Psalm 136 – His Mercy Endures Forever!4 min read

God’s mercy – this is the same mercy that saved us from Hell, the same mercy we can have absolute hope in, the same mercy that we can build our lives on. In some versions, “mercy” is translated “steadfast love”. We can rest in the fact that His steadfast love endures forever. In every verse, for whatever reason, God’s love and mercy is evident. Keep this psalm in your mind, and turn to it for comfort. We have a God we can turn to and rest upon.

From the God of gods – Vs. 1-3
The first verses give us a sense of praise toward the God of gods and Lord of lords. Because He rules over all, His mercy endures forever. Anyone with less authority than Him would falter and fade away, but God, who is rich in mercy, who is Lord over all, will give a consistent and steadfast flow of love and mercy toward us. He is worthy of praise and thanksgiving because of His steadfast love which endures forever, for eternity. It will never end, because He is Lord. This is the reason why His mercy truly does endure forever.

From Him who does great wonders – Vs. 4-9
The Lord in this section is portrayed as a God of power, a God who does great things. We can look at creation, at the various galaxies, etc.; and we cannot help but stand in awe at His great power and creativity. These are all great wonders, and they all originate from His hand. Because He does great wonders, and because He PROVED His greatness, we can know of a surety that His mercy endures forever. This alone should give the assurance that His mercy endures forever.

From Him who wrought the Exodus – Vs. 10-16
The author of this psalm devoted seven verses to showing why God’s mercy endures forever through the event of the Exodus. This was a huge event that plainly showed God’s desperate care for His people. He protected those who were under His covenant, and He did it in an extremely miraculous way, whether through the Red Sea crossing, the water from the rock, or the manna. We are God’s people, under His new covenant through Jesus Christ. We derive from this that because God proved His protection to His people in the past, we can rest in His love today. And not only do we have the promise of protection, but be can look forward to that day when we will enter into that long-awaited Promised Land!

From Him who is Lord of ALL – Vs. 17-22
His mercy is worth trusting in, because of His Lordship. He is Lord over all. Even the great kings were dominated to an extreme; Why? Because He is Lord of ALL. Everyone is powerless before Him. No other kings have the title “King of kings” and “Lord of lords”, absolutely none. He has proven throughout Scripture that there are none as mighty, none as great, none as powerful, and none as high as He. Nothing can beat Him, not even death itself! His mercy endures forever, because he is Lord over All.

From the God who has done so much for us – Vs. 23-25
Perhaps the greatest reason why we can rest in His mercy is this: He not only remembered us, but He acted and redeemed us. The greatest act of love recorded was at Calvary, and because of the extent, passion, and impact of the action, there is absolutely no possibility that His mercy does not endure forever! What else can we find hope in as we do but in the cross? What else is there that compares to the love that Jesus had for me? There is none! This is why we can rest in His mercy, because it is personal, and we have experienced it. We need no other assurance than to simply know Jesus died for me. His mercy is eternal.

From the God of Heaven – Vs. 26
One verse can explain much. This verse simply states, “O give thanks unto the God of Heaven: for His mercy endures forever.” This sums up everything: He is God. Sometimes we get caught up in trying to figure out God’s will for our lives and His plan for us, but we forget something that is key. Sometimes it is His main will for us to just meditate on Him and to know that He is God. When we do this, we realize how great He is. When we realize how great He is, we see our reason to trust Him. This is what we primarily need to know to give us assurance that His mercy endures forever. Because He is God, we can trust Him.

Throughout this amazing and hope-filled psalm, we see one main theme: He PROVED His claim. He PROVED that He has everlasting love. He proved it all, whether through the Exodus, His care for His people, or ultimately through Christ’s death. We can rest in Him and know that His steadfast love and mercy is not only consistent, but everlasting. We have no reason to believe otherwise, for he has sufficiently proven it.