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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 29
13 December 2009
A Merciful Heart
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Dec 13, 09)
Text: Matt 5:7
We are living in these last days of
sin, compromise, deception and apostasy without truth, mercy and
knowledge of God just like the people of Israel who lived in the days of
the prophet Hosea, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel:
for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land,
because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land”
(Hosea 4:1). Why is there no truth in the land? God’s Word is truth
(John 17:17), our Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth (John 14:6) and the
Holy Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6), but many nowadays reject the Lord
Jesus Christ and God’s Word, so they have no truth. Many others may
profess their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in God’s Word on their
lips, but their hearts are not submissive to the control of the Lord
Jesus Christ and to the authority of God’s Word. They even arrogantly
question and criticise God’s Word! Then how can they see and obtain
God’s truth? There is no mercy in the land, “For men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those
that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:2-4). Many may boast of their wide
knowledge of many things, but there is no knowledge of God in the land!
How about you and me? We have learnt about a loving heart, a joyful
heart, a peaceful heart, a long-suffering heart, a gentle and kind
heart, a good heart, a faithful heart, a meek heart, a Sprit-controlled
heart, a true heart, a submissive heart, a prayerful heart, a thankful
heart, etc. Today, we are learning about a merciful heart. Our Lord
Jesus teaches us, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain
mercy” (Matt 5:7) and commands us, “Be ye therefore merciful, as
your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Then, do you and I have a
merciful heart?
A Heart-Knowledge of God’s Mercy
It is vital for you and me to have a
heart-knowledge of God’s mercy, justice and righteousness, “Thus
saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let
the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his
riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I
delight, saith the LORD” (Jer 9:23-24). The Hebrew term of
“lovingkindness” is kheh-sed, the same Hebrew term of “mercy” in
Psalm 136:1, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his
mercy endureth for ever.” It is so wonderful that every verse of
Psalm 136 repeats, “for his mercy endureth for
ever.”
Mercy is one of God’s attributes. God
revealed Himself to Moses, “And the LORD passed by before him
(Moses), and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exod
34:6). Truly, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
plenteous in mercy” (Ps 103:8), and “For the LORD thy God is a
merciful God” (Deut 4:31). God is “the Father of mercies, and the
God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3). Praise the Lord for His mercy is
“great” (Ps 145:8), “tender” (Ps 145:9), “plenteous”
(Ps 103:8), “multitude” (Ps 106:45), “rich” (Eph 2:4),
“abundant” (1 Peter 1:3), “everlasting … from everlasting to
everlasting” (Ps 100:5; 103:17), and “endureth for ever” (Ps
136:1-26).
Mercy means actively compassionate and
sympathetic in heart, in mind, in thought and in action. It means to
withhold punishment from offenders who deserve it and to give help to
the helpless who do not deserve it. God showed mercy in saving us from
the condemnation to Hell while we deserve it and in helping us and
blessing us while we do not deserve it. Truly, “It is of the LORD’s
mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not”
(Lam 3:22), and “Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst
not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and
merciful God” (Neh 9:31). God’s mercy is unconditional and up to His
attributes and sovereign will, and not up to man’s desires, good works,
efforts or merits, “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Rom 9:15-16), and “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” (Titus 3:5).
Lot experienced God’s mercy when he
was rescued from Sodom and Gomorrah, “Behold now, thy servant hath
found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou
hast shewed unto me in saving my life” (Gen 19:19). Do you and I
acknowledge God’s mercy in saving us from the destruction and
condemnation due to our sins? Joseph was sold to Egypt and was falsely
accused and put in prison, “But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed
him mercy” (Gen 39:21) and Joseph confessed, “But as for you, ye
thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass,
as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen 50:20). Do you
and I acknowledge God’s mercy in making all things work together for our
good (Rom 8:28)? Moses praised God’s mercy for His guidance and
redemption, “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou
hast redeemed” (Exod 15:13). Do you and I acknowledge God’s mercy in
guiding us and redeeming us, especially, in regenerating us? “Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Many a
time we just forget God’s mercy and fail to give thanks and praise to
Him! Do you and I have a heart-knowledge of God’s mercy?
Understanding God’s mercy and knowing
that we are completely at God’s mercy for ever, we shall humble
ourselves and cry for God’s mercy, trust in God’s mercy, give thanks for
God’s mercy and praise God for His mercy
for ever. Then we shall not have any complaints or murmurings against
the Lord in all situations.
