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1-3.
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O give thanks. This is renewed in v. 26, but obviously
needs to be read into every other verse as well. The sequence of divine names is
impressive:
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Yahweh/Jehovah is the Covenant Name, rightly to
be associated with his mercy.
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God of gods might mean: the One who has countless
angels to do His bidding; or, the God who is infinitely superior to any of the
“gods” men can invent (Psa. 135:5; 86:8; 96:4).
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Lord of lords is the Hebrew Adonai. Thus
this expression is similar to (equivalent to?) ‘King of kings’. But
see the context in Deut. 10:17. Here is a title of God which is later applied to
Christ also (Rev. 17:14).
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4.
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To him who alone doeth great wonders (Psa. 72:18).
Which great wonders? Verses 5-9 specify... the heavens... the earth... sun...
moon... stars. This theme of Creation, wherever it occurs in the Psalter (8;
19; 33; 104; 147; 148), invites the believer not to wrangle with his fellows
over cosmological theories, but to delight in his environment — known to
him as no mere mechanism but as a work of “covenant love”.
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5.
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To him that by wisdom made the heavens: Prov. 3:19;
8:22-31; Jer. 10:12; Psa. 104:24.
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6.
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To him that stretched out the earth above the waters.
This is quoted in Isa. 44:24, in an intended contrast with the
“gods” of the heathen; and also in Isa. 42:5.
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10.
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To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn. In
Hezekiah’s day, such an emphasis on deliverance of Israel from Egypt was
appropriate because:
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(a) the alliance which Hezekiah’s politicians made with
Egypt proved utterly fruitless (Isa. 30:1,2; 31:1), since the Egyptian army was
completely routed by Sennacherib at El Tekeh; and
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(b) the besieging Assyrian army was destroyed outside
Jerusalem, at the time of the Passover, by the same “Destroying
Angel” who smote the firstborn in Egypt.
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And, to believers today, such emphasis upon the Passover is
still appropriate (1 Cor. 5:7; 10:1-13).
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12.
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With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: Isa.
51:9,10; Psa. 77:15; 89:10.
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15.
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But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea. The
“experts” say that Pharaoh did not perish with his army. The Bible
says he did. “Overthrew” is the s.w. as “tossed” in Psa.
109:23 — used of locusts blown about by the wind. If all the inhabitants
of the world are as grasshoppers (Isa. 40:22), then may even a mighty
Pharaoh be as a locust! (Note that Psa. 136:10-22 = Psa.
135:8-12.)
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17,18.
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Great kings... famous kings. Were Sihon and Og as great
as all that? Then does this perhaps refer to their physical size (Deut. 3:11)?
Or do these expressions anticipate the destruction of the Assyrians and their
allies (v. 24)?
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Smote great kings is given here as an instance of
God’s mercy! Interesting. How very much these matters are affected
by one’s perspective (see Par. 6).
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22-25.
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Even an heritage unto Israel his servant... And hath
redeemed us from our enemies... Who giveth food to all flesh. These
expressions bring the psalm’s history (and reasons for praising God) down
to the present time for the writer; they are particularly appropriate to the
blessings of the Jubilee in Hezekiah’s reign (Isa. 37:30,31).
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26.
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How fitting this call to give thanks rings out again at
the end, as at the beginning of the psalm.
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The God of heaven. Here is another divine name,
emphasizing His might and overall majesty. A sincere and serious contemplation
of God’s awesome might leads one to be all the more awestruck at
His mercy.
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