Psalms 136:1

The Bible says in Psalm 136:1-3, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.[2] O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.[3] O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.” This is a very important Psalm because it has twenty-six verses and every verse ends with the phrase, “for his mercy endureth for ever.” That definitely is a truth that no one should ever forget. It is the primary reason to be thankful to God. Without His mercy we would all be destroyed. Because God is merciful, we will not receive the punishment that we deserve. That is important because we are great sinners, God is holy, and He is Judge. His mercy is so good. Receive the mercy through Christ. Enjoy the mercy. Believe in the mercy. Of course, it says twenty-six times that His mercy endures “forever.” God never runs out of mercy. God never gets tired of being merciful. His mercy is one of the things that makes Him greater than other gods, if there were other gods. Do not ever doubt God’s mercy: just praise Him for it.

The Bible says in Psalm 136:4-9, “To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.[5] To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.[6] To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.[7] To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:[8] The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:[9] The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.” In these verses the mercy of God is tied to His creation. Perhaps that is because when God made the heavens and the earth, and the sun, the moon, and the stars, God made them with a great plan to manifest His mercy. God must have known that He would need to be merciful to sinful man, or man would have to be destroyed.

The Bible says in Psalm 136:10-22, “To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:[11] And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:[12] With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.[13] To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:[14] And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:[15] But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.[16] To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.[17] To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:[18] And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:[19] Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:[20] And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever. [21] And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:[22] Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Of course, these verses are reviewing some of the things that God did for the children of Israel to bring them out of Egypt and to get them to the Promised Land. He did a lot for them. Step by step and day by day the mercy of the Lord was with them. They did not deserve all those good things that God did for them each day. Followers of Christ are in a very similar situation. We are totally dependent upon the mercy of the Lord every single day. That is good because He is always merciful. If you have experienced His mercy in the past, be assured that there is more mercy for you today. His mercy leads each believer all the way to heaven.

Bible says in Psalm 136:23-26, “Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:[24] And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.[25] Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.[26] O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Yes, we are in a “low estate.” We are much lower than when we will be in our glorified bodies in heaven. We are low because we still sin. We are low because we still fail in many ways. The falling away is taking place on our watch. Thankfully, we still have this to be confident about: “his mercy endureth for ever.” God is still taking care of us. If He was not taking care of us, we would be dead. God “giveth food to all flesh.” But even if we lose everything that life supplies, we can still be thankful to the God of heaven for sending Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross, “his mercy endureth for ever.”

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