But that’s not what I find so sobering and shocking in this Psalm. It’s the rest of the passage that cuts me to the heart. The rebuke directed at his own people was serious, and convicting. But look what he says to those who are not his people (and I must remember that without the glorious grace of adoption this is where I was, and would still stand).

“But to the wicked God says:
‘What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you…’”
Psalm 50:16-17

“What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?” Wow. God isn’t correcting the wicked; he isn’t graciously pointing out a failure in attitude or orientation. He isn’t patiently examining and adjusting their hearts. No. He casts them out utterly. He is not debating the proper approach toward sacrificing; he’s asking what right they have to even open their mouths. Because the wicked cast God’s words behind them, God refuses to even enter into conversation with them. His stand is simple–repent you wicked ones “lest I tear you apart.”

As one who stood outside the people of God, one who did indeed cast the words of God behind me, I stood with these condemning words on my head. Before God in his mercy plucked me from the edge of destruction I arrogantly took God’s statutes on my lips to degrade them, to heap contempt on them, to despise them. I shouldn’t have even had them on my lips, but I dared not only to take them up but to ridicule them.

So what possible reason then could I have to expect mercy? I wasn’t trying to obey God’s statutes. The people of God may need rebuke for improper practices and need adjustment in their heart’s orientation toward God’s grace, but I wasn’t even in the game. I stood outside uninterested, scoffing, and despising the word of God.

There’s more. As I stood scoffing, disparaging and disrespecting God’s word, even then when I considered the possibility of the existence of a God, of eternal life, and judgment–I did not fear. I arrogantly and presumptuously assumed that God was “one like myself” (Ps. 50:21). I believed that if God existed at all that he would certainly accept me, that he would understand my failures, recognize my goodness and welcome me.

How deceived and dangerously ignorant I was. How horrifying it would have been to be expecting an understanding side-hug from God as he welcomed me into eternal life and instead to hear him roar, “Who are you? and what right did you have to take my words on your lips?” as he sent me into eternal darkness.

There was nothing I did that changed God’s mind toward me, that motivated him to rescue me from such a terrifying fate. It was his mercy alone, undeserved, inconceivable mercy that received my disgust and returned love. By his grace he opened my eyes to the beauty of Christ. How thankful I am for the cross, where in one grand action God bled, atoning for my sins, and demonstrated his glorious love converting my hard heart–turning me away from total destruction and delivering me into the kingdom of his son.

Bless the Lord O my soul. Lord you are merciful, converting enemies into friends–transforming mockers into singers of your praise. Hallelujah!

But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.”

Genesis 9:15-16

What a marvelous thing that God counts sinners as righteous based not on their own righteousness, but on the righteousness of another. Because Christ is truly and thoroughly righteous and because he took my place under God’s just wrath, an unrighteous one like me has been declared righteous. Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law and He satisfied all divine justice for me. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to me, that is, given directly, entirely, instantly and completely to me as a free gift. I am declared, counted, and credited as righteous because of Jesus.

The wonderful gift of righteousness is a gift of grace. It’s given for my righteousness, not because of it. There is no righteousness in me that prompts or merits this gift. And the gift is complete, because it was finished through Christ death’s on the cross. It is not a seed of righteousness, or a boost for gaining righteousness. Any good deeds I may do in Christ do not contribute anything to the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to me through faith. Yet upon this competed and imputed righteousness, the Lord does begin to transform my character so that degrees of observable righteousness become evident in my daily life. It is the outworking, permeating effect of established righteousness that transforms my life. And this outworking itself is a gift of God’s grace empowered by the Holy Spirit.

While Christ’s righteousness is given instantly, its permeating effects develop slowly into observable, experiential righteousness. There is therefore a massive gulf between the delightful, complete righteousness of Christ, and the small, small righteousness that is actually observable in my life on any given day. An inner groaning persists in view of the depth and breadth of this gulf. I must face many failures of righteousness throughout my days. In view of this gulf the story of Lot is an encouragement.

When the Lord revealed his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded to spare Sodom for the sake of a mere ten righteous people, if they could be found. But they came up nine short, only righteous Lot was found. Lot was the only one counted as a righteous in Sodom.

The Apostle Peter in his second epistle calls Lot “Righteous Lot.” He describes his righteous soul as being tormented by the gross immorality of Sodom. Lot did have an observable measure of personal righteousness in as much as he hatred the immorality of Sodom. But when you examine the story of Lot, observable righteousness is significantly lacking. Rather massive failures stand out strikingly.

