Blessed are the Merciful

Definition: mercy is the faithfulness of God displayed in the active compassion he shows towards those he loves despite them being undeserving of such compassion.

Martin Loyd Jones: “Grace is especially associeted with men in their sins; mercy is especially associeted with men in their misery…while grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy looks especially upon the miserable consequences of sin. So that mercy really means a sense of pity plus a desire to relieve suffering.”

Mercy is undeserved and is usually shown towards those who deserve the misery they have.

Mercy is motivated by two things: love and compassion.

Love covers any wrongs commited so that God can show mercy even to those who have sinned against his holiness.

Compassion is God’s experience of empathy towards sinners and their desperate plight, even when they are not aware of it.

God’s Mercy to his Covenant People

The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines God’s mercy towards his people like this: “Specifically it designates that quality in God by which he faithfully keeps his promises and maintains his covenant relationship with his chosen people despite their unworthiness and unfaithfulness.”

God shows mercy to his covenant people because he loves us and knows we are weak

Psalm 103:13–14 ESV

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

God’s love for his people is the strongest of all loves, so his mercy persists even when he is punishing or disciplining his people

Isaiah 49:15–16 ESV

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 54:8 ESV

In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.

God’s Mercy in Calling Sinners

Jesus ministry is one of mercy and compassion where he is often looking at sinners, even in their sin, with sympathy for their blind stubborness. This is clear in Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37. The mercy God shows through Christ does not simply overlook sin, it destroys the blinding power of sin while satisfying the just demands on the sinner.

Jesus is the mercy of God incarnate. Love moves the Father to send the Son, compassion moves the Son to intercede on behalf of sinners who wrong him, the cross displays the mercy and holiness of God. The power of the cross is the power of God to look at people who hate him, love them, and overcome their hatred with his love to the point of dying for them.

1 Timothy 1:15–16 ESV

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

The Merciful

Martin Loyd Jones: “We are to feel a sense of sorrow for all who are helpless slaves of sin. That is to be our attitude towards people.”

In other words, when the blessed person sees their sin, they mourn their guilt and are humbled by seeing themselves, not as victims, but as wrongdoers. But when they see the sins of others commited against them, they have a tendancy to see them as victims and to not desire their guilt to be upon them because of their apparent blindness.

Conclusion: Living a Merciful Life

Jones: “Are you merciful? Are you sorry for every sinner even though that sinner offends you? Have you pity upon all who are the victims and the dupes of the world and the flesh and the devil? That is the test. Blessed - happy - are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

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