to him who spread out the earth above the waters, 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
To him that stretched out the earth above the waters. Lifting it up from the mingled mass, the dank morass, the bottomless bog, of mixed land and sea; and so fitting it to be the abode of man. Who but the Lord could have wrought this marvel?
The duty we are here again and again called to is to give thanks, to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, not the fruits of our ground or cattle, but the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name, Heb 13:15.
Commenting on Psalm 136:1-9