“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever…Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.” — Psalm 136:1, 23-24
The chorus of this great hymn—for it is that—is repeated twenty six times, in each of the twenty six verses: “For His mercy endureth forever.” And no wonder; there is not a more important truth that can fall upon the ear of fallen mankind! “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed!” (Lamentations 3:22)
The first three verses of our nugget for today actually contain three distinct names of God in the original. They are distinguished in our version by the words LORD (v.1), God (v.2) and Lord, (v.3). The first suggests His glory, the second His greatness and the third His government. He is Supreme in the universe, Superior to all other “gods” and Sovereign over all. Nothing can withstand His power, no one can elude His authority. And in a world where “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” that should be terrifying. His attributes are many and varied, but it His mercy alone that leaves us any hope.
Two words in the latter verses are the keys to that hope: “remembered,” and “redeemed.”
He remembered us in our low estate. Whatever that may have signified for Israel when this Psalm was reiterated, it translates into New Testament truth for the world at large in Paul’s words, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us [Rom. 5:8].”
He “remembered us in our low estate.” Sin had leveled us to the ground. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” the Word declares; “for the wages of sin is death.” One can suffer no lower estate than that, and it characterizes both great and small among earths multitudes. “There is none righteous, no not one.” And for this calamity there is no cure to be found in mankind itself. The scriptures ask, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” and then declare, “Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil [Jer.13:23].” Good works, sufficient to remedy our lost condition, are simply unattainable by those who are “dead in trespasses and sins.” Indeed, it is “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour [Titus 3:5-6].”
Happily, He who is merciful “remembered our low estate,” and in love “sent His son to to be the propitiation for our sins.” That is to say, to provide redemption for us. The preceding verse says, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we (who were dead in trespasses and sins) might live through Him (See I John 4:9-10).” That is mercy beyond compare!
Again, the idea of redemption for Israel is expressed by the Psalmist as redemption “from all our enemies.” In the larger context of the New Testament it is redemption from the greatest of all our enemies, our adversary, the devil. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works [Titus 2:11-14].”
The rhythmic note of praise that makes this psalm unique might well be our chorus every morning, noon and night, for “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not [Lam. 3:22].” All that separates us from God’s everlasting judgment is His everlasting mercy. If you are saved, make this your theme. If you are not saved, lay hold upon His mercy now, for “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation [II Cor 6:2].” Tomorrow could be a day too late!
“The mercies of God! what a theme for my song,
Oh I never could number them o’er.
They’re more than the stars in the heavenly dome,
Or the sands on the wave-beaten shore.
For mercies so great, what return can I make?
For mercies so constant and sure?
I’ll love Him, I’ll serve Him with all that I have
As long as my life shall endure.”
T.O. Chisholm
For His praise and our prosperity,
"Pastor" Frasier
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