THE MERCY OF THE LORD
Psalms 32:5 & 10 NKJV
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
This is another of David’s psalms. David had a perspective of God that was amazing, particularly for his day. David believed in the mercy of God. He believed that God was good. Whereas many during David’s day were afraid of God and intimidated by the thought of being in His presence. David was the one who ran to God, not away from Him.
In our verses for today, we see David express how he dealt with sin in his life. Note how David acknowledged his sin; he acknowledged that he had missed it. He does not try to hide from God and cover up his errors. Instead, David said He will confess his transgressions to the Lord. This perspective is way ahead of his day. David has a transparency with the Lord that is refreshing. He does not ignore his transgressions. A transgression is a violation of a law, duty, or moral principle. That’s a great definition of sin, a violation of what is right in God’s sight.
David confessed, and God forgave. There was no forgiveness until acknowledgement and confession on David’s part. David was willing to acknowledge and confess his violation because he trusted in the mercy of God. He knew God to be gracious and full of compassion, so he was willing to go to God, not away from Him.
And David knew the answer to much of the sorrow that plagues people. The people who erred and refused to acknowledge their errors, the wicked, they would have many sorrows. But David also knew that if he trusted in God that mercy would surround him. Because David trusted that God was good, he was able to be honest and transparent with the Lord, and the mercy of the Lord would surround him offering forgiveness and protection.
APPLICATION
David recognized a truth that would benefit all of us. The path to God’s mercy is first believing He is a merciful, gracious God. Knowing God is not mad at us and merciful by default makes it easier to go to Him when we miss it. Our challenge is that we feel bad when we have stumbled and want to avoid God. But that is the exact opposite of what we need to do. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to come boldly to the throne of grace so that we can get the mercy and grace in a time of need. If we avoid God, we aren’t able to tap into the mercy and forgiveness He offers. The author of Lamentations, Jeremiah, shares one of the great passages on God’s mercy in Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV, “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
I am so glad the Lord’s mercies and compassion are new every morning. They never run out.
PRAYER
Lord, I am not hiding from You; I am running to You. I need Your mercy and Your compassion, and I treasure Your forgiveness. I trust in Your goodness. Thank You for Your mercy to me.