.  How are we to react to evil?

3.  Suppose you were the parent of an 11-year-old killed by a child molester.  What might you want to say to the judge before the criminal is sentenced?

4.  Can you think of other places in the Bible where this imprecatory attitude (“kill the wicked”) occurs?

5.  Do you agree with the “imprecatory” approach to evil?

B.  On loving your enemies

         Exodus 23:4-5.

         Matthew 5:38 - 48? 

Read these passages.  Summarize the passsages you read in one or two sentences (for the rest of the class).

Then anwer following questions:

1.  How are we to treat our enemies?

2.  Is there ever a time to hate them?

3.  Read Acts 4: 29 - 31.  What was the reaction of the early church to those who hated God’s anointed?

4.  Suppose you were the parent of an 11-year-old killed by a child molester.  What might you want to say to the judge before the criminal is sentenced?

C.  On Justice & Judgement:

Read Matthew 25: 31 - 46

         II Thessalonians 1: 5 - 10

Summarize these in a sentence or two (for the class).  Then answer the following questions:

1.  What does God reward?  What does God punish?

2.  If God chooses to punish our enemies, should we be pleased?

3.  Are we to forgive our enemies or curse them?  How are we to act toward our enemies?

4.  Suppose you were the parent of an 11-year-old killed by a child molester.  What might you want to say to the judge before the criminal is sentenced?

D.  How did David react to evil?

         I Samuel 24: 1 - 13

         I Samuel 26: 6 - 12

         II Samuel 4: 8 - 12

         II Samuel 16:5 - 14

Read these passages.  Then summarize them in just one sentence or two to give the class later.

1.  Can you find any general principles about David’s approach to

• evil,
• vengeance,
• justice,
• killing?        

2.  Suppose you were the parent of an 11-year-old killed by a child molester.  What might you want to say to the judge before the criminal is sentenced?

A story

         Once upon a time there was a couple, Fred and Clare.  Clare was a church goer and a Christian.  Fred was a hard worker and a good man, but he saw no need for “that religion stuff” and refused to go to church.  Clare asked her pastor and some other men at church to pray for Fred.

         Fred and Clare owned a small house on the edge of town.  Their children had grown and moved on.  One night two men broke into the home, held up Fred and Clare at gunpoint, tied them up and stole rifles from Fred’s gun case.  The men were caught by police shortly afterward and convicted of their crime and went to jail.  (It turned out they had broken into the wrong house; they had been looking for someone who supposedly sold drugs.)

         During the trial, one of the men of the church (Carlos) began visiting the two criminals.  Eventually one of the crooks (Joe) came to Christ.  Soon Carlos and his pastor were going to the jail regularly, leading Joe in a Bible Study.  They continued to minister to Joe until Joe was shipped downstate to a state prison.

         The pastor was excited about God’s work in Joe, but he soon discovered that both Fred and Clare were not happy.  Fred didn’t appreciate that the pastor visited those crooks who pointed a pistol at him late one night in the privacy of his home.  Fred had worked hard all his life and when two bums robbed him, thepastor had visited the bums!

         Clare was not happy that through all of this, Fred had not become a Christian.  How could God do this?  She (and others) had prayed for Fred; they get robbed, and one of the robbers had come to Christ!  This was not right!  How could God claim to eventually send Fred to hell and Joe to heaven?

What would be your response, as pastor, to this problem?  (By the way...  I know the pastor in this story.)

Where is evil in this story and who should the righteous hate?

After the anger against those who hate God, what is the psalmist's reaction about himself?

Let’s talk more about “esteem”.

Summary (What does this psalm say about God? About you?)

First published November 23, 2025; updated November 23, 2025

Psalm138, Above All Things

Of David.

We now begin a sequence of eight psalms (138-145) attributed to David.

Psalm 138:1-2, Exalted above all things

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; 

before the "gods" I will sing your praise.

 I will bow down toward your holy temple 

and will praise your name

 for your love and your faithfulness, 

for you have exalted above all things 

your name and your word.

YHWH is praised in the temple, "before the gods", as being greater than all things. The Hebrew word elohim, often translated "God" when addressed to YHWH, is plural and can mean "gods". The NIV puts the words in quote marks -- does David believe there are other gods, all inferioro to YHWH? Or is this a "polemic gesture" (Alter) praising YHWH before the empty set of all the gods in whom others believe?

Psalm 138:3-5, You made me bold

 When I called, you answered me; 

you made me bold and stouthearted.

 May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, 

when they hear the words of your mouth.

 May they sing of the ways of the LORD, 

for the glory of the LORD is great.

With YHWH's support, David is confident and bold. Indeed, he calls on all the kings of the earth to praise God and sing of His power and righteousness.

