My Notes
What Does Psalms 136:17 Mean?
"To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever." Psalm 136's LITANY — every line ending with 'for his mercy endureth for ever' — arrives at this startling combination: God SMOTE great kings AND His mercy endures forever. The SMITING and the MERCY share the same verse. The violence against kings and the eternal chesed are declared in the SAME BREATH. The destruction is an expression of the mercy, not a contradiction of it.
The phrase "to him which smote great kings" (lemakkeh melakhim gedolim — to the One who struck/smote great kings) describes God as a KING-STRIKER: the great kings — the powerful, the established, the seemingly invincible rulers — are STRUCK by God. The smiting isn't against the weak or the small. It's against the GREAT. The targets are at the TOP of the human power-structure. God strikes the HIGHEST human authority.
The phrase "for his mercy endureth for ever" (ki le'olam chasdo — for forever is His chesed/loyal-love) makes the MERCY the FRAME for the smiting: the smiting HAPPENED BECAUSE of the mercy. The great kings were struck as an act of CHESED — loyal love toward Israel. The violence against the oppressor is the mercy toward the oppressed. The sword and the chesed serve the same purpose.
The COMBINATION — smiting AND mercy — is the psalm's THEOLOGICAL REVOLUTION: mercy isn't always soft. Sometimes mercy STRIKES. Sometimes loyal love SMITES. The chesed that endures forever includes the destruction of those who stand between God and the people God loves. The mercy that seems gentle IS gentle — toward the RECIPIENT. Toward the OBSTACLE, it's devastating.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What powerful obstacle has God's mercy struck on your behalf?
- 2.What does SMITING being an expression of MERCY teach about loyal love that fights for the beloved?
- 3.How does 'endureth forever' applied to king-striking describe ongoing protective love?
- 4.What enemy of yours needs to hear that the same God who struck great kings is the same God whose mercy endures forever?
Devotional
God SMOTE great kings — for His mercy endureth FOREVER. The smiting IS the mercy. The violence against oppressor-kings IS the loyal love toward the oppressed. The sword and the chesed serve the SAME PURPOSE. The destruction of the obstacle is the expression of the love.
The 'GREAT kings' are the highest targets: God doesn't strike the minor rulers. He strikes the GREAT — the powerful, the established, the seemingly invincible. Sihon king of the Amorites (verse 19). Og king of Bashan (verse 20). The names that represented impossibility are the names God STRUCK. The greatness of the king measures the greatness of the God who struck.
The refrain — 'for His mercy endureth FOREVER' — makes the smiting PART OF the mercy: the reader expects mercy to mean gentleness. The psalm insists mercy sometimes means VIOLENCE — against the enemies of God's people. The loyal love that comforts the oppressed destroys the oppressor. The same chesed that tenderly cares for the beloved fiercely attacks the threat to the beloved. The mercy is PROTECTIVE love, and protective love sometimes STRIKES.
The 'ENDURETH FOREVER' applied to smiting-mercy means: God will ALWAYS protect His people by striking their enemies. The mercy isn't a one-time intervention. The chesed that struck great kings is the SAME chesed available now. The protective love endures. The smiting-mercy is forever. The God who struck Sihon and Og still strikes the great kings who stand between Him and His people.
What 'great king' — what powerful obstacle — has God's mercy STRUCK on your behalf?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
To him which smote great kings,.... Either the thirty one kings in the land of Canaan; or those who are after…
To him which smote great kings - On this passage see the notes at Psa 135:10-12. There is little difference in the two…
The great things God for Israel, when he first formed them into a people, and set up his kingdom among them, are here…
Jehovah the Giver of the promised land. Cp. Psa 135:10 ff.