The Meaning of Psalms 136:8 Explained

Psalms 136:8

KJV: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

YLT: The sun to rule by day, For to the age is His kindness.

Darby: The sun for rule over the day, for his loving-kindness endureth for ever,

ASV: The sun to rule by day; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Psalms 136:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 136:1-12 - A Review Of God's Mercies
An antiphonal psalm, intended to be sung by two choirs or by a soloist and the Temple choir. This avowal of the eternity of God's mercy, amid all the fluctuation and change of human affairs, is very striking. When we can look out on the history of our world from God's standpoint, we discover that the black-edged pages have been interleaved with golden pages of mercy. When we review our own lives from the vantage ground of heaven, we shall see that the mercy of God was the blue sky of background across which the dark clouds floated for but a limited space.
The divisions are as follows: Creation, Psalms 136:1-9; Redemption, Psalms 136:10-22; Providence, Psalms 136:23-26. In the first division the psalmist views the framework of the world and the redemption of Israel from Egypt as equal monuments of the divine loving-kindness. It was love that made the theater on which the great revelation of redemption was manifested. The crimson lips of a tulip's petals are His work as well as the crimson blood that flowed at Calvary. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 136

1  An exhortation to give thanks to God for particular mercies

What do the individual words in Psalms 136:8 mean?

- The sun to rule by day for ever His mercy [endures]
אֶת־ הַ֭שֶּׁמֶשׁ לְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת בַּיּ֑וֹם כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ

אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַ֭שֶּׁמֶשׁ  The  sun 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
לְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת  to  rule 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מֶמְשָׁלָה  
Sense: rule, dominion, realm.
בַּיּ֑וֹם  by  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
לְעוֹלָ֣ם  ever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
חַסְדּֽוֹ  His  mercy  [endures] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.

What are the major concepts related to Psalms 136:8?

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