Have Mercy on Me

VERSE 1
I am a sinner; You’re blameless, Lord
My sins against You can’t be ignored
They will be punished, I know they must
Your law demands it, for You are just

PRE-CHORUS
If You would count
Everything that I’ve done wrong
Who could stand?
But there’s forgiveness with You, God

CHORUS
Have mercy on me, have mercy on me
A broken and a contrite heart
You won’t turn away
Have mercy on me, have mercy on me
Because of Your steadfast love

VERSE 2
Father of mercy, You gave Your Son
To make atonement for wrongs I have done
What You required, Jesus fulfilled
I don’t deserve it— I never will

© 2011 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.
Proverbs 19:3

It amazes me every day people that blame God for their trouble.  Couple things in this verse stand out to me.

Man’s folly: This is man’s doing, his sin, his efforts, his action, not God’s.

Man’s way: This is not the way of the righteous and it is NOT God’s way, this is man causing trouble for man’s plans.

Man’s ruin:  ”Give um enough rope they will hang themselves” was the advice I got as a young man from a wise pastor.  The sad part is that this takes time, when we see the problem we want to address it (and often should).  When the other person is bent on their own self will rather than God’s… sometimes they have to come to ruin before they can see the problem. (Often we find ourselves trying to protect the people affected as the train wreck of a person’s ways lead them to ruin.  )

Man’s heart rages:   the Hebrew root behind this rage is foaming or burning.  When we set our will against God’s it is like we are a rabid dog foaming at the mouth lashing out no our pain and fever biting everything around us … even the hands that fed us, clothed us, took care of us.  (Hosea 11:3-4) Lashing out at God.  What despair must we sink to in our own sin.

There is danger when we set our ways above God’s ways and when the “world” we create comes crashing down around us we tend to lash out at the Salvation that was offered to us.  To deny God the proper place of authority in our lives…

This is what Jesus said when he rebuked peter:

But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:23-24

Man’s folly came because he set his heart against God in the first place.  Another lesson in this is that this happens to Christians as well as UnChristians.

We are often very quick as Christians to see error in the lives. doctrines and worship of those around us.  Much easier to see sin in others, not so easy to see in our own lives.  We must be on guard to “deny” our selves and take up the cross of Christ, following HIS ways rather than our own.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

Micah 2:3
Therefore, the LORD says:
“I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.

It started with one thought. How can I wish evil on my enemy? God has prepared eternal judgment for the wicked and also made a way of salvation.

Romans 12:19
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

God has prepared vengeance and God requires that we allow Him to take care of repayment. So if God has prepared punishment but also forgiveness then we should not wish our enemies evil but grace. Grace that they would find favor in God’s eyes and avoid vengeance that is beyond anything we can imagine.

Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

As a Christian when dealing with unbelievers or saints we are instructed not to curse our adversary but to lift them up and bless them before God. (Romans 12:12, Psalm 109) to pray God has mercy on the evil

The psalmist cries in Psalm 109:21
“But you, O GOD my Lord,
deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!”

In the middle of a great accusation against his enemy and a call for God’s vengeance, he stops. He calls for God not to curse his enemy (it is almost like he realizes the enemy will get what is coming to him it is an awesome and fitting passage) but more importantly that God would have mercy on Him for his own weakness

Exodus 33:19 (God speaking)
“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Pray today for Mercy. Mercy from God for yourself. Mercy from God for your enemies.

Ps. 37:28
For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved forever. . .”

The Lyrics of Skillet’s song “Forgiven” pulled me in to a frame of worship, the chorus … wow.  “Alone in Your embrace”:

FORGIVEN
[V1]
Forgive me now cause I Have been unfaithful
Don’t ask me why cause I don’t know
So many times I’ve tried But was unable
But this heart belongs to you alone

Chorus
Now I’m in our secret place
Alone in your embrace
Where all my wrongs have been erased
You have forgiven

All the promises and lies
All the times I compromise
All the times you were denied
You have forgiven

[V2]
Forgive me I’m ashamed
I’ve loved another
I can’t explain cause I don’t know
No one can take your place
And there is no other
Forever yours and yours alone

Bridge
Take me to our secret place
(We’ll leave the world away)
I get down on my knees
Feel your love wash over me
There will never be another
You’re the only one forever
And you know I’m yours alone

I stand in awe of the Glory of God.

