The Mercy of God

                                                    Christ Sanctuary  -  24th September 2023      

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Mercy! / Just exactly what is mercy?

Mercy would be a meaningless idea 

if we weren’t guilty of wrongdoing / and deserving punishment

Mercy is offered only where there is guilt / mercy presupposes guilt

If you didn’t break any law / you wouldn’t need mercy

If you did / mercy might spare you from what justice demands

In the law court / when a trial draws to a close

* the jury returns an unanimous guilty verdict
* the judge makes the conviction

And in a few weeks time / the court meets again
* that is when the sentencing is handed down

Now / it is at the sentencing / that mercy is begged for
The defence advocate says something like
“We would like to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court
Your honour / My client has a wife and five children
This is his first offence / We beg for mercy”

You see / mercy is never asked for / so long as the accused
is still in a state of presumed innocence

Neither is it sought before the sentence is passed

So long as you can still expect something from justice
you will not look for mercy

Instead / mercy is only sought / after a verdict of guilt is passed 

and the sentence handed down

People only appeal for mercy / when that is their only hope

You no longer have a prayer that your defence will prevail
– that’s totally exhausted
Your advocate has failed to establish a reasonable doubt 

that you are innocent

Your only hope now / is that the sentence handed down
will not one / that your crime rightly deserves

What you are now hoping for is this thing called “mercy”

   

You only look for mercy          

when on the account of justice we have no more hope

So justice demands / that the transgressor be punished
Mercy recognises the need for justice 

but begs that it be put aside

Now we’ve been going through the attributes of God

And mercy is another one of God’s attributes

The Bible teaches us that God is merciful 

* 1 Kings 3:6 speaks of the greatness of God’s mercy

* Isaiah says “he exalts himself to show mercy to you” / 30:18

* The psalmist says
  “The Lord is merciful and gracious” / Psalm 103:8

“He is plenteous in mercy” Ps.86

* Jonah says “you are a gracious God and merciful / 4:2

* Micah says “You delight to show mercy” / 7:18 

* Luke says “He is tender in mercy” / Lk 1:78

* Paul says God is “rich in mercy” / Eph 2:4

There is an old theological Latin term for mercy / misericordia Dei      

which means the affectionate compassion of God towards sinners

Mercy is the compassion you show to someone 

over whom / it is within your power to punish or harm

When God shows us mercy 

He is expressing His goodness and love toward us
He looks at the pathetic state we’re in / and He pities us

You could say / God’s mercy is His pity
He is a God who can be touched and moved with pity

Perhaps the clearest example of God’s mercy / is seen in our text

Look at v.25 / “As indeed he says in Hosea

"Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,'

        and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved'"

v.26 "And in the very place where it was said to them: 

  'You are not my people,' 

there they will be called 'sons of the living God'"

Gentiles were idolaters / enemies of God / people outside His covenant

Yet God grants them the blessings of grace of the covenant

You could say that in the depth of evil / God revealed His mercy

v.22 He “endured with much patience 

vessels of wrath / prepared for destruction”

Why did He do that? / v.23 “in order to make known 

the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, 

which he has prepared beforehand for glory“

God saves sinners / to make the riches of his glory 

shine even brighter / on those to whom he shows mercy

And God shows mercy on whom He desires / just like that

God / has the prerogative / the right / and the power / in electing 

“vessels of mercy” / those who will be saved 

                “vessels of wrath” /  those who will not be saved 

in the same way that a potter has the prerogative  

to turn a lump of clay / either 

into an exquisite dining plate / or a toilet bowl 

People like us / on whom God has shown mercy 

and people / on whom God has not shown mercy

- we’re all made from the same lump of clay

By our nature / by our constitution 

we were no better than the vessels of wrath

On account of our sin 

we ought to have been given a “Guilty” verdict

If God had drowned us in His wrath 

He would’ve done no wrong

That would’ve have been justice

But because He is merciful / He grants us favour instead

Further / on those whom God shows mercy 

His mercy is tender and gentle and generous and plenteous

And not only that / we who receive God’s mercy in this world 

  will have it forever 

God’s mercy is not only wide and deep 

it is eternal / immeasurable / inexhaustible / everlasting

God’s mercy is not only overflowing / it is ever flowing

The psalmist says: 

