Sermon #1335[1] Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: “He Delighteth In Mercy”
Text: Micah 7:18
Readings: Office:
Gary Baker Auditorium: Merle Hart
Subject: Mercy, God’s Most Pleasant Attribute
Date: Sunday Evening - February 28, 1999
Tape # V-15a
Introduction:
The
prophecy of Micah deals with two subjects. It is a lamentation of the woeful
condition of Israel and a celebration of God’s abundant mercy.
The people of God were, in
Micah’s time, passing through a very painful trial. The nation of Israel was
plagued with the incurable wound of empty, meaningless religious ritualism. The
leaders of the people were men who devised iniquity and worked evil. The
priests were men of hire, and the prophets prophesied for money. Yet, all that
they did was done in the name of the Lord.
Religious hucksters were in
the majority and the people followed them eagerly. With confidence, they said, “Is
not the Lord among us? None evil can come upon us” (3:11). The Word of
the Lord was precious in those days. There were only a few who truly spoke as
prophets of God. And very few heard them. This caused Micah great pain and much
sorrow.
But
Micah was a man who knew the Lord. He had a vision of God’s majesty and mercy.
He had received a word from the Lord. And
with confident joy he spoke of the latter day glory of the gospel age, when the
majesty of God and the mercy of God would be revealed in Christ the Messiah.
·
He spoke of the Incarnation of Christ (5:2).
Micah 5:2
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting."
·
He told of Christ’s humiliation and suffering (5:1).
Micah 5:1
"Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid
siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the
cheek."
·
He spoke of the gathering of God’s elect from among the Gentiles and
his mercy in Christ (4:1-2).
Micah 4:1-2
"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in
the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people
shall flow unto it. 2 And many
nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word
of the LORD from Jerusalem."
·
He spoke of true spiritual worship (6:6-8).
Micah 6:6-8
"Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with
burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my
body for the sin of my soul? 8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God?"
·
And he told of the majesty of Christ in his glorious exaltation (5:4).
Micah 5:4
"And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the
majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the
earth."
Though the people
were turned aside unto vanity, Micah’s heart was fixed upon God’s promised
Deliverer. He said, “Therefore I
will look unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will
hear me” (7:7).
With the eye of faith fixed
upon Christ, believing the promises of God, Micah’s heart began to swell with
joy, gratitude, praise, and expectation. Unable to contain himself, the prophet
of God raises his voice in exultation (7:18-20).
Micah 7:18-20
"Who is a God like unto
thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant
of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will
subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the
sea. 20 Thou wilt perform the truth
to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham,
which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old."
Here is my subject, and what a blessed subject it is -- “He Delighteth In mercy!” O,
you fallen sons of Adam, did you catch that phrase? “He delighteth in mercy!” Clap your hands and rejoice before him,
with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
This good news is pure
gospel truth. It should raise a universal shout of “Hallelujah!” The God of heaven, the God whom we have offended, the
God in whose hands we are, is a God who delights in mercy! “Who is a God like unto thee,” O Lord? Our text not only says that
God is merciful, but that he delights in mercy.
I am sure that
every attribute of God gives him pleasure in its exercise. But, here, mercy is
singled out by inspiration as his favorite. And though all the Divine
attributes are eternal, mercy was the last to be revealed.
·
His wisdom and power are seen in the creation of the world.
·
His wrath is seen in the damnation of Satan and the angels who fell.
·
His justice is seen in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden
when his law was broken.
·
But in mercy he spared their lives, in mercy he promised a Redeemer, in
mercy he provided a sacrifice.
Spurgeon suggested -- You might
say that, mercy is God’s Benjamin, and he delights most of all in it. It is the
son of his right hand. But it might also be called the son of his sorrow, for
the mercy of God came to be revealed in the sorrow and death of God’s
well-beloved Son.
Who is a God like unto Thee, O Lord?
·
He is gloriously sovereign.
·
He is infinitely just.
·
He is perfectly holy.
·
He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, incomprehensible, and
eternal.
·
And “He Delighteth In Mercy.”
Proposition: It is the glory of God and
the pleasure of God to show mercy to sinners for Christ ‘s.
The
Lord our God is not a cruel tyrant, or a relentless sadist. Though he is holy,
just, and true, he is a God who delights in mercy.
Divisions: I want to try to answer four
questions –
1.
What does the Bible teach about God’s mercy?
2.
What is the result of God’s mercy?
3.
How can I obtain God’s mercy?
4.
What are the lessons for us today?
I.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH
ABOUT GOD’S MERCY?
I
know that God’s tender mercy is over all his creatures. In merciful benevolence
he sends the sunshine and the rain both upon the righteous and the wicked. But, our text is speaking of God’s saving
mercy, that mercy of God which causes dead sinners to have eternal life in
Christ. What does the Bible teach about this mercy?
