The Merciful

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." (Psalm 103: 8)

"God, who is rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2: 5).

"he delighteth in mercy." (Micah 7: 18)

It is truly good news to tell - that God is merciful and full of compassion! God is such that he "delights in showing mercy." He is not cruel, nor without mercy.

Lord God does not simply overlook sin, for he is not only merciful, but just and holy, a God who has promised to not "clear the guilty." The great theological question has always been - how can God pardon the transgressor, show mercy and forgiveness, and yet remain just?

"But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him..." (Psalm 103: 17)

"The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes." (Psalm 119: 64)

"Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy." (Proverbs 20: 28)

"And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness." (Isaiah 16: 5)

God is sovereign in the bestowal of mercy. Though he delights in showing mercy, yet he is in no way obligated to show mercy. All must come to God begging for mercy, but not feeling that God owes them mercy.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4: 16)

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." (Titus 3: 5)

"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." (Psalm 115: 1)

"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." (I Peter 1: 3)

These verses ascribe salvation from sin to the mercy of God alone. Salvation is not in any way deserved, for if it were earned, or a matter of debt and reward, then it could not be said to be a thing of mercy.

"But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation." (Psalm 13: 5)

"But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me." (Psalm 109: 21)

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." (Psalm 23: 6)

"Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper." (Psalm 30: 10)

"I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities." (Psalm 31: 7)

"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about." (Psalm 32: 10)

"Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy." (Psalm 33: 18)

These verses describe those who receive saving mercy. They are such who have disowned personal merit in salvation, and have trusted in God's mercy alone. They not only trust in his mercy, but they hope and rejoice in it. They also have learned how to show mercy to others, unlike the wicked who have not begged God sincerely for saving mercy.

"The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth." (Psalm 37: 21)

"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart." (Proverbs 3: 3)

"Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." (Hosea 4: 1)

"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6: 6)

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6: 8)

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Matthew 23: 23)

"Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." (Luke 10: 36, 37)

God not only delights in mercy, but he desires his children, yea, all men, to do the same. He commands men to be merciful and compassionate to their fellow men, thereby truly being a good neighbor and Good Samaritan. It is one of the "weightier matters" of the things of God for men to meditate upon what it means to be merciful and to practice it.

"For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." (James 2: 13)

Thus, to practice being unmerciful is eternally damning to the soul. If one is unmerciful, he can expect to receive no mercy from the Lord, both now, and in the coming Day of Judgment. So taught Jesus - "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." (Matthew 5: 5)

"He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he." (Proverbs 14: 21)

"Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother." (Zechariah 7: 9)

A person who holds grudges, refuses to forgive, and neglects to show mercy and compassion, is such a person who can never be happy. The truly blessed and happy person is the one who's nature is to be merciful and gracious.

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits..." (James 3: 17)

It is also a mark of heavenly wisdom to be a merciful person. It is not a mark of weakness, as some imagine, but a mark of strength.

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." (Psalm 85: 10)

"in wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3: 2).

Such passages were fulfilled in their zenith when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. By pouring out his wrath against sinners on Christ, God has opened the way for him to both show mercy and uphold his justice and righteous law. Mercy and truth (justice) met together in Jesus when he died on the cross for sinners.

"O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." (Psalm 90: 14)

"When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up." (Psalm 94: 18)

"Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden (look) unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us." (Psalm 123: 2)

God's elect, said Jesus, "cry unto him day and night" (Luke 18: 7), and it is a cry for mercy. Every person who has ever been saved has cried out - "God be merciful to me a sinner." (Luke 18: 13)

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28: 13)

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Romans 9: 15, 16)

"What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Verses 22-24)

That is what every saved person is - a "vessel of mercy" whom God the Potter made into such a glorious thing. One is either a vessel of mercy, saved and forgiven of sin, or he is a "vessel of wrath."