On Valentine’s Day, which is a day dedicated to the expression of love, let us remember the love that God has shown to us, the strongest love ever known to humankind, unconditional and unending. He gives us a portrait of this love fitted to our human understanding in Hosea the prophet, whose wife had committed harlotry and forsaken him and her children; yet in love he pays the price to redeem her (probably form the slave market) and bring her back into his household, Hosea 3:1-3. God’s love is so strong toward us that His heart breaks when we reject it (see Luke 19:41, 42 & Matthew 23:37) knowing that the rejection of His love leaves no option but judgment! Because His love is so strong He took the judgment we deserved, because of our sin, upon Him. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” NKJV. Every one of the twenty-six verses in Psalm 136 ends with the words “His faithful love endures forever” in the NLT. Other translations like the NKJV say “His mercy endures forever.” That Hebrew word for mercy can also be translated “lovingkindness” The CEV says “God’s love never fails”, and I like that! It is in love that His mercy is shown, and my favorite way to think of His mercy is that it withholds from us what we deserved – wrath and judgment- while on the other hand His grace bestows on us what we did not deserve – forgiveness and blessing!
HIS FAITHFUL LOVE ENDURES FOREVER
Taken from Psalm 136
By Rose Hill
Our God is so very good,
To give thanks to Him we surely should.
For His faithful love endures forever,
We bring praise to Him forever and ever.
Many miracles are done by His hand,
His glory is seen throughout the land.
For His faithful love endures forever,
We bring praise to Him forever and ever.
He remembers us when we are weak,
When His presence we humbly seek.
For His faithful love endures forever,
We bring praise to Him forever and ever.
He gives food to every living thing,
So about His goodness we will sing.
For His faithful love endures forever,
We bring praise to Him for ever and ever
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright by Thomas Nelson Co. Used by permission.