KNOWING GOD’S MERCY

Knowing God #6, A.M.

 

Paul Harvey once told of an allergist, a medical doctor by the name of Max Benis. How good an allergist Max Benis is or was, I do not know. But I do know that Max Behis had the knack for showing mercy.

 

He was once walking along Waikiki Beach when he saw a pile of clothing floating in the water. He waded out to it, and discovered that the pile of clothes were attached to a young man who had apparently drowned. Dr. Benis dragged him to shore, pounded his chest and got him breathing.

 

One day on the coast in Malibu California, two women were riding horses. A playful dog came by and scared the horses causing them to rear back. One of the women was thrown off and swallowed her tongue.  Dr. Benis was walking in the area, pulled out the tongue and gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation, and saved her life.

 

In Palm Springs California, “…a work crew was installing a water pump at a local hotel when a young boy passed the construction site. The boy accidentally touched a live wire; the electricity in the wire held him fast. But a hotel guest sitting on the patio that morning saw what had happened, dashed out, running full speed, tackled the boy wrenching him fro the viselike electrical grip. The boy was saved.” The hotel guest was Dr. Max Benis.

 

Paul Harvey had a list of 19 such stories of how Dr. Benis was in the right place at the right time to save a life. Some doctors would worry over being sued if they helped. Dr. Benis knew how to show mercy!

 

If you think about it, every one of us at one time or another has been shown mercy. Not having to pay a bill, not receiving a deserved punishment, not being penalized for handing in a late paper, receiving help on a job or project around the house, that was your own responsibility.

 

The greatest shower of mercy who ever lived is certainly not Dr. Benis, although his accomplishments are commendable.

It is God who is the greatest shower of mercy.

 

Lamentations 3:22-23 - It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

 

God shows mercy to everyone, or we’d all be dead. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all violated God’s holy laws. And yet God does not immediately cast us into hell when we violate His commandments. If he did, earth would have been unpopulated long ago!

 

God’s greatest show of mercy was at the cross of Calvary where His Son died for your sins and mine.

 

Romans 5:6-8 - For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Now, through faith in His Son, God shows us the mercy of forgiveness and ever lasting life.   

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 

God’s mercy is such a tremendous blessing, not just at the moment of salvation, but throughout the life of the Christian.

Psalm 103:8-14 gives the believer a clear understanding of some of the mercy of God. It also gives the one who is yet to come to Christ some encouragement to be born again.

 

We want to continue our series on knowing God this morning by concentrating on Knowing God’s Mercy, as found in Psalm 103:8-14.  It is fitting on this Father’s Day to honor our Heavenly Father, by showing how richly He lavishes us with His mercy.

 

Psalm 103 is a Psalm of praise, giving us several reasons for praising the Lord.  I love verses 1-2 - Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. [2] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

 

In our text this morning I find the following things about mercy.

THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 8

THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 9-10

THE DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 11-12

THE DELIGHT OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 13

THE DESIGN OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 14

 

THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 8

 

Psalm 103:8 - The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

 

In this verse God declares outright that He is the God of mercy.  “Merciful is the adjective form of a word which means to “love deeply”, “be compassionate”, or “have mercy”.

 

When God described Himself to Moses he said in

Exodus 34:6, …The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

 

Because God is compassionate He cares about you!

He is concerned about your well being, your needs, your eternal life!

With God you are not a number on a computer printout. You are a real person!

 

God is also gracious. We think of grace as “unmerited favor”. Because God is gracious to us, He is showing us favor that we do not deserve.

 

I believe that of part of 118:6 describes that graciousness towards us. It says, The Lord is on my side.

   

The Lord is on my side, that’s why I have eternal life.

The Lord is on my side, that’s why I have forgiveness of sin.

The Lord is on my side, that’s why I have peace with God.

The Lord is on my side, that’s why I have answers to prayer.

The Lord is on my side, that’s why God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of me.

The Lord is on my side, that’s His grace or graciousness!

 

Not only does this verse declare that the Lord is merciful and gracious, but slow to anger.

 

There are many of us who can lose our tempers at the drop of hat. But God is holy, and does nothing unholy.

Although God’s righteous wrath is a terrible thing to experience, God is slow to anger.

 

If God was not slow to anger, the children of Israel would have never made it to the Promised Land. Between their complaining, immorality, and idolatry, there was enough for God to wipe them out!

 

This verse also tells us that God is plenteous in mercy.

This means that God abounds in love or in loving kindness.

 

Get this through your head, beloved. God loves you.

This is not just a trite saying.

These are not just nice sounding words.

God proved His love at Calvary, and has been proving it ever since in the lives of believers.

 

·        Look at the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life and see God’s love.

·        Look at the times God has rescued you from a tight spot and see God’s love.

·        Look at your Christian friendships and see God’s love.

·        Many of you can look at your wife or husband, children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren and see God’s love.

 

THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 8

THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 9-10

 

Psalm 103:9 – He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

 

In relation to God’s children, God does not always chide. That is, He is not always scolding us!   

 

Could God find reasons to scold His children all the time?

Indeed, He could!

None of us are perfect. We could all do better.

 

However, as justified as scolding us would be, God realizes that we would easily be discouraged if all we ever heard was scolding.

 

As parents we need to take a lesson from God.

Your children are not perfect, but do you scold them all the time?

Yes they need to be corrected, but they also need your positive input and encouragement. They need your praise.

 

When Donna was little Dottie and I realized that we needed to break a pattern.  We were afraid Donna was going to think that her last name was “don’t”.  We kept saying “Donna, don’t”!

