“The Lord will perfect that
which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the
works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8
The operative word in this verse is MERCY. Not just any mercy, but God’s mercy towards
those He calls His children. Defined
below, mercy can be another word for grace.
Grace is divine favor, a reprieve.
It’s a second chance given to those who deserve nothing but punishment
for their unwillingness to obey God’s decrees up to the point of forgiveness. Mercy is compassion. Mercy is kindness. Mercy is patience. Mercy is forgiveness. “The
Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.”
(Psalm 103:8)
David is crying out to Jehovah to not forsake the works
of His hands, which are those that He has created, more specifically in this
setting, the children of Israel. Our works are, in most cases, feeble at
best. “For whatever good works I may have, they have come
from You to me; and so they are more yours than mine. For I hear from the apostle Paul, ‘By grace
are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus’”: Eph 2:8-10. 1 We can do nothing of any lasting value for
the kingdom without God’s involvement. The
Lord, on the other hand, never leaves anything unfinished. We can be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians
1:6)
We must allow this great work to
take place in us, for if we ignore the Holy Spirit’s efforts to perform
spiritual surgery on us, we will stagnate like a placid pool of water. We must have living water flowing through our
veins. It involves surrendering our will
in favor of God’s. He has shown us
untold patience and mercy. Let us not waste this wonderful opportunity. Until Christ’s return, walk with the King and
be a blessing!
DEFINITION: mer·cy (mûr′sē), noun.
1. Compassionate
treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.
2. A
disposition to be kind and forgiving: a heart
full of mercy.
3. Something
for which to be thankful; a blessing: It was a
mercy that no one was hurt.
4. Alleviation
of distress; relief: Taking in the refugees was
an act of mercy.
Synonyms’: compassion, charity, pity, forgiveness, quarter,
favor, grace, kindness, clemency, leniency, benevolence and forbearance.
1 Augustine of Hippo,
aka, Saint Augustine; 354 AD – 430 AD; early Christian theologian &
philosopher.
