Gracious – Praying Pint

45.c. “Wilderness” – 9.i. “And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.”

Exodus 34:5-8 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

The Lord descended by some open token of his presence and manifestation of his glory in a cloud, and thence proclaimed his NAME; that is, the perfections and character which are denoted by the name JEHOVAH. The Lord God is merciful; ready to forgive the sinner, and to relieve the needy. Gracious; kind, and ready to bestow undeserved benefits. Long-suffering; slow to anger, giving time for repentance, only punishing when it is needful. He is abundant in goodness and truth; even sinners receive the riches of his bounty abundantly, though they abuse them. All he reveals is infallible truth, all he promises is in faithfulness. Keeping mercy for thousands; he continually shows mercy to sinners, and has treasures, which cannot be exhausted, to the end of time. Forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; his mercy and goodness reach to the full and free forgiveness of sin. And will by no means clear the guilty; the holiness and justice of God are part of his goodness and love towards all his creatures. In Christ’s sufferings, the Divine holiness and justice are fully shown, and the evil of sin is made known. God’s forgiving mercy is always attended by his converting, sanctifying grace. None are pardoned but those who repent and forsake the allowed practice of every sin; nor shall any escape, who abuse, neglect, or despise this great salvation. Moses bowed down, and worshipped reverently. Every perfection in the name of God, the believer may plead with Him for the forgiveness of his sins, the making holy of his heart, and the enlargement of the Redeemer’s kingdom. (Henry)

All sin of every sort is deviation from a standard to which we ought to be conformed. There is a path which is ‘right’ and one which is ‘wrong,’ whether we believe so or not. There are hedges and limitations for us all. This law extends to the ordering of all things, whether great or small. If a line be absolutely straight, and we are running another parallel to it, the smallest possible wavering is fatal to our copy. And the smallest deflection, if produced, will run out into an ever-widening distance from the straight line. Every sin is apostasy from or rebellion against God. Our obligations are not merely to a law, but to Him who enacted it. So it becomes plain that the very centre of all sin is the shaking off of obedience to God. Living to ‘self’ is the inmost essence of every act of evil, and may be as virulently active in the smallest trifle as in the most awful crime. How infinitely deeper and darker this makes sin to be! When one thinks of our obligations and of our dependence, of God’s love and care, what an ‘evil and a bitter thing’ every sin becomes! Every sin misses the goal at which we should aim. By it we fall short of the loftiest purpose. Whatever we gain we lose more. For consider what human life might be: full of God and full of joy. Consider what the ‘fruits’ of sin are. ‘Apples of Sodom.’ How sin leads to sorrow. This is an inevitable law. Sin fails to secure what it sought for.

In it all things work under God, but only for ‘good’ to them who love God. To all others, sooner or later, the Nemesis comes. ‘Ye shall eat of the fruit of your doings.’ God forgives, and therefore He does not leave sin unpunished. It is divine mercy that strikes. The end of His chastisement is to separate us from our sins. Divine forgiveness and retributive justice both centre in the revelation of the Cross. (MacLaren)

45.a. “Wilderness” – 9.g. “Please show me your glory.”

Exodus 33:18  Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Job 11:7   “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

Job 26:14     Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

John 1:18     No one has ever seen God; the only God

1 Corinthians 13:12    For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Timothy 6:16    who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

All that he had yet seen of God was insufficient—only raised his desire, only sharpened his appetite to see more. (Ellicott)

Moses speaks as one who dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord’s presence. God’s gracious promises, and mercy towards us, should not only encourage our faith, but also excite our fervency in prayer. (Henry)

So long as we are clothed with this body, which was destined, indeed, from the very first to be transformed into the glorified state of the immortality of the spirit, but has become through the fall a prey to the corruption of death, we can only walk in faith, and only see God with the eye of faith, so far as He has revealed His glory to us in His works and His word. (Keil)

Moses asks for something very personable – “Show me Your glory”. Moses was closer to God than any man since Adam, and he asked for more intimate closeness. He wanted to be closer still. He was in the presence of God. He was near God. He spoke with God and God with him. He saw the hand of God do miracles and wonders. He pleaded with god for the restoration of Israel. And Moses still wanted to be more intimate with his understanding and knowledge of God by actually seeing His glory.

Do we seek to be more intimate with God? Do we want to be in His presence and experience His glory? Do we want to be known by God in a personal way so that we are not only fully devoted servants but a friend of God too? I wonder if we want to be blessed by God and given the comforts of His blessings without wanting to be close to Him. When we see His creation and have been given glimpses of His awesome power, protection, peace, presence, joy, grace, mercy, and love, do we want to be closer still, or just be a benefactor? That is the question, isn’t it?

