"Who Needs Mercy?"

David's Infinite Source of Mercy

Let's look at a verse written in Psalms by a Shepard who became one of the greatest kings that ever lived in ancient times. Not only that, but God spoke to him and he seemed to be continually speaking to God in song and prayer.

Psalm 36:5
Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds.

What did David mean by this verse? Many times we just breeze through these passages and we get some kind of meaning from the entire passage that we keep locked away in our memory banks, but this verse is so full of revelation, rejuvenation and realization! If we will take a minute to think about what David is saying here, we will see that he has been given the discernment by God to understand that first of all, the Lord has given us mercy of forgiveness. God has given us mercy because when we were living in sin, God reached out to give life to the people on earth even before his son, Jesus, came to die for us.

Secondly, David knew where this mercy came from. In the heavens was the only place that a mercy so unnatural and unlike our nature as men could possibly exist. It was in the heavens that the God of our earth existed and men like David knew this too! Why should ordinary people like you and I who live ordinary lives dispute the words of a divinely appointed man like David in the Bible? Should we doubt the inspired words of the Bible found here in Psalms? God forbid!

Take heed, lest we fall due to our foolish pride if we should even begin to think such thoughts!

Thirdly, David says, "thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds." It is God's faithfulness that always is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! When we become doubtful or allow ourselves to become deceived by the wicked in this world, always remember that God is the great "I AM" and his faithfulness is continual, infinite, everlasting because he is our Lord God Almighty! Only God can offer this kind of faithfulness that will be with you for ever and ever!

The Word of God says that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once again in this verse we see the tie between our forgiveness through Gods faithfulness to forgive, which we did not earn or deserve, but it is because of the mercy of God in the heavens that we receive this!

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I had recently been shopping with my daughter and grandson and my grandson had a little red balloon that had been given to him by one of the women in the store. He was so happy to have this red balloon floating over his head and his big smile reflected his joy as well! When we were almost to the car the string slipped out of his fingers as they usually do at some point or another. It was at this moment in time that he burst into tears and I told him I would get another, but he kept crying and saying that he wanted that one! So it was no use to try, but he stood there watching the balloon going higher and higher as the tears rolled down his face. I had to just take a moment and share his grief with him, as I too watched the balloon until it finally just disappeared. That's when he said, "It's gone up to heaven now!" and my daughter said, "Yes and Teddy can play with it in heaven". Teddy is the toy poodle that had been at their grandmas house for years and had passed away. Well, he wasn't to excited about this idea, but he did feel sure that it was in heaven because it had disappeared into the clouds.

Keeping this in mind, think about what David said in verse five of Psalm 36.

"...and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds."
David was saying that no matter how far we go or how far we can imagine, the Lord's faithfulness reaches that far! The Lord's faithfulness is outa sight! Does it encourage us to know that our Lord is this faithful and merciful in a time when we see so much wickedness in the world around us? Of course it is! I am reminded of who is faithful when I read a passage such as this! It is the Lord that helps us when we are lacking faith in life!

If this passage has not encouraged you today, maybe it is because you need to accept the mercy of our Lord's forgiveness and receive his faithful hand that is waiting to hold you in the assurance of his salvation. God has offered all men his mercy and forgiveness as a gift of life. Receive his gift of life today by confessing with your mouth that you have sinned and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead and you will receive the salvation that our Lord has offered you.

The Bible says that with the mouth confession is made and with the heart man believes. The Lord is waiting and wanting to do this for you so that you may also have the living water that flows from God to all who believe, the water that quenches our thirst for a blessed life in Christ.

If you make this decision today, I would like to pray for you. Please email me, Rob Bailes, send to dewforyou@ymail.com and let me know that you have accepted the mercy of God. I will reply and let you know that I am praying for you. Feel free to email any questions as well.

May God's mercy and faithfulness be with you today!