Psalm 138:6-7, Looks upon the lowly

 Though the LORD is on high, 

he looks upon the lowly, 

but the proud he knows from afar.

 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, 

you preserve my life; 

you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, 

with your right hand you save me.

From high up, the mighty God watches even the lowly and humble. He is close to them, but far from the proud. And He works for David's success and security.

Psalm 138:8, Forever

 The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; 

your love, O LORD, endures forever-- 

do not abandon the works of your hands.

God's love endures forever (see the constant refrain in Psalm 136) and so David calls on God to continue His mighty purpose in David. The last word of this psalm is raphah, meaning to relax, to release, let go slack. The image (says Alter) is of a hand relaxing and dropping something precious. "Don't let go of me!" cries David.

First published November 22, 2025; updated November 22, 2025

Psalm 137, By the Waters of Babylon

Refugees from Jerusalem, now living in Babylon, recall their homeland and the worship there. This psalm was probably composed just after the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of 586 BC.

Psalm 137:1-3, Weeping by the rivers

 By the rivers of Babylon we sat 

and wept when we remembered Zion.

 There on the poplars we hung our harps,

 for there our captors asked us for songs, 

our tormentors demanded songs of joy; 

they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

Jewish refugees, along the rivers (canals) of Babylon, sit down and weep. Their captives ask for songs of their homeland (either in curiosity or as taunts) but the people of Judah cannot sing. Indeed, they have discarded their lyres amongst the trees.

Psalm 137:4-6, How can we sing?

 How can we sing the songs of the LORD 

while in a foreign land?

 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, 

may my right hand forget [its skill].

 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you, 

if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.

The refugees grieve. How can they sing? They can only remember the beauty that they have lost. They cannot play their instruments or sing their songs.

In Sennacherib's palace in Nineveh there was apparently a wall panel of three prisoners playing lyres as they march, followed by a guard. This picture is now in the British Museum. (See here.)

Psalm 137:7, Please remember

 Remember, O LORD, 

what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. 

"Tear it down," they cried, 

"tear it down to its foundations!"

The people remember in the taunts of the neighboring Edomites who joyfully watched Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem. (Obadiah 1:10-14 describes this apathy, even delight of the people of Edom at this time. The short book of Obadiah is a prophecy against Edom, giving the consequences of their opposition to Judah.)

Psalm 137:8-9, Please remember

 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, 

happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us--

 he who seizes your infants 

and dashes them against the rocks.

In anger, the Jewish exiles call on Babylon to be destroyed; the grieving refugees call even for the infants of Babylon to be killed. (Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 51, says that yes, indeed Babylon will be punished for her assault on Judah and Jerusalem.)

Some Random Thoughts

The last line, an obvious imprecatory (cursing) statement bothers some. Surely this violence should not be in scripture! But I find it to merely be an example of the psalmists beliefs that every plea, every thought can be brought to God. It is one thing to say, angrily to God, "Kill even their children." It is quite another thing to set up a program of murder. 

When Hamas brutally slaughtered innocent citizens (including children) of Israel on October 7, 2023, anyone who saw the aftermath of the massacre surely felt deep anger. "Kill everyone in the Gaza Strip," was a natural human reaction. But one who takes that angry thought to God will eventually ask for justice and not murder.

First published November 21, 2025; updated November 21, 2025

Psalm 136, His *Hesed* Forever

This worship song repeats 

"His love endures forever"

after every statement about God's character. (This phrase was used by Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:3, at the dedication of the temple.) The phrase is probably intended as part of a call-response from the congregation, with the priests singing one line and the people responding. Kidner says that Jewish tradition calls this psalm the Great Hallel, that is, the Great Psalm of Praise.

The word translated "love" 26 times here is the Hebrew hesed (or checed, חֵסֵד.)

Psalm 136:1-3, Good and greatest

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

YHWH is not only good but is above all gods and lords (that is, greatest of all gods/lords.) Only in the first line is God's name, YHWH, given. After that (the Hebrew text is here) God is described as Elohim ("God") or Adon ("Lord") or by a pronoun.

Psalm 136:4-9, Creator

to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

who made the great lights—

His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

God is praised for His creation of the heavens, earth, sun, moon and stars. Note the ANE belief in verse 6 that the disk of the earth rested on water. Verses 7-9 ("...who made the great lights... moon and stars...") echoes Genesis 1:14-18, the fourth Day of Creation.

Psalm 136:10-15, Lord of Egypt

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel out from among them

His love endures forever.

with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;

His love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea asunder

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel through the midst of it,

His love endures forever.

but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;

His love endures forever.

God is praised for his deliverance of the Israelites from the slavery of Pharaoh. Verse 12 echoes a phrase that occurs throughout the Exodus (see, for example, Deuteronomy 26:8.) Although the Egyptian pharaohs might claim "a mighty hand and outstretched arm", their strength was nothing compared to that of YHWH!

