Psalm 136 is a song/psalm of praise. It is praise to the Lord who performs great wonders. One of the main undergirding themes is the Lord’s enduring loyal love.
Again, like Psalm 8, this is a this is a Psalm of Thanksgiving or a Todah Psalm. The function of a Thanksgiving or Todah Psalm, or Psalm of Declarative Praise (Westermann) is to praise God for something He has done for the Psalmist, to offer thanksgiving in the form of worship. Todah is really a kind of praise offered to God that arises out of personal or communal experience yet in the context of overall commitment to God. The experiential dimension of todah psalms is easily seen in the middle section of the psalm as the worshipper recounts or gives testimony of his experience. In the case of Psalm 8 it is a highly specialized form of Todah/Thanksgiving Psalm sub-catagorized as a Salvation History Psalm that recounts in some way the story of God’s creation of the people of Israel and concluding with praise to God for his deliverance, or calling the people to respond in praise and faithfulness to God’s grace. These tend to be more theologically reflective than other psalms, since they move to exhortation based on Israel’s experience of God in her history (Bratcher).
In addition to Psalm 8 this is also a Salvation History psalm recount in some way the story of God’s creation of the people of Israel. Most often, this includes an abbreviated version of the exodus story, concluding with praise to God for his deliverance, or calling the people to respond in praise and faithfulness to God’s grace. These tend to be more theologically reflective than other psalms, since they move to exhortation based on Israel’s experience of God in her history. However, they can also call for praise that comes very close to hymn. The unique attribute abou this Psalm is how it is sung or used...as an antiphon (see below).
•(v. 1-3) Intro: A call to thank God who is “Lord of Lords” because “His love endures forever (refrain after every statement of thanks).
•(v. 4-9) Creation Hymn: Gives a summary of the Lord’s “wonders” and “His love endures forever (refrain after every wonder)”.
•(v. 10-22) Redemption Hymn: An excursus of the Exodus and God’s redeeming actions in it “His love endures forever (refrain after every statement of God’s redemption.
To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
...And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:
...With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
...To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:
...And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:
...But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
...To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
•(v. 23 & 24) Redemption Hymn (summary): These two verse are also redemption hymn but they are more of a “summary redemption hymn” or a last quick reminder that whenever Israel suffered, Israel’s history of redemption continued, Egypt, the wilderness, etc.
According to my research it is referred to as a “antiphon” or a song that was intended to be sung “antiphonally” by two distinct groups in worship. One portion of the congregation would make one of the statements or phrases and the other part would respond with a refrain. I’m guessing it sounded something similar to A cappella refrain in Bohemian Rhapsody (sorry, couldn’t think of a better example)
Ross, Allen , John Walvoord. "Psalm 136." Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 1985. 889. Print.
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