“O give thanks unto the Lord, the God of gods; for He is good: For His mercy endures for ever.” (Psalm 136:1-2). I have been reflecting on God’s mercy for a while, pondering on this mercy that endures forever. Like David and Bartimaeus, I find myself asking for it more and more. In doing so, I’ve felt led to explore this attribute of God, this mercy that drives God’s compassion for us. I’ve heard mercy defined as not getting what we deserve, and grace as getting what we don’t deserve. However, I think mercy encompasses both… God extending His grace to us is as a result of His mercy.

The Bible repeatedly states that mercy is one of the key attributes of God. God is a God of mercy, He is rich in mercy, extending it to a thousand generations, and renewing it every morning (Exodus 34:4, Psalm 86:15, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:45). Psalm 89:14 (NKJV) says “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.” Some translations say mercy and truth go ahead of God, leading the way; they are shown in all God does. Mercy is like God’s fingerprint that He leaves wherever He goes. But it is also like a shadow, showing up before its owner. I was praying before writing this blog, and I asked God to tell me more about what His mercy is like. Almost immediately, this popped up in my head: “My mercy is gentle.” I wasn’t even thinking along those lines but it spoke so powerfully to me.

Gentle Mercy
As I reflected on it, this illustration came to mind. Imagine someone drowning in a cold lake. Then a passer-by, as an act of mercy, reaches out to grab their arm, but with such force that the arm is sprained. However, the person’s life is saved, so it is accepted as a necessary evil for the greater reward of a life saved. That is mercy. Now picture the same scenario again, but this time, God is the one showing mercy. He doesn’t forcefully grab the person and pull them out. Instead He lifts them in such a way that they feel like they are floating. Then He tenderly places them on solid ground and warms them up. That is gentle mercy. Another way God’s mercy shows up is in His healing style. When Jesus healed, people didn’t have to go on a journey of terrible side effects before arriving at the destination of healing. Neither did they have to deal with long periods of recovery afterwards. Jesus healed in such a way that people could immediately get up and go about their business. Examples include Peter’s mother in law, Jairus’ daughter, and Bartimaeus (Luke 4:39, Mark 5:42, Mark 10:52, John 5:9) I am yet to find any Biblical record of someone who suffered unwanted physical side effects following healing from God. God’s mercy is truly gentle.

Speaking from Mercy
I was reading the Bible recently and came across this verse in Numbers 7:89 (BSB): “When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony. Thus the LORD spoke to him.” I stopped and re-read it several times. I found it really insightful that God spoke to Moses from the mercy seat. In other words, when God spoke, He spoke from a place of mercy.

Incidentally, I was reading this article, and one of the interpretations of the symbols of Cherubims was that “the two statutes represent the two attributes of God, mercy and justice.” This mercy seat was also made of pure gold, a symbol of God’s purity (Exodus 25:17). However, what enabled it to be a seat of mercy was the blood sprinkled on it, from the sacrifice of a lamb. As Hebrews 9:22 (BSB) notes, “According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection is a powerful symbol of God’s mercy. If even the blood of ordinary lambs could speak under the Old Covenant, how much more the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, which we have under the New Covenant.

While High Priests in the Old Covenant did not use their own blood, Jesus the High Priest used His blood (Hebrews 9). He was both the Lamb for sacrifice and the High Priest. As Hebrews 12:24 (AMP) notes, “And to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant [uniting God and man], and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].” The blood of Jesus on the mercy seat gives it its power, and allows us boldly approach God’s throne to ask for mercy (Hebrews 4:16).

Judgement… Or Mercy?
God is also a God of justice (Deuteronomy 32:4). He loves justice (Psalm 11:7) and is exalted by it (Isaiah 5:16). As quoted earlier, righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. However, even His justice is laced with mercy. His mercy permeates everything He does. It is like dipping a pleasant herbal fruit teabag in a cup of hot water. It not only infuses flavourless water with its flavour, the aroma also enriches the surrounding air. The book of Jonah, chapters 3 and 4 in particular, showcase how God’s judgement and justice is laced with mercy. God is so merciful that Jonah was even frustrated by the extent of His mercy. God’s wisdom is also entwined with mercy. James 3:17 (BSB) says “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.”

Sometimes though, what we think is God’s judgement is actually His mercy. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had been doing exactly what Jesus had commanded, going into all the world and preaching the gospel. And what did they get in return? Travel challenges, a mob stripping and beating them up severely, with wooden rods even. As if that was not enough, they were thrown into prison. Still, their faith remained strong, such that they were praying and singing hymns to God even in prison. Surely things couldn’t get any worse? But they could… a massive earthquake occurred! I wonder what they, or others around them, were thinking by this time. Was this a case of God pouring out His judgement? Quite the opposite. The earthquake was God’s act of mercy to open all the prison doors and cause their chains to fall off!

