The Steadfast Love of God

MEMORY VERSE: “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” —Psalm 100:5

PSALM 136; ISAIAH 55

HAVING considered in this month’s three previous Sunday Bible lessons something about God’s glory in creation, man’s responsibility toward creation, and God and man in covenant, we now turn to the overwhelming climax of God’s love to us as his human creatures.

As the title of this lesson suggests, we are assured of the continuing and steadfast love of God—our Heavenly Father. And when we read the inspiring passages of this psalm we are exhorted to praise God for his abundant mercies to us. As an evidence of the psalmist’s heart condition when writing these verses, we are immediately made aware of the expression “for his mercy endureth for ever,” which appears at the end of each of the 26 verses in the psalm.

In the first three verses we are reminded to give thanks to God, for indeed his mercy surely does endure forever. In verses 4 through 9 we are given a glimpse of the creative power of God, for he alone designed all this great work—having existed alone during the countless ages of the remote past. As a display of his great wisdom we are reminded to consider the heavens, which his hands have made, and to look to the earth, which he stretched above the waters. This word “stretched” is an interesting one, as used in the 6th verse; and, as either of the complete Bible concordances that are available suggests, this word means “to spread forth, or over,” and has been so translated in the Revised Version of the Bible. As an interesting comparison the Septuagint Translation renders the verse “to him who established the earth on the waters.” This well describes for us the early stages in the preparation of the earth as a home for man, as it points out to us the gradual manner in which the layers of the earth’s crust were laid down, keeping in mind that as the crust cooled, the weight of the waters buckled it in some places, creating the ocean beds, and thereby forcing other areas up to form the mountain ranges. Then in verses 7, 8, and 9 the psalmist tells us of the great lights that God placed in the sky—the sun to rule by day, and the moon and stars to rule by night.

Verses 10 through 16 give an account of God’s dealings with his people—the children of Israel. As a manifestation of his power the firstborn in Egypt were slain that Pharaoh might let the Israelites leave Egypt, thereby ending their long period of enslavement. This God did with “a strong hand, and a stretched out arm.” In this passage the word “stretched” has a different meaning; this is, to lend emphasis to God’s inclination of favor to his people. And as a further corroboration of the Israelites’ safe passage across the Red Sea, the psalmist provides another brief account. Modern skeptics have cast doubt on the authenticity of this display of divine intervention on behalf of the children of Israel, but this account provides another inspired witness concerning it. Further, it was the same God who led his people through the wilderness, even as verse 16 proves.

Then, verses 17 through 20 tell of the great and famous kings, Sihon of the Amorites, who refused to let the children of Israel pass through his land even after they had agreed not to “turn into the vineyards, … [or] drink of the waters” (Num. 21:22); and Og of Bashan, “a remnant of giants,” (Deut. 3:11) who were both slain by the hand of the Lord.

The account continues with Israel being brought into their own land, the land of Canaan which was their “heritage,” as an evidence of God’s steadfast love for them; for, even as the psalmist explains, it was God “who remembered us in our low estate … and hath redeemed us from our enemies.” (vss. 23,24) To complete the praise to God for all his abundant mercies verse 25 gives thanks for temporal provisions; then in closing we are inspired with the final exhortation: “O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

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