“The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear Him.” / Psalm 103:17

No less than twenty-six times / it is repeated in Psalms 136
“His mercy endures forever”

Jeremiah says / “His mercies never come to an end” / Lam 3:22

Now there’s something here we need to be aware of

Nowhere in God’s Word / has it been said

that God takes delight / in executing His wrath on us

There's nowhere in God’s Word where it says 

that God enjoys punishing us

But in numerous places it tells us that God delights to show us mercy

Micah 7:18 / “He delights in mercy”
Lamentations 3:32-33 / “Though he brings grief
he will show compassion / so great is his unfailing love
For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to the children of men”

Thomas Watson said: “For God / acts of severity 

are rather forced from Him / He does not afflict willingly”

A few commentators have given the example of the honey bees

What do you think is the chief delight of the honey bees?
Is it to sting people? Of course not!

The chief delight of the honeybee / is to make honey
- that’s what gives it the greatest pleasure

- that’s what it wakes up in the morning to do

It is only on those odd occasions

when someone provokes it / that it will sting

The honey bee will sting / but that’s not its purpose in life
- it probably give it no joy to have to sting someone

Now / it is like that with our God / our God is naturally merciful

God reveals Himself more as a merciful God / than as a wrathful God

      God’s mercy is deeper than the depths of His wrath
  for even as He is wrathful / He still reaches out in mercy

God is more merciful than He is wrathful

Your right hand is your dominant hand / You execute it well

Inflicting punishment is God’s left hand / He’s not used to it

Mercy is God’s right hand / that he is most used to

to be merciful / is God’s delight

to punish / is His “strange work” / Is 28:21

Remember when God had to afflict the prideful king of Assyria

to shave the head / to remove the beard

presumably to put him to shame / He is said / to use 

a hired razor / as if he had none of his own” / Is 7:20

You will find the mercy of God taught in both the Old and New Testament

So many people have the idea

that the God of the OT is a harsh God of justice and judgement
while the God in the New Testament is a God of mercy and grace

That idea is both distorted and fallacious 

The truth of the matter is that the OT talks about God's mercy

four times more than in the NT 

Whether you encounter Him in the Garden of Eden 

    or in the Garden of Gethsemane / God is the same merciful God

Now the question is often asked:

Is there a difference between God’s grace and God’s mercy?

It is easy for us to confuse mercy with grace
and we mostly think that the two are somewhat the same

We all know that God shows His grace to all people on earth

wicked or otherwise / what’s called common grace

He makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good
He sends the rain / on the unjust as well as the just

It is simply the case

that grace may be shown / even where there is no mercy

And people could go on benefiting from the grace of God

and never throw themselves on His mercy

Grace is God’s favour shown to the undeserving
Mercy is pardon for actual crime they've committed against God

Unlike grace / mercy is more than giving someone 

something they don’t deserve
It is giving it to him / even though 

it would be / the most reasonable thing to do

Mercy is not grace
Grace is giving someone something / he has not earned
Mercy is giving someone something
when rightly / he ought to be deprived of it

People who cry out for mercy / KNOW / they don’t deserve it
Take the example of the psalmist / “O LORD / have mercy on me
Heal me / for I have sinned against you” / Psalms 41:4 

He knows he deserves the affliction
He asks for something he knows he doesn’t deserve

He’s begging for mercy

There’s one point I need to make          

Where God is concerned             

Everyone gets justice / Nobody gets injustice 

Sproul puts it this way:

Every single person who’d ever lived is guilty of sin in the sight of God

And our sins in God’s eyes / are cosmic acts of treason 

they are crimes against God’s justice / they deserved punishment

But God sovereignly decides to give mercy to some of them

What do the rest get? / They get justice 

Those who’re saved get mercy / Those who’re unsaved get justice 

Nobody gets injustice 

We need to remember this / as it speaks of the justice of God

But let me push on / Let me put it this way:

If you still need evidence that our God is a merciful God
well / the fact that we are here / alive

This / is a supreme proof of God’s mercy

People who fight God everyday / do not know

that they are tasting His mercy every single passing day

How do we know that? / Lamentations 3:22
“It is of the LORD’s mercies / that we are not consumed”

Had it not been for God’s mercies / we’d all be dead by now

                

            You’ll remember that when the ark was being transported it tilted                         

And Uzziah reached out to stop it from tipping over                         

And God struck him dead

                 Many of us shout “Unfair!"