A Humble Cry unto God for His Mercy
with a Trusting Heart
Acknowledging God’s mercy is not
enough, we are to humbly cry for God’s mercy. And surely it is not in
vain when we cry for God’s mercy in our repentance and in our need,
difficulties, troubles, or trials. This cry must come from a humble
heart, acknowledging our helplessness, hopelessness and unworthiness and
then looking unto the Lord alone for forgiveness, for help or for
deliverance. We see that it is not in vain when David cried unto the
Lord in repentance, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot
out my transgressions” (Ps 51:1), or for help and deliverance from
the enemies, “Turn thee unto me, have mercy upon me; for I am
desolate and afflicted …Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and
they hate me with cruel hatred” (Ps 25:16-20), and “Be merciful
unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily
oppresseth me” (Ps 56:1), etc. It is not in vain for the helpless
father’s cry unto the Lord for mercy upon his lunatic son, “Lord,
have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes
he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water” (Matt 17:15). It
is not in vain when the two blind men cried unto the Lord Jesus,
“Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David,” and when the
multitude rebuked them, they “cried the more, saying, Have mercy on
us, O Lord, thou Son of David” (Matt 20:30-31). It is not in vain
for the humble and repentant cry of the tax-collector, “God be
merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).
When you and I cry unto the Lord for
His mercy, our faith may be tested. Matthew recorded an incident (Matt
15:22-28) when a woman of Canaan came to Jesus and cried, “Have mercy
on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a
devil,” and her faith was tested. First, the Lord Jesus did not
answer her a word, and His disciples asked Him to send her away. Next,
when hearing Jesus say, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the
house of Israel,”
the woman did not
give up her trust, but came and “worshipped him, saying, Lord, help
me.” Finally, when hearing Jesus answer, “It is not meet to take
the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs,” she humbly admitted
her nothingness and unworthiness and said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs
eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” She passed
the test when she trusted in Jesus’ mercy and did not give up her trust
until He showed His mercy unto her, “O woman, great is thy faith: be
it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Dear friends, sometimes, our
merciful Lord just keeps quiet to test our faith and trust in Him when
we cry unto Him for help. Many give up and turn to other means or
resources. How about you and me? Shall we persevere and keep on fixing
our eyes on Him, crying and trusting in God’s mercy until He shows His
mercy and see us through our trials? “Behold, as the eyes of servants
look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto
the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God,
until that he have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have
mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt” (Ps
123:2-3), and “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for
my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my
refuge, until these calamities be overpast” (Ps 57:1).
How about you and me? Do you and I cry
for God’s mercy with a trusting heart? I usually cry unto the Lord in my
heart, “Have mercy upon me, O Lord” when I encounter troubles,
difficulties or dangers, when I made mistakes, when I need to finish my
duties in time, when I preach God’s Word, when I drive, etc, and thank
God that I am not disappointed, for God’s mercy is great and enduring
for ever.
A Merciful Heart
Only when we have a heart-knowledge of
God’s mercy and have obtained God’s mercy then can we show His mercy to
others, even to our personal enemies (not the enemies of God’s Truth),
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing
again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of
the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye
therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).
And by so doing, we shall enjoy God’s mercy more and more, “Blessed
are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt 5:7), and
“With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful” (2 Sam 22:26; Ps
18:25). Acknowledging that we need God’s mercy for ever, we shall see
that others do need God’s mercy as well. Because of God’s love, grace
and mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ humbly came into this world, not to
judge or condemn mankind, but to save them, even to die for their sins
and to save those who repent and receive Him as their Lord and Saviour.
We can show God’s mercy upon us to others by not judging them nor
despising them nor hating them, but loving them, sharing God’s truth and
salvation to them, forgiving them, praying for them, etc. May God’s
light of truth, love and mercy shine forth in our lives, so that others
who are in their spiritual darkness may see God’s light and be led to
Him and His salvation.
Conclusion
It is very vital for you and me to
have a heart-knowledge of God’s mercy, to trust in His mercy for ever,
and to humbly cry unto Him for His mercy now and for ever. It will be
too late to cry for God’s mercy in Hell, “And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame” (Luke 16:24). Truly, “He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy”
(Prov 28:13), and “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto
children’s children” (Ps 103:17), and “And shewing mercy unto
thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exod
20:6). Then, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”
(Heb 4:16). May our merciful God fill our hearts with His love, grace
and mercy so that we can have a merciful heart and be a blessing to
others who need to see God’s light of truth, love and mercy in this
world of darkness of sins, compromise, deception, and apostasy. Amen.
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