Now, Psalm 136, I'm entitling
the message from the repeated statement made in all 26 verses
of this Psalm. His mercy, that is the Lord,
the Lord our God, His mercy endures forever. His mercy, like His
love, is everlasting. His mercy, like His grace, is
everlasting. His mercy like His salvation
is an everlasting salvation. Now restating and resaying and
repeating that which is true and honoring to God is not vain
repetition. But for you, it's safe. For you, it is good. Now our Lord taught His disciples
in Matthew chapter 6 he says when you pray use not vain repetition
as the heathen do for they think that they shall be heard for
much speaking but this in God's word here is not vain repetition
it is good in Philippians chapter 3 the Apostle said this finally
my brethren rejoice in the Lord and that's the whole epistle
in Philippians Repeats itself over and over about rejoicing
in the Lord rejoice in the Lord and again. I say rejoice in the
Lord He says to write the same things to you to me indeed is
not grievous, but for you it's safe It's safe so restating and
repeating That which is true honoring to God and according
to the Word of God is not vain repetition, but it's good, it's
safe, it's wholesome, it's healthy unto us to hear repeatedly again
and again about God's mercy. Now we read in the Word of God
and God is only known and revealed in His Word, not by dreams and
visions, not by Feeling and emotion and all these things God is only
known and revealed In his word his word of truth that we call
that which we call God's scripture, holy scripture And we read in
the Word of God and Deuteronomy chapter 10. We read this God
is God God is God says here in the text here that He's the God
of Gods. He's everybody's Lord. Everybody's
God. He's King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. In Isaiah, repeatedly, we read
this statement. The Lord says, I am the Lord. Excuse me. And beside me, there
is none other. There's none else but the Lord.
He's the only just God and Savior. We read also in John chapter
4 that God is Spirit. God is Spirit. He seeketh such
to worship Him in Spirit and in truth God is Spirit. They that worship Him must worship
Him in Spirit and in truth because God is Spirit. Something else
we read in the Word of God about our great God God is light, and
in Him is no darkness at all. Verse John 1, 5. That means that
God is holy. He's absolutely holy in everything
He does. His Word is holy. His actions
are holy. His decrees are holy. His salvation,
He saves sinners in such a way that magnifies His holy character. So God is God, God is spirit,
God is light, and then we read in 1 John 4, 8, God is love. God is love. His love is holy,
His love is sovereign, but God is love. And then we read, turn
over here to Psalm 103, verse 8. Psalm 103. Give thanks unto the Lord for
he is good his mercy endures forever Psalm 103 and you know
what it says here You remember Psalm 103 one of my favorite
Psalms Psalm 103 verse 8 the Lord is merciful the Lord is
merciful and gracious Slow to anger and he is plenteous plenteous
and in mercy. There's plenty to go around.
The storehouse of mercy is full. You cannot exhaust the storehouse
of mercy, the storehouse of grace. Now the scriptures have a lot
to say about the mercy of God. As this one Psalm, Psalm 136,
O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures
forever. O give thanks to the God of God for his mercy endures
forever. Now the Scriptures have a lot
to say about the mercy of God. The mercy of God. I found at
least seven things in the Word of God. I'll give them to you
quickly. At least seven things in the Word of God that describes
His mercy. In Psalm 108 verse 4 it says
His mercy is great. It's great. It's beyond our comprehending
how great. It's higher than heaven. It's
deeper than hell. His mercy is great. And then
in Psalm 86, verse 5, it says, His mercy is plenteous. We just read that a moment ago.
He's plenteous in mercy. But Psalm 86, verse 5 says, He's
plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Him. I'm going
to call. If He's merciful unto them who
call, well, why wouldn't you call? And then His mercy In Psalm
51, turn over there. Remember Psalm 51 verse 1? David
said, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness,
according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. His tender
mercies. Blot out my transgression. Wash
me throughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. or acknowledge
my transgression and my sin as ever before me. He pleads for
salvation upon the loving kindness and tender mercies of God. Not his merit, not David's merit. David has sinned grievously against
the Lord, but he begs for mercy. Forgiveness upon the ground of
mercy. all his tender mercies we also
read in the Word of God that his mercy is abundant abundant
we read in first Peter chapter 3 according to his abundant mercy
he has begotten us again into a living hope through Jesus Christ
our Lord having raised us from the dead and then you're familiar
with this one in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4 where it says God is
rich, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith
he loves us. He's rich in mercy. You kind
of get the idea that God is merciful. And then the sixth one is this,
his mercy is sovereign. We read that a moment ago. He
will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. He will have compassion
on whom he will have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth, Not of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy. And then in Psalm 100 verse 5,
His mercy is everlasting. His mercy indeed endures forever. Now, do you need the Lord's mercy? Do you need the Lord's mercy? Absolutely. I do. You don't have
mercies for the miserable? Grace is for the guilty. Salvation
is for sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Do you need the Lord's mercy?
