Psalms

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Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loyal love endures.⁠ 2 Give thanks to the God of gods,⁠ for his loyal love endures. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loyal love endures. 4 To the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself, for his loyal love endures. 5 To the one who used wisdom to make the heavens, for his loyal love endures.⁠ 6 To the one who spread out the earth over the water,⁠ for his loyal love endures. 7 To the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures,⁠ 8 the sun to rule by day, for his loyal love endures, 9 the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loyal love endures. 10 To the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his loyal love endures, 11 and led Israel out from their midst, for his loyal love endures, 12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his loyal love endures. 13 To the one who divided the Red Sea in two, for his loyal love endures, 14 and led Israel through its midst, for his loyal love endures, 15 and tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for his loyal love endures. 16 To the one who led his people through the wilderness, for his loyal love endures. 17 To the one who struck down great kings, for his loyal love endures, 18 and killed powerful kings, for his loyal love endures, 19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his loyal love endures, 20 Og, king of Bashan, for his loyal love endures, 21 and gave their land as an inheritance, for his loyal love endures, 22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant, for his loyal love endures. 23 To the one who remembered us when we were down, for his loyal love endures, 24 and snatched us away from our enemies, for his loyal love endures. 25 To the one who gives food to all living things, for his loyal love endures. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loyal love endures!

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 136:6 and Shepherd of Hermas 3:4

Hebrew Bible · Early Christian

Summary

In Psalm 136, the psalmist praises God for spreading the earth over the water. In the Shepherd of Hermas, an elderly woman reads a prayer in similar language that also praises God for his “holy Church”, which Hermas later sees as a tower built on water.

Passages

Psalm 136:6

Hebrew Bible

5 To the one who used wisdom to make the heavens, for his loyal love endures. 6 To the one who spread out the earth over the water, for his loyal love endures. 7 To the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures, 8 the sun to rule by day, for his loyal love endures, 9 the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loyal love endures.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Shepherd of Hermas 3:4

Early Christian

3 When she had finished these words, she said to me, “Will you listen to me as I read?” I said, “Yes, lady.” She said to me, “Pay attention, and hear the glories of God.” I listened attentively and in amazement to things I was unable to remember, for all the words were terrifying, more than anyone can bear. But I remembered the final words, for they were helpful to us and gentle. 4 “See, the God of Hosts, who by His invisible and mighty power and by His great wisdom created the world, and by His glorious plan clothed His creation with beauty, and by His strong word fixed the heaven, and founded the earth upon the waters, and by His own wisdom and providence formed His holy Church, which He also blessed—see, He is removing the heavens and the mountains and the hills and the seas, and all things are made level for His chosen, so that He may fulfill to them the promise that He promised with great glory and rejoicing, if they keep the ordinances of God that they received with great faith.”

90–140 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Shepherd of Hermas

References

“... The brief quotation remembered by Hermas (v. 4) is a harmonious medley of allusions and reflections in biblical style, perhaps from a liturgical context. It moves from the Wisdom theme of God's designs in creation, to the level of the church, to the soteriological level with the promise to those who are faithful to God's decrees. [...] The foundation of the earth upon the primeval waters (Pss 24:1-2; 136:6, etc.) will later form part of the background for the church founded upon the water of baptism. ...”

Carolyn Osiek, The Shepherd of Hermas: A Commentary, Herm (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999), 50.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Psalm 136:6 and Shepherd of Hermas 3:4

Summary

Passages

Psalm 136:6

Shepherd of Hermas 3:4

References

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