Bible scholars tell us that if something is repeated in the Bible 2 or 3 times then we should take note of it because it must be important. In Psalm 136 the words, “His mercy and loving kindness endure forever” are repeated 25 times so something tells me this must be very important! In the Hebrew just one word is used for, “mercy and loving kindness” and it is “chesed” which means unfailing love, kindness, tenderness and in this context it is everlasting. We read in Lamentations that, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam 3:22-23; ESV). Similarly, in Psalm 103:4 we are told that God, “crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies” and in verse 8 of the same Psalm we read that “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (NKJV). In Psalm 23 verse 6, David writes that we will be pursued by goodness and mercy, wow! In the New Testament, the Greek word for mercy is “eleos” which means compassion, tender mercy, kindness and an outward manifestation of pity. Mary, the mother of Jesus said, “His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50; NKJV). It is because of God’s mercy that He sent Jesus to earth to redeem us and give us the promise of eternal life (Eph 2:4; 1 Pe 1:3; Jude 21). Not only does our merciful God shower His mercy on us but He expects us to shower mercy on others! But that is a topic for another day!