Psalms 136:8

Psa 136:8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy [endureth] for ever:

Ver. 8. The sun to rule by day] Heb. for the rulings by day, sc. by his light, heat, motion, and influences, whereby he worketh upon these inferior bodies, being a servant to all, as his name importeth, notwithstanding his ruledom; and therefore in no wise to have been worshipped.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. (Psa 136:8) The sun to rule by day--for unto eternity (is) his mercy. The musical design of the composition is especially observable where the burden or chorus is interposed between inseparable parts of the same sentence, as in this one, the substance of which is borrowed from Gen 1:16, but with some change both in the words and the construction.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. O give thanks unto him that maketh a horn to sprout for the house of David (Psa_132:17), for &c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sun to rule by day,.... Which is the greater light, Gen 1:16;

for his mercy endureth for ever: this great light, so beneficial to the earth and the inhabitants of it, which was made near six thousand years ago, still continues, and will to the end of time; enlightening the world, warming the air and earth, imparting its light and heat to all creatures on it, and influencing the earth to bring forth a variety of things for the use and delight of mankind, called "the precious things brought forth by the sun", Deu 33:14; an emblem of a more beneficial light, in which the rich grace and mercy of God appear, and for which we have reason to give thanks; even the sun of righteousness, the Messiah, the light of the world, the author of the light of nature, grace, and glory; and who will continue as long as the sun, and when that shall be no more, Mal 4:2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The sun to rule by day - Gen 1:16. Margin, as in Hebrew, for the ruling of the day. That is, to control, as it were, the day; to determine its length - its beginning - its ending - to make it what it is.

For his mercy ... - By all the blessings of day as distinguished from night and darkness - by all that the sun in his daily course does to diffuse life, joy, peace, comfort, happiness on the earth - by all that are warmed by its beams, cheered by its light, guided in labor, guarded from dangers - do we derive an argument for the mercy of God; by all this there is laid a foundation for his praise.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The sun to rule by day; of which phrase and the like in the next verse, See Poole "Gen 1:16".

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 8. The sun to rule by day. We cannot be too specific in our praises; after mentioning great lights, we may sing of each of them, and yet not outwear our theme. The influences of the sun are too many for us to enumerate them all, but untold benefits come to all orders of beings by its light, warmth, and other operations. Whenever we sit in the sunshine, our gratitude should be kindled. The sun is a great ruler, and his government is pure beneficence, because by God's mercy it is moderated to our feebleness; let all who rule take lessons from the sun which rules to bless. By day we may well give thanks, for God gives cheer. The sun rules because God rules; it is not the sun which we should worship, like the Parsees; but the Creator of the sun, as he did who wrote this sacred song.

For his mercy endureth for ever. Day unto day uttereth speech concerning the mercy of the Lord; every sunbeam is a mercy, for it falls on undeserving sinners who else would sit in doleful darkness, and find earth a hell. Milton puts it well:

"He, the golden tressed sun

Caused all day his course to run;

For his mercy shall endure

Ever faithful, ever sure."

Ver. 8. The sun to rule by day. This verse showeth that the sun shineth in the day, by the order which God hath set, and not for any natural cause alone, as some imagine and conjecture. Thomas Wilcocks.

Ver. 8. The sun. The lantern of the world (lucerna Mundi), as Copernicus names the sun, enthroned in the centreaccording to Theon of Smyrna, the all vivifying, pulsating heart of the universe, is the primary source of light and of radiating heat, and the generator of numerous terrestrial, electromagnetic processes, and indeed of the greater part of the organic vital activity upon our planet, more especially that of the vegetable kingdom. In considering the expression of solar force, in its widest generality, we find that it gives rise to alterations on the surface of the earth, partly by gravitative attraction, as in the ebb and flow of the ocean (if we except the share taken in the phenomenon by lunar attraction), partly by light and heat generating transverse vibrations of ether, as in the fructifying admixture of the aerial and aqueous envelopes of our planet, from the contact of the atmosphere with the vaporizing fluid element in seas, lakes, and rivers. The solar action operates, moreover, by differences of heat, in exciting atmospheric and oceanic currents; the latter of which have continued for thousands of years (though in an inconsiderable degree) to accumulate or waste away alluvial strata, and thus change the surface of the inundated land; it operates in the generation and maintenance of the electromagnetic activity of the earth's crust, and that of the oxygen contained in the atmosphere; at one time calling forth calm and gentle forces of chemical attraction, and variously determining organic life in the endosmose of cell walls and in tissue of muscular and nervous fibres; at another time evoking light processes in the atmosphere, such as the coloured coruscations of the polar light, thunder and lightning, hurricanes and waterspouts.

Our object in endeavouring to compress in one picture the influences of solar action, in as far as they are independent of the orbit and the position of the axis of our globe, has been clearly to demonstrate, by an exposition of the connection existing between great, and at first sight heterogeneous, phenomena, how physical nature may be depicted in the History of the Cosmos as a whole, moved and animated by internal and frequently self adjusting forces. But the waves of light not only exert a decomposing and combining action on the corporeal world; they not only call forth the tender germs of plants from the earth, generate the green colouring matter (chlorophyll) within the leaf, and give colour to the fragrant blossom they not only produce myriads of reflected images of the Sun in the graceful play of the waves, as in the moving grass of the fieldbut the rays of celestial light, in the varied gradations of their intensity and duration, are also mysteriously connected with the inner life of man, his intellectual susceptibilities, and the melancholy or cheerful tone of his feelings. This is what Pliny the elder referred to in these words, "Caeli tristram discutit sol, et humani nubila animi serenat." ("The sun chases sadness from the sky, and dissipates the clouds which darken the human heart.") F.H. Alexandar Von Humboldt (1769-1859), "Cosmos."

Ver. 8. The sun.

O sun! what makes thy beams so bright?

The word that said, "Let there be light." James Montgomery.

Ver. 8-9.

1. The glory of the day of joy.

2. The comforts of the night of sorrow.

3. The hand of God in each.

Psalms 136:9*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The sun to rule by day. (comp. Gen_1:16) For his mercy, etc.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

to rule by day ... to rule by night

The sun, moon, and stars are spoken of as if they were kings. AT: "to mark the time of day ... to mark the time of night" (See: Metaphor and Personification)

for his covenant faithfulness endures forever

The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with an adjective. See how you translated this in Psalms 136:1. AT: "because he remains faithful to his covenant forever" (See: Abstract Nouns)

translationWords

covenant faithfulness

eternity

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.