Blessed Hope, Future Hope!

“It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that He might save us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” –Isaiah 25:9.  “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God:  for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” –Psalm 42:11.  “But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells…You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.  But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.” -2 Peter 3:15,17-18.  “In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” –Titus 1:2  “so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” –Titus 3:7  “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life…Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen.” Jude 21, 24-25 (ESV).

Christians live in hope for three basic reasons.  First is God’s work of reconciliation through the Lord Jesus Christ.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3, ESV).  The second reason Christians live in hope is that the Holy Spirit dwells within each believer:  “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16)  The third reason for living in hope is what awaits the Christian in the future.  God promised and His promises will always be fulfilled.  The anticipation of what is yet to be is the Christian’s future hope.  “But as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.  For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”  (I Corinthians 2:9-10).  Here Paul was referring to Isaiah 64:4 and Matthew 25:34 which tell of the glory that is yet to be.  Blessed hope sustains us in the present; future hope helps us anticipate the fulfillment of God’s promise of life everlasting and of the consummation of the Kingdom of God.

It is interesting to note that the future hope was both an Old and New Testament idea.  Scholars who have counted the references tell us that the Hebrew words indicating future hope are used repeatedly in the Old Testament.  For example, qawah (meaning wait for God) is used 26 times; yahai (long for God) 27 times; hakah (to wait for God) 7 times; sabar (wait and hope for God) 4 times [“Future Hope” in Holman Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Broadman, 2001, pp. 519-20].  Nouns that carry the idea of future hope are added to the strong Hebrew verbs to give at least 146 references in the Old Testament of future hope.  The references to future hope in the New Testament are numerous and frequent.  These are based upon the promise of the Lord to come again to earth, receive His own (his bride) unto Himself, and to establish His righteous reign.  In the meantime, while we await that day, Christians live in the present with confidence and face the future with courage.  Even if we have to suffer while awaiting the glorious consummation, we know “that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).  Blessed hope and future hope—hope that fills our present and colors our future is not an ordinary hope.  Christian hope is a gift from God:  “we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul”(Hebrews 6:18-19).  Please reread prayerfully the focus verses given at the beginning of this devotional.  And as you reread them, let your heart fill with gratitude to overflowing for our blessed hope, our future hope.  Thank Him that some of these promises of God have been fulfilled and all of them will be fulfilled. To God be the glory!

A Mighty Refrain: “For His Mercy Endures Forever”

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever.” –Psalm 136:1-3 (NKJV) [Read Psalm 136]

Psalm 136 is a paean of praise to God with a repeated refrain at the end of each of its twenty-six verses. Known as the great “Hallel” or praise or Hallelujah Psalm, it expresses exuberance that overflows with fervor from the worshiper who recognizes with both awe and gratitude that mercy comes forever from the Lord God.

Mercy is a word with deep meaning for our religious experience. Used as it is by the Psalmist in Psalm 136, it means the undeserved favor of God, extending kindness, favor and forgiveness to those who do not deserve it. In an exercise of remembering God’s favor through many events, including the very creation itself, the Israelites sojourn in Egypt and their deliverance, their battles to win the Promised Land, and even to the Psalmist himself and his personal, lowly estate, the Lord’s mercy has endured through all.

This Psalm is a reminder to us that we, too, should take time to make an inventory, a list of the blessings that have come to us, undeserved, from the merciful hand of God. Where would we begin? Could we ever finish the list? Of course it would be impossible to list all the benefits from God’s mercy. But even our incomplete list would show a heart of gratitude, one like that of the Psalmist that bursts forth in a mighty refrain: “For His mercy endures forever!”

In the light of New Testament teachings and the compassion (mercy) of God as demonstrated in the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have an even deeper understanding of the extent of God’s mercy.

His mercy was always one of the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23), something His people should have been practicing all along, but many times failed to do. Salvation is not by works but “according to God's own mercy” (Titus 3:5). We are admonished to draw near to God that we may “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

God is merciful to us. The Psalmist had a wonderful idea of expressing “His mercy endures forever,” with his listing of many blessings. We need an acute awareness of God’s mercy, as our Doxology expresses, and “praise God from Whom all blessings flow!” Since God is merciful, and His mercy endures forever, He expects merciful action to others on the part of His followers. esus gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach us the value of practicing mercy, and to show us that as we progress through life there are those who need our help and our merciful attention.

After reading and studying Psalm 136, may we be more aware of God’s mercy and of expressing gratitude for God’s undeserved favor—His mercy that endures forever.