Twenty-six times in just twenty-six verses we are reminded of God’s enduring love. Psalm 136 may have been written as a song where the worship leaders (i.e., the Levites) sang the first part of the verse and the people sang the refrain. Over and over they repeated,
“His love endures forever.”
Meaning of God’s Enduring Love
The Hebrew word translated as “love” in the New International Version, checed, seems to wrap up God’s goodness, kindness, faithfulness, mercy, and graciousness in one word. These words well define God’s love, indicating that it is a loyal, steadfast love with the good of the recipients at its heart. Other versions translate the phrase as follows:
- KJV – for his mercy endureth for ever.
- NLT – His faithful love endures forever
- NASB – For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
- RSV – for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Demonstrations of God’s Enduring Love
The first two verses of Psalm 136 look at God’s character. Then the psalm goes on to deal with creation and His sovereignty over it. Next comes an account of God’s work on Israel’s behalf, ending with a general statement about God’s care for His created beings. The response to all of these truths is the same — “His love endures forever.”
God’s enduring love is integral to who He is, what He does, and how He relates.
At the core of not just His goodness but also His power, sovereignty, justice, and outstretched arm, is love. It motivates Him to work on behalf of His people and keep working on their behalf even “in our low estate” (v. 23).
I encourage you to take some time to read through Psalm 136 and reflect on God’s enduring love. Don’t gloss over the repeated phrase as redundant but rather, let it sink deep into your heart. As you go through your day, look at your life through the lens of God’s enduring love. If you do, you won’t be able to help but respond similarly to the psalmist — the topic for the next post.
Also Read: Teaching About God’s Love
ONLY THREE DAYS
Easter to me
Means our guilt is gone
When GOD’s perfect love
On earth was shown
There’s hope and healing
In the stripes HE endured
And there is forgiveness
Of this we’re assured
Hanging in shame
Upon a tree
Paying sin’s debt
For you and me
From a sealed tomb
Coming out victorious
RESURRECTION and LIFE
Eternal and glorious
Defeating darkness
HE is the LIGHT
And because of HIM
Death holds no fright
GOD the FATHER
HIS SON to raise
And a rich man’s tomb
Used only three days!
Timothy Jarmon
Copyright 2019
Timothy Jarmon, thank you for sharing this poem with us. Truly what we celebrate at Easter, Jesus’ death and resurrection, is God’s greatest demonstration of His enduring love as well as His grace and power.