This song is the kind of cheerful decoration you’d expect to find in the living room of a joyful, thankful, healthy mind. It is a wonderful song to have bubbling in your heart as you go through the day. Give it a listen, sing along, and then we’ll consider why God’s mercy is, indeed, something to sing about.

I will sing

Psalm 89:1 reads:
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

What joyful enthusiasm is expressed in the declaration “I will sing”!

What’s got this singer so excited? Two things:
1. He knows of the mercies of the Lord personally
2. He knows that NEITHER the mercies of the Lord NOR his ability to sing about them will ever end

What on earth can a person do with so much good news? He can SING! Our psalmist intends to:
share his joy
and knowledge
with others,
loud and happy . . . and . . .

forever.

The mercies of the Lord

Here are short, useful definitions:

GRACE – God’s unmerited favor
MERCY – God’s withholding of merited judgement

When God enables us to perform beyond our own ability and to succeed in a good work, that’s GRACE.

When God prevents us from getting wiped out from doing something stupid or foolish, that’s MERCY.

“Mercy” and “grace” are two words that often appear near each other in the Bible. But Psalm 89 is NOT one of those places grace and mercy appear near each other.

Grace does not appear in Psalm 89 at all.
Mercy occurs 4 times, and mercies 1 time.

Do you see what our psalmist is singing about in verse 1? Mercies, plural.
I’ll bet he has some stories to tell!

“Don’t quit until I tell you to” — God

Psalm 89 opens with praise and rejoicing, but does not seem to be about someone who is celebrating a good work he accomplished through God’s grace. Instead, he is celebrating God’s amazing MERCY. In the midst of things that coulda-woulda-shoulda been done better, our psalmist is exuberant that God withheld “merited judgement” and enabled the people to stay alive, remain in the game, and continue driving forward and serving God.

We have all made mistakes that could have taken us out. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy said, “You might be a redneck if your last words before losing consciousness have ever been, ‘Hey, y’all! Watch this'”

If — or WHEN — we realize we were miraculously, by God’s mercy, pulled out of the soup, we COULD just quit moving and, instead, shut down and wallow in our sense of guilt or stupidity. Maybe we should have died but God had other plans for us, and mercifully withheld merited judgement. When that happens, let’s not freeze and just sit around feeling bad — and lose twice! Instead, let’s recognize those two “greatest words” from the Bible, “BUT GOD”, and let’s pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and embrace the work God still wants us to get done.

God loves us, and only wants good for us. God’s mercy is not given
so we can hang it up and mope, but
so we can hop up and move!

Setting words to music

MEMORY AID
Setting Bible verses or other sayings to a melody is a great way to help us remember the words. This song is just one of many examples of that technique. Give it a try the next time you want to memorize something.

SONG WRITING IDEA
Many times a useful song can be made out of a Bible verse or other quote either just as it appears, or with only a little tweaking. When you find a verse you like, try setting it to a melody. Songs don’t ALL have to be blockbuster number one hits to be memorable or useful. And remember, one key to getting better at songwriting is to WRITE, right?

God bless you lots!
-Dale R.

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Download this music sheet

LYRICS: Psalm 89

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing I will sing.
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.
With my mouth will I make known
Thy faithfulness, Thy faithfulness;
With my mouth will I make known
Thy faithfulness to all generations.

And the heavens shall praise, shall praise thy wonders
I will sing I will sing.
And the heavens shall praise, shall praise thy wonders
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.
With my mouth will I make known
Thy faithfulness, Thy faithfulness;
With my mouth will I make known
Thy faithfulness to all generations.

Your thoughts, please?

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