I do. Because I'm guilty. We cannot be justified before
God Almighty without the Lord extending mercy unto us. And
the reason we need mercy is because we've all sinned against God. We've all sinned to come short
of the glory of God. Before God, the law says we're
all guilty. Stop your mouth. You're guilty,
guilty, guilty before the Lord. Who needs mercy? Guilty man. I'm guilty. I need mercy. You
know, we're told in the Scripture, because the Lord Jesus Christ,
our great high priest, accomplished all salvation for us and ascended
to glory, He says in Hebrews 4 16, and I quote this all the
time, we're told to come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy. Didn't say earn it. That we may
obtain mercy, find grace to help in time of need. When is that
time? All the time. We need mercy and
grace all the time. God saves sinners through His
sovereign mercy in Christ Jesus. Now one of my favorite texts
is Lamentations 3.22 where it says, it is of the Lord's mercies
that we're not consumed because His compassions fail not. We need mercy. I need mercy. You need mercy whether you know
it or not. I trust that you do. Turn over here to the book of
Hebrews. Let me show you this verse. This is familiar with
all of you, but it would be good to see it one more time. Titus
chapter 3. Titus chapter 3, verse 3. For we ourselves also
were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures, living in malice, envy, hateful, hating one another,
But after that, the kindness, that's His mercy, and love of
God, our Savior, toward His creation appeared. Man appeared. Not,
not, now clearly reading from verse 3, there's nothing in there
that would merit God's favor at all, is there? We were foolish,
disobedient, deceived, serving lust, pleasure, living in malice,
hateful, hating one another, but God is merciful. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior that being justified by his grace
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Mercy, mercy, mercy. God delights to show mercy to
those in need of mercy. In Exodus chapter 33, when God
describes himself over there, don't turn, let me see if I can
find it for us quickly. In Exodus 34 rather, in Exodus
chapter 34, listen to this. The Lord passed by before him,
that is Moses, and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful,
gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping
mercy for thousands. Forgiving iniquity, transgression,
and sin, and will by no means clear those who were guilty. Visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children, upon the children's children to the
third and fourth generation. God has to save us in such a
way as to make us justified in Christ Jesus and clear us of
all guilt. And that's what he does. I've
said to you many times over the years, the only reason for grace
is grace. Of his fullness have we all received
grace for grace. Remember John chapter 1. But
it's also true the only reason for mercy, the reason not found here, Reasons
not found in us and the reasons found in God God is merciful
The only reason for grace is grace. The only reason for mercy
is mercy You know God's obligated to show
mercy now wait a minute now preacher God's obligated to show mercy
When Moses asked him show me your glory, you know, he said
I will show mercy Because God is merciful, He's obligated to
show mercy to His covenant people. Listen to this verse, Micah 7,18,
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?
He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in
mercy. I can remember this story right,
I hope I don't mess it up, but I didn't write it down, didn't
plan to say this, but I remember Brother Mahan telling
the story. He was somewhere preaching and
someone had made a statement to him that God, if he wanted
to, could damn everybody, universally damn everybody. Brother Mahan
spoke up and said, that's not so. Shocked the man who said it and
shocked those around him who heard it God could save everybody
if he wanted to but he couldn't damn everybody and the reason
being is God must show mercy Because he's merciful. That's
part of his character. You see what I'm saying? But
the man had him God's not gonna damn all men. He's gonna show
mercy to his covenant people He's obligated himself to. That's
why the covenant of grace is called the mercies of a covenant
God. Now we know that mercy cannot
be earned nor merited if the sovereign gift of God revealed
in and given through the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the difference
between mercy and grace? What is the difference? How can
we define the difference? Well, grace is God giving us
and showing to us His unmerited, sovereign favor and love in Christ
Jesus. Grace is God giving us. Mercy
is God not giving us what we do deserve. I think that's a
pretty clear distinction. Mercy is not giving. What do
we deserve? What do we deserve? The wages
of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life. Grace, oh, thank God for His
grace and mercy. You know, when you read through
the epistles, talking about Romans, Galatians, 1st, 2nd Corinthians,
all those epistles of Paul, given by Holy Spirit inspiration
in almost every one. You know how they start out?
