In the Psalms, God’s name, His righteousness and faithfulness is said to “endure forever.” But nothing is said to be as eternal as often as God’s love.
I like the translation that his love “endures” forever. Not just that it “lasts,” or “is eternal,” but that it “endures.” “Enduring carries with it the notion of “getting through,” weathering the onslaught of challenge. Like an old ship, God’s love is often battered by the stormy seas of relationships, but no matter how high the waves, how great the wind, it cannot be capsized. It’s there, relentlessly chasing me, ready to rescue.
Psalm 118 is a psalm of “re-orientation.” The writer has been through some tough times, some of them, he believes, brought on by God Himself but for the most part, they’ve been the opposition of his enemies. Through them all, he has relied on God, and though not unscathed (learning lessons tends to leave a mark), God has provided deliverance. His experience leads the writer to call on all Israel to praise the Lord, for his experience proves that God’s love endures forever.
I hope your experience with the Lord has led you to the same conclusion, and I hope you too have joined the psalmist in an expression of thanksgiving.