God's Enduring Mercy

Psalm 136 has the highest concentration of the mention of God's mercy in all the Bible--24 times in 24 verses.  Over and over the phrase is repeated, "For His mercy endures forever."  There are only 11 other occasions in the Old Testament this exact phrase is used.  God's mercy has been well described in the 1828 Webster's Dictionary:  "That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being."  Man's natural disposition is thoroughly contrary to mercy, but God's mercy endures forever.

God's mercy is demonstrated by who God is as it is written in Psalm 136:1-2:  "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. ² Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever."  His mercy is seen through everything He has done, does and will do, for His mercy endures forever.  The song references things God has done which, on the surface, may not seem merciful.  But we can know without a doubt God is merciful, and as His people we are in the best position to receive and benefit from it continually.  Man often credits himself for what God alone is responsible for as He extends the richness of His grace to all people--even to His enemies.

The song recounts how God smote Egypt in their firstborn as the final plague the LORD visited upon the nation who oppressed His people.  Pharaoh showed no mercy to the Hebrews, for he enslaved them and commanded their male infants be cruelly thrown into the Nile river.  Before the final plague was unleashed upon Egypt, God mercifully provided a way for everyone who believed and obeyed Him to be spared by striking the blood of a male lamb or goat of the first year they ate for dinner upon the doorposts and lintel of the family home.  God did not have to warn anyone; God was under no obligation to preserve life He created.  His mercy was revealed by the great salvation and deliverance of His people, for His mercy endures forever.

There were times in the history of Israel when they suffered greatly for their sin as the Law of Moses had forewarned.  When the prophet Jeremiah looked around and felt like all his hope and strength had perished, he came to realise the hope that remained in God in Lamentations 3:22-25:  "Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. ²³ They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ²⁴ "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I hope in Him!" ²⁵ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him."  The consequences of sin were awful and brutal (for the soul that sins will surely die), yet there remained hope in God because His mercy endures forever.  Born again followers of Jesus Christ are granted eternal life by the Gospel because God's mercy endures forever.  There is no question if God is merciful:  the question is will we hope in Him, wait for Him and seek Him?

What God Pleases He Does

"For I know that the LORD is great, and our Lord is above all gods. ⁶ Whatever the LORD pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places."

Psalm 135:5-6

God is the sovereign creator over all, and whatever pleases Him God does.  No one has any right or authority to criticise or condemn Him, even though man makes a habit of doing this.  God has given mankind the freedom to choose what we say and do as those created in His image, yet God is the only being who always does what is right.  With the understanding God has given us, limited by our short-sighted human perspective, we can complain God is not on task when we are unwilling to trust; we suspect He is not working because we are waiting.  The irony is when it seems God is not actively working, He is accomplishing His good purposes we could never imagine.

We catch a glimpse of this in John 11 after Jesus received word His friend Lazarus was sick.  Mary and Martha were assured of Jesus' love for them and their dying brother, and likely assumed because Jesus loved them He was obligated to come at once and heal Lazarus.  Jesus did not do this.  He waited until after Lazarus was "sleeping" in death and explained His purpose in waiting to wake Him in John 11:14-15:  "Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."  Among the disciples of Jesus, there was at least one (Judas!) who did not believe.  Rather than sparing Lazarus from illness and death, Jesus allowed him to die physically so others could be born again and receive eternal life by faith in Jesus when they saw His mighty works.

When Jesus came to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead 4 days and the village was bustling with mourners who came to comfort Mary and Martha who were bereaved of their brother.  Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus and wept, and this demonstrated His genuine love for him and those who had suffered great loss.  He then commanded the stone to be moved from the entrance of the tomb.  John 11:41-45 reads, "Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." ⁴³ Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" ⁴  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." ⁴⁵ Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him."

Isn't this incredible?  While Mary and Martha felt Jesus was not helping them by healing Lazarus, He purposed to save sinners by raising Him to life.  The miracle of people being born again is as great a miracle as Lazarus physically walking out of the tomb.  The sign of Lazarus being raised up was another demonstration of God's grace to prove beyond a doubt Jesus was the Christ, the resurrection and the life, and that people by faith in Him could receive eternal life in His name.  This passage teaches us even when God has not answered our prayers or done our will, He is still working to accomplish His glorious purposes.  As people raised to new life by faith in Jesus, may our lives be a living testimony of God's  grace, love, and power to redeem so others will believe on Jesus Christ and be saved.  How good it is that what God pleases He does!

Unity in Christ

God gives wonderful gifts to mankind, and we tend to take them all for granted.  Ageing can be difficult when we feel entitled to the fit body of a young person that heals quickly, is more coordinated, can recall information without a struggle, can see more clearly and hear easily.  When I was a kid I had a wrist contusion that required me to wear a splint for a few weeks.  There were many things that were instantly difficult and showed me how much I took for granted--like the ability to hold a fork, wash myself and tie shoes.  It is easy to take a healthy body for granted because God designed our bodies wonderfully, and we can also take the Body of Christ (the church) for granted too.

