Psalm 119: Focus On God's Word pt. 131 The Father Of Mercies To The Humble In Heart

We are working our way through the longest chapter in the Bible. The number of posts needed to accurately and carefully teach about Psalm 119, may seem daunting. 

However, Psalms is the Hebrew hymnal and we can recite verses of Psalm 119 back to our God.  This is a good way to praise Him.  

Also, the indexes for all posts in the archives each year since the blog's inception, were posted on September 7th, 2022. I hope that the indexes are a good resource to help you find studies on specific topics. 

Psalm 119:41  VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. 

Jehovah is merciful and His mercy has no limits. However, only believers in Christ who repent of their sins, shall receive His abundant mercy.

All Christians still have their old man, a sin nature we inherited from Adam due to the fall. We still have a body that lusts after things that God says "No" to, and there will be times that we sin and fail God.

This is why God tells us what we must do when we commit sin. Confess and forsake the sin while turning to the Father, seeking His forgiveness. He promises to forgive us, cleanse us and restore our relationship with Him (See 1 John 1:5 to 2:2).

Salvation and mercy come to us according to God's Word. 

Psalm 130:1-5   Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. 2)  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3)  If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4)  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5)  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 

Hear the Psalmist speak to us in another place. He had some sin issue that caused him to be crushed under the guilt and shame of his actions. Out of the depths of despair, he cried out to Jehovah, pleading that his prayers would be heard. 

He raised a question related to the mercies of God. If Jehovah marks each of our iniquities and does not remove them from us, who can stand? This is a rhetorical question that demands a negative answer.

No man can stand if God holds us accountable for every single sin that we ever committed. 

Yet, the Psalmist's hope is in the mercies of God. He anchors to what he knows to be true of God. 

God will forgive us when we turn from our sins, confessing and forsaking them and seeking His forgiveness with repentant hearts. He will be merciful to us when our spirit is contrite and our heart is humbled by our sin. 

How can he be so sure of this? Because He looked into God's Word to find out what God said about repentance, confession, forgiveness and mercy. 

His hope is in God's Word, and this is where our hope is. He knows that God cannot lie and that He will always stay true to His Word. 

We are to be a living sacrifice to God, having our minds renewed by His Word. 

Romans 12:1,2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

It is because of the sure hope that God will extend mercy to us when we confess, forsake and repent of our sins, that Paul teaches us this truth.

Because we have received the mercies of God, let us present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. This is holy and acceptable to Him. 

Those who sinned in the Old Testament, chose the choicest of his flock, without defect and brought it to the altar. The animal was presented as an atonement for his sin. 

The whole animal was consumed on the altar as a sweet smelling aroma to God. This is how He commanded those people to cover their sins. 

In like manner, we are exhorted to give ourselves up in the spirit of sacrifice. We offer ourselves wholly to the Lord as His property to do with as He deems best.  It is the idea of being totally devoted to God above all else. 

It is the idea that we mortify the deeds of our flesh so that we might live unto God (See Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). 

God uses His Word to transform us and to renew our minds so that we seek His kingdom first, and set our affections on those wonderful things of God which are above. 

God is merciful to those who have humble hearts. 

Psalm 68:19-21  Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. 20)  He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. 21)  But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses. 

God loads us up with the plentiful benefits of His salvation. He sends His abundant grace flowing into us so that when we are weak, He is strong in us. When we are overwhelmed, He comforts us.

He pours out His mercies new every morning. When we confess and forsake our sin, and turn to Christ with repentant hearts, His mercy flows to us. The issues of salvation, spiritual life, and cleansing from sin belong to Him. 

Yet, God will not let the rebellious, the impenitent ones get by with their sins. He will deliver a fatal wound to their heads, if they persist in refusing to acknowledge their sins against Him. 

God is the Father of mercies.

2 Corinthians 1:3,4  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4)  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 

Mercy is natural to God for mercy is the very essence of His being. Just as the sun shines at all times and the water will always flow to the lowest point, so God is merciful. 

He cannot be anything less than perfectly, infinitely merciful and gracious and loving. Nor can He be any less than perfectly, infinitely holy, righteous and just. 

This is who God is. He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 

Jehovah is full of grace and mercy, ready to dispense it to the repentant. 

Psalm 145:8,9  The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9)  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 

Jehovah is full of grace in His dealings with us. He is filled with compassion because He knows we are but feeble creatures made from dust. 

He has a tender pity for us, like a father for his children when he sees their rebellion and is moved to chasten them (See Psalm 103:13-14).

Our Father is slow to anger when we stray from His holy way or fail Him. He has great, overwhelming mercy to send to us when we confess and forsake our sins with repentant hearts. 

Jehovah is good to all who come to Him in repentant faith, and all of His works are crowned with tender mercies. 

God communicated Himself to us in His Word. 

Psalm 103:7  He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. 

God makes known His ways to us through His Word. The scriptures are the self revelation of God, given to us that we might know Him. 

They are given so that we might learn to come to Him for salvation and be changed. They are given so that we might learn to love and serve Him all the days of our lives. 

His Word shows God is full of grace and mercy for us. 

Psalm 103:8-12  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9)  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10)  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11)  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12)  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 

What does the Word of God tell us about His mercy coming to us? 

It tells us that Jehovah is full of mercy and grace and that He is long suffering with us. It tells us that He has not given us what we deserve for our sins. 

Rather, He has poured out on each person who turns to Christ with repentant faith, His mercy that is higher than the heavens. 

He removes our sins and transgressions as far as the east is removed from the west. When we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, He remembers our sins no more!

Thoughts to Ponder...

God is merciful and the fiery sparks of our sins are quickly extinguished in the ocean of His mercy.

God is both righteous and gracious. He is holy and just and He is merciful and loving. 

As Judge, He is ready to punish the sinner with eternal condemnation. As Savior, He is ready to fully forgive and cleanse us from our sins, to grant us eternal life.

God tells us to rid ourselves of self confidence and come to Him with a contrite spirit and a humble heart, confessing our sins and desiring to live for His glory.

He will dwell with those who have humble hearts and contrite spirits (See Isaiah 57:15). 

Let each of us give ourselves wholly to our God as a living sacrifice. Let us seek His kingdom first in all that we do. Let us be pliable vessels of clay in the Master Potter's hands, ready to be used as He deems best.

Bob