            

                Hans Kung saidThe question is not “Is it fair 

that Uzzah should be struck dead?”

                        The question is “Why haven’t we all been struck dead

for all our vile offences"

                Voddie Baucham “Do you know it was His mercy 

that woke you up this morning?                                

Because His judgement should’ve killed you last night” 

                 

Jonathan Edwards asks the troubling question                        

“O sinner / can you give any reason                                 

why / since you have risen from your bed this morning                                             

God has not stricken you dead?"

                

R.C. Sproul says / we have come to expect God to be merciful                         

From there / the next step is easy: we demand it                        

When it is not forthcoming / we’re angry / we say “It isn’t fair”

Now here’s Sproul’s exact words:
We soon forget that with our first sin
we have forfeited all rights to the gift of life
That I am drawing breath this morning is an act of divine mercy
God owes me nothing / I owe him everything”

      

We have forgotten / that we are daily protected from death                 

And what protects us from His swift justice / is His mercy

It is God’s mercy / that delays His execution of justice

Now let me make a shift of gear here

   Is God being unjust / showing us mercy / the way He does

Has He forgotten / that indeed / we have broken His holy laws

Is God being cavalier / about seeing that justice is done?
Is He shutting a blind eye to our offence
        By being merciful to us / is He disregarding justice

Now / just think about it
what would have to happen 

what conditions would have to be met

for us to obtain God's mercy?

Quite clearly / He has to set justice aside

But how could a just God close one eye to justice?

In showing you mercy / it would look like

He would have to trample justice under His feet

During the American Revolution / Washington was implored by many

to pardon the British spy John André / who was only 31 years old
André was a most likeable superb gentleman
and many in the American army had great sympathy for him
and they petitioned Washington to pardon him

But Washington could not yield / They pleaded with Washington

that he should at least see André in person 

with the hope that a personal encounter 

with this charming charismatic personality
would touch his heart / and change his mind

But Washington resolutely refused / even to see him

He knew he could not trust his own feelings
He felt that the nation’s security was at stake

So he remained unyielded / he wouldn’t pardon John André
and the spy was hanged

Now / it isn’t that Washington had no compassion

But he knew well enough / that he must never 

for a moment / allow his tender emotions 

to put his nation in danger

Law enforcement people everywhere 

have had to make this heart-wrenching call

Right now / there is a no one in New Zealand jail awaiting execution

But there are more than 100 prisoners in Arizona’s death row 

Some have not exhausted their appeals

Many have exhausted their appeals 

no more clemency may be sought for 

they now wait for their execution date to be fixed

The point is this / if granting mercy / even in such human cases

       is fraught with all kinds of difficult issues
       how much harder for a holy God / to pardon wicked sinners

No matter how deep God’s compassionate heart is predisposed to mercy
justice has to be satisfied / the law must be upheld

In His desire to show compassion / He must not violate justice

And this / He will never do

How is God to show us mercy / and remain just?

It is right here that we see the beauty of the gospel

God will show compassion to us / without violating justice

How did He accomplish this?

By giving His sinless Son / to atone for our sin

The cross is the ultimate expression 

of both God’s justice and His mercy

When James says: “mercy triumphs over judgement”  / 2:13 

mercy does not triumph over judgement / by ignoring it

Mercy triumphs over judgement 

only because judgement is fully executed 

and justice finally satisfied at the cross

It has been famously saId

that God’s justice and His mercy / “kissed” on the cross

See / as long as the justice for our rebellion against Him 

remains unsatisfied / He cannot show us His mercy 

When our Lord hung there on the cross 

He satisfied the justice of God

Jesus’ death / enables us to be recipients of God’s mercy

On the cross / Jesus to absorb the wrath we deserved

He satisfied the justice of God

And that / enables us to receive God’s mercy

So / if mercy triumph over judgement 

it is because mercy comes through judgement

All right / if I am making all this music about God’s mercy 

Just how should we then live / in the light of His mercy?

