[Songs in the Night - October 31]
Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord. Malachi 3:7
THE thought everywhere held out in the Scriptures
is that God's mercy endureth forever—that is, "olam,"
or to a completion.
A small portion of the world of
mankind at the present time has received God's favor
to the extent of being justified and made partakers in
the divine favor and mercies of this present time.
As
in his dealings with these the Lord is very gracious, so
is he to those who return from the ways of sin, and he
is even patient with those who lack the spirit of love
and forgiveness, and comes to them entreating them to
join in his gracious plans and arrangements.
This
loving-kindness bestowed upon the believers of the
present time illustrates the Spirit of the Lord.
It becomes
an assurance to us of the fulfilment of his promise
that in due time all the families of the earth shall be
brought to a knowledge of his goodness, to an opportunity
for knowing him whom to rightly know and
appreciate will mean to them everlasting life. Z'06-254 R3836:4 (Hymn 226)