Time After Time (Psalm 78:32-39)

³² In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
³³ So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
³⁴ Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
³⁶ But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷ their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

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What struck me today were the words “time after time.”  God’s mercy was poured out on His people “time after time.”  Asaph had just made the point that the people were quite undeserving of the Lord’s favor, that even when they returned to him, they were filled with hypocrisy.  “Time after time” is an apt description for the sin of the people.   But then he uses it to describe the mercy of the God who repeatedly forgave the sins of His people.

I am quite thankful for this character trait of God, that in His mercy He is willing to forgive our repeated failures.  In spite of all the gifts God has given us, we continue to sin, just as Asaph describes the pattern of the Israelites.  Is our repentance sincere?  Is my repentance sincere?  That is the final accusation from Asaph, that their return to the Lord was mere flattery.  Does this happen when we gather to worship? Are we merely going through the motions, with no serious intent to change our lives?

As I said, I am thankful for the Lord’s “time after time” mercy.  I know I need it!

So my prayer today is one of thanksgiving for the repeated mercies of God.  But I am also praying that my repentance would be sincere, rather than mere flattery. I pray that my heart would be truly loyal to my Lord, that I would keep His covenant as He calls me to do.

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