Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain because of sin in the decreed purpose of
Almighty God. The very aggressive and bloodthirsty
behavior of animals, as well as men, is the result of sin
and its curse upon this earth in which we live. The picture
of peace and tranquility which is brought in by Jesus Christ
is that of a world wherein this behavior is no longer seen. The
wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall
eat straw like the bullock. and thus shall be the serpent's
meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,
saith the Lord." Man's enjoyment of cruelty, whether it's inflicted
on animals or on humans, is but the result of the depravity of
the human heart. Many who recall at the thought
of others deriving pleasure from the suffering of beasts or humans
need to be reminded that were it not for the restraining grace
of God, every man and beast upon the earth would seek to devour
one another. Even those of us who might never enjoy a dogfight
or watching another human endure physical suffering have spoken
unkind words which have smitten others in their very heart. We
have all treated others with disrespect from time to time.
We have cut people off in traffic, being in a hurry to get to our
destination, which we deem far more important than anything
they could be doing. We have turned a deaf ear from
time to time from those whose needs were perhaps legitimate.
We have all exercised righteous indignation and its accompanying
disdain at the shortcomings of others while excusing our own
similar failings. In short, we have all indulged
the human penchant for unkindness, which stems from our innate tendency
to cruelness. The only difference between the
man who has been unkind to his neighbor and the man who revels
in unspeakable acts of cruelty is that God, in his mercy, has
seen fit to restrain the wickedness of one, while according to his
sovereign purpose letting the other manifest the degree of
sin which all men are capable of. The Lord Jesus Christ set
for us the example of the life of a man who is perfect in all
of his ways. He was always considerate of
those he was around, lifting up the brokenhearted and comforting
those that mourned. The scripture describes him thusly.
He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment
unto victory. His purpose in the earth was
to fulfill his father's will, not to lift himself up above
men by trampling on them or disregarding their needs. Every time he listened
to the plea of a beggar or stopped to heal a cripple, he exhibited
unparalleled kindness. This kindness was not that which
rose from natural humanity, but from that divine nature which
inhabited his very being. His humanity needed no restraint,
for he was not a victim of a fallen nature, for he knew no sin, neither
did he have any proclivity towards it. He being free from sin was
both able and willing to exhibit the kindness, which was the demonstration
of his very nature. What a contrast is seen between
him and the men of this world. Kindness is a product of mercy,
and he that is full of mercy is also full of kindness. It
is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. He has demonstrated
kindness to us in that he is faithful to his elect in every
generation. For the mountain shall depart
and the hills removed, but my kindness shall not depart from
thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith
the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. Even when we should have
been cast off, yet He in His kindness has held us in the palm
of His hand and daily loatheth us with benefits. His kindness,
as is His mercy, is totally undeserved by those who are the recipients
of it, and it is undiminished by their many failures. He has
demonstrated kindness to us in that he has caused the events
that transpire in this world to occur for their benefit. Let
the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness, and let him reprove
me. It shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my
head. Paul recounted the kindness showed to him and his shipwrecked
fellows by the barbarians. Such things are unheard of, except
that God should restrain their natural mind and direct the path
of their feet. When God arose to judgment to
save all the meek of the earth, say, Law, surely the wrath of
man shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
He has demonstrated kindness to us in that he has purposed
to bring glory to his name throughout eternity by the demonstration
of his kindness to us in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of
His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. But
after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Do you rejoice in His
kindness? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to for the poor at windstream.net.