 

However, when Donna was in college she thanked us one time for us telling her that we were proud of her.  Her friends’ parents weren’t doing that.

 

Back to thinking about God, when He scolds us He is correcting us so that we confess our sins and do better.

 

Hebrews 12:6 - For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

 

Also note that God does not keep His anger forever.

Psalm 32:5 - I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

 

As Christians, Christ died for our sins.

When we sin as Christians, we do not lose our salvation, but we lose our fellowship.

When we confess our sins, our fellowship with God is restored, and God is no longer angry with us.

 

And when we arrive in Heaven, and face the Judgment Seat of Christ and receive our rewards, and our embarrassments, that will be the end of it. There will be no more anger for any of our sins.   

   

There is an important lesson for us here.

If God does not keep His anger forever, why should we?

 

Ephesians 4:26-27- Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: [27] Neither give place to the devil.

 

Ephesians 4:32 - And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

 

Psalm 103:10 - He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

 

This is a terrific verse for the Christian.

He has not dealt with us after our sins, or we’d be in hell, or at least on the way!

 

God has decided to deal with us in mercy.

Our sins and iniquities He dealt with at the cross and put them on the back of His Son instead of on our backs.   

   

In his great hymn It is Well With My Soul, Horatio Spafford wrote these great words:

My sin, Oh the bliss of this glorious thought,

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.

Even so, It is well with my soul. 

 

THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 8

THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 9-10

THE DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 11-12

 

In these two verses we have two pictures of God’s mercy.

One picture deals with height, the other with width.

 

Psalm 103:11 - For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

 

How high are the Heavens above the earth?

The distance of the Heavens above the earth are like the Engergizer Bunny, “They keep going, and going, and going”.

The space above the earth goes for billions and trillions of miles.

That’s a lot distance.

That’s a lot of mercy!

 

My friend, I may not know why or how you are hurting today. But I can assure you of God’s mercy in your life.   

 

His mercy toward them that fear him.

If you’ve feared Him enough to trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior His mercy is there for you.

As you fear, that is reverence and respect, Him in your Christian walk you will see evidences of His mercy every day! I suggest that you look for them!

 

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

 

If you travel north you will eventually travel south.

If you travel south you will eventually travel north.

South and north meet at the north and south poles.

However, you can travel east forever and never start heading west.

And you travel west forever and never start heading east.

 

If it were possible to walk straight into space in a straight line, we could head east, and never see someone who is heading west.

When it comes to our sins, God sends them in one direction, and us in the other, never to meet again!

 

My friend, every sin you’ve ever committed is paid for. Every sin you will ever commit is paid for!

When you commit a sin as a Christian, that will not keep you out of Heaven, for your sins are paid for!

 

This does not give you license to sin.

Romans 6:1-2 - What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? [2] God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

 

Because we have received so much mercy from God, we should not want to sin.  We should not want to add to the list of things that Jesus had to die for!

Because we love our loving God and our wonderful Savior, let’s make every effort to flee from sin, and of course, keep short accounts with God by confessing our sins.   

 

THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 8

THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 9-10

THE DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 11-12

THE DELIGHT OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 13

 

Psalm 103:13 - Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

Unfortunately, for some this verse is not significant because they have not experienced the love of a Father.   

The Psalmist is saying here that as a good Father loves his children, God loves those who fear Him.

 

My Dad communicated His love towards me in many ways down through the years.

 

·        He cared enough to correct me when I was wrong.

·        He joined the boy scouts when I decided to join. He joined the committee the night I became a scout.

·        He helped me to find employment during my college years.

·        He slipped me money when he realized that Dottie and I needed it.

·        He and Mom would come and watch the kids so we could get away.

 

I always respected him even when I didn’t agree with Him.

He demanded my respect.

Because I respected him, he did all he could to help me, to love me.

 

My Heavenly Father has shown His love to each of us personally. I already itemized some general ways the Lord loves us. May I indulge and share some personal ways the Lord has loved me? What I say may or may not be true of you, but you will have other ways the Lord has shown you His love.

 

·        He has given me a faithful and loving wife.

·        He has given me children that love the Lord and raising their children to love the Lord. And they are all respectful to Dottie and I.

·        He has given us friends who stuck with us through thick and thin.

·        He has protected us from harm in many ways.

·        He’s provided for all our needs.

·        He’s been patient with me when I’ve messed up.

And on and on I could go.

Christian, as we fear God, we give Him all the more reason to pour out His love towards us.

 

THE DESIGN OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 14

   

Psalm 103:14 - For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

 

“A man doing some shopping in a grocery store was being closely followed by his small son. The boy was carrying a large basket, and the father was loading it with one item after another. He put in canned goods, sugar, flour, meat, and a variety of vegetables. A customer who was watching began to feel sorry for the youngster, thinking his load was becoming too heavy for Him. Walking up behind him, she said quietly, ‘That’s a big load for a little chap like you to carry isn’t it?’ The boy turned to her as if surprised by the question. “Then he smiled and said, ‘Oh, Don’t worry, my Dad knows how much I can carry!’”  

 

How true. God knows our frame. He knows that He made us from dust. He never gives us more than we carry can for He’s always there to carry us!

 

HE WILL NOT OVERLOAD YOU WITH TRIALS

HE WILL NOT OVERLOAD YOU WITH TEMPTATION

HE WILL NOT OVERLOAD YOU WITH TASKS

THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 8

THE DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 9-10

THE DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S MERCY – Vss. 11-12

THE DELIGHT OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 13

THE DESIGN OF GOD’S MERCY – Vs. 14