Paul and Silas did not just stand up and run away though. The beautiful thing was that, having been recipients of God’s mercy, they in turn showed mercy to the jailer. This paved the way for the jailer’s salvation, and that of his entire household. Showing mercy to the jailer also meant that they did not just scramble through the rubble, bruised and battered, rushing to leave the prison. Instead, the jailer cared for them, washed their wounds, gave them food to eat, and they ended up getting a personal apology from the city officials for the way they had been treated. This is an illustration of how God wants us to respond to His mercy, if we want to experience more of it. As James 2:13 (NLT) notes, “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.” This is further buttressed in Matthew 5:7 and Luke 6:36.

Conversely, in Isaiah 38 and 2 Kings 20, we read of Hezekiah’s plea for healing and longer life. Hezekiah may have thought that God was being unjust, because when he found out that he was going to die, he said “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you” (Isaiah 38:3, NLT). God ended up granting his request and he lived for 15 more years. And what did Hezekiah do with his extra time as King of Judah? He showed the Babylonians all the treasures of the palace. In 2 Kings 20:16-18 we discover that that was a bad move, as the Babylonians were going to plunder it all.

And what was Hezekiah’s reaction when he found out what would happen? Instead of praying with the same intensity that he had used to pray for his healing, he was not even troubled. Simply because it wasn’t going to happen in his lifetime. What a sad stain on his legacy. What a devastating impact his actions had on Judah later on. This passage makes me realise that sometimes, God not answering our prayers in the way we want can actually be an act of mercy.

Unfair Mercy?
God’s mercy can also feel unfair to us, as it did in the example of Jonah earlier. Especially when it feels like the wicked go unpunished while the righteous suffer. In the parable of the wheat and the weeds as told in Matthew 13:24-29, we learn that there is a reason why. In the process of uprooting the weeds, the wheat can be destroyed as well, so it is better to wait till the harvest. God’s mercy can therefore mean that sometimes the weeds are allowed to grow together with the wheat. But while that happens, God yearns to show His mercy. As Isaiah 30:18 (CSB) notes, “Therefore the LORD is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. All who wait patiently for Him are happy”.

There is also a level of God’s mercy that everyone enjoys, just or unjust. This is completely unrelated to their actions, and is purely because God is merciful (Matthew 5:45). I think in a sense, this is God saying ‘this is who I am, irrespective of who you are.’ However, we should not just be content with that. Instead we should desire to experience a further level of God’s mercy. And since mercy, truth and justice work hand in hand, to experience this, we therefore need to repent, to turn away from sin and turn to God instead.

When in Doubt…
Like Paul and Silas, sometimes we might go through experiences that make us doubt God’s mercy. Recently, a few things were happening that threatened to overwhelm me, and I didn’t exactly feel like I was on the receiving end of God’s mercy. Then I read Psalm 42:6 (MSG), “When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you.” It was just what I needed to hear. One way I rehearse everything I know of God is by praising Him. Listening to, and singing songs that worship Him, that describe who He is and tell of His great wonders. If Paul and Silas could practice that, even when unjustly imprisoned, then so can I! Praying in tongues and listening can also provide an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to remind us of all that Jesus has said and promised (John 14:26). This can include the numerous occasions when Jesus talked about and actioned His mercy and compassion. Furthermore, it is invaluable and so encouraging to read and re-read scriptures that remind us of His great acts of mercy, and hear testimonies of His great works. Psalm 103:3-5 (MSG) beautifully reminds us of some truths that flow from God’s mercy:

“He forgives your sins—everyone.
He heals your diseases—everyone.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.”

I love this quote from Dame Ortlund, “That God is rich in mercy means that your regions of deepest shame and regret are not hotels through which divine mercy passes but homes in which divine mercy abides.” God’s mercy doesn’t ebb and flow, it stays consistent!

It is also worth reminding us that gentleness can seem slow if we are people who like things to happen quickly. However, if we trust and love God, and walk in sync with His will, then all things will work out for our good, in His perfect time. Think about it this way, if you needed an operation, would you rather have a surgeon who did a quick but incomplete job, or one who worked gently and skilfully, leading to excellent results, even if it took longer?
As we cry out for mercy, may we have the courage to be patient, yet persistent like Bartimaeus.

I am eternally grateful to God for His gentle overflowing mercy, for the privilege of being able to confidently approach God’s throne of grace to receive mercy and grace. I am grateful for the ‘mercy drops’ that fall on us, even as I pray for showers of mercy. I know God has shown me more mercy than I deserve, and yet I dare to ask for more, not because I have done anything to deserve it, but because I know God is a God with unending oceans of mercy. As we boldly approach The Throne of Grace to ask for mercy, we can be certain that God will answer us, and that His goodness and mercy will follow us every single day of our lives. Like a gentle guiding light, it will illuminate our path forever and ever.

Image source here.