I suspect that one reason Lot was in Sodom in the first place resulted from selfishness. When Abraham decided it would be better if he and Lot parted ways he offered Lot the choice of which direction to go. Lot had been greatly blessed having been taken along by Abraham. Here was a perfect opportunity to humbly thank him. For when he looked and saw that one direction seemed significantly more desirable than the other – he could have given the better place to Abraham, but he chose the good land for himself – not exactly the most gracious, generous act in the Bible.

Now when Lot saw the angelic travelers come into Sodom he immediately offered them hospitality – in which we see another observable measure of righteousness. But soon, when the men of the city come to molest the travelers, Lot offers his own daughters in place of his guests. Oiy! I do not want to be guilty, as a fellow sinner, of casting stones at Lot. But dang! Such a solution hardly seems a commendable example of righteousness.

From certain details in the story of Lot, it seems to me that he lacked respect from some people who ought to have respected and honored him. It can’t be absolutely determined from the text why Lot was so disrespected, but I get the sense that Lot was to some degree responsible for the dishonor he received. For example, the angels tell Lot to gather his family and take them out of the city. But when Lot appeals to his two future sons-in-law, they disregard him, thinking that he’s joking. I would expect these men to honor their future father-in-law. Instead they dismiss him flippantly. For me, this apparent lack of honor calls into question the observable measure of righteousness between Lot and his sons-in-law. I think it’s possible that their lack of respect was due, at least in part, to an observable lack of righteousness in Lot’s character.

Finally, at the deciding moment, as the angels were about to start destroying the city, they gave Lot the final word – “Go now!” And Lot hesitates. I can just imagine the angel’s looking at each other shaking their heads thinking, “can you believe this guy?” And Lot doesn’t snap out of it and come through in the end. He’s stupefied. The angels finally have to grab him by the hand and literally pull him out of the city.

I’m encouraged by the story of Lot not because I think I can look down on him to think “well, at least I’m not as bad as Lot.” God forbid! Rather I am encouraged because I know that I face many opportunities for faith in which I hesitate, or worse turn the other way. Yet I am counted as righteous in Christ, just as wavering Lot is counted righteous in Sodom.

I thank God for heroes in the Bible: David against Goliath, Gideon and his 300 men, the Apostles boldness in the face of persecution. But I am also deeply thankful that God’s Word also contains flawed and thickheaded saints like Lot, Jonah, and Thomas. Lot the hesitant is counted as righteous! And why is he counted righteous? Because, as it says in verse 16 “…for the compassion of the Lord was upon him…” Truly it is great compassion that has such longsuffering, unearned mercy upon those such as Lot, and me. What mercy! And this mercy is grounded in something else for which I am so thankful. God’s compassion upon Lot was not random compassion. No, it was based on the most concrete reality in the universe – God’s promises. Lot did not receive compassion because he was already righteous. He received compassion because God remembered Abraham (Gen. 19:29). God’s awesome promise to Abraham extended to Lot and thus Lot was counted as righteous because of Abraham. He received compassion not for his own righteousness, but by the gracious promise of God to Abraham. And this promise was ultimately the promise of Christ our Savior. Christ is the fulfillment of all God’s promises and because of Jesus – I stand under the unfailing compassion, mercy, and kindness of God – I stand counted righteous in Christ.

And now my spirit can pray like Lot…

“Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life…” Amen.

I wonder how the gospel was preached prior to the crucifixion? Throughout Jesus’ ministry He and His disciples preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Whatever allusions to the cross contained in these messages were lost to its hearers. Yet the gospel was preached. Certainly, there are many things that can be said about the gospel without direct reference to the cross. For example: righteous requirements for human conduct, promises for future rewards, hope for peace, and standards for justice. Such facets of the nascent gospel were understood best by Jews – because they had the law and prophets as context. Even so the Jews struggled to comprehend the basic aspects of the non-cross centered gospel – how much more perplexing would a cross exalting gospel be to them.

Yet the gospel, in its fullness, was ordained from eternity to be manifest through the cross of Christ. The gospel about the greatness of the glory of God was never designed to be understood primarily through any historical context, but rather through the revelation of a hidden mystery. The pinnacle of the gospel was plunked down, as it were, in the midst of history. For who would have imagined the cross? Who could comprehend the innocent and pure Lamb of God would be slaughtered for corrupt God-haters? The cross had no historical antecedent. It did have some vague foreshadowing and symbolic representation in the Old Testament, but such hints of a God slaying gospel were never established in human expectations.

