Psalm 136:1–6 1O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. 2O give thanks unto the God of gods: For his mercy endureth for ever. 3O give thanks to the Lord of lords: For his mercy endureth for ever. 4To him who alone doeth great wonders: For his mercy endureth for ever. 5To him that by wisdom made the heavens: For his mercy endureth for ever. 6To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: For his mercy endureth for ever.
Normally I despise repetition.
For instance, I get so irritated by that beep the truck makes when I drive a little before buckling my seat belt. (Don’t turn me into the highwayman, I wear my seat belt when I am on the main roads.)
I recently stood in a long line at a department store that had a short commercial replaying over a nearby monitor, by the fifth time through I was so triggered that I had to leave. I’m just saying that if I were the Hulk then repetitive noises are probably what would turn me green.
I normally hate repetition but today let’s discuss some I don't despise. We find it in today’s reading.
Psalm 136 has 26 verses and every one of them ends with one reoccurring phrase
“For his mercy endureth forever”
Ezra might shed some light as to how the Psalm was read in a worship service.
Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
Notice the phrase, “for his mercy endureth for ever…”.
The Scripture says that they sang this “together by course” which might imply that this was a responsive reading, in other words, the one conducting the service would probably read the opening part of the verse and then the congregation would respond with their line, “For his mercy endueth forever.”
When I preached on this passage that is how we did it.
I read the first part of a verse and they answered back with those wonderful words, “For His mercy endureth forever.”
Why the repetition?
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the Lord really wants us to understand that he has mercy available that endures forever.
What is mercy?
Mercy is not getting what you deserve.
Thank God, his mercy endures forever!
Do you need a relationship with the Lord that you have neglected?
His mercy endureth forever!
Do you seek forgiveness for something you did that you wish you could take back?
His mercy endureth forever!
Are you suffering through a struggle that is pulling you down and tearing you apart?
His mercy endureth forever!
Has someone ever told you that you brought this on yourself and you deserve what you are going through?
HIS MERCY Endureth forever!
Do you ever think that you have gone back to the well of his mercy too many times and there is no way that he will forgive you this time?
His mercy endureth forever.
His mercy endures forever, now there is something worth repeating!
Readings for 12/2/20