I wiped the tears from my eyes watching the end of am Episode of  Extreme Makeover Home Edition with Ty and the gang.  I didn’t get the see the beginning  of the show with the reason the family was in such desparet position.  I sat to eat a bite and tuned in to the program.

Within 30 minutes I was fully engaged watching as the story revealed itself in front of me on TV, the family had lost their dad, he had been “a man of character and faith” and a leader for his family He evidently was a pastor of some sort.  Ty and the gang made great efforts to reach out to “faith and religion” but never really presented the Glory of God in what they are doing.

The cast of characters is fairly known, the TV show puts great emphasis on helping people in need and enlisting the community to do the same.  Great cost and great effort go into producing a “reality” tv show.  Even if that reality is not as common as it should be.

I sat with tears in my eyes as I watched the widow and her children explore the house, I was waiting for them to expose the chapel that they had built in the home. A specific place.  Full of specific memories for the family.  Full of friends.  Full of love.

Even the unregenerate know how to reach out in love.  How much more does our Father God know how to reach out to His children?

Time and time again, the faces come across the TV show of people desperate for help.  Ty knows how to reach out to them in earthly terms.  The writers, directors and producers carefully craft lines and situations to meet their standards.  They are sent thousands of letters, videos, emails and hear many stories of people in need across the US.  The heart break just as they can only help one.

It is great to think about how much more God blessed us (grace, faith, mercy) and how much more He will bless us beyond anything we can comprehend here.

(Part 2:  a different reaction)

We rush to help with a physical need… why don’t we react in the same way to the spiritual need?

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted

Do we grieve for the spiritual condition of people we see all around us?  Should we grieve for sinners?  Should we grieve for our sins?  Do we mourn the lostness of  those around us?  Do we share a burden for sinners?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary has this to say:

Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God.

Oh that we would embrace the mourner’s position before our God, our family, our church and our nation.  That the sight of sin, of our sin would grip us in such a way that we cry out to God for mercy.

2 Corinthians 7:10-11
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!

Our sin is no casual thing that offends our Holy God.  Our sin, though forgiven, is still part of the life that we are to be dead to, and yet… and yet I find myself fighting the same battles day after day.  I find myself struggling just to keep the intentions that I made the day before.  We must ask, we must cry out, we must wait, for mercy.

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted

Are you able to mourn?  Are you willing to mourn?  Where is our indignation, our fear, our longing, our zeal…

Note: Lifeway helped with this episode and there is a massive back story and future story to all this as well. http://www.bpnews.net/printerfriendly.asp?ID=22832

Psalm 123
I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help.  Like servants, alert to their master’s commands, like a maiden attending her lady,
We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy.

Mercy, God, mercy!  We’ve been kicked around long enough,  Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men,  kicked when we’re down by arrogant brutes.

“We have been kicked around long enough,” but are we looking to God for our help? In this world we find a lot of voices that offer us mercy from the harshness of life.  But at what point do we realize that God is in Control?  At what point do we give up pretending that we have a say, that we have an option for our own selves?

The Psalmist put it “Like servants to a master’s command.”  When we have our relationship with God correct we have the ability to put our trust to put our faith in Him. When we have the wrong attitude about God, we have to look at ourselves for that help… not a pretty solution considering how often we have messed up our lives.

Look at that next part, “We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy.” When we have the right relationship to God in our lives, we will have the right response. The Psalmist didn’t say that we were to be anxious to see God’s response to our pleas, he didn’t say that we were to be going around telling anyone about our requests, He said we are to wait,  ”holding our breath.”

How we react to our circumstances is directly related to our relationship with God.  Feeling kicked around?  Await mercy.

Psalm 121:1,2
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth

===

If you are not a Christian, then you face trouble alone.

Isaiah 10: 3
What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?

