Psalm 136:5 NKJV
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
The Sky Is a Love Letter
MY NOTES
“To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever;” — Psalm 136:5 (NKJV)
When we read the creation story in Genesis, it’s easy to get caught up in the how and the when. But Psalm 136 invites us to look at creation from a completely different angle: the motive. According to the Psalmist, every time God spoke a part of the universe into existence, the chorus in the background was singing about His Hesed—His eternal, steadfast love.
Creation wasn’t just a display of raw power; it was a deliberate act of Divine affection.
Wisdom in the Atmosphere Verse 5 specifically points to the “heavens.” Before God put the stars in place, He fashioned the firmament—the very atmosphere we breathe. Think about the “mass of wisdom” hidden in the air around you. Our atmosphere is a perfectly calibrated shield and life-support system. If the skies were just a fraction different, we wouldn’t be here to talk about it.
Every breath you take is a “precious thing of heaven.” Divine foresight planned the clouds to carry water and the dew to refresh the earth, all with you in mind. We often take the sky for granted, but it’s actually a masterpiece of engineering designed to sustain mortal men. As long as the heavens endure, they serve as a giant, blue-sky reminder that God’s mercy is still “functioning” perfectly.
The Great Descent There’s a beautiful trajectory in this Psalm. It starts in the “loftiest regions”—the high heavens—and gradually works its way down to our “low estate” (verse 23). This is the “ascent of mercy.”
Think about it: Mercy actually becomes more stunning as its objects become less worthy. It’s impressive when God creates a galaxy, but it’s breathtaking when that same God stoops down to care for a broken heart on a tiny planet. Mercy is far-reaching enough to span the universe, but it’s also humble enough to meet you exactly where you are today. Nothing is too high for His reach, and nothing is too “low” for His stoop.
Whether you’re looking up at a thunderstorm or a clear sunset, remember that those heavens were made “by wisdom” to serve as a canopy of mercy over your life.
Key Takeaways
- Love was the Blueprint: Creation isn’t just a scientific event; it is a manifestation of God’s love. He didn’t just build a house; He prepared a home for His children.
- Invisible Mercies: We often forget to thank God for the atmosphere, the rain, and the “benign influences” of the sky. These are daily, tangible proofs of His Hesed.
- The Wisdom of Design: The more science discovers about the complexity of our atmosphere, the more we see the “Divine foresight” that planned for human life.
- A Heavenly Inheritance: The same God who fashioned the physical heavens has prepared a “house eternal in the heavens” for those who trust Him. The mercy that started at creation carries us all the way to eternity.
Cross References (NKJV)
Proverbs 3:19
“The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens;”
Deuteronomy 33:13
“And of Joseph he said: ‘Blessed of the Lord is his land, With the precious things of heaven, with the dew, And the deep lying beneath,’”
2 Corinthians 5:1
“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Jeremiah 10:12
“He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens by His understanding.”
A Closing Prayer
Abba, thank You for the sky above me. Forgive me for walking under the canopy of Your mercy every day without even noticing it. Thank You for the wisdom You used to fashion the atmosphere, the rain, and the clouds just to sustain my life. I am amazed that the God who rules the loftiest regions would stoop down to care for all of my needs, even the basic ones. Help me to live today with my eyes turned upward, remembering that Your mercy is as high and as enduring as the heavens. I thank You for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Some Things to Think About:
- The Invisible Shield: Reflect on the fact that God designed the very air you breathe with “Divine foresight.” How does this specific detail help you trust Him with the “unseen” details of your future?
- Precious Things of Heaven: List three “common” blessings from the sky (sunlight, rain, air, etc.) that you want to start thanking God for daily.
- A Higher Perspective: When you feel overwhelmed by earthly problems, how does looking at the “vastness” and “wisdom” of the heavens shift your perspective on God’s ability to handle your situation?