Just wanting to be close enough to receive goodness is not worthy of His holiness, grace, and mercy. That is like wanting to be friends with a very generous person for what they give to you, but never ever wanted to truly be their friend in an indebted way. How shallow is a friendship that only desires to be given something by that friend? Isn’t it shameful?

Every single person has been given the beginning knowledge of God and who He is. God wrote it on their heart and minds. He stands at the door to our souls and seeks to come into our lives, invited in. He had His Word written down so that we might know Him and of His grace, mercy, power, wisdom, holiness, goodness, and one million more adjectives that only begin to explain how awesome All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Ever-Present He is. He sent His one and only Son to die and redeem us from eternal torment, Hell. He promised eternal life. He sent His Holy Spirit to fill us with His continual presence. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He promised to be our rock and refuge.

What has He asked of us, His creation? – To believe, rely upon, and trust in His Son and to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.

Examine your life, your wants, where you spend time, what you think about, who you listen to, what you say, what you do, and where you place importance. Can you say that you truly are seeking and desiring to know and understand more and more of God and be closer to Him?

33.l. “You have given me relief when I was in distress”

Matthew 15:21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Psalms 4:1  Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Jeremiah 50:6-7    “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.  All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

Ezekiel 34:5-6   So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;  they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

Ezekiel 34:16    I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:23  And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

Acts 13:46    And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ’s influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, mercy, is what she begged for: she pleads not merit, but depends upon mercy. It is the duty of parents to pray for their children, and to be earnest in prayer for them, especially for their souls. Have you a son, a daughter, grievously vexed with a proud devil, an unclean devil, a malicious devil, led captive by him at his will? this is a case more deplorable than that of bodily possession, and you must bring them by faith and prayer to Christ, who alone is able to heal them. (Henry)

This mother speaks as though she herself were the one that needed healing, identifying herself with her oppressed daughter, as though the horrible anguish, distress, and torment lay upon her own spirit and could not be relieved without the cure of her suffering daughter. (Guzik)

But he answered her not a word,…. Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her. (Gill)

But he answered her not a word,…. Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her. (unknown)

Send her away; for she cries after us.—It appears that after no response from Jesus the mother turned to the disciples. The disciples words, as interpreted by our Lord’s answer, were, in some sense, a plea in favor of the woman. They wished Him to grant what she asked for, and so to dismiss her. And yet we feel that their words were far harsher than their Master’s silence. They wanted only to be rid of her presence, which had followed them from the streets into the house, to be freed from the loud eager cries which vexed them. (Elliot)

I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; as a priest, or as a Saviour and Redeemer, he was sent to make satisfaction and atonement for the sins of all God’s elect, and to obtain eternal redemption and salvation for all of them, whether Jews or Gentiles; but as a prophet, in the discharge of his own personal ministry, he was sent by his Father only to the Jews; he was the “minister of the circumcision”, Romans 15:8 that is, a minister to the circumcised Jews; he was sent only to preach the Gospel to them, and work miracles among them, in proof of his Messiahship; and upon their rejection of him, then his apostles were to be sent among the Gentiles; but he himself was sent only to the Jews, here styled “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”: by “the house of Israel”, is meant the whole body of the Jewish nation, so called from Israel, the name of Jacob their father, from whom they sprung; and by the “lost sheep” of that house, are more especially designed the elect of God among them: for though all the individuals of that house were “lost” persons, considered in Adam, and in themselves, as the rest of mankind, and Christ, in the external ministry of the word, was sent to preach to them all; yet the elect of God are only “sheep”: they are the sheep of Christ, of his pasture, and of his hand, whom he has the particular care and charge of; and who, in their natural state, are lost and straying, and could never find their way, or recover themselves from their lost state in Adam, and by their own transgressions; but he came to seek, and to save them, and to these his ministry was powerful and efficacious. (Gill)

30.y. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use “

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

Colossians 4:6    Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Mark 9:49-50    For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Luke 14:34-35   “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is of no use

2 Peter 2:20-21   For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

Salt was used to preserve meats and to slow decay. Christians should have a preserving influence on their culture. Salt must keep its “saltiness” to be of any value. When it is no good as salt, it is trampled under foot. In the same way, too many Christians lose their “flavor” and become good for nothing.

To the Church in Ephesus – But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first.

To the Church in Pergamum – You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites.

To the Church in Thyatira – You tolerate the woman Jezebel and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality.

To the Church in Sardis – I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead

To the Church in Laodicea – I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot

Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the spirit says to the Churches. Don’t be salt that loses its flavor.

30.q. “Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!”

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Luke 6:25    “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Psalm 13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

Psalms 30:7-11    Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

Isaiah 30:19   For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.

