His Mercy Endureth Forever

For as long as I can remember, my mom has read Scripture aloud at meals every day – from Psalms at breakfast, and from Proverbs at lunch. As one might imagine, this practice means that we have a greater familiarity with those books than one might expect, and also a greater affinity for some chapters more than others. Psalm 136 in particular was a favorite; the repeated phrase in the second half of every verse turned into somewhat of a chant for us when we reached that chapter: “for His mercy endureth forever”. It’s quite the earworm of a phrase, but at least it’s a worthy one. I encountered this psalm a couple days ago in my regular reading, and was reminded again of how worthwhile and timeless it is.

The chapter starts out with a focus on who the Lord is: worthy of thanks, because He is good (v1), the God of gods (v2), the Lord of lords (v3), and He who alone does great wonders (v4). The focus then turns to the ways in which the Lord has worked great wonders – creation, leading His people out of Egypt, striking and destroying those who stood opposed to His people, and giving them a land and a heritage. The final verses then turn again to the present – the Lord currently and presently provides for all creation, and reigns over heaven. But through it all, there’s the undercurrent of the future as well. His steadfast love endures forever. 

As we close out 2019 and step into a new year, I appreciated the reminder. The Lord is currently and presently good, reigning over all. He has been good to us in the last year – to the Church as a whole, to the local church of which I am a member, to my family, to me personally – and it’s a worthy endeavor to recount to myself the ways in which I have seen His goodness. It was not a perfect year by far, but trials and circumstances contrary to my choosing throw a spotlight on His steadfast love. I know not what lies ahead of me in 2020. I have some hopes, some goals, and some crazy, truly out there, wouldn’t-it-be-something thoughts. But regardless of what comes, I know for certain that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever, throughout the whole of 2020 and beyond.