"O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:1)
This is the first verse of the 136th Psalm, and every one of the 26 verses of the psalm is in the same manner as this one: "His mercy endures for ever."
To some this psalm seems monotonous; but it ought not to be so. It is surely a blessed thing to know that the mercy of the Lord is everlasting, and we should never be weary of hearing of it.
In this psalm we read of judgment visited upon certain people. It tells of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, the overthrow of Pharaoh and of his host in the Red Sea, and the smiting of famous kings. Now most people have the idea that God's mercy ceases, or at least is held in abeyance, when He executes punishment upon the ungodly. This, however, shows us that such an idea is a mistaken one.
Nowhere does the Bible give the slightest warrant for the idea that at any time there will ever be any less mercy with the Lord than there is now. The common statement that by and by mercy will step down, and justice will take place, is most dishonoring to God. It implies a change in His character and in His dealing with His creatures. It not only teaches that sometime He will be less merciful than He is now, but it also teaches that now He is not as just as He will be at some future time.
In this psalm we are called upon to give thanks. "To Him that smote Egypt in their first born; for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:10)
The fact that He smote the first born in Egypt is given as a proof that God's mercy endures for ever. "[He] overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea," (Psalm 136:15) not because His mercy failed, but for the reason that His mercy endures for ever.
The mercy of God for the Egyptians was just as great as for the Israelites. They were most cruelly treating the people to whom they owed their lives, and whom God, in fulfillment of His promise, was about to bring into their own land.
But He did not precipitately destroy their oppressors. He sent His servants to Pharaoh, making known the truth which would save him and his people as well as the Israelites. The promised to Abraham, which God was about to fulfill, included the justification of the heathen through faith, saying, "In you shall all nations be blessed." (Galatians 3:8)
This blessing was offered to Pharaoh and his people, and was rejected with scorn and contempt.
"I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2)
This was the reply of the haughty king. Therefore God, in fulfilling the mercy promised to the fathers, was obliged to destroy the Egyptians. He shook them off, as they were endeavoring to stop Him in His work. His mercy did not change in the least, but the Egyptians refused to have it, and when people refuse to accept mercy, there is nothing left them but destruction. "[He] has redeemed us from all our enemies; for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:24)
This is identical with the inspired song of Zacharias, after the birth of John: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of Hisservant David; As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; The oath which He swore to our father Abraham, That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life." (Luke 1:68-75)
This does not indicate mercy for a special class. "All that hate us," are they who resist the progress of God's merciful reign over the earth. They despise both justice and mercy. We are delivered from our enemies, only in order that we may serve the Lord in righteousness and holiness all the days of our life. If we were not desirous of thus serving the Lord, we certainly should not be delivered. God's everlasting mercy exists for all, and none fail of receiving its fullness except those who will not have it.
Do not be carried away with the idea that in the preaching of the Gospel mercy is revealed, and justice in the destruction of the wicked. God's attributes are not thus divided. In the Gospel the righteousness, or justice, of God is revealed. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17)
The righteousness of God is revealed in Christ for the remission of sins of all who have faith in His blood, "That He might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus." (Romans 3:26)
If God were not strictly just, He could never justify the ungodly. There is kindness and everlasting mercy in the justice of the Lord. The repetition of the sentence, "for His mercy endures for ever," shows that there is need of the dwelling much on the mercy of the Lord. "I will sing of mercy and judgment; unto You, O Lord, will l sing." (Psalm 101:1) "The earth, O Lord, is full of your mercy; teach me your statutes." (Psalm 119:64)
In the commandments of the Lord,--the ten commandments,--which are commonly supposed to be the embodiment of stern justice, we learn that the mercy of the Lord endures to thousands of generations. He takes vengeance on them that reject all goodness, but His anger soon ceases in their destruction, while His mercy endures.
The mercy of the Lord not only fills the earth, but it is also unto the clouds: "Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and your faithfulness reaches unto the clouds." (Psalm 36:5) "For your mercy is great unto the heavens, and your truth unto the clouds." (Psalm 57:10)
The sun, moon, and stars reveal it to us. The exhortation is, "O give thanks unto 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 made great lights; for His mercy endures for ever. The sun to rule by day; for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:3-8)
Therefore, "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, that brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one is lacking." (Isaiah 40:26)
Keep looking up, and meditating on the greatness of the Lord, and you will never more say or think, "My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed awayfrom my God." (Isaiah 40:27)
He is always looking in every part of the earth for an opportunity to exert all His mighty power in behalf of the weak and the oppressed. "He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength." (Isaiah 40:29) "I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor." (Psalm 140:12)
Therefore, "Give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:1)--Present Truth, October 26, 1899--Psalm 136:1,3-8,10,15,24.