A. Our text tells us that God delights in mercy.
Micah’s hope for himself and for Israel was
simply the fact that God delights to show mercy to sinful men. No man deserves
mercy. But God delights to show mercy to the undeserving.
We do
not need to search very far to find abundant proof that God delights in mercy.
His mercy is seen everywhere. I know that God delights in mercy because –
1.
The very fact that fallen man lives upon God’s earth proves that he
delights in mercy.
2.
Often, though his anger has been hot against men, he spared them in his
great mercy.
·
Israel in the wilderness (Psa. 78:38-39).
Psalms 78:38-39
"But he, being full of
compassion, forgave their iniquity,
and destroyed them not: yea, many a
time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. 39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth
away, and cometh not again."
·
Nineveh
·
Hezekiah
·
Paul - “I obtained mercy!”
3. The fact that you and I are
alive today, accepted in the Beloved, sons of God, chosen, redeemed, and saved
is abundant proof that God delights in mercy.
In abundant, long-suffering
mercy, the Lord God preserved us in life and saved us (Eph. 2:4-5).
Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his
great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye
are saved;)"
a. God chose the vile refuse of
this world as the objects of his grace, because “he delighteth in mercy.” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
1
Corinthians 1:26-29 "For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called: 27 But
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty; 28 And base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his
presence."
·
He lays hold on the polluted publican instead of the proud Pharisee.
·
He saves the wandering prodigal, and passes by the self-righteous
religionist.
·
He lifts the poor out of the dunghill and sets him among princes.
·
He embraces the vile harlot, and rejects the good moralist.
·
He takes the dying thief home with him to glory, and leaves the pompous
ritualist to his vanities.
b. Though we are now saved by
his grace, our conduct proves that God delights in mercy.
We
have been ungrateful, unbelieving, and unfaithful. But his mercy fails not!
(Lam. 3:23).
Lamentations 3:23 "They
are new every morning: great is thy
faithfulness."
4. The greatest possible proof
that our God delights in mercy is the sacrifice of his own Son in our stead.
If
you have any doubt that the God of heaven delights in mercy, go to Calvary and
read of God’s abundant mercy. In order to show mercy to us, God killed his Son
in our place. Calvary’s crimson tide spells out one thing most clearly - “He
Delighteth In Mercy!”
Mercy there was great, and
grace was free!
Pardon there was multiplied
for me:
There my burdened soul finds
liberty!
B. Mercy is one of God’s glorious attributes.
It is as essential to the character of God as
righteousness, truth, holiness, power, and justice. Not until he ceases to be
God will he cease to be just. And not until he ceases to be God will he cease
to be merciful.
John Gill said, “The mercy of
God arises from the goodness of his nature, from his special love to his
people, and from his sovereign will and pleasure. As he loves whom he pleases,
and ‘is gracious to whom he will be
gracious,’ so ‘he has mercy on whom
he will have mercy.’”
1. The mercy of God is
infinite.
2. The mercy of God is eternal.
3. The mercy of God is
immutable.
4. The mercy of God is freely
and sovereignly bestowed.
5. The mercy of God is constant
and fresh.
C. The mercy of God is in Christ.
It is foolish to talk of Divine mercy or to
call for Divine mercy apart from Christ. When Micah says, “He delighteth in mercy,” he is talking about God as he is revealed
in Christ. It is a vain delusion of proud and sinful men to trust in God’s
mercy when they refuse to trust in God’s Son.
1. God out of Christ is a
consuming fire.
2. All Divine, saving mercy is
in Christ; and it comes to sinful men only through the merits of his righteousness
and shed blood.
a. In Christ the mercy of God
is Great - Abundant - Plenteous and
Free.
b. But out of Christ no mercy
is to be had. God does not show mercy, except “for Christ’s sake” (Eph. 4:32).
3. Now, God for Christ’s sake
is both able and willing to be merciful to perishing sinners.
II. WHAT IS THE
RESULT OF GOD’S MERCY?
In Christ, for his sake, God delights in
mercy. It is his glory and pleasure to be merciful. And God’s mercy is active,
operative, and effectual. God’s mercy in Christ is gloriously effectual. Listen
to what Micah says God will do for sinners, because “he delighteth in mercy.”
A. He will pardon iniquity, because “he delighteth in mercy.”
Zechariah 3:1-5 "And he showed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to
resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto
Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem
rebuke thee: is not this a brand
plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua
was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those
that stood before him, saying, Take
away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass
from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre
upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with
garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by."
This word “pardoneth” means
that he lifts up sin and takes it away. He lifts sin up off of us and lays it
upon Christ, the true scapegoat who takes it away.
B. The Lord God passes by the transgression of his
remnant, because “he delighteth in
mercy.”
Having put away sin by the
sacrifice of his Son, God passes by it, taking no notice of it, as if he did
not see it. He will not impute sin to his people nor call them to account for
it. Through the blood of Christ it is covered, atoned, and washed away.