The verb naar (נָעַר, to shake out, overthow) first appears in Exodus 14:27 to describe, as in verse 15 here, God sweeping the Egyptians into the sea.

Psalm 136:16-20, Defeating all enemies

to him who led his people through the wilderness;

His love endures forever.

to him who struck down great kings,

His love endures forever.

and killed mighty kings—

His love endures forever.

Sihon king of the Amorites

His love endures forever.

and Og king of Bashan—

His love endures forever.

As in the previous psalm (Psalm 135:8-12), God is praised for leading His people through the wilderness to Canaan, defeating kings along the way. including Sihon and Og. (The defeat of Sihon and Og is recorded in Numbers 21:21-35; see also Deuteronomy 3:1-11.)

Psalm 136:21-22, Eternal inheritance

and gave their land as an inheritance,

His love endures forever.

an inheritance to his servant Israel.

His love endures forever.

Finally, the people were settled in their land which will be their inheritance forever.

Psalm 136:23-25, Our lowly estate

He remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies.

His love endures forever.

He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

God has watched over His vulnerable people, freeing them from their enemies. He watches over everything and for that security the people give thanks.

Psalm 136:26, God of heaven

Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

The psalm ends as it began, giving thanks to the powerful Creator, God above all creation.

Some Hebrew Vocabulary

The verb naar 

נָעַר

means to (violently) shake, shake out, shake up, overthrow. 

First published November 20, 2025; updated November 20, 2025

Psalm 135, Ministers in the House of YHWH

We have finished the psalms of ascent and now move on to a variety of praise psalms.

Psalm 135:1-5, Good and pleasant

Praise the LORD. 

Praise the name of the LORD; 

praise him, you servants of the LORD, 

you who minister in the house of the LORD, 

in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;

 sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. 

For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own,

 Israel to be his treasured possession.

I know that the LORD is great, 

that our Lord is greater than all gods.

There are some beautiful Hebrew words in this stanza. In verse 3, singing (zammeru, זַמְּרוּ) to God is good (towb, טוֹב) and pleasant (na'iym (נָעִים.) And the people of Israel are YHWH's "treasured possession" (segullah, סְגֻלָּה), a word one might use to describe a set of valuable jewels, saved to wear on a special occasion.

Psalm 135:6-7, Whatever pleases him

The LORD does whatever pleases him, 

in the heavens and on the earth,

 in the seas and all their depths. 

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; 

he sends lightning with the rain 

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

 

God does as He wishes. When He speaks, it is done (Isaiah 55:10-11.) As in the book of Job (38:22), it is assumed that weather sits in storehouses, ready for God to use.

Psalm 135:8-12, Defeating Pharaoh, Sihon, Og, ...

He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, 

the firstborn of men and animals. 

He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, 

against Pharaoh and all his servants.

He struck down many nations 

and killed mighty kings--

Sihon king of the Amorites, 

Og king of Bashan 

and all the kings of Canaan--

and he gave their land as an inheritance, 

an inheritance to his people Israel.

Egypt and the kings of Canaan (including Sihon and Og) were all defeated by God in support of His people. The defeat of Sihon and Og is recorded in Numbers 21:21-35; see also Deuteronomy 3:1-11.

Psalm 135:13-14, Forever

Your name, O LORD, endures forever, 

your renown, O LORD, through all generations. 

For the LORD will vindicate his people 

and have compassion on his servants.

YHWH (whose name is repeated three times here) has compassion on his people and will continue to protect them. The last two lines are probably from the first half of Deuteronomy 32:26.

Psalm 135:15-18, Silly idols, foolish idolaters

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, 

made by the hands of men. 

They have mouths, but cannot speak, 

eyes, but they cannot see; 

they have ears, but cannot hear, 

nor is there breath in their mouths.

 Those who make them will be like them, 

and so will all who trust in them.

The Old Testament prophets were always shocked at the absurdity of worshiping something that one has just made. (See, for example, Isaiah 44:9-20.) Here the psalmist mocks the enemy who worships idols with fake mouths, eyes and ears and calls for God to make those people like the very idols that they worship. An almost identical passage occurs in Psalm 115:4-8.

Psalm 135:19-21, Israel, Levi, Aaron

O house of Israel, praise the LORD; 

O house of Aaron, praise the LORD;

 house of Levi, praise the LORD; 

you who fear him, praise the LORD.

 Praise be to the LORD from Zion, 

to him who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD

The people of Israel, and those that lead worship in the sanctuary, should all praise YHWH. (The house of Aaron is the family of priests; the house of Levi is the larger tribe from which those priests come.)

First published November 19, 2025; updated November 19, 2025