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Psalm 136[a]

Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Everlasting Mercy

I

Praise the Lord, for he is good;(A)
    for his mercy endures forever;

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 136 The hymn praises Israel’s God (“the God of gods,” Ps 136:2), who has created the world in which Israel lives. The refrain occurring after every line suggests that a speaker and chorus sang the Psalm in antiphonal fashion. A single act of God is described in Ps 136:4–25. God arranges the heavens and the earth as the environment for human community, and then creates the community by freeing them and giving them land. In the final section (Ps 136:23–25) God, who created the people and gave them land, continues to protect and nurture them.

V

23 The Lord remembered us in our low estate,
    for his mercy endures forever;
24 Freed us from our foes,
    for his mercy endures forever;

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III

10 Who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,(A)
    for his mercy endures forever;
11 And led Israel from their midst,
    for his mercy endures forever;
12 With mighty hand and outstretched arm,(B)
    for his mercy endures forever;

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13 Who split in two the Red Sea,
    for his mercy endures forever;
14 And led Israel through its midst,
    for his mercy endures forever;
15 But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,(A)
    for his mercy endures forever;

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