“Our sins are so effectually
removed that we shall not ultimately suffer any loss or damage through having
sinned” (C. H. Spurgeon).
I
know that God forgives sin, and that he forgives sin…
·
Positively!
·
Comprehensively!
·
Justly!
·
Irreversibly!
C. God will
not retain his just anger against his people, because “he delighteth in mercy” (Psa. 85:2-3; Isa. 12:1-2).
Psalms 82:2-3 "How long will ye judge unjustly, and
accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and
needy."
Isaiah 12:1-2 "And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD,
I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away,
and thou comfortedst me. 2 Behold,
God is my salvation; I will trust,
and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is
my strength and my song; he also
is become my salvation."
God’s
anger, wrath, and justice, being fully satisfied in the sufferings and death of
Christ, are turned away from his people.
D. God
almighty will turn toward us in compassion, because “he delighteth in mercy” (19-20).
Micah 7:19-20 "He will turn again, he will have compassion
upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into
the depths of the sea. 20 Thou wilt
perform the truth to Jacob, and the
mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of
old."
1. He will subdue our
iniquities by blood and by power.
2. He will cast all our sins
into the depth of the sea.
3. He will perform his covenant
of mercy and truth toward us (Jer. 31:31-34).
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved).”
III. HOW CAN I
OBTAIN GOD’S MERCY?
I hope that the Lord has now given to you a
heart to desire this mercy. You know yourself to be a sinner, worthy of eternal
damnation. But you hope for God to show you mercy. Now, how can a helpless,
bankrupt sinner obtain the mercy of God?
A. Let me give you this word of warning - It is a very
dangerous thing to trifle with God’s mercy.
1. Though God delights in
mercy, sin is no trifling thing in his sight.
2. Though God delights in
mercy, a prayer or two on your death bed will not secure mercy for your soul.
Every
thief repents when he goes to the prison. Every murderer repents when he faces
the chair.
a. There must be a thorough
repentance in your heart.
b. There must be true faith in
Christ.
c. Mercy must be obtained at
the time when God offers mercy.
3. Though God delights in
mercy, he will not show you mercy unless you trust Christ.
4. Though God delights in
mercy, he will be just.
B. God, who delights in mercy, is willing to be
merciful, even to all who call upon him (Ezek. 18:31-32; 33:11).
Ezekiel 18:31-32 "Cast away from you all your
transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a
new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith
the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and
live ye."
Ezekiel 33:11 "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of
the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye
from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"
Why will you die?
1. When God is willing to show
mercy (Mic. 6:2-3)?
Micah 6:2-3 "Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S
controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a
controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I
wearied thee? testify against me."
2. When Christ is willing to
save?
3. When the gospel proclaims
salvation free and unconditional in Christ?
God
has pleasure in mercy, and he can never get pleasure by slaying you; but you
must surely die if God’s mercy is not sought!
C. Would you
obtain mercy? Then you must sue for mercy at the feet of king Jesus.
The only place to obtain mercy is at his
feet. Go to him, go to him now, and cry, “God,
be merciful to me, a sinner.”
Illustration: The
Artist And The Beggar
Just as I am, without one
plea,
But that Thy blood was shed
for me,
And that thou bidst me come
to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come.
1. Come confessing your sin.
2. Come believing his Word.
3. Come trusting Christ alone.
4. Come pleading for mercy.
IV. WHAT ARE
THE LESSONS FOR US TODAY?
Micah, under the Spirit of inspiration,
declared long ago, “Who is a God like
unto thee...He delighteth in mercy.” But there are lessons in the prophecy
for you and me today.
A. Here is a lesson for gospel preachers -- If God delights in mercy, let his servants proclaim his mercy.
Let
every word of human merit be accounted as blasphemy; and let the pulpit ring
with mercy!
B. Here is a lesson for all who profess faith in Christ
-- If God delights in mercy, see to it that you delight in mercy too (Matt. 6:12, 14-15; Eph.
4:32 - 5:1).
·
Be merciful to the ignorant.
·
Be merciful to the poor.
·
Be merciful to the guilty.
·
Be merciful to one another.
C. Here is a
lesson for you who need mercy -- If God
delights in mercy, you have no reason to fear seeking his mercy.
There is not one hard, forbidding word in all
the Bible to a sinner coming to Christ for mercy. The door is open. The
invitation is free. Come to Christ for mercy. Are you willing to have his
mercy? If you are, you may! Come, then; sinner, come and welcome to Jesus.
Lord, Thou hast won, at
length I yield,
My heart by mighty grace
compelled.
Surrenders all to Thee.
Against Thy terrors long I
strove,
But who can stand against
Thy love?
Love conquers even me.
If Thou hadst bid Thy
thunders roll,
And lightening flash to
blast my soul,
I still had stubborn been.
But mercy has my heart subdued,
A bleeding Savior I have
viewed,
And now I hate my sin.
AMEN.