The cross-centered gospel of Christ transcends all earthly historical context or rational ground for understanding and grasping the glory of God. It is the ultimate spiritual enigma.

True, there are many aspects of the gospel which can be spoken of, explained, and preached which have common ground in human understanding. For instance we can speak in depth about the gospel’s effects on family relationships in a way just about anyone can grasp and appreciate. But ultimately it is the gospel of grace, seen in a cross, which establishes and explains every aspect of existence. The gospel’s cross exalting core rests not on human wisdom, but on hidden wisdom. The wisdom of the cross is a mystery which no human ruler has ever understood. It is foolishness to the so-called enlightened and distained by the human-centered mind.

But the mystery of the gospel is wonderful to those who are called, to those whom God has been pleased to reveal it. The cross perfectly connects earth and eternity. It brings the greatness of the glory of the gospel of Christ into view thereby halting all arrogant speculations and humbling all before the inexplicable mercy of God. The knowledge of such a wonderful redeeming God does not come through an understanding of historical precedent. On the contrary the self-authenticating, supernatural, spiritual revelation of the gospel in the soul comes through the power of the Spirit of God. It is the spiritual impartation of the gospel that enables right understanding of history. History, in this sense, begins at the cross and works backward and forward from it. For no one could have guessed from the beginning, what God would do. And no one coming after the cross can grasp the wisdom of the cross unless he is given new eyes and a new heart.

I praise you Lord for the glorious gospel of grace in the message of the cross. For by it your righteousness is exalted and by it I have life. Lord set the eyes of my heart on the glory of the cross and let your Spirit flow with power to proclaim and adorn the gospel – to the glory of Christ above. Amen.

Which, among all the great things that Jesus has done for me, should I describe? For if my eyes are open and my heart is responsive to the tender mercies of God, I will see a thousand great things every day that God does for me. Even trials, which sometimes cloud my view of God’s blessings, can be counted among the great things God does, since they flow from His throne of grace. Times of testing are brief in the balance of eternity and Jesus will turn each test and every pain into servants for my good.

The demoniac suffered greatly under the oppression of a legion of demons. But when Jesus freed him, he testified not about the details of his past torment, but rather of the grace, mercy, and power of God which came to him through Christ. He described his new freedom and proclaimed the blessings restored to him.

What great things should I proclaimed today? I could speak of the many lovely things God has granted to me in His mercy. With little effort I could quickly list a dozen prominent blessings of home and health. And with a bit of focused thought I could list a hundred more common graces that bless me throughout my days, all of which are among the great things God does for me.

Yet I desire to speak of just one great thing God has done, the one thing that matters most, the one thing through which every other blessing has been secured. Jesus went to the cross for me. The demoniac testified to some great things he received, but the greatest thing had not yet been done for him. Greater than freedom from demons is freedom from sin. Greater than the blessing of restored sanity is freedom from the just wrath of God.

What great things will I proclaim? I will proclaim the cross of Christ which brings into view the glorious gospel of God’s grace: God’s righteousness and upheld, God’s justice satisfied, God’s wrath emptied, my adoption into his family, my transfer into His kingdom, and my eternal blessing secured through Christ.

O Lord what great things you have done for me. Every one of them has been purchased by your blood. Therefore your blood, your death, and your victory by resurrection are my greatest good. Let me be satisfied to proclaim the greatest thing – the gospel, which reveals the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Amen.

Even as God cursed man in righteous judgment, His was mercy mingled with His verdict. Humanity was judged and cursed because of their failure to obey God’s command. Adam and Eve were ejected from the garden where they had enjoyed fruit that grew from plants and trees that God Himself had planted. The curse took away their abundant provision and forced them to pound dirt and tangle with thorns, through sweat and hard toil, for food. And the curse remains to this very day. Difficult toil and frequent hardships are common occurrences.

The curse is justly deserved. How is it then – how can I account for blessings such as rich soil, profitable work, and pleasant circumstances that often fall upon me? Thorns are common, but so are rich banquets. Thorns are due to my own sin, the ground is cursed because of me; so what causes it to produce good crops? It is all because of God’s mercy. God’s mercy is profoundly poured out upon fallen and sinful man. Our work has been cursed. As a result hard toil often results only in thorns. When I get thorns I am receiving justice. I deserve nothing better than thorns for my toil. Yet so often the ground yields fruitful harvests. Even in His cursing, God’s mercy stands forth.

