THE MERCY OF THE LORD

Exodus 34-6 & 7b

Morning Meditation 10/20/17

Exodus 34:6-7, "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

These verses were given by the Lord Himself when He passed by Moses on the mount where He gave the ten commandments. God reveals Himself as a merciful God.

The word "mercy" translates "rachuwm" and means, "compassionate." The word mercy is a word that is connected to a guilty person. When one asks God for mercy He is asking God to be compassionate toward him because he has done wrong. God showed mercy on the wicked city of Nineveh. Jonah preached to them and warned of coming judgement. The whole city repented and God showed mercy to them. This is a good example of God's mercy. It is being compassionate on the guilty. God backed away in mercy and spared Nineveh because the whole city repented.

Let's notice the character of God's mercy:

HIS MERCY IS GREAT

Numbers 14:18 says, "The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression. . ."

We can see the Longsuffering of God in our own country. Our country is filled with baby killers in the abortion clinics. It is filled with people who use God's holy name as a curse word. We are living in a nation that will not allow prayer and the Bible in the public schools. If some children went down the halls of our schools shouting I love Satan, I love Satan what do you think would be done? You know and I know. However, if someone walked down the same hall shouting, I love Jesus, I love Jesus, what do you think would happen? They would expel those students.

The reason God has not judged this nation is stated by Peter in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

The mercy of God is great because God is the source of it. It is almost impossible for us to realize the greatness of God. That is because He is greater than any thing we see on earth or in the heavens. What can we compare God's greatness to? Where can we find a word in all the vocabularies on earth that will come any where near describing God. For one so great bending down to this unholy world gone astray and put His loving arms around us, and design a plan to forgive us our sin, and build a city not made with hands, it gives us a little understanding of His greatness. God is great because He is the source mercy.

God is great because he paid the price of Salvation. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The Father giving His Son is no small matter. That takes in God the Son becoming man by the virgin birth. He became a man without a man. Matthew 1:19-21, "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

While reincarnation is absolutely not true, it is very true that Jesus was incarnated into the womb of the Virgin Mary. The way this took place is not possible to the scientist. I believe many scientists are saved. But he knows that the virgin birth cannot be explained by science. God declared that this is the way His Son came into the world. That demonstrates the greatness of God. God made man and the world in which we live. Why should it be a thing incredible for Him to incarnate His Son in the virgin's womb. Nothing is impossible with God.

HIS MERCY IS ENDURING

1 Chronicles 16:34-36, "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD."

Wouldn't you have liked to be in that service? Notice what the verse declares. The Psalmist exhorts the people, "O give thanks unto the LORD for His goodness and for His mercy, Because God is great, they asked for His protection from their enemies. Israel knew God was great and could be entreated to save them from their enemies. What they asked God for was mercy. They made no claim in this verse that they deserved the answer to this prayer. They were at His mercy. Since God had chosen them and brought them out of Egypt, they made this appeal to God because He is full of mercy for those who love Him.

When I got saved, it was because God had convicted me of my sins, and He wanted to show mercy for me as I believed in Jesus, and rested my case on Christ's ability to save. There has been many times since then, that I doubted my salvation, but it was always because I was focusing on me and my short comings. When I looked back to the Lord, it always cured the doubt. God's mercy is never withdrawn. Someone say amen!!!

Psalms 103:8-11, "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.." Have you ever gone to the Lord after having committed a sin and ask Him for mercy? As you prayed Satan was whispering in your ear that you did not deserve His mercy? When this happens, it is not God who is reluctant to answer your prayer, it is Satan accusing the truth of God's mercy.. If you listen to Satan you will not get your prayer answered. You have to believe that God is great enough to forgive your sins and His mercy endureth forever. Amen!!!

GOD'S MERCY IS PLENTEOUS

God is ever ready to bestow upon us His mercy. God is full of mercy and does not give us small amounts, when He supplies mercy it comes to us in floods. This demonstrates the extent of His love for us. He knows us and is always ready to forgive us. Forgiveness is based on God's love for us.

GODS MERCY IS RICH

Paul said in Ephesians 2:4, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us," The word "mercy" translates, "wealthy, abounding in resources." One cannot ask God for something that He does not possess. He can and will supply all our needs. God supplied the Jews with manna from heaven for the space of 40 years. After they left the wilderness wanderings, the manna ceased. The Jew knew that God was unlimited in His willingness to supply His children. God is not poor, He is rich.

GOD'S MERCY IS SALVATION FOR THE REPENTANT SINNER

Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" Paul is saying that it is because of His mercy that He saved us.

Luke 18:13-14, "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

GOD'S MERCY IS GREAT BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE

Hebrews 2:17 Says, " Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."

First this verse speaks of His incarnation. Notice is says, "Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren . . . " This really magnifies the infinity of God's love (it is measureless) and the magnitude of the event of God becoming a man. This blows the minds of the educated and they rebel against the idea because it is unscientific. What the learned of our day believe is what they can see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and feel with their hands. It has to be in a text book some where and endorsed by the humanists who are in control of the sciences being taught our children. They say that if you do not believe that this all started with a "big bang," and that millions or billions of years later we were squirted out of some primeval ooze, you are off your rocker!!! I do not believe that this world including all of creation was a process. I believe what Isaiah 45:18 says, "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." The earth we live on, the air we breathe, the body we live in, and all creation was made by God suddenly and it was without flaw. A principle that we need to get settled on is that a Perfect God cannot do an imperfect thing. Any imperfections that are found any where they have the finger prints of Satan on them.

There was a big bang ok, but it was when Satan was cast down. This is what is described in Genesis 1:2 and the verses that follow. The Bible says in Psalms 33:6, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." Then again in Psalms 33:9, "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." That does not sound like a process does it? God created a perfect earth and Satan was cast down as Jesus said in Luke 10:18, "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." I'm not going to labor this point, but I'm just giving you something to think about.

God is the Author of the plan of salvation. He has done all He needs to do to save me and you. All we have to do is to receive Christ as our Saviour, and when we do that we are recreated in Christ Jesus, and the human spirit is made perfect by the speaking voice of the Eternal Word, and it stands absolutely perfect, on the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ. This new birth does not change the flesh. It creates in us a new man after the image of God. Ephesians 4:24 says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." This new man is never subjected to temptation. It is out of the reach of Satan. All he can do is ruin our testimony by his temptation of the flesh. And it is easy to fall into his traps.

God is continually open to the sinners call. John says in John 6:37, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." That means that a lost sinner will never be turned down when he comes to God with a repentant heart and receives Christ as a personal Saviour.

This also means that the sinning saint (we can and do sin in the flesh) can come to Him and he will not be cast out. God is there to forgive and restore the believer who has wandered from the path of righteousness. God wants fellowship with all His children and praise God He has a way for us to return and be restored. God is the God of grace and grace is for the saint as well as for the sinner.

God's grace is always available. May God convict us and draw us to Himself. May we never think that we cannot return to our Merciful and loving God.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White