Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The glory of the Lord is
seen in His goodness. His goodness is manifested in
His willingness to show mercy to the sons of men. Nothing can
prevent His bestowal of that mercy, as He declares His sovereign
right to dispense that mercy as He sees fit. And who could
bring any accusation against him if he withholds his mercy
from some? Mercy would not be mercy if it
is not sovereignly dispensed according to his pleasure, not
the merits of the recipient. For then it would be the payment
of a debt of which the Lord has none. Therefore, when we discuss
the mercy of God, any such discussion must be attended with the truth
which the scriptures declare concerning that mercy and the
one who is pleased to show it according to his own prerogative.
The Lord prepares the hearts of those whom he will show mercy
by causing them to confess that apart from his mercy they will
surely perish. The publican who went up to the
temple to pray went down to his house justified, not because
of something he said or thought, but because he was an object
of the Lord's mercy, which was manifested by the convicting
work of the Spirit of God, which moved him to cry out to the Lord,
God, be merciful to me a sinner. David manifested the work of
the Spirit of God in him when he was confronted with his sin
by the prophet Nathan. Those words, thou art the man,
went into his heart like a dagger, and he was in a moment brought
down to that same condition of which Daniel writes. There remained
no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption,
and I retained no strength. We read David's confession and
desperate plea. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine
iniquities, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my
transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee,
thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight,
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear
when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me. None who seek His mercy will
be turned away, for it is God which works in them, both to
will and to do of His good pleasure, according as He dispenses His
mercy. All who have tasted that the
Lord is gracious confess that His mercy is everlasting. We
cannot trace its beginning, and His promise and faithfulness
ensures that it will have no end. Nothing about his mercy
in any wise depends upon the recipients of it. Faithful is
he that calleth you, who will also do it. The objects of his
love, that is, his elect, the called according to his purpose,
are the recipients of his everlasting mercy. Apart from seeing the
man Christ Jesus, a man can neither see nor know the true and living
God. I have made the earth, the man, and the beast that are upon
the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and
have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. For by him were
all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by him
and for him. And he is before all things,
and by him all things consist. Thus when he told his disciples,
I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto
the Father but by me. He was not merely claiming to
be speaking truth, but that he is the very embodiment of truth.
No man can know the truth apart from knowing him who is that
truth which endureth to all generations. He is the Savior of His people.
He is that covering which was given to Adam and Eve. He is
that seed which would bruise the head of the serpent. He is
that ark in which Noah and his family rode upon the flood. He
is that bow which was set in the clouds. He is that ram caught
in the thicket when Abraham would sacrifice the promised seed upon
Mount Moriah. He is that rock which followed
the children of Israel in the wilderness. He is that city not
made with hands, which those confessed that they saw as strangers
and pilgrims in the earth. He is that one who has come in
the end of the age to pour out his soul as an offering for sin
in the behalf of all of that generation which are his. He
is that one who rose victorious over sin, death, and hell. and
made a show openly of all of his enemies, triumphing over
them and giving gifts unto those whom he loves. He is the truth
which endures, he who shall come again in flaming fire, taking
vengeance on all who know not God and who have not received
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. What a glorious
Savior is he! Do you call upon his name? For
a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net