First / Don’t reject the mercy of God

The human heart is too proud to throw itself upon mercy

Many outright refuse the mercy of God

You imagine walking up to a rich and healthy man and say to him
“I’m going to have mercy on you” / you’ll be lucky
if you got a blank stare rather than a punch on your face

Because / you would’ve insulted him

He’s fine just as he is / He has no need of mercy

In the same way / the reason people everywhere reject God’s mercy

is because they believe they are well / and sufficient

Unless the Holy Spirit gives him sight to see his sin

he will go one rejecting the mercy of God

But how terrible / as you stand there on that judgement day

that it should be the mercy of God / that would indict you!

What irony that would be

The mercy that reaches out to you through the goodness of God 

may just be the very thing / that would damn your soul

Why? / Because you rejected it!

Did you know that there is a purpose for God to show us mercy
His mercy is meant to lead us to repentance / Romans 2:4

“Do you show contempt for the riches
of his kindness / tolerance and patience / not realising
that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”

If you haven’t trusted in the mercy of God 

then you’re not saved

God’s mercy won’t be opened to you forever
But right now / it’s opened to you

Watson puts it beautifully / He said 

God is “desirous that sinners should touch 

the golden sceptre / of his mercy and live”
He calls “sinners to come and lay hold on his mercy” / Rev 22.17

“Mercy woos sinners / it even kneels down to them
God says / Poor sinner / suffer [allow] me to love thee
be willing to let me save thee”

This is unheard of in life

You could never go to a court proceeding and see the judge on his bench 

pleading with the person in the dock

It's never happened! / No judge would do that
It's the defence counsel that does that! / pleading for his client

But here we see God / the Merciful Judge
pleading with you and I / the guilty ones / to receive His mercy

But what would be even more baffling

is for the guilty one / to refuse the offer of mercy
And this / is precisely what you’ll be doing
if you refuse the mercy of God to save you

    It is a scary thought but you can make God’s mercy your enemy
    Don’t do that!

Not only should we not reject mercy / we ought to pray daily for it

There is a prayer / called “Jesus Prayer”
It comes out of the Orthodox tradition / over 1,000 years ago
It goes like this: 

“Lord Jesus Christ / Son of God / have mercy on me”

Just ten short words 

Sometimes the phrase “a sinner” is added
to emphasise the plight of the petitioner

For hundreds of years / orthodox Christians / have used 

this little prayer as a central part of their devotional life

This prayer has stood the ravage of time / and we can see why
It covers everything that we might want to pray for

We come not making a single claim on anything

All said and done / it is pure mercy that we seek

Second / You’ve got to show mercy

If God gives you a fresh start every morning
shouldn’t you give to those who have hurt you a fresh start
through your forgiveness

Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy”

James 2:13 / “Judgement without mercy
will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful”

Luke 6:36 / “Be merciful / as your Father also is merciful”

We have all been blessed with mercy
And we need to be merciful ourselves

Third / Be thankful and worship God

Now / when we come to realise that we 

poor and wicked sinners / could / through God’s mercy
  be lifted / crowned with salvation and made heirs of the King
we can only fall down / lost in wonder / love and praise
before One / Who shows us such mercy

Every reminder / that God is this compassion / this merciful

should hit us / with a note of amazement 

and drive us to worship Him

The “unfailing love of the LORD never comes to an end!

His “mercies begin afresh every morning / Lam 3:19-24

Every morning / God’s mercy is spanking new
Every morning / you’re given a fresh start at life!

You can’t contemplate on this 

and not fall on your knees to worship Him

You’d be thankful / you’d be grateful

If you contemplate on how God’s mercies on you                             

are fresh each morning                                    

 you will fall on your knees and worship Him

The psalmist says / “Oh give thanks to the God of heaven!

for His mercy endures forever” / Ps 136:26

What’s that? / It's worship!

We need to dwell / daily / on God’s mercy on our lives
and let this truth plumb deep into our heart

We need to be living daily / out of a deep sense of gratitude

That / in fact / is the whole point of the Christian life 

It is to glorify the mercy of God in Christ

It is for us / to put the glory of God’s mercy in Christ on display

Someone has said           

“That God would show us wicked sinners mercy                             

is an amazement that you and I are going to muse                                 

throughout all eternity”

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