O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 107:1
Two questions; first, how many people in the world will die today? According to the World Population Clock, there will be some 175,000 people on planet Earth who will make their departure for eternity today. That’s more than two deaths every second. Here in Canada, more than 900 will die today. Second question, how many of today’s fatalities are Christians. Some sources tell us that about seven percent of the world’s population claim to be born again. I think that’s far too generous; the number is unlikely to be above two percent. That means 98 percent of today’s deaths usher more than 170,000 more people through the gates of hell. Sobering thought, 170,000 precious souls forever outside the mercy of God. But for us, God’s mercy, our text declares, endureth forever.
We dare take no credit for our everlasting life. We are just as deserving of eternal damnation as those 170,000 who today will plunge into perdition. Our text makes it plain that it is God Who is good, not us. And it is His mercy that has saved us. Mercy refers to the withholding of punishment to those who deserve it. How kind of God to remind us that His mercy endureth forever. It is the complement to the Lord Jesus assuring Nicodemus that faith in Him produces eternal life, everlasting life. The everlasting life is the product of grace, receiving what we could never deserve.
The writer of this Psalm begins with a reminder to give thanks unto the Lord. Shortly after I was saved as a lad of 12, the man who the Lord used to lead me to Himself gave me a piece of excellent advice. He said ever time I think off, as many times in the day as it occurs to me, I should send a quick little prayer up to Heaven saying ‘Thank You Lord, for saving my soul’. Chorus 122 in our Children’s hymn book is a great reminder of this: ‘Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank You, Lord, for making me whole. Thank You, Lord, for giving to me, Thy great salvation so rich and free.’
Sing this chorus every day, like I try to do, and God’s eternally enduring mercy will become ever more precious to you. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/eYBW7fKsa4o