O Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:1
The teacher lined us up in front in the little one-room schoolhouse, so we could answer the arithmetic questions she would put to us. It was a quiz, and most of the questions were on the multiplication tables. If we couldn’t answer a question when it was our turn, we had to sit down. Finally, there were only two of us left. I was hoping none of the questions were on the nine times table, because I had not studied that one very well. Diane, on the other hand, had been going over and over the nine times table all morning, out loud, to prepare herself for the quiz. She annoyed the rest of us with her constant chatter. The next question from the teacher, directed at me, was nine times seven. Oops! I didn’t know, and I sheepishly made my way to my seat. Diane knew the answer and rattled it off automatically, winning the contest. It was the repetition that did it for her. Just like the repetition in Psalm 136. God wants us to learn something.
All 25 verses of this Psalm contain the words ‘for His mercy endureth for ever’. God desires that we would get this little expression firmly and deeply within our minds and our souls, because it is important to know.
Look at all the people around you today. Visit a busy place and see the crowds going about their business or pleasure, and ask yourself how many of those people are saved. You know that only a few are Christians, only a handful among the many thousands that you might meet on a busy day. And yet, that little handful includes you. You are a recipient of the mercy of God. As all those other people make their way through time to a hopeless and godless eternity, you can rest in God’s assurance that His mercy has delivered you from the wrath you deserve. You are no better than any of the others, and yet your undeserving soul is preserved forever. God is good. His mercy enfolds you.
Think too of the shortness of time. How rapidly the years have flown past, and how quickly the end of life seems to approach. And life can be hard, with sorrows, disappointments, and failures. But God’s salvation is not fleet and fading. God’s salvation grows richer and stronger as the years go by, as the promise of eternal life grows more precious, as God’s mercy becomes more wonderful to us.
Let us never lose sight of the greatness of God’s mercy. Repeat after me: His mercy endureth for ever.. His mercy endureth for ever.. His mercy endureth for ever.. -Jim MacIntosh