His Love Endures Forever

December 3

Joel 1:1-2:11

Psalm 136:1-12

Proverbs 28:24-26

I John 5

His Love Endures Forever

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords; His love endures forever. To Him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. Who by His understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. Who spread out the Earth upon the waters, His love endures forever? Who made the great lights—His love endures forever. The sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. The moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1-9 NIV

This Psalm is a liturgical hymn. Its words were used in public worship by the Jewish people. The priest or Jewish leaders would say the first part and the people would follow each phrase with “His loves endures forever.” In some translations, it reads, “His mercy endures forever.” The Hebrew word translated here is “hesed” which we have discussed before. It is the unique and complete love God has for His people. A great multitude of the people of God would be gathered in the temple courts. The priest would exclaim a reason to give God praise and the people would respond loudly proclaiming God’s faithfulness. It is known as the “Great Hallel” in Jewish tradition because it gives examples of God’s goodness to His people and then encourages them to express a Hallelujah in response. When life seems overwhelming and the world is crushing in around us, the best thing we can do is turn to the One who made the world and everything in it. When our perception of God grows larger, the size of our problems grows smaller. Exodus 15:11, Isaiah 40:25 and Psalm 89:6 all ask the question “Who is like our God?”

One if the most famous prayers by St. Augustine describes our God perfectly. “What then are You, my God? What, I ask, except the Lord God? For who is the Lord besides God? Or who is God besides our God?—Most high, most good, most powerful, most omnipotent, most merciful and most just, most secret and most present; most beautiful and most strong; most stable and most incomprehensible; unchangeable (yet) changing all things; never new, never old; makings all things new, and bringing the proud to (the collapse of) old age; ever acting, ever at rest; gathering, and not needing; carrying and filling and protecting (all things); creating and nourishing and perfecting; seeking, though you lack nothing.”22 No problem we face, difficulty we encounter, or mountain that lies before us is even a challenge to God. My days are in the hands of the One who is in complete control. I can rest in His “hesed” and know that “He is working all things out for the good.” His love endures forever. His love for me endures forever.