The Steadfast Love of the Lord

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

His mercies never come to an end

They are new every morning, new every morning

Great is thy faithfulness, Oh God

Great is thy faithfulness

I have not heard nor sung the above song for a long time. I only could remember part of the lyrics of the song "His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness". As I was listening to sermon on Sunday, the tune and words of the song suddenly came into mind. After humming the tune over and over again, the entire lyrics of the song slowly came to my mind.

Psalm 51 reads:

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The above psalm was written by King David, after he had sinned against God (read account in 2 Samuel 11-12) David's sorrow and repentence is evident in his writing. It is comforting to know that the Lord my God is a merciful God, one who has unfailing love and great compassion towards us.

Psalm 103:8-12

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

If we acknowledge our sins and transgressions, God is just and merciful to forgive us. With total repentence and dependence on Him, we are able to be free from the captivity of our sins and in turn, have great joy and praises for Him who is gracious. His mercy is boundless and never ends.

Although we will eventually have to deal with the consequences of our sins, the abundant grace the God poured out on us enables us to put the past behind and strive onwards to the goal which Christ has marked out for us. Praise and thanks be to God!