There are songs that have several stanzas, and also have a chorus which is sung after each stanza. If you look at Psalm 136 you will find twenty-six verses, each one ending with the words "For his mercy endureth forever." The psalmist begins this Psalm with these words, "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Each verse in this psalm gives us not only the reason for giving God thanks, but also the reason why we can be sure that His mercy endureth forever. Listed are works of God, performed before and being now performed, that reveal that His mercy endureth forever.
All these reasons which are listed are parts of the truth that He saves us. They all show us that His mercy faileth never. There are physical needs which He supplies, and which are necessary for us to serve God spiritually. We need food to strengthen our physical life, if we are going to serve Him. Without food, one loses his strength to teach his children. Unconsciousness stops our prayers and praise to God. In this vale of tears and sorrows we depend upon God and His mercy for all we are called to do.
Our calling most assuredly is to thank God, which means that we confess that He is good. The new Jerusalem will come pretty soon so that we can and will endlessly thank Him and declare His goodness. If we do not find that in our lives, we have no evidence that we are His children and that we will be brought into that new Jerusalem. A heart that does not beat reveals there is no life. A spiritual heart that does not thank God and call Him good declares that we have not been born again, and that His mercy has not dealt with us yet.
His mercy endureth forever; and, if we are His elect children, that mercy will rest upon us and we will be a thankful people.
Read: Psalm 136 .
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
2 Chronicles 26 ; 2 Chronicles 27 ; 2 Chronicles 28:1-27
Romans 13:1-14
Psalm 23:1-6
Proverbs 20:11
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Quote for Reflection:
“The rest – peace of heart and mind – which Jesus here provides is the very opposite of the aggravated mental stress that sends so many people to doctors, hospitals, and death. Absence of peace, whether in the form of anxiety or of rancor and vindictiveness (the lust to ‘get even’), may lead to ulcers, colitic, high blood pressure, heart attacks, etc. The teachings of Christ, if taken to heart, have a curative effect on the entire person, soul and body. He is a complete savior.” William Hendriksen
