Scripture Reading: Matt. 5:7; Rom. 9:15a, 16; Eph. 2:4; James 2:13; Heb. 4:16
Ⅰ
“’‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy’…So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy”—Rom. 9:15a, 16:
A
Mercy is the most far-reaching of God’s attributes, going further than His grace and love—Matt. 9:13:
１
According to our natural condition, we were far removed from God, totally unworthy of His grace; we were eligible only to receive His mercy—Eph. 2:4.
２
Our disobedience affords God’s mercy an opportunity, and God’s mercy brings us to salvation—Rom. 11:32.
B
Our concept is that the one who wills will gain what he wills to obtain and that the one who runs will gain what he runs after—9:16:
１
If this were the case, God’s selection would be according to our effort and labor.
２
On the contrary, God’s selection is of God who shows mercy; we do not need to will or to run, for God has mercy on us.
３
If we know God’s mercy, we will neither trust in our effort nor be disappointed by our failures; the hope for our wretched condition is in God’s mercy—Eph. 2:4.
C
If we would serve God in His New Testament economy, we need to know that it is wholly a matter of God’s sovereign mercy—Rom. 9:15-16; Heb. 4:16:
１
If we know God’s sovereignty, we will thank Him for His mercy:
ａ
The expression sovereign mercy means that God’s mercy is absolutely a matter of God’s sovereignty.
ｂ
Being a vessel of mercy is not the result of our choice; it originates with God’s sovereignty—Rom. 9:18, 23.
ｃ
God’s mercy is in His sovereignty; the only thing we can say to explain God’s mercy to us is that in His sovereignty, He has chosen to be merciful to us—vv. 15-16, 23.
２
In God’s sovereign mercy, our hearts are inclined toward Him; because of His mercy to us, we seek Him day by day—Jer. 29:13; Deut. 4:29; Isa. 55:6.
３
The more we see that everything related to us is a matter of God’s mercy, the more we will bear our responsibility before the Lord; however, even our willingness to bear responsibility is of God’s mercy.
４
Because of God’s mercy, we responded to His gospel when others did not, we received a word about Christ as life when others refused to receive it, and we took the way of the Lord’s recovery when others drew back from taking this way.
５
Regarding His recovery, God has mercy on whom He will have mercy.
D
Romans 9 reveals the principle that everything depends on God’s mercy—vv. 15-16:
１
The apostle Paul applies this principle to the Israelites, showing us that everything that happened to them was of God’s mercy—vv. 16, 23.
２
There must be at least one time when we see God’s mercy and definitely touch His mercy—Eph. 2:4; Matt. 9:13:
ａ
Concerning this matter, our eyes need to be opened to see that everything depends on God’s mercy.
ｂ
Whether we see this all at once, or we realize it through a process, the minute we touch this matter, we touch not a feeling but a fact; this fact is that everything depends on God’s mercy.
E
“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:
１
Both God’s mercy and His grace are the expression of His love.
２
When we are in a pitiful condition, first His mercy reaches us and brings us into a state where God is able to favor us with His grace.
３
God’s mercy and grace are always available to us; however, we need to receive and find them by exercising our spirit to come forward to the throne of grace—v. 16.
F
In His sovereignty God the Father has had mercy on us; therefore, we must praise and worship Him for His sovereign mercy:
１
“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.
２
“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.
Ⅱ
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy”—Matt. 5:7:
A
To be righteous is to give one what he deserves, whereas to be merciful is to give someone better than he deserves.
B
For the kingdom of the heavens, we need to be not only righteous but also merciful.
C
To receive mercy is to receive what we do not deserve.
D
If we are merciful to others, the Lord will give us mercy (2 Tim. 1:16, 18), especially at His judgment seat—James 2:12-13.
E
We must learn to be righteous with ourselves and merciful toward others.
Ⅲ
“Grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord”—2 Tim. 1:2:
A
Only in 1 and 2 Timothy, among all his Epistles, did the apostle include God’s mercy in the opening greeting.
B
God’s mercy reaches farther than His grace.
C
In the degraded situation of the churches, God’s mercy is needed.
D
This mercy brings in God’s rich grace, which is sufficient to deal with any degradation.
Ⅳ
“The judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment”—James 2:13:
A
To despise a poor brother is to have no mercy.
B
Anyone who despises a poor brother in this way will not receive mercy when he appears before the judgment seat of Christ—Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10:
１
When we come before the Lord to be judged, He will not show mercy to us, because we have not shown mercy to our brother.
２
We need to show mercy, for mercy triumphs over judgment.
３
If we have mercy on our brother today, we will receive mercy from the Lord at His judgment seat.
Ⅴ
We should bow down before the Lord and worship Him for His mercy—Psa. 145; Isa. 63:9; John 10:10; Rom. 3:24; 11:32; 2 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 2:4-5:
A
The more we worship the Lord for His mercy, the more we will be uplifted.
B
What a mercy that God has selected us, predestinated us, called us, and placed us in His recovery!
C
For the future we trust not in ourselves but in Him and in His marvelous mercy.
D
Our going on with the Lord is a matter not of our willing or running but of God’s mercy.
E
God’s mercy works in a wonderful way.