To him that made great lights, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
Here the psalm turns from the heavens and the earth to the lights in the sky, and puts the sun and moon under mercy. Why does making light belong in a song about love that never ends, and what does it mean that God gave these lights rule?
(Note: where the ESV says "steadfast love," the writers quoted here say "mercy" or "loving-kindness." It is the same Hebrew word.)
Verses 5 to 9 retrace the opening of Genesis in order, and this verse lands on the fourth day. One writer explains why the psalmist slows down here:
His creative work — as given in the second, third, and fourth verses — clearly matches the second, third, and fourth of the six days... The fourth speaks of the lights, which shape all the activities of man's practical life by the changing seasons they bring about. But the psalmist cannot pass over this so briefly; he must expand it in the two verses that follow. The sun, as ruler in the day, is the physical governor of man's earth, and so of man. Among material things it is the fullest representative of that goodness of God which wakes up all Nature in response, to serve him. The moon, on the other hand, is only a delegate of the sun. It can reflect the sun's rays only imperfectly, just enough to limit the darkness. All this has plenty of teaching for us, and should help to make Nature what God would have it be for us — a great open lesson-book.
Every line of this psalm ends the same way. The same writer explains what that repeated line says about creation:
Whether it is creation or redemption, judgment on their enemies or mercy to themselves, God sets the same seal on all His work: His loving-kindness has been working in it. And indeed in all His acts all that He is must act: if He is good, as God is, He must be good in everything He does.
The psalm just before this one lists many of the same works of God under a different heading. Set the two side by side:
Notice that Psalm 136 is "mercy," and Psalm 135 is "glory." The creation of the heavens and God's dealings with the Amorites have all declared God's name, or glory. And now the very same things are celebrated as publishing His mercy. The same ways and works of the Lord publish both His name and His mercy, His glory and His grace, with equal clearness and certainty. They honour Him and they bless His people.
The next two verses give the great lights a job: to rule. Scripture uses that picture for authority:
The sun, moon, and stars are symbols of ruling authorities: the sun supreme, the moon holding borrowed authority, and the stars lesser authorities. This symbolic meaning comes from the real jobs God gave the heavenly lights. In Genesis we read, "And God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night — and the stars" (chapter 1:16). And in Psalm 136 it says, "To Him who made the great lights... the sun to rule over the day... the moon and stars to rule over the night" (verses 7-9).
This verse is one link in a longer chain. One writer traces how the psalm ties God's mercy to Israel's whole story:
It is beautiful to see how the psalmist ties the mercy of the Lord to the whole of Israel's relationships and history. So in verses 2-4 it flows from what God is: the God of gods, the Lord of lords, and the doer of great wonders. That is what God is in His absolute supremacy and in His almighty power. From verses 5-9 God as Creator is celebrated, and for His mercy. Next it is as Redeemer (verses 10-15).
The sun and moon keep such steady time that we stop noticing them. One writer ties this verse to God's promise after the flood:
The psalm mentions God's wisdom in creation, in the heavens and the earth, and in making the sun to rule the day and the moon by night. God gave Noah this assurance: "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). If this promise were not kept, how devastating it would be!
- Mercy, sealed. The refrain seals every act named in the psalm, creation included. A God who is good must be good in everything He does.
- Mercy, ordered. Verses 5-9 follow the days of Genesis. This verse reaches the fourth day, and the psalmist lingers there for two more lines.
- Mercy, ruling. God gave the great lights rule: the sun over the day, the moon reflecting its light to limit the night. Scripture uses that picture for authority.
- Mercy, widening. From the lights the song moves on: rescue from Egypt, the wilderness, the land, and food for all. The Creator of the sky is the Redeemer of the people.
- Mercy, remembered. The same works that publish God's glory publish His grace. So the sunrise we never notice is worth thanking Him for.
The sun for rule over the day, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever,
Verse 8 sits in the creation part of a song where every line ends with the same refrain. So the sun's daily rule over the earth counts as mercy, not just power. Why does an ordinary sunrise belong among mercies that last for ever?
Verse 8 sits in the second of the psalm's stages. One writer traces how the refrain links creation to the rest of Israel's history.
It is beautiful to notice how the psalmist connects the mercy of the Lord with the whole of Israel's relationships and history. In verses 2-4 it flows from what God is: the God of gods, the Lord of lords, and the doer of great wonders. That is, what God is in His absolute supremacy and in His almighty power. From verses 5-9 the psalm celebrates God as Creator, and celebrates His mercy. Next it is as Redeemer (vv. 10-15).
Verses 5 to 9 follow the order of the opening chapter of Genesis, and verse 8 expands the fourth day. Notice how the sun's "rule" works for people.
His creative work — given in the second, third, and fourth verses — clearly matches the second, third, and fourth of the six days… The fourth speaks of the lights in the sky. They govern all the activities of man's practical life by the changing seasons they bring about. But the psalmist cannot pass over this so briefly; he must expand it in the two following verses. In the fifth place, the sun rules the day. It is really the physical governor of man's earth, and so of man. Among material things it is the fullest picture of that goodness of God which wakes up all nature in response, to serve him. The moon is only a kind of delegate of the sun. It can reflect his rays only imperfectly, and so limit the darkness.
One writer looks at the regular round of day and night and finds a witness in it.
The psalmist sees in creation the ever-present witness of God's mercy to man. The day and the night, the moon and the sun, the land and water, summer and winter are a perpetual witness. They show that God does not forget His creatures.
The word "rule" in this verse returns elsewhere in Scripture as a settled symbol. One writer points to the ranking built into the sky.
