Again Thinking About Mercy

God expressed mercy last year in the home-going of my mom, and this year in my cardiac issues.

Again Thinking About Mercy

Like others of God's attributes,
Mercy is something we need to
Both receive and to give,
Pass on, not
Withhold.
Mercy is one of those graces
Which has its place in the redeemed heart
As a gift, then
To be given
As a gift, without
Stint, without
Quid pro quo, generously--
As a gift.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall receive mercy--
Matthew 5.

Back in 2013, in doing research on mercy, I went to various sources. Dictionary.com defined 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 here is "have mercy on the poor sinner."

An online Bible dictionary defined mercy this way: "compassion for the miserable. It's object is misery. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ a way is open for the exercise of mercy towards the souls 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 more than 100 references to mercy in the O.T. using BibleGateway.com and more than 50 in the N.T.  I won't give all of them here, only a sample.

The first use of the terms 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 on my children, I am bereaved."

In Exodus 25, we are introduced to the mercy seat, which would cover the ark and be where God would meet them 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 before you my name "The Lord" and I will me 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 Romans 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 prayers 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 recorded in 19:21: "Have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!"

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).

Among the matters which Jesus called the 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 cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.. These you ought to have done without neglecting the other" (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.

For those who have received this mercy, we do what the writer of Hebrews encouraged 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).