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“Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help”—Heb. 4:16, cf. v. 15; Luke 15:20-24.
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In His sovereignty God the Father has had mercy on us; therefore, we must praise and worship Him for His sovereign mercy:
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“Father, we enjoy Thy mercy, / Ever fresh and ever new; / Every morning shed upon us, / It refreshes as the dew. / How we taste it! How we taste it! / Giving Thee the praises due”—Hymns, #26, stanza 5.
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“Father, Thy mercy with Thy love and grace / Did we obtain; / And in Thy mercy, with Thee face to face, / We’ll e’er remain; / And for Thy mercy we would worship Thee / Through all our days and through eternity”—Hymns, #25, stanza 3.
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We were created to be vessels of mercy unto honor to contain Christ as the God of honor (2 Tim. 2:20-21; Rom. 9:21) so that we may honor God and men (Judg. 9:9):
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Being vessels unto honor is not the result of our choice; it originates with God’s sovereignty—Rom. 9:21.
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The believers are vessels unto honor with Christ as their treasure through regeneration—2 Cor. 4:6-7.
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The believers are vessels unto honor through their cleansing of themselves from the vessels unto dishonor—2 Tim. 2:20-21.
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Vessels unto honor are those who honor God by living and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25) and those who honor men by ministering the Spirit to them (2 Cor. 3:6, 8).
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 9:16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.23 In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory.
Luke 1:78 Because of the merciful compassions of our God, in which the rising sun will visit us from on high.
If we look back upon our past, we shall worship the Lord. We shall realize that our steps have been not of ourselves, but of Him. Before we were born, He selected us and predestinated us and arranged everything related to us, including the time and place of our birth. Moreover, He appointed all our days and all the places where we are to be ….Everything that happens to us is a matter of divine mercy.
We should have no trust in ourselves, and we should not think we are here because of anything that we are or that we have done. Our being in the Lord’s recovery today is not of our willing nor of our running, but of God, the One who shows mercy. What a mercy that we are saved and that we are willing to take the Lord’s way!…It is a mercy that we are willing to be separated from today’s evil age. The world is both attractive and attracting. Nevertheless, I can testify that I simply have no appetite for the things of the world….[A divine] insulation…keeps me from the world system. This is another aspect of God’s mercy. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 610-611, 613)
Today’s Reading
We must know God’s mercy in the selection of grace….I look to the Lord that He will deeply impress us with the matter of His mercy in selecting us. Do not put your trust in what you are able to do or in what you plan to do. Rather, bow down before the Lord and worship Him for His mercy. The more you worship the Lord for His mercy, the more you will be uplifted. Instead of striving to bear responsibility, you will find that, in His mercy, the Lord is bearing you. We all need to know the Lord in this way. What a mercy that He has selected us, predestinated us, called us, and placed us in His recovery! For our future we trust not in ourselves, but in Him and in His marvelous mercy. Everything regarding us has been initiated by the Lord. All is of Him; nothing is of us. I can testify that the more we worship God for His mercy, the more we are deeply in His heart and the more we are one with Him.[If you] worship God for His selection,…He will bear you in the bearing of responsibility. The more we try in ourselves to be responsible, the more we shall suffer inwardly. Our inward taste will be that of bitterness. But if we worship the Lord for His mercy and experience Him bearing us in bearing the responsibility, our inward taste will be as sweet as honey. One reason I am happy day by day is that I have learned to trust in the Lord’s mercy and to worship Him for it. Years ago I used to ask the Lord to do so many things for me. But now I pray by thanking Him for His mercy. He said that He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion. If we enjoy the Lord’s mercy and worship Him for His selection, we shall be in the heavenlies. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 613-614)
As vessels, we are not instruments or weapons—we are containers. According to Romans 9, we contain mercy, honor, and glory. This mercy, honor, and glory are actually the Triune God. In the initial stage of our experience the Triune God is our mercy, in the progressing stage He is our honor, and in the completing stage He is our glory. At present we are enjoying our God as mercy and somewhat as honor. When the Lord Jesus comes back, we shall be fully brought into honor and also into glory. Then we shall be filled with the Triune God not only as our mercy but also as our honor and glory. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1183)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1967, vol. 2, “An Autobiography of a Person in the Spirit,” ch. 5; CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, “Perfecting Training,” ch. 22