strong (usu. in a bad sense · adjective, feminine singular absolute
hand
בְּיָ֣דbe.Yad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular absolute
out
נְטוּיָ֑הne.tu.Yah
H5186
to stretch or spread out · verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
arm
וּבִזְר֣וֹעַu.viz.Ro.a'
H2220
the arm (as stretched out) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
mercy
חַסְדּֽוֹchas.Do
H2617
kindness · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
ever
לְעוֹלָ֣םle.'o.Lam
H5769
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 32:21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched…
Deuteronomy 4:34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and…
Exodus 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid y…
Psalms 44:3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the…
Exodus 13:14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD b…
Exodus 15:6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Deuteronomy 11:2-4 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God…
Isaiah 51:9-10 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Ra…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 136:10-22
The great things God for Israel, when he first formed them into a people, and set up his kingdom among them, are here mentioned, as often elsewhere in the psalms, as instances both of the power of God and of the particular kindness he had for Israel. See Psa 135:8, etc. 1. He brought them out of Egypt, Psa 136:10-12. That was a mercy which endured long to them, and our redemption by Christ, which was typified by that, does indeed endure for ever, for it is an eternal redemption. Of all the plagues of Egypt, none is mentioned but the death of the first-born, because that was the conquering plague; by that God, who in all the plagues distinguished the Israelites from the Egyptians, brought the…
With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm,.... Exerting his power in a very open manner, and continuing it till he had effected the work; bringing his people out of Egypt, which is always ascribed to his great strength and mighty power, Exodus 13:3. The redemption of the mystical Israel of God is by a mighty Redeemer, the Lord of hosts; who has redeemed them out of the hands of their enemies, that were stronger than they, and too strong for them: the conversion of them is by the power of the grace of God, even by the exceeding greatness of his power, and yet both acts of grace and mercy;
for his mercy endureth for ever; it was mercy put the Lord on stretching out his arm, and showing…
Psalm 136:10-16
10. Who smote the Egyptians in their first-born, for his mercy endureth for ever. 11. And brought out Israel from, the midst of them, for his mercy endureth for ever: 12. With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, for his mercy endureth for ever. 13. Who divided the Red Sea into divisions, for his mercy endureth for ever, 14. And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for his mercy endureth for ever. 15. And cast Pharaoh and his host headlong into the Red Sea, for his mercy endureth for ever. 16. And led his people through the wilderness, for his mercy endureth for ever.
10. Who smote the Egyptians in, their first-born Some read with their first-born, but the o…
The Church Fathers
"With a mighty Hand and stretched-out Arm" [Psalm 136:12]. What more powerful, what more out-stretched, than that of which is said "To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed?" [Isaiah 53:1]
Although heavenly Scripture frequently changes the divine countenance to human form when it says "the eyes of the Lord are on the just"; or "the Lord God smelled the scent of a good fragrance" or "tables written with the finger of God" are given to Moses; or the children of Israel are delivered from the land of Egypt "with a mighty hand and uplifted arm." Again Scripture asserts, "The mouth of the Lord has spoken these things"; or when the earth is considered "the footstool of God"; or when it says, "Incline your ear, and hear." We who say "that the law is spiritual" do not confine the measure or form of the divine Majesty within these outlines of our own bodily frame. On the contrary, we extend it infinitely over the field, if I may use the expression, of its own illimitable greatness. For it is written, "If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into hell, you are present; and if I take my wings and depart across the sea, there shall your hand take hold of me and your right hand hold me fast." We know the meaning of holy Scripture from the unfolding of the divine dispensation. The prophet, at that time, was still speaking about God in parables according to the faith of the times, not as God really was but as the people were able to comprehend him. The use of such language to describe God must be attributed to the people, not to God. Thus the people were permitted to erect the tabernacle, although God cannot be contained within a tabernacle. The temple was constructed, although God cannot possibly be enclosed within the narrow limits of a temple. God is not finite, but the people's faculty of perceiving is finite. God is not restricted, but rather the understanding of people's minds is limited. Accordingly, our Lord said in the Gospel, "The hour shall come when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father," and he gave the reason: "God is spirit, and therefore they who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." Thus it is the divine powers that are represented there by means of bodily members, and neither any external appearance nor bodily features of God are set before us.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Exodus — The great deliverance wrought for the children of Isreal when they were brought out of the land of Egypt with “a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm” (Ex 12:51; Deut. 26:8; Ps 114; 136), about…
Psalms — The psalms are the production of various authors. “Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another…
Arm · FIGURATIVE USE OF — FIGURATIVE USE OF
Mercy Of God, The · Described as: Everlasting — Described as: Everlasting
Power Of God, The · Described as: Strong — Described as: Strong
Praise · Is due to God on account of: His mercy — Is due to God on account of: His mercy
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Up to this point it is God the absolute in general, the Creator of all things, to the celebration of whose praise they are summoned; and from this point onwards the God of the history of salvation. In Psa 136:13 גּזר (instead of בּקע, Psa 78:13; Exo 14:21; Neh 9:11) of the dividing of the Red Sea is peculiar; גּזרים (Gen 15:17, side by side with בּתרים) are the pieces or parts of a thing that is cut up into pieces. נער is a favourite word taken from Exo 14:27. With reference to the name of the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh (Herodotus also, ii. 111, calls the Pharaoh of the Exodus the son of Sesostris-Rameses Miumun, not Μενόφθας, as he is properly called, but absolutely Φερῶν), vid., on Psa 73:22…
The psalmist recounts the early history of Israel’s redemption.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 136:12
With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm. Not only the matter but the manner of the Lord's mighty acts should be the cause of our praise. We ought to bless the Lord for adverbs as well as adjectives. In the Exodus the great power and glory of Jehovah were seen. He dashed in pieces the enemy with his right hand. He led forth his people in no mean or clandestine manner. "He brought them forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person in all their tribes." Egypt was glad when they departed. God worked with great display of force, and with exceeding majesty; he stretched out his arm l…
