God Is Great In Power. He Is Also Great In Love.

Psalm 135:1-21
‘Praise the Lord’(1-3,19-21). ‘The Lord is good... The Lord is great’(3,5). In our worship, we focus on both God’s greatness and His goodness. God is great in power: ‘Great is our Lord and mighty in power’(147:5). He is also great in love: ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’(1 John 3:1). When we praise the Lord, singing of His greatness, let us not think only of the greatness of His power: ‘I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed’. Let us think also of His goodness, the greatness of His love: ‘And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin’(Mission Praise, 506).

Psalm 136:1-26
‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating - over and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love - ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’(Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is an unfailing love - ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’(Isaiah 54:10). Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love (1-3,26). In His love, the Lord has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will last for ever’(Isaiah 45:17; 51:6). We must not be like those who refuse to love the Lord - ‘Pharaoh... great kings... mighty kings ...’(15,17-20). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different - the ‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’(John 3:16-18; Hebrews 10:26-27).

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