Psalms 136:18-22 Meaning: When Slaying Kings Shows Mercy

Three Hebrew words hold the weight here. The kings are called addirim, mighty, majestic, even noble. The word can describe a great tree or the surging sea. These were not petty chieftains. They were the giants of their day. And God removed them.

The refrain repeats chesed, often translated “lovingkindness” or “covenant loyalty.” It is the kind of love that stays bound to a promise even when keeping that promise means tearing down what stands in the way. Chesed is not soft. It is stubbornly faithful.

Finally, the land is called a nachalah, an inheritance, a permanent possession. Not a lease. Not a temporary loan. God gave his people a place to belong. That gift came through the removal of what had been there before. The same chesed that toppled kings also secured a home.

Christian readers across traditions have read these verses differently. Protestant commentators like Matthew Henry and Charles Spurgeon saw the defeat of these kings as a picture of God’s mercy toward his church, he removes powers that oppose his people. In the Reformed tradition, John Calvin stressed that every gift, even victory in war, is purely from God’s grace, not Israel’s merit.

The Catholic tradition often reads these passages in light of the whole biblical story, where God works through history to prepare a people for the coming of Christ. Some modern readers struggle with the violence, while historic interpreters focused on the refrain: God’s enduring mercy is the thread that runs through judgment and salvation alike.

Some read these verses and think mercy and judgment are opposites, that if God killed these kings, he could not also be loving. In fact, the psalm insists the opposite. God’s covenant love is what drove him to rescue Israel. That rescue required confronting real opposition. Mercy to the oppressed often includes justice against oppressors. The refrain does not soften the act; it frames it as faithful love.

Here is what these verses ask of you this week: When something strong in your life is removed, a job, a relationship, a plan you counted on, do not assume God has stopped loving you. He may be clearing ground. The same mercy that gave Israel a land took down the kings who held it. You may not see how the removal is mercy right now. But the psalm invites you to trust the refrain louder than the loss. God is not finished. He is making room. Look at what remains, not just at what fell.