Inspiration from the Psalms III

Psalm 136

Many receive blessings from reading the Psalms. I have been going through them as my Old Testament reading on my journey through the Bible once again. It has taken me several months, as sometimes I reread a Psalm for several days; or I will take a verse and ponder it and look up Scripture that links to it. I am truly inspired by the Psalms.

I felt especially thrilled when I read Psalm 136 a few days ago. Oh yes, I read it before, probably several times, but suddenly I saw it. There are 26 verses in the Psalm, and all 26 of them end with the phrase "for His mercy and loving-kindness endures forever."

I am not gifted with the ability to put my thoughts into verse as my Mother was, and which I have shared, but I do enjoy delving into words and meanings. So first we are going to look at "Mercy".

Mercy is an Attribute of God, which means it is one of His characteristics, and a fact about God. Because He is God, Mercy to God is not a temporary mood to be turned on when God has a good day. As an Attribute, Mercy has always been, from eternity past and throughout eternity future. It will never be more or less because it is infinite. So God’s ‘mercies’ will be always the same. When we think God’s not as merciful to us, it only means that man’s unbelief is keeping man from experiencing God’s mercy. God’s mercy does not change. In God’s mercy He provided a way of salvation, but we have a responsibility to believe, accept His mercy that is available to us through Jesus Christ. God’s mercies are forever.

God tells us over and over that He is merciful in both the Old and New Testaments, but the Old Testament has 4 times as much to say about it, and a lot of this is through the Psalms.

Next we have His "Loving-Kindness". Another one of God’s Attributes, or true a fact of God’s character, is Goodness or Kindness. It is this divine goodness that disposes Him to be kind, tenderhearted and take pleasure in His people. A.W. Tozer states that "the goodness of God is the drive behind all the blessings He daily bestows upon us".

A saint who lived 600 years ago, wrote on "The Revelations of Divine Love", in which she lists some of the blessings God has given in our behalf. After each blessing listed, she adds "of His goodness", very much as the Psalmist does in Psalm 136 by adding "His loving-kindness" after each blessing and verse.

As an Attribute of God, Divine goodness is self-caused, infinite, perfect and eternal. And because God is unchanging, He never varies in the intensity of His loving-kindness.

Prayer:
O Lord, How can we thank you enough for your mercy and loving kindness, which reaches down to, our deepest needs? It gives us beauty for ashes, and joy for mourning, and it changes our heaviness into a garment of praise! We bless and magnify thy mercy and loving-kindness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen