Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of commercials for Zion's Tour. We take great comfort
in the psalmist's words. But our God is in the heavens,
he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. There are no ifs, maybes,
or buts with him. Whatsoever he decrees shall come
to pass. The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. This is plainly
evident in his declaration which he delivered through the prophet
Isaiah, wherein he speaks of the sure mercies of David. There
is probably no passage of scripture that is any more certain to raise
the ire of the natural man than that which Paul relates. For
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Then he goes on further to state the conclusion of the matter.
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom
he will, he hardeneth. To be a recipient of God's mercy
is to be ordained to receive it by a sovereign act, which
can in no wise be overturned. This is the greatest privilege
that any man can be given, and there is not one thing that any
can do to either earn or deserve it. Mercy is favor shown to those
who not only do not deserve it, but are actually guilty of crimes
worthy of death. It is the exact opposite of what
they ought to have. God reserves the right to show
this mercy as He sees fit, because His mercy is bestowed according
to His sovereign purpose. Then these mercies can be spoken
of as sure. He declared that he would bless
the house of David, and that there would never cease to be
one who sprang from the loins of David who would sit upon the
throne of Israel. Yet if I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion, I will declare the decree, the Lord hath said
unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask
of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel. The sure mercies of David are
ensured by him who cannot lie, wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things in which
it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation,
who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before
us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, most sure
and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whether
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. The sure mercies of David are
administered by him whose mercy endureth forever. This one who
dispenses this mercy is the purveyor of tender mercies. This is demonstrated
most clearly in the giving of his son. through the tender mercy
of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow
of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. The sure mercies
of David are dependent upon the God who never changes, nor ever
needs to make any corrections along the way. Known unto God
are all his works from the beginning of the world. God knows all things
because he has decreed all things to come to pass, exactly as he
sees fit, from the flight of a gnat around the nose of a spotted
dog to cataclysms of this world in whatever form they may take.
These sure mercies have their culmination in the resurrection
of the saints, of which Christ is the first fruits. And as concerning
that, he raised him up from the dead. Now no more to return to
corruption. He said, on this wise, I will
give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also
in another psalm, thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to
see corruption. In Christ is revealed all of
the mercies of a covenant keeping God. To Christ have all of the
promises of this covenant been made. And he has both secured
them for his people by his actions and does daily demonstrate those
mercies as he is pleased to call his children to himself, to partake
of that which he has ordained that they should have. His call
is not an offer nor a request, but even as the centurion recognized
the command. In the same fashion in which
he commanded Lazarus to come forth from a tomb on a Judean
hillside, so he calls unto his children, saying, come unto me,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly
and hard, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke
is easy and my burden is light. Do you hear his voice? Flee from
the wrath to come, for he is that one who is the author and
finisher of the sure mercies of David. Christ alone is the
Savior of sinners, the only one in whom this mercy will be found. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.