PSALM 136<\/b><\/p>\n
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever<\/i><\/p>\n
(Ps. 136:1)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Psalm 136 contains a continuous refrain that follows a declaration of God\u2019s glorious work. The insertion of the clause \u201cFor His mercy endures forever\u201d serves as a reminder that all God is and has done is good and merciful. \u201cMen may not deny the divine goodness to be the source and fountain of all their blessings, but the graciousness of His bounty is far from being fully and sincerely recognized, though the greatest stress is laid upon it in Scripture,\u201d Calvin wrote. \u201cPaul in speaking of it (Rom. 3:23), calls it emphatically by the general term of the glory of God, intimating, that while God should be praised for all His works, it is His mercy principally that we should glorify.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why does the psalmist direct us to give thanks to the Lord? \u201cFor His mercy endures forever.\u201d The writer continues to weave throughout the psalm a number of pronouncements concerning God, showing how each flows from God\u2019s mercy. In doing this, the psalmist reveals how God abounds in mercy. He has shown mercy, or love<\/i> as the niv calls it, by performing great wonders. He separated the land from the waters, revealing His divine care and love toward His creation in establishing suitable habitats for man, birds, fish, plants, and animals. He set the stars in place and positioned the sun that we may have the light we need and the warmth necessary to live. Like a mother who cares for every need of her children, God fashioned a world, a universe, out of love for His creation.<\/p>\n
The psalmist continues his praise by extolling God\u2019s mercy to His chosen people in particular. While it may seem inappropriate to sing God\u2019s praises for killing the firstborn of Egypt, in doing this God showed great mercy to Israel. This final blow ushered in their deliverance. God revealed His mercy by sparing Israel. Because of His great love for them, He led His people out of Egypt, divided the Red Sea, overthrew Pharaoh, struck down foreign kings, and led them into the promised land.<\/p>\n
God has done many great and wonderful things for His people. He \u201cremembered us in our lowly state,\u201d and \u201crescued us from our enemies.\u201d \u201cOh give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Ezekiel 43\u201344<\/p>\n
2 Peter 2<\/p>\n
Though the biblical acts of mercy certainly apply to you, it is difficult to relate directly to the division of the sea, the defeat of kings, and the conquest of the land. Think today of what mercies God has extended to you in your life. Make a list of those divine mercies and carry it with you this week.<\/p>\n
For further study: Pss. 103:17; 108:4 \u2022 Lam. 3:22\u201332 \u2022 Joel 2:13 \u2022 Titus 3:1\u20138<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PSALM 136 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever (Ps. 136:1). Psalm 136 contains a continuous refrain that follows a declaration of God\u2019s glorious work. The insertion of the clause \u201cFor His mercy endures forever\u201d serves as a reminder that all God is and has done is … Continue reading “HIS ETERNAL MERCY”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12383\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}