04/02/2022
The Mercy Of God
God is a God of mercy. When he appeared to Moses, he declared his name before himself in these words: “…The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth…. “ (Exo. 34:6 NKJV).
We see that in mercy he led his people forth out of Egypt to their habitation (Ex. 15:13). Perhaps one of the most repeated themes of praise in the Bible are the words, “His mercy endures forever.” In Psalm 136 alone, this refrain is repeated 26 times.
It is God’s mercy to which we sinners primarily appeal. We see this demonstrated in the words of the penitent David in Psalm 51:1: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” The Father assures us in Psalm 147:11 that he is pleased with such an approach, for the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his mercy.
Of course, the greatest act of mercy that God has ever demonstrated was to send his Son to die for our sins. In Titus 3:5 we read that “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy….” Mercy was such an important thing to the early Christians that they often included it in their greetings. We see this in 1 Timothy 1:2 and in a lot of other places: “To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
GOD EXPECTS HIS CHILDREN TO BE MERCIFUL
Because God is a merciful God, he expects his children to be merciful. Mercy is so important that God instructs us to bind it around our necks and write it upon the tablet of our hearts (Prov. 3:3). In Matthew 23:23, we learn that mercy is one of the weightier matters of the law, and that it takes precedence over many other things. The prophet Hosea informs us that God desires mercy, even more than he desires sacrifice (Hos. 6:6). In what seems to be a watershed statement in the Hebrew scriptures, the prophet says to us in Micah 6:8: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
When Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount, he summarized the biblical teaching in these simple words, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt. 5:7). In another place, the Lord gives us a simple command to be merciful: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
SOME ASPECTS OF MERCY
God’s people of old were taught to show mercy in many everyday actions. In Exodus 22:26-27, we read that a garment, taken in pledge for a debt, had to be returned before the sun went down. This was an act of mercy in order that the neighbor may not have to shiver all night without a covering. The people of Israel were warned about oppressing the poor and were commanded instead to show mercy to them. There is a beautiful promise attached that we see in the Psalms: “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble“ (Psa. 41:1). This promise is also reflected in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as we saw above in Matthew 5:7. We learn that what we give in showing mercy, we also receive. There is a beautiful custom in Israel of considering the poor by placing unused bread near the walkways, so that hungry people may be able to eat. God will bless us for such small things.
Today we have a great deal of Bible teaching and people, no doubt, feel they are sharing the very wisdom of God. But why is it that we have so little teaching about mercy? In James 3:17, the writer informs us, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” God’s wisdom is a wisdom that is full of mercy. We need to always remember this fact in our teaching and in our dealing with others. For those not interested in mercy, the same author informs us, “…judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful….” (Jas. 2:13).
