THE OCEAN OF GOD’S MERCY
No plummet of human thought can reach all of the depths of God and His ways. Among them all, His mercy stands as a vast and shoreless ocean. We speak of His power and tremble; we speak of His holiness and bow; but when we speak of His mercy, we are invited to draw near. For mercy is that tender movement of the Divine heart which stoops to the miserable, lifts the fallen, and restores the undeserving.
The New Testament opens this treasury before us and bids us behold it in Christ. We are told that “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Mark that well. It was not when we were seeking Him, but when we were dead. Not when we were worthy, but when we were ruined. Mercy did not wait for improvement; it came in our corruption. It did not bargain; it bestowed.
And where shall we see this mercy most clearly, if not at the cross? There stands the Son of God, bearing sin not His own, suffering for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Justice is not denied there, but satisfied; wrath is not ignored, but poured out; and yet, through it all, mercy flows like a crimson river, carrying guilty souls into the presence of a reconciled God. Oh, what a meeting place is Calvary, where righteousness and mercy embrace!
Consider further, how this mercy pursues the sinner even in his wandering. The Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), not merely to advise them, not only to warn them, but to save them. He receives those who come, and He does not cast them out (John 6:37). What a word is that! Not one trembling soul, not one broken heart, not one weary wanderer has ever been turned away. Mercy keeps an open door.
And this mercy is not exhausted by our repeated need. Paul the apostle exhorts us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Not once, not twice, but again and again. As our sins have abounded, so grace has abounded much more (Romans 5:20). The fountain is not diminished by our drinking; the storehouse is not emptied by our coming.
Yet let none presume upon this mercy as though it were a license to sin. “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!” (Romans 6:1-2). True mercy does not harden the heart; it melts it. It does not encourage rebellion; it leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). When a man has truly tasted that the Lord is gracious, he does not run further into darkness, but turns toward the light with gratitude and reverence.
And oh, what shall be the end of those who rest in this mercy? We are told of a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away (1 Peter 1:3-4). Mercy begins the work, mercy sustains the work, and mercy shall crown the work. From the first awakening of the soul to the final glory in heaven, it is mercy all the way.
Then let every heart take courage. Are you burdened with guilt? Mercy speaks. Are you conscious of failure? Mercy invites. Are you weary of your sin? Mercy calls you home. Lift your eyes to Christ, for in Him the mercy of God has taken on flesh and blood, and has drawn near to save.
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O God of all mercy, we bow before You with thankful hearts. You have not dealt with us according to our sins, but according to Your great compassion. Teach us to trust in Your mercy, to walk in its light, and to reflect it to others. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
BDD
