Blessed Be God (1 Peter 1:3)

The apostle is praising God and encouraging us to do the same. There are countless reasons why we should praise him and Peter is taking a portion of his epistle to note specific reasons why.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3)

Abundant mercy: aren't you glad for that? Each work that God does for us is because of his mercy and this mercy that he has for us endures forever.

I remember being raised Catholic. During the mass there was a portion of time set aside for the priest to either pray or state praises to God and the congregation would respond to whatever he said by saying the same phrase.  Psalm 136 reminds me of such an event.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 136:1)

For years, I struggled with this passage because I resist ritualistic worship. But one day, I saw it differently. Imagine the first half of a verse in this psalm being stated by someone.  The statement declares something about God that is beneficial to man. A pause takes place as the people search for why God would act in such a manner toward man and then finally in unison they declare, "For his mercy endures forever."  The process repeats itself again, but the pause is shorter and the exclamation is louder. Can you imagine yourself being there? " Why did God love you?"  "For his mercy endures forever!"  "Why did he call you?"  "For his mercy endures forever!"  How long could this go on? It is endless and in heaven, it will last and go on forever.

Every action that God has made for you is because of his mercy. Had it not been for mercy, your life and eternity would be hopeless. There maybe times or situations in your life that are very difficult. From the natural view, there may not seem to be any reason for praising God, but if you stop, seek his face and think for a while, God will reveal to you his workings, provisions or purposes for those situations. When you recognize his handiwork in your life, you too will be forced to proclaim your explanation with the very same words: for his mercy endures forever.