Psalms 136:20

And Og the king of Bashan. He was of the race of the giants, but he was routed like a pygmy when he entered the lists with Israel's God. The Lord's people were called upon to fight against him, but it was God who won the victory. The fastnesses of Bashan were no defence against Jehovah. Og was soon ousted from his stronghold when the captain of the Lord's host led the war against him. He had to exchange his bedstead of iron for a bed in the dust, for he fell on the battle field. If Sihon could not turn the Lord from his purpose we may be sure that Og could not. He who delivers us out of one trouble will rescue us out of another, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his grace in us.

THESE six verses iterate and reiterate the same fact. They rehearse and repeat the same reflection. Is the tautology tedious? Do the chimes weary you with their monotony? No. And this is a veritable charm in poetry. When the poet touches upon some important theme which illuminates his soul and kindles his nobler passions to a flame, he is very apt to dwell upon it with enthusiasm, inclined to pursue it with eagerness, to follow it up with feeling and echo it over and over again with strong and yet stronger emotion. Nobody feels that repetition is out of place in poetry, because in weal or woe, with pleasure or with pathos, we dwell on the theme which awakens our sympathy. This Psalm, of which the refrain is always the same—"His mercy endures forever," has in it several instances of this repetition. "To Him that made great lights," is followed by, "The sun to rule by day," and by the next, "The moon and stars to rule by night: for His mercy endures forever." The repetition is natural and secures attention. The words are musical as they strike on our ears and the style is not only allowable, but acceptable as a beautiful license of the poetic school. For my part, I like a repetition in the tune of a Psalm as well as in its language. There has sprung up a fashion in music, now, to quibble at repeats. I must confess, I do not feel of the same mind as some who, when the Psalm or hymn is given out, seem to say, "Now, let us go through it as quickly as ever we can, from beginning to end." I prefer to chew some of the words—to have them come over again—to get the flavor of them in my mouth, or rather, in my soul.