Living under the curse means that all thorns are well deserved. I cannot justly complain when my toil yields no fruit, or when I am pricked. How much more culpable I become when I add bitterness toward God’s righteous judgment when I experience trials. What’s worse is my guilt if I fail to give profound thanks for the many undeserved blessings God grants in spite of the curse.

If the cursed life contains so much of God’s mercy, how much more is God’s mercy and goodness manifest in the cross! That I often have plates full of good food during my days under the sun is a profound mercy. That He would grant me forgiveness through the death of His own Son is amazing grace indeed. Not only this, but through the cross, God reverses the ultimate effect of the curse’s thorns. He conscripts them as particular means of blessing for my good! God’s blessing of redemption does not just remove the end result of the curse – death, but it also changes the effect of each occasion of hardship. Trials turn to gold. Toil, in the Lord, becomes blessed. Thorns turn my heart to Lord and produce humility which leads me into deeper experiences of His grace. How incomprehensible and vast is the mercy of God! For my sin I at least deserve the enduring effects of the curse; toil and thorns are gentle in view of what I deserve for my sins. But God’s redemption is so thorough that it will not leave even the prick of a thorn unconverted. The common and simple rewards that so frequently correspond to hard work are great demonstrations of God’s mercy. How much more is justification from sin?

Not even painful trials can hurt me for God uses even trials two bless and improve my life. If thorns lose their prick and toil becomes blessed in the Lord, what curse remains toward those who so richly deserve it? None, for my Lord became a curse for me, as He hung on the tree. Now, even as I dwell on the cursed ground of the earth, God turns even thorns and thistles into helpful prods and loving pricks’ that direct my steps toward Christ. The mercy of God triumphs over judgment, to the glory of God and the eternal joy of His people.

Thank you Jesus, for becoming a curse for me so that the curse I deserve is lifted and its effects no longer harm, but help me. Therefore, Lord, use every trial to draw me, and every blessing to remind me of your abundant grace and impossible mercy. Amen.

Luke 1:58 is about the birth of John the Baptist to Elizabeth’s in her old age, or is it? Certainly, the occasion is the birth, but look, the verse does not mention the child at all. The object in this particular verse isn’t the child, but rather the display of the Lord’s great mercy. The event being celebrated is the birth of this remarkable son. Elisabeth’s neighbors and relatives all came to rejoice with her. No doubt, there was a lot of coddling and “uchie-couchie” baby-centered enjoyment going on in that home. I’m sure that as these visitors came into the house they all wanted to see the mother and set their eyes on the new born baby. I not familiar with the customs of that time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if food and other gifts were given in celebration of the child’s birth.

Yet sadly, I confess, when I read the phrase “that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her” I am tempted to think that this phrase is just a religious way of saying “they were happy she had a baby.” Is the phrase “the Lord’s great mercy” merely a religious colloquialism, or does it really mean what it says? Was God’s great mercy the higher object of their rejoicing – over and above their joy in the baby? My cynical inclinations might lead me to interpret such a phrase as a colloquial expression. But more likely, I must repent of cynicism and accept that these God-centered neighbors and relatives simply treasured God’s mercy more than I do.

When I experience God’s blessing, or celebrate His blessings in someone else’s life, I admit, my focus is more on the gift than on the Giver. “You got a promotion – congratulations!” “Nice new car, how many miles to the gallon?” “They’re getting married, that’s wonderful!” But these friends of Elisabeth, they came to see a baby, but more than that, they were rejoicing that this baby was a display of God’s great mercy. Which one it is more valuable? Which one is greater, the baby, or God’s great mercy? By bringing the two close together for comparison, the answer is obvious. And it puts my cynicism to shame.

A baby, especially one granted to a childless woman in her old age, is truly a great gift worth rejoicing over. But God’s mercy is greater. How fitting for Luke, in this sentence about this wonderful gift, to omit the gift altogether and instead focus instead on the glory of the Giver!

O my soul – learn! God gives you good gifts every single day. These gifts bring God’s mercy into view. Thank God for His gifts but rejoice even more in His mercy. Remember that His mercy does not come cheap. All good things you receive in this life were purchased for you with a great price. His mercy and His gifts flow from a blood stained cross. Rejoice therefore in the Lord’s great mercy.

