mercy

DENIZEN OF THE DEEP

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Peter reminds us in I Peter 3:10 that we can measure our maturity by how we use our mouth! He writes: “For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.”

As someone has rightly observed: Mercy is at the tip of the tongue. The way to “see good days” and live in peace in our day-to-day relationships is to watch our words; to muzzle our mouth; to control our reactions. How many times have we said things that only made matters worse; words we wished we could take back?

In a lodge near a lake, a huge fish is mounted on a wall. Next to this magnificent “denizen of the deep” is a little inscription: “If I’d have kept my mouth shut I wouldn’t be up here!”

So, what characterizes our speech? Caring, apt words — or caustic, critical ones? Toxic waste is not nearly as serious as toxic words. Second-guessing people; jumping to conclusions; criticizing them behind their back — these are the types of things Peter would classify as evil and deceitful speech. David’s request of the Lord in Psalm 141:3 is apropos: “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my mouth.”

A Prayer for Mercy

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Joel 1:19-20 (ESV)
To you, O LORD, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

A Theme to Remember:
If we believe God’s word, we are bound to believe that prayer affects God, and affects Him mightily; that prayer avails, and that prayer avails mightily. There are wonders in prayer because there are wonders in God. Prayer has no talismanic influence. It is no mere fetish. It has no so-called powers of magic. It is simply making known our requests to God for things agreeable to His will in the name of Christ. It is just yielding our requests to a Father, who knows all things, who has control of all things, and who is able to do all things. (Adapted from E.M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer)

Words to Remember:
There’s a wideness I God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.
–Frederick William Faber

A Prayer for Mercy

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Lamentations 5:1-3 (ESV)
Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace! Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widow

A Theme to Remember:
Sin has consequences; dire consequences. The effect may not be felt today, tomorrow, or in the near future, but we can be certain that unless we repent and stop rebelling from God’s laws we will surely suffer the penalty we justly deserve.

Words to Remember:
Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not.
–Thomas Watson

A Prayer for Mercy

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Lamentations 1:20-22 (ESV)
Look, O LORD, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death. They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am. Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.

A Theme to Remember:
Jeremiah, the author of Lamentations, vividly expresses his despair over his sins and the wickedness of those around him. Before we can truly repent it’s important to have a heart that is grieved over the alienation from God our transgressions cause.

Words to Remember:
Man may dismiss compassion from his heart, but God never will.
–William Cowper

A Prayer for Mercy

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Psalm 57 (KJV)
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.
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

A Theme to Remember:
The praying sinner receives mercy because his prayer is grounded on the promise of pardon made by Him whose right it is to pardon guilty sinners. The penitent seeker after God obtains mercy because there is a definite promise of mercy to all who seek the Lord in repentance and faith. (Adapted from E.M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer)

Words to Remember:
Mercy imitates God, and disappoints Satan.
–John Chrysostom