1. Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
me, the chief of sinners, spare?

2. I have long withstood His grace,
long provoked Him to His face;
would not hearken to His calls,
grieved Him by a thousand falls.

3. I my Master have denied;
I afresh have crucified,
oft profaned His hallowed name,
put Him to an open shame.

4. There for me the Savior stands,
shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps, but loves me still!

5. Now incline me to repent,
let me now my fall lament;
now my foul revolt deplore!
weep, believe, and sin no more.

(Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #205
Author: Charles Wesley)

How can we ever value the sacrifice Jesus made for us until we truly understand God’s mercy to us who are deeply stained with sin and rotten to the core?

What is mercy? Mercy is far more than a feeling of pity for us poor earthlings, who have gotten ourselves into a terrible dilemma because of our sinful hearts, and wicked behaviour. It is more than a passing “Shame! Poor thing!” and a handout, as at the sight of a homeless beggar, shivering and wrapped in rags, who has forfeited home and family because he messed up.

MERCY is first an attitude, then a decision, then an action.

Where does mercy begin? Mercy begins deep in the character of God. Despite our attitude of defiance and rebellion, despite the fruit of our unbelief that issues in every thought and action to defy and deny Him, and deliberately insults His holy name, He chooses not to pour out His wrath on us. He looks at our filthy hearts, smells the stench of our sinful behaviour, considers His righteous judgment… and then decides, “I can’t do this? I cannot burn them forever in hell!”

Consider His anguish at the persistent rebellion of Israel, and His chosen course of action.

This is the way God treated them…

Hosea 11:1-9 NLT
[1] “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. [2] But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. [3] I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. [4] I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him…”[5]

This is what they deservered for the way they treated Him…

“But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. [6] War will swirl through their cities; their enemies will crash through their gates. They will destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. [7] For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me…”

This is how He felt…

[8] “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. [9] No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.”

Out of this deep compassion, mercy flows.

Paul explored the plight of both Jews and Gentiles, Jews because they had God’s Covenant but refused to obey it, and Gentiles because they had the moral law in their conscience but defied it, and reversed good and evil.

We all deserve the severity of God’s judgment. Not even Jews who have His Law, are exempt. This is the Bible’s diagnosis of human behaviour.

Romans 3:9-18 NLT
[9] “Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. [10] As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. [11] No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. [12] All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” [13] “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” [14] “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” [15] “They rush to commit murder. [16] Destruction and misery always follow them. [17] They don’t know where to find peace.” [18] “They have no fear of God at all.”

How did God respond? What should God do?

Romans 11:28, 30-32 NLT
[28] “Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [29] For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
[30] Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. [31] Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. [32] For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.”

What an awesome God! He confined all people to judgment because all have sinned and fallen short of His holiness so that He can have mercy on everyone, whoever they are.

His daring plan to rescue every person who is under His judgment rested, not on human effort but on the willingness of His own divine family, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to participate.

The Word of God, His perfect partner in the Godhead, became the Son of God, His chosen and anointed Servant on earth, to do His will and to save His people from His judgment and sentence of death.

So, Jesus, the Son, was conceived by the Spirit in the womb of Mary, anointed by the Spirit to carry out His mission, died by the Spirit and rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He puts this plan into action in our hearts, when we believe in Jesus.

Luke 1:35 NLT
[35] “The angel replied (to Mary), “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

Matthew 3:16-17 NLT
[16] “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Hebrews 9:14 NLT
[14] “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”

Romans 1:4 NLT
[4]…” He was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Holy Spirit, again the perfect partner in this Trinity, was appointed administrator to effect and apply this great rescue plan.

In this partnership of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, mercy overcame judgment. God’s judgment on sin is perfectly righteous. No one can defy God, insult His holiness, and spit in His face, as we humans have done… all of us… and get away with it!

Romans 3:23 NLT
[23]”For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Ephesians 2:4-7 NLT
[4] “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) [6] For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. [7] So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.”

God went far beyond feeling sorry for us. He came down from heaven to become one of us. He felt our pain, our disgrace, our alienation from the Father and took it all upon Himself so that we, only if we receive His mercy by faith, never have to experience the end result of our sin.

Only when we feel, deep in our own souls, the horror of the plight we are in, and the terrible consequences of our rebellion against God, will we experience and value the mercy of God. He does not give us what we deserve, eternity in hell, but does give us what we do not deserve, a glorious future in heaven with Him.

Psalms 103:8-12 NLT
[8] “The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. [9] He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. [10] He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. [11] For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. [12] He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

It’s this mercy, that saved us from hell and prepares us for heaven, that drives us to show mercy to others for all their lesser offenses against us.

Matthew 5:7 NIV
[7]”Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

1. Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

2. Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

3. Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

4. Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

Author: Henry Francis Lyte
1793-1847
(hymnary.org)