Ever Faithful, Ever Sure

It was really early, and as I awoke, a tune was ringing through my head and my soul. I could remember only the last line: "For his mercies aye endure, ever faithful, ever sure." In my dream, I was looking down on a group of singers, none of whom I knew. They stood clustered together in a beautiful valley, singing away. Those who know me would not at all be surprised by this dream, since I play the piano and organ, and I sing in a choir. Music has often been the way God communicates with me. I was being divinely reminded that God's promises are faithful and sure.

By now, I was frustrated, though, because I could not find this hymn in any of my hymnbooks, and I have many of them! I looked up my old books first because of the word "aye". Nothing. What to do? A search on the Internet turned up nothing. This is frustrating, but why am I letting it get to me? What is the first line? Oh, I wish I could remember.

A hymn points us to God, so I turned to my Bible and tried to look up some of the words included in the hymn. This is what I found:

Psalm 145:13b – The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. (TNIV)

I had been led this far. Why?

Later in the day, I lay down for my usual nap, but the phone rang, and there was no more sleep. Once again, my mind turned to God's faithfulness, and now at last, I heard the first lines in my mind: "Let us with a gladsome mind, praise the Lord for He is kind." For those who have a glad mind as they praise the Lord, the reason is apparent. "For His mercies aye endure, ever faithful, ever sure." (John Milton, 1608 – 1674.) I needed the glad mind before I recognized how wonderfully faithful is our merciful God!

So this is God's message for us today. It has been sung with glad minds by thousands over the ages since the 1600s! Now, once again, I sing it, and the last line truly hits home as we all sing about the faithfulness of our God. We all need this reassurance that our God is a kind, loving God. We can trust His promises — they are ever faithful, ever sure! They are firm, to be relied upon. He will not fail us. His mercies do endure forever. Our Lord is kind-hearted and compassionate, caring for our every need. We can be glad and praise our God!

Listen again to God's Word: "The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does." Thank you, O God, for this truth today.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You know what we have been worrying about, keeping us awake at night. We give it all to You, for You are faithful, and Your promises of help are certain. You will never fail us nor forsake us. Thank You for Your kindness to us, Your creatures. We don't deserve such grace, but Your mercies are new every morning, and Your promises are all firm and sure, to be counted on. In Jesus, we see all this to be true, so we come to Him and offer into His hands all our worries and fears. Through Jesus, our Lord, we receive perfect peace. Thank You, O Lord. Amen.

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