God is Merciful

"The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands...'" Exodus 34:5-6

God is merciful. Everything we have that is good is due to God being merciful towards us. Consider John Piper's words,

All we will get from God this year as believers in Jesus is mercy. Whatever pleasures or pains come our way will all be mercy. This is why Christ came into the world – "in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (Romans 15:9). We were born again "according to his great mercy" (1 Peter 1:3); we pray daily "that we may receive mercy" (Hebrews 4:16); and we are now "waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life" (Jude 1:21). If any Christian proves trustworthy, it is "by the Lord's mercy [he] is trustworthy" (1 Corinthians 7:25). In the end, when all is said and done, we will confess, "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy" (Romans 9:16). So as we enter the new year, let us humble ourselves and take the position of the blind man, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:38).

Mercy is not something we have a right to or deserve (otherwise it would not be mercy), but it is something given to us by a merciful God. As sinful humans we deserve wrath (like we saw last week).

God is both just and merciful. Both of these attributes are seen in Exodus 34:5-7:

"The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children."

Is God's mercy sometimes abused? Many people abuse this attribute and presume that God will only show mercy and not wrath. (Sin that grace will increase). They presume too much. God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy (Exodus 33:19). Our God is both wise and just.

God's mercy towards believers. How great the mercy that God has given his children. "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness' has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." God has opened our eyes to see how great and glorious He is in Christ.