Many are familiar with the Old Testament formula, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:8-9; see Exodus 34:6-7). Embedded in that saying is the affirmation that God is merciful or “of great mercy.” Elsewhere we read that he’s rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5). But what do we mean when we say that God is merciful?
Brief Glimpses of God’s Mercy
Throughout the Old Testament, God demonstrates his compassion and pity towards Israel, in diversely miserable situations. Chief among them is when he hears their desperate cries while slaves in Egypt (Exodus 3:7). God raised up Moses, who would later declare God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and mercy, with the redeemed people of God (Exodus 34:6-7).
God’s compassion is abundantly poured out on unworthy, undeserving people.
Similarly as a leader among God’s people, Paul writes about “the riches of God’s glory for vessels of mercy” (Romans 9:22-23). Paul himself experienced this first hand, encountering God on his way to persecute the church, he became an object of God’s mercy (Acts 9:1-4). Paul’s ministry was marked by the declaration and demonstration that God’s mercy lies close to the heart of all that he does.
To these we could add many more glimpses. He is a God who lavishes grace. The Lord finds pleasure in showing mercy towards people in miserable conditions or circumstances. Whether he is forgiving sinners, healing the sick, or delivering those in trouble, God’s compassion is abundantly poured out on unworthy, undeserving people. This mercy is both dispensed according to his sovereign will and rooted in his covenant faithfulness.
Why His Mercy Matters
Mercy is one of God’s attributes. Thus being merciful is fundamental to his nature. However, it is more than merely an expression of his being. Below are three other reasons God demonstrates mercy.
1. God’s Mercy Displays His Abundant Goodness
God rescues us from our miserable conditions to display his abundant goodness (Psalm 145:8-9); his, not ours. We don’t earn God’s favour. He gives it freely, mercifully, demonstrating the riches of his goodness. Whether it is a rescue from sin or deliverance from the various hardships of life, the goodness of the Lord is ever ready to rescue his people.
2. His Mercy Makes Us Useful for Good Works
Secondly, God acts mercifully and rescues us from our miserable conditions to prepare us for good works (Ephesians 2:10). In lavishing his abundant mercy on sinners, the Lord takes hopeless sinners, dead in their trespasses, and makes them useful for every good work. He sets them apart for service. In his wisdom and goodness, God prepared and planned for those he rescued to be workers of good.
3. God’s Mercy Trains Us in Mercy
Finally, God works out his mercy in the lives of undeserving people so that they will show mercy to others. Part of becoming a worker of good is becoming a dispenser of his goodness, love, and mercy. In other words, in rescuing people from miserable conditions God makes them instruments and conveyors of his mercy. He shows us mercy so that we, too, can show mercy and compassion to those around us.
