Psa 135-136 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ps 135:1-21: Ps 135 God, the Creator and the Lord of history, “made heaven and earth” (134:3 ). He deserves praise because, unlike idols, he redeems his people.

Summary for Ps 135:1-21: Ps 135 ^a God, the Creator and the Lord of history, “made heaven and earth” (134:3 ^b). He deserves praise because, unlike idols, he redeems his people.
135:4 ^c The synonyms Jacob and Israel include all twelve tribes. The Lord cherishes his chosen people. They are his treasure out of all the kingdoms of the world (Exod 19:5-6 ^d).
135:5 ^e The Lord is superior to any real or imagined supernatural being (see 95:3-5 ^f; 115:4-8 ^g).
135:6 ^h God is sovereign over the whole created order—he does whatever pleases him him.

• The phrase heaven and earth refers to all of creation.
135:7 ⁱ The psalmist tells of God’s sovereignty over the weather (Pss 29 ^j; 77:17-18 ^k; 78:26 ^l; 104:4 ^m; 147:8-9 ⁿ; 148:5-6 ^o).
Summary for Ps 135:8-12: 135:8-12 ^p The Lord was sovereign over the Exodus and the conquest of the Promised Land.
Summary for Ps 135:8-11: 135:8-11 ^q In the tenth and culminating plague against Egypt, God destroyed the firstborn of each family.

• The miraculous signs and wonders are the ten plagues (see Exod 7–11 ^r; Deut 4:34 ^s; Neh 9:10 ^t).
Summary for Ps 135:13-18: 135:13-18 ^u The Lord’s name and character stand in contrast to idols.
Summary for Ps 135:15-20: 135:15-20 ^v This entire section is repeated in 115:4-11 ^w.
Summary for Ps 135:15-18: 135:15-18 ^x Idols corrupt the thinking because they are merely things made by humans; they cannot speak, see, hear, or breathe (Isa 41:22-24 ^y; 44:9 ^z, 18 ^aa; Rom 1:21-23 ^ab).
Summary for Ps 135:19-21: 135:19-21 ^ac The groups named here comprised the covenant community (see 115:9-11 ^ad).

‏ Psalms 136

Summary for Ps 136:1-26: Ps 136 ^ae This is the last of the Great Hallel psalms (Pss 120–136 ^af). It distinctively repeats the refrain His faithful love endures forever in every verse. The hymn is framed by a call to praise (136:1-3 ^ag, 26 ^ah). It proclaims the Lord as the Creator of all and the Redeemer of Israel, both in the distant (136:10-22 ^ai) and in the recent past (136:23-24 ^aj).
Summary for Ps 136:1-3: 136:1-3 ^ak The psalmist invites the community to praise the Lord, who is good and full of love, the true Lord of humanity. Verse 1 alludes to the poetic expression in 2 Chr 5:13 ^al.
Summary for Ps 136:10-22: 136:10-22 ^am The psalmist recounts the early history of Israel’s redemption.
Summary for Ps 136:23-24: 136:23-24 ^an The psalmist relates the recent history of Israel’s redemption, although the circumstances are not specified.
136:25 ^ao The Lord provides for all of his creatures.
136:26 ^ap The phrase God of heaven is an exilic and postexilic designation for the Lord; it is found in Ezra (Ezra 1:2 ^aq; 5:11 ^ar, 12 ^as; 6:9 ^at, 10 ^au; 7:12 ^av; etc.), Nehemiah (Neh 1:5 ^aw; 2:4 ^ax, 20 ^ay; etc.), and Daniel (Dan 2:18 ^az, 19 ^ba, 37 ^bb, 44 ^bc).