How often do we find ourselves falling into darkness? Not in a literal sense, but in a spiritual sense? We come to a point where we commit the same act over and over again, of sin, and cannot seem to stop. When this happens, some of us feel that God has momentarily turned his back to us because we failed him. (Photo credit to: TodayAbundance.com)
We are given a reminder 41 times in the Bible: "His love endures forever." His love does not last up until you break a promise or sin again, whatever that sin may be. His love goes on, and all he asks us to do is repent and pray for forgiveness - and the strength to work on not doing such a thing again. In this entry, we will take a look at just how "His love endures forever."
Psalm 150:6 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!"That said, why do we not? Never forget to praise the one who created the universe, the one who entered into his creation to die for us, so that in him we may be saved. The love of Christ was so great that he was willing to die for every soul, even though he knew that not all would turn to him - but gave them the choice whether or not to follow him. As Christians, we reply to the Christ. "Follow me." (John 21:19b)
Psalm 136 gives the best example of how the Lord's love for us endures forever, no matter what. It describes who God is, why we ought to give thanks to him, and shows that his never-ending, never-changing, ever-present love is real - and true.
"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 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 the stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the first born of Egypt
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the red Sea;
His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings -
His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan -
His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
He gives us food for every creature.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever."
Without "His love endures forever" repeated after each line, Psalm 136 presents an account of God's history with His people, including his acts and his protection against the enemies of his people . The repetition of "His love endures forever" magnifies God's love? The repetiton brings God's love for us into a clear, concise picture.
1st Chronicles 16:34;41 again shows this. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever... With them were Heman and Jeduthan and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, 'for his love endures forever.'" When the Ark was brought into the temple, "The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: 'He is good, his love endures forever.' Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God." (2nd Chronicles 5:13-14)
The same act was performed at the dedication of the temple, with the same song sung. (2nd Chronicles 7:3;6) 2nd Chronicles 20:21 says, "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of army, saying: 'Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.'"
After the Babylonian Exile and return, we are told in Ezra 3:11, as the foundation for the rebuilt temple is laid, "With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: 'He is good, his love toward Israel endures forever.' And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid."
Jeremiah 33:10-11 mentions this in prophecy. "This is what the Lord says, 'You say about this place, It is a desolate waste, without people or animals. Yet in the towns of Judah and streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, 'Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.' For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the Lord."
Psalm 100; 106; 107; and Psalm 118 either mention "His love endures forever" or hints at it. What will it take for us to see the plain truth, to see what is right in front of us? We may fall to sin, we may fall to temptation, we may stray from the path - but we can come back, we can face restoration - why? It is because HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.
I hope this entry of "The Truth" has encouraged you and helped in some way. If you have any questions or comments, email vexx801@yahoo.com, comment, or visit the facebook page. Never forget that the Lord's love endures forever - it is never-ending and never-changing. May God bless you, dear reader. Troy Hillman
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