The world offer’s us many things for our safety.  We confide in our own strength to seek mercy and salvation from hard times. But we are left with the fact that no matter how smart we are, no matter how talented we are, no matter how rich we are, no matter how poor we are, no matter who or what we are, no matter how religious we are, no matter how spiritual we are… we fall short in our relationship with God.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Everything I can do will fail  Every protection I try and set up, every guard against disaster, every fence I build, every home I fortify.

I love the west, I miss it dearly.  The best site that I hold in my memory is  ”riding fences.”  To keep the cattle from wandering the rancher’s decided to put up fences around their grazing land. (Johnson County Cattle wars was fought because of the barbed wire springing up across the land blocking the open range) When they first strung the fences  the barbed wire was shinny and new, it was taunt between the poles.  Over time things change.  Ranchers found their fences broke down, poles rotted, creeks dug deeper channels below the fences.

A cowboy a ranch hand was assigned the duty of riding fences.  To ride looking for the break in the protection.  No matter how they would build the fences, something always failed, the cattle always got out.

James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

The best things we can do offer us little protection, and never lasting protection.  What we do fails.  What we do is imperfect.  Who do you run to for help?  God calls you to repentance today.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Is God working in your life today?

As a child I memorized the book of James and although my memory is not clear enough to spit it back out word for word, I find myself paraphrasing it all the time.  This is one of those verses that screams God’s will, God’s Grace, God’s Choice for each believer.  I love it!

I remember as a college student I struggled and came to grips with the Grace of my salvation.   Knowing that God had saved me was a “no brainer” but coming to the reality of the  process left me in a state of mental duress.   One night while visiting home, my father and I ran  to pick up a pizza (or two or five) from Dominoes.  It must have been a burden that was showing through my face because my earthly father took the time to as me what was bothering me.

I don’t remember the pizza being cold so the conversation couldn’t have taken that long.  I was fighting with two sides of an argument while never being told either out right.  Did I choose God or did God choose me? This verse came back to my mind today as I was working and I shot it off to Facebook and Twitter but that doesn’t do  it justice.

Titus 3:4,5 But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior,  He saved us — not by works of righteousness that we had done,  but according to His mercy,through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

“He saved us, His Mercy, His Son, His Regeneration, His Holy Spirit”  Man how long I struggled with my inner desire to say I am worthy to be saved.  The reality (ask my wife) is that I am far from it.  The gap between God and I was so great there was no way I could even ask for salvation… but “He chose is, He saved us.”

The struggle was over.  I realized that this was part of the continued process of God’s working in my life.  This process of regeneration gave me a comfort, a peace and a hope.  I didn’t get the magic answers to all my questions, but I did come to realize God chose me, in spite of my sin.

Isaiah 64:6 — All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;
all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

I am humbled with the knowledge as a Christian, God gave me His Word for my Salvation.  For with out Christ, I could do nothing on my own.

Matthew Henry’s commentary says about the call of God to the saints, “It is an effectual call, from self and earth to God, and Christ, and heaven, as our end; from sin and vanity to grace and holiness, as our way. This is the gospel call. The love of God, ruling in the hearts of those who once were enemies to him, proves that they have been called according to his purpose.

It is  amazing that we sat close the the brink of  a destruction of our own making.  Then comes “the call.”  Left to our own we would not give a thought to the call to repentance…yet we hear a different call,  a purpose.  It is  God that brings this call to us.  We do nothing on our own.

John 6: 43-44 Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End.  (The Message)

I love this translation!  He draws people to me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come.

One of the most difficult things to face is that we on our own can do nothing to achieve the Holiness that is required to come near to God.  We can not even get close.  Add to this that, we on our own we would be happy to just sit and perhaps even mock God.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines the “Effectual calling” as follows:

“Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ and renewing our wills, He persuades and enables us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel.”

God has purposed His call to us.  Humbling, but at the same time liberating.   We do nothing.  God  convicts.  God works.  God  changes.

Romans 9:11 What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative.

God keeps. God chooses. God has a purpose that is beyond our minds, beyond our control.  Romans 9:11 calls that purpose “a sure thing.”

How  awesome is our God.  The mystery of God’s grace as one grows in its knowledge  continues to deepen and it is a wonderful thing… “a sure thing!”

II Timothy1:9-10 We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.