Psalm 136:4

Psalm 136:4, in plain English

God alone does extraordinary things that reveal His power and character—no one else can accomplish what He does.

Why it's here

The psalmist is now transitioning from God's superiority to His actual works. This sets up everything that follows: you're about to hear specific examples of these wonders.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, introducing the catalog of God's mighty acts

Where it sits in the story

From creation to the exodus to the wilderness wandering—this entire psalm will illustrate what 'great wonders' means in Israel's lived experience.

The scholarly reading

The transition from doxological address to narrative about God's deeds begins here: God 'alone' (the Hebrew lebaddo, emphasizing solitary agency) performs great wonders—miraculous acts that exceed natural causation and demonstrate divine power.

Language and setting

This verse serves as the hinge between the psalm's opening doxology and the historical recitation that follows. It announces that the community's gratitude is not abstract but grounded in concrete, observable acts of deliverance and cosmic ordering that only the divine could accomplish.

Voice

The collective voice now shifts into descriptive mode, explaining the grounds for the gratitude enjoined in verses 1-3.

Significance

The concept of 'wonders' (pele'ot in Hebrew) threads throughout Scripture—from the plague narratives in Exodus through the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels—consistently marking moments where God's agency becomes undeniably visible. This establishes that gratitude is the proper response to experiencing or witnessing divine intervention.

2Give thanks to the God of gods.

3Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

4He alone does great wonders.

5By His insight He made the heavens.

6He spread out the earth upon the waters.

Read all of Psalm 136 — Twenty-six verses. Twenty-six times the refrain: His steadfast love endures forever. Repetition becomes revelation.