One of my motivations for putting pen to paper when I meditate on the Word of God is to save myself from thinking lightly about the riches of God. My joy in reading and pondering God’s Word fades quickly when I don’t write down my observations. If I move too quickly over the Word I’ll think lightly of them. But if I slow down and let them sink in, they gain weight. Writing out my thoughts slows me down – it requires me to think more deeply about the words. Not only has the discipline of writing caused me to give more weight to the Word, but it also helps me to handle the Word in a more fitting way, in a manner that reflects the treasure chest of glory that it truly is.

Every single day I experience the profound mercy, kindness and forbearance of God. If I could see the true condition of my life and my heart, without a self-defending, blind eye toward my own sin; if I could see my sin like God does, I would not think so lightly about His longsuffering forbearance! I praise God that He is a covenant keeping God, upholding the value of Christ’s righteousness, granting me forgiveness on His behalf. Otherwise, if God did not uphold Christ’s righteousness for me, I would quickly be overwhelmed by the wrath of God stored up day after God-forgetting day.

How easily I forget about God’s mercy and kindness and presume upon His mercy. Not just for my own sin, but for His forbearance toward all the sins of mankind. There are times when the earth reminds us of God’s impending wrath and judgment against sin. When we face such reminders we are sobered. But often, in my case, such sobriety is short lived and I return to my mercy-forgetting, kindness amnesia. I return to a state of comfort-expecting, difficulty-despising forgetfulness.

O my soul, work at not thinking lightly about God’s kindness to you. Ponder His forbearance both in His common blessings, and all the more in His wondrous grace granted to you in Christ! Lord, please help me to lift from your Word weighty rocks of truth and remembrance. Let me put them in my pockets so that throughout the day their presence will be felt, keeping me from thinking lightly about your grace to me in Christ. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

Jesus states, “You will all fall away, because it is written….” Peter strenuously objects, as do all the disciples. Nevertheless, as it is written so shall it come to pass. As much as Peter does not like it – and at the moment when he hears it he cannot conceive of it – he will, with all certainty, deny his Lord. It is impossible for it not to happen. It is written – it is in print, the ink has dried. Peter’s refusals and denials do not change the fact. It was ordained by God and recorded in His word. “I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”

Oh, my soul, be sobered and encouraged. God Himself ordained in writing Jesus’ betrayal by Judas, and His denial by Peter. Yet God’s pre-design of my own sinful failures, betrayals, and denials removes none of my culpability. Nor does it lessen the “punch in the gut” impact of sorrow and shame that comes from my own sin. God can write beforehand that I will be a sinner and that I will sin. He knows and permits every detail of every sin I have ever committed, or will commit. And woe to me when I sin, it is to my awful shame when I dishonor my God.

But be encouraged, O my soul, because God has a superior pre-ordained purpose for permitting my sin – that is Christ, and the blood of His covenant. Those for whom Jesus died have perfect hope that we will be able to stand in the presence of His glory and not be destroyed for our sins. Unlike Judas who was ordained to eternal destruction – rather, like Peter, I have been ordained to repent, be restored, and receive eternal forgiveness. It has pleased our merciful God to lay my sins on Him and cure me of an eternally fatal disease. God’s glory displayed in such mercy is the only way I can understand how God would be willing that sins, such as those that brought Christ to the cross, and mine that dishonor Him daily, should exist. And in my own turning to His mercy, crying out for it in the light of my sinfulness, I discover why God allows, even pre-ordains my sins. If God writes my sins down in a book before they happen, my shame and my disgust of them is no less. Yet in the forgiveness of my sins my self-disgust can turn to Christ’s praise. O Lord, in view of such redemption I see that my terrible sins ultimately exist for your glory as mercy is displayed in and through the blood of Christ.

Lord I do not like the fact that, unless I die quickly, there remain sins that I will commit. Right now I want to cry out like Peter “Never! Even if I have to die with you I will not deny you.” Yet I humbly acknowledge my sin and accept with all the corresponding shame my inclinations toward sin. Keep me, O Lord, and preserve me – make me holy. In your preserving, sanctifying work, help me always confess every sin with sorrow and disgrace – yet also and even more, rejoice that in your mercy you have appointed Christ for my forgiveness and that I have been, and will be, cleansed by his blood. Be glorified in your mercy. In Jesus name. Amen.