God's Overriding Mercy

 

 

I’m going to step away from Isaiah today, and I would ask that you take the time to read the 136^th Psalm with me. It’s too lengthy to include in what is meant to be a short devotion, so I’ll trust that you’ll give it a read on your own.

 

First of all, I have a confession to make. I have been so intent on writing devotions and preparing sermons and Bible studies that I have allowed my personal prayer life to go south. This is never a good thing as we read in Pr 24:33,34, “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest;  34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

Anyway, I was reading the 136^th Psalm today and in it, the Psalmist recounts the great deeds of God in creation and in delivering His people. But the biggest distinguishing mark of this Psalm is the repetition of the phrase, “For His mercy endures forever.” This phrase is repeated 26 times!

 

This was a spiritual jolt for me today! Let me never forget this overriding character trait of the God of gods, and Lord of lords!  Let me never dismiss the times that God’s overriding mercy has shown up in my life. (I don’t know the half of

 

I had to ask myself, “What have I been able to accomplish in my life? What have I enjoyed in my life? What have I been able to endure in my life, were it not for the overriding mercy of the Lord!  The answer is nothing! And so, I say, and I invite you to say  with the Psalmist: Ps 136:1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.