"O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:1)
The mercy of God endures for ever, because it is an attribute of His being. As He is infinite in power and knowledge, majesty and justice, so also is He infinite in mercy. And having mercy as one of His attributes, He might show mercy; for otherwise He would deny himself. He cannot deny His own character; He cannot go contrary to His nature.
It was necessary, therefore, that when Adam sinned he should be dealt with in mercy. It was necessary that the plan of salvation should be provided, whereby sin could be pardoned, and then escape the consequences of transgression.
Had God at once smitten the offender and blotted him out of existence, the universe might have stood in awe and acknowledged the justice of the transaction, but they would not have seen Him as a God of mercy to the offender. They would not have known Him by His true name: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgressions and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." (Exodus 34:6-7)
Every act of God is an act of mercy; for He can not go contrary to one of His own attributes. He can never act in a way which is not consistent with His possessing infinite mercy. Every attribute of God is exercised in all that He does. We never read of an act of infinite power, which was not also one of infinite wisdom, or vice versa. We never see Him manifesting infinite goodness, without also showing His infinite wisdom and power. The exercise of one attribute in an infinite degree, demands the exercise of all.
In being infinitely just to man, God must also be infinitely merciful, and in being infinitely merciful, He must also be infinitely just. And this is what we see in the wonderful plan of salvation. The death of Christ, which was the great central act of this plan, speaks in awful eloquence of both God's justice and His mercy:
• His mercy in that He gave His Son to die rather than that man should be lost; and
• His justice, in that He would not pass over sin, even though it would cost Him the life of His only begotten Son.
The 136th Psalm, from which we have quoted, presents this idea clearly before us. It speaks of numerous acts of God, judgments as well as favors, and links each one with the thought of His goodness and mercy. "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endures for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods; for His mercy endures for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords; for His mercy endures for ever. To Him who alone does great wonders; for His mercy endures for ever. To Him that by wisdom made the heavens for His mercy endures for ever. To Him that stretched out the earth above the waters; for His mercy endures for ever. ... To Him that smote Egypt in their firstborn; for His mercy endures for ever. ... To Him which divided the Red Sea into parts; for His mercy endures for ever. And made Israel to pass through the midst of it; for His mercy endures for ever. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:1-6,10,13-15)
The whole psalm is a declaration that infinite justice and infinite mercy are consistent one with the other, and in the working of God are linked together.
Infinite mercy to God's creatures demands the punishment of sin. It demands that sin be dealt with in infinite severity. Who would want a God who would not be severe with sin? How could pure and sinless beings be happy if sin were to be lightly regarded? Something so utterly contrary in its very essence to the nature of God and to that of all sinless beings, could not be suffered to exist without marring the peace of the universe, and bringing discord into the happiness and harmony which should be uninterrupted for ever.
Justice to the sinner, is also justice to the saint. The smiting of the firstborn of Egypt, the overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea, and the various other judgments mentioned in this psalm, are acts of mercy to the people of God, and to all who would thereby have opportunity to be admonished, and turn from their evil ways unto the Lord.
The destruction of sinners is even a mercy to themselves, since it saves them from a further unhappiness. For a sinner cannot endure the presence of God, and would be nowhere more miserable than in heaven itself. And since life to him would mean nothing but misery (for sin and misery are inseparable) it is only a mercy to him that it should terminate. "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him." (Psalm 103:17)
It not only lasts to all eternity, but has existed from all eternity.
This is why His covenant with the righteous is called the "everlasting covenant." (Hebrews 13:20)
From everlasting there existed in the mind of God the covenant of grace, whereby the one that should sin could be pardoned and restored to his position of favor.
And when Adam fell, God simply brought forth this covenant and manifested to the universe that He possessed the attribute of mercy toward the offender. He proclaimed himself not alone the God of justice, but the God of mercy.
And by all His acts since then toward fallen man, He has proclaimed himself in the same way, and will do so by all His dealings with both saints and sinners to the end of time. "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; because His mercy endures for ever. Let Israel now say, that His mercy endures for ever. ... Let them now that fear the Lord say, that His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 118:1-2,4)--Present Truth, October 5, 1893--Psalm 136:1-15.