Zechariah 12:10-14    “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

2 Corinthians 1:4-7   who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Revelation 21:4   He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

There two kinds of situations by which we will mourn. We will mourn over the loss of something we love and we will mourn over our sin in the light of Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy, glory, and honor. We can mourn over the loss of our freedom, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of financial stability, loss of position, loss of authority, etc… We mourn over something we once had and now do not. This is worldly mourning and for the most part it is temporal and just integrated into life this side of eternity. All of this mourning is based on love of a current state, relationship, or person, but may also include pride. Anyone with a heart will mourn, at times, throughout their lives. It is a natural response. Mourning should not be our destination but rather a path. This path can and should lead us into trust, reliance, and comfort that is only found in and through Jesus Christ.

There is another kind of mourning. It is so deep, hurtful, and overwhelming. It is the mourning that arises out of the understanding and knowledge of our personal sinful nature and God’s holiness. When we are given glimpses of God’s holiness and our sinfulness, we are or should be, overwhelmed with mourning our condition. We are overwhelmed because we now understand our sinfulness in the light of holiness. We understand, on our own, we are without hope. Our sin seems to be so great, in the light of holiness, that there is nothing we can do to wipe it away. This is true. There is nothing we can do to wipe away our sin. We should be mournful. Our heart should ache. Our soul should weep. But glory to God this is not how this type of mourning will last.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”

“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Seeing our sin in the light of God’s glory and grace should lead us to mourn deeply, but this path of mourning should lead us to trust, obedience, reliance, and faith in Jesus Christ which yields humbleness, thankfulness, hope, joy, comfort, courage, and rejoicing.

29.v. “And her husband Joseph, being a just man”

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Deuteronomy 22:21-24 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Psalms 112:4-5 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.

“Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly”. I can’t imagine what was going through the mind of Joseph when he learned that his wife was pregnant and that it was not by him. Rage, anger, hate, confusion, worry, embarrassment, etc…. would all seem both normal and appropriate. However, Joseph chose not to go down these paths. He chose to discard these thoughts and actions. He chose to be just in a time where it certainly would have been very easy not to be. He did not allow his hurt to overshadow and block doing what would honor and glorify God. That is not something that just happens. It is from living and choosing that way. We always have a choice. There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end, it leads to death. We have free will to choose to live to honor and glorify God or not. When we allow what seems right to overshadow that which is right God is not honored and glorified. Living to honor and glorify God is not a singular event or two during our life. It is a way of life where the presence of God is so real in our hearts, mind, and souls that every thought, every word, and every act is done in the light of His presence. I heard someone say you don’t want to have God catch you doing something wrong. The fact is God already knows. He knows our thoughts and actions before they even occur. Let our thoughts and actions, therefore, be in this light with our deepest desire to always think, speak, and do that which honors Him alone.

29.t. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Psalms 90:12     So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 39:4   “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

Ephesians 5:15-17    Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,  making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Deuteronomy 32:29   If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

Proverbs 2:2-6    making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

There must be practical, lived-out Christianity, which lives wisely toward those who are outside. How we speak has a lot to do with this, so we must let our speech always be with grace. Why, because at all times, every day and minute throughout our lives, we are conscious of how we are living so that Jesus Christ is being honored and glorified. How many times a day do we pass a person who could use a kind word, helping hand, an acknowledgment, or word of encouragement? We get tied up being busy and allow the busyness of life to trap us into thinking we are too busy, too important, not important, or unable to see people through God’s eyes. “Teach us to number our days”, “making the best use of the time”, “number our days”, and “make me know my end and what is the measure of my days” all speak to having godly wisdom, discernment, knowledge, and understanding of who we are in light of who God is and to what He has called us to. How can we be or reflect the light of Jesus Christ if our eyes are closed to the people around us? How can we grow and mature in displaying grace when we don’t even see others around us. I am reminded of a time my wife and I went to visit a dear friend who had just lost His wife. We went out to eat and this man, whose heart what aching from loss, noticed our server seemed out of sorts, troubled. He graciously spoke to her with true concern and then asked if we could pray for her right there as she was taking our order. This is having eyes open to others and discernment to their hurts and needs, no matter what life has thrown at us. Even in his grief, his eyes were open for opportunities to show God’s grace and concern.

We do well to ask God to reveal deep within our hearts and minds, that which is important and that which is not. Busyness does not mean it is important. When we seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding with the intentional choice, to be led by the Holy Spirit and honor and glorify Jesus Christ, in all things and at all times, it is then we will discern the world and people around us in the light of His grace and love.

27.d. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Nehemiah 9:17  They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Psalms 51:1   Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Isaiah 55:6-8    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

Psalms 103:8-11   The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Romans 5:8    but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 3:24    and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

“As they were corrupt in their nature, and sinful in their practice, they could possess no merit, nor have any claim upon God; and it required much mercy to remove so much misery, and to pardon such transgressions.” (Clarke) Every reason for God’s mercy and love is found in Him. We give Him no reason to love us, yet in the greatness of His love, He loves us with that great love anyway. Therefore, we must stop trying to make ourselves lovable to God, and simply receive His great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the grace secret of the Christian life. (Guzik) He did not wait until we were lovable. He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, providing nothing lovable to Him. The work of God’s grace, in no way involving man’s merit. Our salvation – our rescue – from spiritual death is God’s work done for the undeserving.