Grace be unto you and mercy from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ That's a good way to start isn't it? That's a good way to
end to Grace and mercy grace were justified freely by his
grace to the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ How
do we know that God? Will show mercy how do we know
because he says so How do we know he will show mercy? Because
the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sin that God might be just
and merciful. That he might be a just God and
Savior. Now listen to this. Because the
Lord Jesus Christ died for our sin, God showed him no mercy. Right? God dealt with him in
strict justice. Right? that he might be merciful
unto us. That's so. God showed him no
mercy at Calvary but strict holy justice that he might be a just
God and Savior toward us. That he might save us not at
the expense of his holiness but magnifying his holiness and at
the same time showing mercy justly. That's the glory of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way God can show mercy
unto us is for our Redeemer to pay our sin debt and satisfy
the law of God in our stead and magnify it in our room and in
our stead. And He did. He paid all the debt
I owe. All of it. All the debt of God
the elect. He paid all the debt. In Proverbs
16 it says, By mercy and truth By mercy and truth, iniquity
is purged. By the fear of the Lord, men
depart from evil. You remember Psalm 85, another
one of my favorite Psalms? Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Where did mercy and justice,
mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, where did they meet?
And where were they reconciled? Where did they kiss each other?
At the cross! to enable God to be a just God
and Savior. One of the many comforting truths
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is that sinners are told
to seek mercy where it's found, in Christ Jesus. Like the mercy
beggar in the temple who took his place, smote upon his breast,
and cried unto God, God be merciful to me, the sinner, And the Lord
said of that man, he went down to his house justified rather
than the other." The Pharisee justified himself
and was condemned. The publican condemned himself
and was justified. He went down to his house justified
rather than the other. Lord have mercy on me the sinner. You know one of the other comforting
truths of the gospel is this. I've never read in Holy Scripture
where any sinner that was seeking mercy was turned away. Not one time. Not one time. You can't find it. It's not there.
blind Bartimaeus sitting by the wayside begging blind in his
filth in his dirt and he heard that the Lord Jesus was passing
by thou son of David have mercy on me and the Lord stood still
have mercy on him how about the leper approached the Lord and said Lord if you will You
can make me clean. Remember what the Lord said?
I will be thou clean. God's merciful. God is merciful. Now, if anybody ought to be thankful,
it's those who have been object of the Lord's mercies. That's
why it says in verse 1, 2, and 3, O give thanks unto the Lord,
O give thanks unto the Lord, for his mercy endures forever.
And then in verse 26, it says again, O give thanks unto the
God of heaven, His mercy endures forever. Look what it says in verse 4
for just a moment. To him who alone doeth great
wonders, for his mercy endures forever. He only is a great wonder
to any sinner who has experienced the everlasting sovereign mercy
of God It is a marvel and a wonder. Why would the Lord make me an
object of His love? The only thing we can say is
this, He's hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed
them unto babes, for even so, Father, it seemed good in your
sight. The reason is not found in us,
it's found in Him. But what a wonderful thing it
is to be made an object of the Lord's mercy, to be made an object
of His love, for He loved His people with an everlasting love.