Proverb for Today
Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. Proverbs 14:22 NKJV
Daily Scripture
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38 NKJV
Bill
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Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 136:5 reveals that creation’s motive is God’s eternal hesed. Divine wisdom fashioned the heavens as a perfectly calibrated life-support system for humanity. Commentators emphasize that this “wise mercy” provides both physical sustenance and a future eternal inheritance. From the loftiest heights to our “low estate,” God’s mercy stoops to meet the unworthy, proving that the Architect of glory is also the Author of a far-reaching, prudent grace.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“To him that by wisdom made the heavens.” His goodness appears in creating the upper regions. He set his wisdom to the task of fashioning a firmament, or an atmosphere suitable for a world upon which mortal men should dwell. What a mass of wisdom lies hidden in this one creating act! The discoveries of our keenest observers have never searched out all the evidences of design which are crowded together in this work of God’s hands. The lives of plants, animals, and men are dependent upon the fashioning of our heavens: had the skies been other than they are we had not been here to praise God. Divine foresight planned the air and the clouds, with a view to the human race.
“For his mercy endureth for ever.” The Psalmist’s details of mercy begin in the loftiest regions, and gradually descend from the heavens to “our low estate” (Psa 136:23); and this is an ascent, for mercy becomes greater as its objects become less worthy. Mercy is far reaching, long enduring, all encompassing. Nothing is too high for its reach, as nothing is beneath its stoop.
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Enduring Word
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens: Here the singer refers back to Genesis 1 and points to God’s creative work as a demonstration of His never-ending mercy to His people. (Guzik)
i. “The psalm looks at the story of Creation from an original point of view, when it rolls out in chorus, after each stage of that work, that its motive lay in the eternal lovingkindness of Jehovah. Creation is an act of Divine love.” (Maclaren)
ii. “As far back as the creation his eye had travelled, and all through the stormy, troubled days he could detect the silver thread of mercy. Oh that we had his eyes to see always the love of God!” (Meyer)
iii. “There are no iron tracks, with bars and bolts, to hold the planets in their orbits. Freely in space they move, ever changing, but never changed; poised and balancing; swaying and swayed; disturbing and disturbed, onward they fly, fulfilling with unerring certainty their mighty cycles. The entire system forms one grand complicated piece of celestial machinery; circle within circle, wheel within wheel, cycle within cycle.” (The Orbs of Heaven, cited by Spurgeon)
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Albert Barnes
To him that by wisdom made the heavens – Made them in so wise a manner; where so much wisdom was manifested. See Proverbs 3:19; Proverbs 8:24-31.
For his mercy … – The making of the heavens was a manifestation of mercy and goodness as furnishing an abode for unfallen and holy beings; as a dwelling-place for redeemed sinners when they shall be removed there from the earth; and as, by their order, their beauty, their harmony, and their happy influences, tending to promote the happiness of man on earth.
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John Gill
for his mercy [endureth] for ever; which appears in the continued influences of the heaven; the dew, rain, and snow, that descend from it on the earth to water and make it fruitful, and to produce those rich and valuable blessings called the “precious things of heaven,” Deuteronomy 33:13; and which are of the utmost importance for the service of man and beast: and, besides, God has of his infinite mercy, which continues, provided an inheritance in the heavens, a house eternal in the heavens, mansions of bliss and glory there, which Christ is now preparing for his saints, that they may dwell with him in them for evermore.
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Matthew Henry
He made the heavens, and stretched them out, and in them we not only see his wisdom and power, but we taste his mercy in their benign influences; as long as the heavens endure the mercy of God endures in them, v. 5.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“To him that by wisdom made the heavens.” Not only the firmament, but the third heavens, too, where all is felicity, where is the throne of glory. Then, I infer, that if the mercy which visits earth is from the same Jehovah who built that heaven and filled it with glory, there must be in his mercy something of the same “understanding” or “wisdom.” It is wise, prudent mercy; not rashly given forth; and it is the mercy of him whose love has filled that heaven with bliss. The same architect, the same skill, the same love!
—Andrew A. Bonar.
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