By faith in Jesus Christ, we have a connection with God and one another in the church which is miraculous, supernatural and wonderful.  We who were once foreigners and enemies of God have been accepted into the beloved, chosen and blessed by the LORD who we now know as our heavenly Father.  Through the Gospel, Jew and Gentile have been united as one with Christ and we are privileged to have fellowship with God and one another.  There are many professing Christians in the world and in many places many Christian denominations to choose from, yet the fellowship of believers is totally unique in this world.  From a group of sinning strangers God has created brothers and sisters in Christ.  Groups of friends, hobbyists, sports enthusiasts, or work mates apart from Christ cannot experience the oneness we share with Christ and one another.

Psalm 133:1-2 illustrates this unity well:  "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ² It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments."  The psalmist extolled how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.  The anointed of Aaron as high priest is a compelling example of how pleasing and unique our calling as God's people truly is.  The holy anointing oil was something most Jews could only smell and would never touch their skin, for it was reserved for the service of the tabernacle and temple before the LORD.  But the unity God's people can enjoy is precious and at the same time abundant, even as the poured oil ran down Aaron's head, through his beard, and soaked to the edge of his priestly garments.  Aaron was privileged and at the same time humbled to be chosen as high priest, in himself unworthy to  be accepted or to serve the holy LORD.  That is why he needed to be anointed to fulfill his God-given role.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Anointed One, our great High Priest.  He prayed before His crucifixion concerning His disciples He sent into the world in John 17:20-23:  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."  As Aaron was physically anointed with oil, so all Christians have been anointed by the Holy Spirit and perfectly united with Christ and one another as one the world may know the Father sent the Son Jesus Christ and loved us as He loved His only begotten Son.  How wonderful it is to be chosen, accepted and anointed as members of God's body, the church!

Even as our physical bodies are not always functioning properly, so the church at times can have the spiritual equivalent of aches, pains and illness.  As the Corinthian church illustrates, divisions and conflicts can arise within the church and lead to serious problems.  Despite our falling short of God's perfection, the blessing of the fellowship and unity we have with God and one another outshines all other connections and relationships because unity in Christ profoundly deep and eternal, transcending our earthly existence and all our differences.  How good and pleasant it is to have brethren everywhere and to be united together in the rest, peace and joy of our glorious Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Rather than taking God or the church for granted, let's thank Him for the opportunities He grants to enjoy fellowship with God and one another continually.

Christ's Call to All

I have observed people refer to the role of pastor as a "calling" rather than a career, and this is true.  However, I suspect this reference may hinder people from understanding every Christian has been called by God regardless of their role in church ministry.  It may give the impression that if one is not a pastor, they have not been called by God to anything important--which is untrue.  All God's people are called to serve and glorify Him.  In Os Guinness' book The Call, he makes a distinction between the general call of all Christians and then specific, personal calls to each individual.  The second call can only be answered well when the first call is responded to with faith in Christ, humility and obedience.

The call of God upon the lives of each Christian is not an enigma only deciphered by dreams, visions or dramatic divine revelation, for it comes into view as clearly as our initial call to receive the Gospel.  Whether we are willing to answer God's call by yielding ourselves to Him is another matter.  God's call comes to us; we do not need to go seeking it.  As we seek the LORD, what He calls us to do becomes increasingly clear by God's word, His grace and the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth.  Samson was called by God as a Nazarite from the womb, one who would begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.  He did not aspire to this role, but it was God's call upon His life.

We may all wish we were as Samson, called to be the battle axe of the sovereign God swung against the Philistines.  Our call may not be as dynamic because we are not endowed with supernatural physical strength or established as a ruler over a nation.  Jesus called for all to come to Him in John 7:37-39, "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."  Answering this call of Christ in obedience by faith expresses our need only Jesus can supply.  The fact we have answered God's call is not a sign of strength but weakness, an admission of folly only God's wisdom can refine.

Our security and strength is not in our calling but in Him who has called us:  Jesus Christ, the Son of God!  Do you know what your calling is?  God's calling is true of every Christian:  to be conformed into the image of Christ, to bring glory to Jesus as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31:  "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--³¹ that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."  Peter said when we do well and suffer for it, this is acceptable to God.  To this we are called, for in so doing we walk in the steps of our LORD Jesus who lived free of sin, did not speak deceitful words or threaten, and He committed Himself to God who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:21-24).  Our calling is in our weakness to rely on God for strength to fulfil Ephesians 6:10 in our lives:  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

The Bible is littered with such passages that flesh out God's call upon all Christians.  How wonderful that being called, chosen and empowered by God is not only for Nazarites, judges or pastors but for all God’s people.  We could not be born again or saved without being called by God, and Jesus calls us to believe on Him, to look to Him and come to Him.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Answering God's call never gets old because we always need Him, and He is always worthy to be praised and obeyed.