We say with the psalmist in Psalm 115, another one of my favorite
psalms, you remember the first verse? Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but in Thy name we give glory for Your mercy and for
Your truth's sake. I want to close this message
by looking at two statements in two verses. In verse 23 and
24. Verse 23 and verse 24. God Almighty remembered His covenant
people in their low state because His mercy endures forever. Verse 24, "...and hath redeemed
us from our enemies, because his mercy endures forever." Now
let's work on those two statements for a minute. The Lord remembered
us in our sinful low state. Now turn back over here to Psalm
103 again. You remember this verse? He remembered
us in our low state. When we were yet without strength
and due time, Christ died for the ungodly. When we were without
God, without hope, and without Christ, we were made dying to
God by the blood of Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 103
verse 13, Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth
them that fear him, that reverence him, For he knows our frame,
he remembereth that we are but dust. Dust. Dust. Dust. Over here in Psalm 113. Turn over there. Psalm 113. I hope these things are familiar
to you. Psalm 113. Notice, if you will, verse 7. Verse six says, he humbles himself
to behold the things that are in heaven and earth. He raises
up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy out of
the dunghill, that he may set him with the princes, even the
princes of his people. And then turn over to Psalm 138. Psalm 138, verse six. And we'll
probably look at this Psalm next week. Psalm 138, verse six. Though the Lord be high, Yet
he hath respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knoweth afar
off. He is nigh unto them of a broken heart, save as such
as be of a contrite spirit. The Lord remembered us in our
low state." Low, low. I'm talking about totally depraved
sinners. In due time Christ died for the
ungodly. The Lord cannot and will not
forsake His covenant children. He's obligated Himself as a surety
of the covenant to never leave us, never forsake us. Now you've
got to see this. Turn over to Isaiah 49. Isaiah 49. He will not forget
His covenant people. He said, "...the foundation of
God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that
are His." He knows us. He will not forget us. Now we're
forgetful. There might be a time when I
won't even remember my own name, my own family. The Lord will
never forget His covenant people. He will always remember us. Now
look at Isaiah. This is Isaiah. 49 verse 13. Sing, O heavens, be joyful, O
earth. Break forth in the singing, O
mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will
have mercy upon his afflicted in their lowest state. But Zion
said, The Lord hath forsaken me. Sometimes we think that.
And the Lord hath forgotten me. Sometimes we say with David,
Is his mercy clean gone? Can a woman forget her sucking
child? That she should not have compassion
on the son of a woman, yea, they may forget." God said, I will
not forget you. I will not. Behold, I have graven
you upon the palms of my hand. Thy walls are continually before
me. The Lord has remembered His covenant
people. I thought about the thief on
the cross. A dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day.
And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.
What did he say to the Lord? Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. And the Lord said, today you'll
be with me in paradise. He remembers us in our lowest
state. Now here's the second thing. Look at verse 24. He hath
redeemed us. He has redeemed us from all our
enemies because His mercy endures forever. He remembers us because
His mercy endures forever. And He's redeemed us from our
enemies because His mercy endures forever. He's dealt with our
enemies. That verse that I've told you
is the key verse, one of the key verses in the Revelation.
Revelation 6, 2. He went forth conquering and
to conquer. There's a song Brother Mike Bartram
used to sing. I guess he still does. He is
a mighty conqueror. He rent the veil in two. And
he is. He's the conqueror of all our
enemies. Sin, which is against us. Contrary to us, sin, the law
of God, the holy law of God, that we broke Him. Sin, the Lord
Jesus Christ put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The
accuser of the brethren, how do we overcome him? By the blood
of the Lamb. Death, the Lord Jesus Christ has even
conquered death. He changed the character of death
for the believer. Our Lord said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore. And then he says
in John 14, we're going to see this in John 14, 19 says, because
I live, you'll live. He's conquered all of our enemies.
He's redeemed us from our sin. He bought us with his own blood
and will bring us all home to glory. The just one suffer for
the unjust that he might bring us unto God. The Lord will lose
none of them. That's what we studied Sunday,
wasn't it? For all which ye have given me I'll lose nothing but
raise it up again to last day. How can he lose one sheep and
be successful? He can't lose one of his sheep.
As a matter of fact, it says in Hebrews 2, it says, Behold,
I am a children, He presents us to the Father, holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in His sight. You see, in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we have redemption. He has redeemed us. He has obtained for us eternal
redemption, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with
His own blood. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are redeemed not with silver
and gold, were redeemed not by vain conversation, not by money
or morality or tradition or ceremony, but with the precious blood of
Christ as a Lamb without blemish and without spot. You see, He
bought us with His own blood. He said, you no more your own,
you're bought with a price. He remembers us. He remembers
us even in our sinful state because His mercy endures forever. He
hath redeemed us from all our enemies. Why? Because His mercy
endures forever. You see why He repeats this over?
We need to hear this. I do. I know if I do, you do. You're in the same ship I'm in. Fellowship, that's what fellowship
is. Fellows in the same ship in need
of mercy in Christ Jesus. For His mercy endures forever.
He gives food, the bread of life, to His people, because His mercy
endures forever. Now, verse 26, O give thanks.
O give thanks. In everything give thanks, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. His mercy, like His love, is
everlasting. His mercy, like His salvation,
is everlasting. The Lord saves us with an everlasting
salvation. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord.
I'm reminded of this Psalm, Psalm 92 verse 1, where it says, it's
a good thing, it's a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.
His mercy endures forever. You got the idea?