Stop trying to earn God’s love and grace. You never can and never will. Stop keeping a ledger book of all your good and bad deeds in your head hoping the good will outweigh the bad, but rather confess them, repent from them, and lean on Jesus Christ alone. When we willfully choose to disobey God, (knowingly sin), there is no other way to erase it but through trusting in Him alone and resting on His forgiveness, grace, and love. One way to see the greatness of the grace of God is to see how He begs man to receive it. When we offer a gift to someone and they refuse it, we are likely to allow them to refuse and leave them alone. God does not do this with us; even when we refuse His mercy He reaches into His storehouse of grace and persists with us, begging us to receive the free gift. He pursues us. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks asking to be let in. It is in the rejection of God’s grace and mercy whereby people will spend eternity in Hell.

20.d. “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy”

Romans 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”

Exodus 33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

God’s mercy is not something we earn or deserve. We have done nothing or can do nothing that would obligate God to give and show mercy toward us. It is out of His love that He looks on His creation and offers mercy through Jesus Christ to all who would believe in Him. It is out of His love that mercy is given to us so that through Jesus Christ those who humbly surrender, repent, trust, and obey are promised eternal life.

Our sinful nature leads us to believe that this is how we were created, imperfect. However, we were created perfectly. In this perfection, we were created with free will. We were created with free will to continually be in the presence of God in obedience. We were created with free will to love and trust God. However, Adam, in this free will chose to disobey God. He willingly chose to disobey and our sinful nature was born into man forevermore. His disobedience gave birth to sin and separation from God. In our sinful nature, there is nothing that deserves mercy from God. Adam was made perfect but chose to be imperfect through disobedience. Since Adam, disobedience has continued to mature and manifest its self through self-worth, self-desire, self-reliance, self-gain, self-first, self-centered, self-honor, etc………. We may ask “why have you made me like this?” When in fact mankind, through Adam, we willingly chose to be like this. God is not to fault and we are without excuse. We are without any hope were it not for God’s mercy.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” God’s mercy and love demonstrated. This offer of restoration to God is because of His love and mercy toward His creation. It can never be earned by any act we attempt to do to deserve it. Jesus Christ was God’s mercy gift of Love. Adam was given free will and chose to disobey, and now God has sent His Son to redeem man by giving us the means to be made right with Him. Each person is given free will to choose to believe in this mercy gift through Jesus Christ, humbly surrendering, repenting, obeying, trusting, and believing in Him alone, not anything of self. Just as Adam had free will and chose to disobey, we have free will to either believe, trust, honor, surrender, repent, and obey, or disobey. God’s gift of mercy is nothing to take passing notice of, give lip service towards, become complacent towards, or neglect. Eternity in heaven or eternity in hell awaits us all and we have been given free will to choose.

12.c. “It will surely come; it will not delay.”

Habakkuk 2:2 “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Daniel 8:19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.

Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

Daniel 11:27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.

Psalms 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

James 5:7-8 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

2 Peter 2:3 Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

The news these days seems to relish in digging up as much mud as they can. They throw it on the clear water of life and then continue to stir it up, mix it up, and cloud it up to the point where it is impossible to see worth in anything at all. The muddy waters are a mixture of half-truths and sometimes lies. It is hard to tell their intent or to what purpose they are focused on. Much of the mud they cloud the waters of life with, most hearers would never have heard of unless these pessimistic and “the sky is falling” proclaimers had told them. We do well to keep the likes of them out of our heads.

Habakkuk is told to make the vision plain and understandable. Make it so plain that the people who read it will run away/turn away from that which is causing what is proclaimed to be coming. Even so, there are many who read and hear it and give it no continued thought. It is as though they don’t believe it at all or say it will never happen in my lifetime so why think about it. Or, they may think that they have time for doing something about it later. All of these lead to a life that forfeits the grace, mercy, and love of God. It allows a person to think there is no danger in waiting and there is no consequence for waiting, and no worry in waiting. All of which is false. The time of salvation is NOW. The time of God’s grace, mercy, and love are NOW. Jesus Christ is coming again, soon. No one knows when death will knock on their door. No one knows when their end will come. It could be today, tomorrow, or years from now. Trust me, many people have waited for another time to trust in Jesus Christ and have died before they thought they would. The day of salvation is NOW. Right NOW. Just because you see no imminent danger does not mean it is not there. Don’t allow the things and news of this world to muddy up your vision of the need for Jesus Christ. Do not allow this muddiness to rob you of purpose in this life and eternal life in heaven.