It Cannot Be Repeated Enough

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Ps 136:1 AV)

Some might find the repetition of the phrase, “for his mercy endureth for ever” a bit tedious.  Why repeat this phrase in each verse?  After the first few, don’t you think we would get the idea that His mercy is everlasting?  It occurred to me this morning, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that the mercy of God is a beautiful thing and is manifested in all that we see.  Every grace brought to us is because of the mercy of God.  Even creation is an act of mercy.  “How”, one might ask?  Because God created all things for the benefit of mankind.  Isaiah 45:12,18 tells us God created our planet for the express purpose of providing a place for mankind to dwell.  The host of heaven is a support system for life in our little sphere.  All the animals, plants, etc were created for our benefit.  Everything the LORD as made He has done so because He loves mankind and desires to exercise His mercy towards us.  As Solomon writes this Psalm in response to the people’s response to the dedication of the temple, he is expressing how each and every act for the nation of Israel was founded upon God’s mercy.  In reflecting upon this truth the Spirit spoke clearly as He revealed, in order to see God’s mercy in all that happens, one must first be a naturally grateful person.

No doubt there are troubles and trials along life’s way.  Take our current situation.  With a virus that has scared us half to death and the resultant changes of life, what have we learned?  We learned that church is something we missed and when given the chance, we will flock to our houses of worship as quickly as we can.  We learned that social media is no replacement for real in-person connections.  We learned we don’t need as much outward entertainment as we thought we did.  We learned a lot about ourselves.  What about the social unrest we see?  How is that the mercy of God?  God has allowed mankind to rule without His help.  Now, we see the end of all that we have become.  We can place the blame on secondary issues.  We can legislate more laws that may or may not stop that which has caused our unrest.  But the fact is, we are in this state of chaos expressly because we have turned our backs on God.  His mercy is revealed in the fact He allows us to learn lessons we would otherwise not learn.  His mercy is revealed in the fact there are still those who are preaching revival, giving hope to a nation falling apart at the seams.

God’s mercy is in every breath we take.  His mercy is all around us.  His mercy is the reason we can look towards the sky and yearn for an eternity in His presence.  His mercy is why we get up every morning regardless of the circumstances we might face that day and are grateful we woke up at all.  His mercy is why we read our bibles, pray, and seek to please Him in all that we do.  His mercy is why we are quick to seek forgiveness when we fail Him.  His mercy is why I sit as one approaching my later days with a grateful and joy-filled heart reminiscing of all the good times and not so good times.  Through ups and downs, God has always been faithful.  He has eternal patience that I cannot understand.  Why He tolerates me I will never understand.  I, of all people, am most blessed.  His mercy does endure forever.  When our time together draws to a close, no matter who goes off to glory first, the LORD will be there.  He will be with my wife or me as we have to say goodbye to the dearest on earth to us.  But His mercy will endure forever.  No matter what we face, together or apart, the LORD’s mercy endures forever.