Mercy

It occurred to me to write about these three blessings--grace, mercy, peace--a week at a time because so often Paul used them, sometimes all three, sometimes two of them, in his salutations to the churches he wrote to.

In doing research on mercy, I went to various sources. Dictionary.com defines mercy first as "compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner." Yes, you read that right. The example given is "have mercy on the poor sinner."

An on-line Bible dictionary defines mercy this way: "compassion for the miserable. Its object is misery. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ a way is open for the exercise of mercy towards the sons of men, in harmony with the demands of truth and righteousness (Gen. 19:19; Ex. 20:6; 34:6; Ps. 85:10; 86:15, 16). In Christ mercy and truth meet together. Mercy is also a Christian grace (Matt. 5:7; 18:33-35)."

Synonyms: "forgiveness, indulgence, clemency, leniency, lenity, tenderness, mildness."

I found 101 references to mercy in the OT using BibleGateway.com and 56 in the NT. I won't give all of them here, only a sampling.

The first use of the term comes in Genesis 43:14 when Jacob reluctantly says to his remaining sons as they prepare to return to Egypt: "May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

In Exodus 25 we are introduced to the mercy seat, which would cover  the Ark of the Covenant, and be where God would meet the Israelites through their high priest.

When Moses asked to see God, he was given this promise in Exodus 33:19: "And he said, 'I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim to you my name, "The Lord." And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.'" Paul would remember this when he wrote his letter to the Romans (see Rom. 9:15).

What occasions caused those in the Old Testament to ask for mercy? Nehemiah prayed at the beginning of the book which bears his name: "'O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.' Now I was cupbearer to the king." Nehemiah had a burden for Jerusalem and only the permission of the king would allow him to carry it out.

David sought mercy multiple times which are recorded, and probably others which are not.

Job speaks of mercy in chapters 8, 9, 19, and 21, including this plea which is recorded in 19:21: "Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!"

In Proverbs, we find this truth regarding mercy: "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy" (28:13). True then, true now.

Several of the prophets speak of mercy also, both in its being given and withheld.

In what we commonly refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes this promise: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matt. 5:7).

Later, parents come to him seeking mercy for their suffering children (Matt. 15 and 17 record two of these events).

It would seem that on more than one occasion, blind men also pled for mercy (Matt. 9 and 20; Mark 10).

Among the matters which Jesus called for woes on the scribes and the Pharisees was their lack of mercy: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others" (Matt. 23:23).

One of my favorite passages in Ephesians begins this way:  "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:4-6). His mercy, His love, His grace--my salvation here and my future in His presence.

As Paul wrote to Titus, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" (3:5).

For those who have received this mercy, we can do what the writer of Hebrews encourages us to do: "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (4:16).