Scripture is plain that the sun, moon, and stars stand for ruling authorities: the sun supreme, the moon derived from it, and the stars lower authorities. This symbolic meaning comes from the real duties given to the heavenly lights. In Genesis we read, "And God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night — and the stars" (chapter 1:16). And in Psalm 136 it says, "To Him who made the great lights … the sun to rule over the day … the moon and stars to rule over the night" (vv. 7-9).
One writer carries the sun's rule forward to a day still to come.
The last mark to name — the chief one in fact, but kept for last — is RULE. We read that the natural sun was created to rule the day. And the Sun of righteousness will rule the day that is coming, when His kingdom is brought in and shown openly.
The psalm says the same thing twenty-six times. One writer explains why.
Why, we may ask, are these comforting words repeated no less than 26 times? There must be a reason, and an urgent one. The answer is that people are so easy-going and complacent. They accept the wonderful mercies of God without being thankful.
The psalm before this one uses the same works to celebrate something different.
Notice that Psalm 136 is "mercy," and in 135 it is "glory." The creation of the heavens and God's dealings with the Amorites have all declared God's name, or glory. And now the psalm celebrates those very same things as making known His mercy. The same ways and works of the Lord make known both His name and His mercy, His glory and His grace, with equal clearness and certainty. They honour Him and bless His people.
- Placement — Verse 8 sits in the creation section (vv. 5-9). It follows the order of the days in Genesis and expands the fourth day's work.
- Gift — The sun rules the day, and its rule serves man. Writers call it the physical governor of the earth and the fullest picture of God's goodness.
- Witness — Day and night, sun and moon keep returning. That steady return stands as proof that God has not forgotten His creatures.
- Reach — The picture carries forward. The natural sun rules the day; the Sun of righteousness will rule the coming day of His kingdom.
- Response — The refrain repeats twenty-six times because people take such mercies without thanks. The same works make known both His glory and His mercy.
The moon and stars for rule over the night, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever
The psalm's creation section closes here, with the fourth day's work: God gave the lesser lights charge of the dark hours. Two questions follow: why does the psalm count this as mercy, and why does the same line close every verse?
The praise of verses 4 to 9 does not wander at random through the created world. It walks through Genesis 1 in sequence.
The verses that follow present the wonders of God, as well as His infinite wisdom in creation according to the order of the second, third, and fourth day's work as presented in Genesis 1.
That placement matters, and it exposes how far God's thinking runs above our own.
Having finished the work of the third day, God then set great lights in their place on the fourth day: the sun to rule by day (v. 8) and the moon to rule by night (v. 9). Of course, if man had held the place of deciding what should be done, works such as God has done would never have entered his mind.
The verse does not say the moon and stars only shine. It says they rule, and Scripture makes a symbol of that.
A star, or stars, as we can see from Revelation 12:1-4, will mean subordinate authority. And we read plainly in Psalm 136, "the moon and stars to rule over the night" (v. 9). Compare this passage with Genesis 1:16, and it is clear: the sun stands for supreme authority, the moon for derived authority, and the stars for subordinate authority.
God did not leave the night bare. The dark hours have their own lamps, and daylight hides them.
The day and the night are both His; and the night uncovers a sky full of stars, which even the glory of the day hides. So it has been for us spiritually, as we know. The very loss of Eden's glory has only opened the way for a display of many-sided glory. And for us all, the night of sorrow has revealed the lights with which God has lit it.
Psalm 135 had already named these same works of God. Psalm 136 covers that ground again and calls it something else.
In contrast with Psalm 135, we notice that this psalm sees mercy where that one had seen glory. The creation of the heavens and their daily courses, and God's dealings with Egypt, with the Amorites, with Bashan, and with the Canaanites — all these had declared God's name or glory, and had drawn out praise (135). But now the very same things are celebrated as publishing His mercy, and they draw out thanksgiving (136). The same ways and works of the Lord publish both His name and His mercy, His glory and His grace. Praise first opens the lips of His saints (135), and then thanksgiving (136).
The rule given to sun and moon is not a one-off act. It is a standing arrangement, and everything living depends on it holding.
There is mention of God's wisdom in creation, in the heavens and the earth; in making the sun to rule the day, and the moon by night. To Noah was given the assurance, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). If this promise were not kept, how devastating it would be!
Twenty-six verses end with the same line about God's steadfast love, which the writers quoted here call His mercy. One of them asks why it repeats, and points to something in us.
Why, we may ask, are these comforting words repeated no less than 26 times? There must be a reason, and an urgent one. The answer is that people are easy-going and complacent. They accept the wonderful mercies of God without being thankful. And further, the history of Israel is mainly in view in this psalm. They were a people under the law, and they forgot that the law only brought condemnation on them. All the good things they enjoyed reached them on the ground of God's mercy.
This refrain was Israel's national chorus, raised at the nation's great moments.
It was heard at Jerusalem in the days of Solomon (2 Chronicles 5), for those days were a picture of the days of glory. And it was heard before, when David brought in the ark to its place (1 Chronicles 16). And it was heard again as the returned captives were laying the foundation of the second temple (Ezra 3). It will be raised in still greater joy when Israel learns "the songs of Zion," in the days of the kingdom.
- Mercy in the making. The psalm counts the fourth day's lights as mercy, not just power. God Himself set the moon and stars over the night.
- Mercy that rules. God gave these lights authority: the sun supreme, the moon derived, the stars subordinate. Scripture keeps that same picture when it uses stars as a symbol.
- Mercy that reaches the dark. God never left the night unlit. The dark shows lamps that daylight hides — in creation, and in sorrow too.
- Mercy read across history. The same works publish God's glory in Psalm 135 and His mercy in Psalm 136. One psalm draws out praise, the other thanksgiving.
- Mercy repeated because we forget. The line returns twenty-six times because people take God's mercies for granted. David, Solomon and the returned exiles all sang it, and Israel will sing it again.