he who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever.
The Psalmist drums home a hard truth: unless we labor in God's praises, we rob Him of what is justly His due for His benefits. Every benefit He names draws our eye to His mercy, to teach us that everything we possess comes to us freely, by His grace alone, not by our desert.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 136:1-26
Who giveth food to all flesh. Common providence, which cares for all living things, deserves our most devout thanks. If we think of heavenly food, by which all saints are supplied, our praises rise to a still greater height; but meanwhile the universal goodness of God in feeding all his creatures is as worthy of praise as his special favours to the elect nation.
God's everlasting mercy is here celebrated, 1. In the redemption of his church, Psa 136:23, Psa 136:24. In the many redemptions wrought for the Jewish church out of the hands of their oppressors (when, in the years of their servitude, their estate was very low, God remembered them, and raised them up saviours, the judges, and David, at length, by whom God gave them rest...
Commenting on Psalm 136:23-26