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This Psalm is wholly devoted to the praise of Gods mercy. In each of the twenty-six verses we have the expression; "His mercy endureth for ever." The Psalmist was full of this glad thought. Our hearts too should be filled with the blessed assurance. The everlasting, unchangeable mercy of God is cause for unceasing praise an thanksgiving.Let us read what is said about Gods mercy in the well-known Psalm ciii.
"Bless the Lord, O my soul: who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies" (ver. 4).
Of all Gods other attributes, mercy is the crown. May it be a crown upon my head and in my life!
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, and plenteous in mercy" (ver. 8). As wonderful as Gods greatness is, so infinite is His mercy.
"As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him" (ver. 11).
What a thought! As high as the heaven is above the earth, so immeasurably and inconceivably great is the mercy of God waiting to bestow His richest blessing.
"The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him" (ver. 17).
Here again the psalmist speaks of Gods boundless loving-kindness and mercy.
O my soul, how frequently we have read these familiar words without the least thought of their immeasurable greatness! Be still, and meditate until the heart responds in the words of Psalm xxxvi.:
"Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens."
"How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings."
"Oh, continue Thy loving-kindness unto them that know Thee."
O my soul, take time to thank God with great joy for the wonderful mercy with which He crowns thy life, and say:
"Thy loving-kindness is better than life."
Remember that this is a promise to the man who considers the poor. Are you one of these? Then take home the text.
Mark, my soul, the care which Jesus manifested even in his hour of trial, towards the sheep of his hand! The ruling passion is strong in death. He resigns himself to the enemy, but he interposes a word of power to set his disciples free. As to himself, like a sheep before her shearers he is dumb and opened not his mouth, but for his disciples’ sake he speaks with almighty energy. Herein is love, constant, self-forgetting, faithful love. But is there not far more here than is to be found upon the surface? Have we not the very soul and spirit of the atonement in these words? The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, and pleads that they must therefore go free. The Surety is bound, and justice demands that those for whom he stands a substitute should go their way. In the midst of Egypts bondage, that voice rings as a word of power, “Let these go their way.” Out of slavery of sin and Satan the redeemed must come. In every cell of the dungeons of Despair, the sound is echoed, “Let these go their way,” and forth come Despondency and Much-afraid. Satan hears the well-known voice, and lifts his foot from the neck of the fallen; and Death hears it, and the grave opens her gates to let the dead arise. Their way is one of progress, holiness, triumph, glory, and none shall dare to stay them in it. No lion shall be on their way, neither shall any ravenous beast go up thereon. “The hind of the morning” has drawn the cruel hunters upon himself, and now the most timid roes and hinds of the field may graze at perfect peace among the lilies of his loves. The thunder-cloud has burst over the Cross of Calvary, and the pilgrims of Zion shall never be smitten by the bolts of vengeance. Come, my heart, rejoice in the immunity which thy Redeemer has secured thee, and bless his name all the day, and every day.
If we have been partakers with Jesus in his shame, we shall be sharers with him in the lustre which shall surround him when he appears again in glory. Art thou, beloved one, with Christ Jesus? Does a vital union knit thee to him? Then thou art to-day with him in his shame; thou hast taken up his cross, and gone with him without the camp bearing his reproach; thou shalt doubtless be with him when the cross is exchanged for the crown. But judge thyself this evening; for if thou art not with him in the regeneration, neither shalt thou be with him when he shall come in his glory. If thou start back from the black side of communion, thou shalt not understand its bright, its happy period, when the King shall come, and all his holy angels with him. What! are angels with him? And yet he took not up angels—he took up the seed of Abraham. Are the holy angels with him? Come, my soul, if thou art indeed his own beloved, thou canst not be far from him. If his friends and his neighbours are called together to see his glory, what thinkest thou if thou art married to him? Shalt thou be distant? Though it be a day of judgment, yet thou canst not be far from that heart which, having admitted angels into intimacy, has admitted thee into union. Has he not said to thee, O my soul, “I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness?” Have not his own lips said it, “I am married unto thee, and my delight is in thee?” If the angels, who are but friends and neighbours, shall be with him, it is abundantly certain that his own beloved Hephzibah, in whom is all his delight, shall be near to him, and sit at his right hand. Here is a morning star of hope for thee, of such exceeding brilliance, that it may well light up the darkest and most desolate experience.
No instinct can be put in you by the Holy Ghost but He purposes to fulfill. Let your faith then rise and soar away and claim all the land you can discover. --S. A. Keen
The blood of the Everlasting Covenant is the blood of the Lamb. As in the days of the exodus from Egypt when the head and father took a lamb for a house, so Christ is the Father’s Lamb, the Lamb for His house. In this way, His blood is the life of all Three persons of the Godhead. As the only begotten, and firstborn Son, His blood was the essence of the Father’s life. It is the blood which cleanses us from all sin. This is the ‘how much more’ blood of Christ’s spotless offering, and the blood is activated by the Holy Spirit. Even more than this, the Holy Spirit brings to us the oil of Eternal Spirit. We recall how the priests in the Old Testament applied blood and oil for the cleansing, healing and restoration of the leper. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us to the work of the blood. He strengthens us with the capacity of Eternal Spirit. Eternal Spirit is the essence of all Three - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We recall also that Christ offered Himself by Eternal Spirit. It is beyond us to make offering except by Eternal Spirit.
A genuine fellowship is one in which the blood is fully active, cleansing from sin, and making us complete. Accordingly, individual members of Christ are finding predestination in the name of the Father. They are finding a stewardship of the manifold grace of Christ in the name of the Son, and the sanctification and power to proceed to perfection in the name of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship in the blood is the context for an emerging administration. Paul wrote, ‘Is not the cup of blessing … a sharing in the blood of Christ?’.
The fact of the resurrection is the centerpiece of the Christian life. Having
come as the new creation in our mortal flesh, Jesus has been raised from
the dead. We have indeed been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This has enormous implications. Accordingly, Paul said that we are on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead. He spoke further of a hope in God, and the certainty of a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
While not facing life threatening situations, we are nevertheless, all on trial for the hope of the resurrection. By this, we mean that there is an offence implicit within the proclaiming of the resurrection. We must never forget that resurrection is ‘life out of death’. For this reason, the preaching of the resurrection is in fact, the preaching of the cross. The predestination of a person may well be evident. However, no person can participate in the substance of new creation unless it comes as ‘life out of death’. Hence, Paul
said that ‘I have been crucified with Christ’. And he continued to say, ‘The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God’.
As Christians, it is incumbent upon us to live by the power of an endless life. The alternative is quite simple. ‘If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Even worse than that, can you imagine a life of religion without the hope of resurrection? It would be quite meaningless. The apostle Paul said, ‘If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied’.
King David had a most remarkable commitment to build the Lord’s house. He was a man of vows, and by this means, he served the counsel of God in his own generation. At a time when the Lord had given his kingdom rest on all sides, David communicated to the prophet Nathan his burden to build the Lord a house. He said, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains’. And Nathan replied, ‘Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you’. We will have many and varied motivations towards the Lord’s house. Some people will be motivated toward outreach. Others will be motivated toward teaching, or building, or hospitality. In the first instance, the Lord simply says, ‘Do all that is in your heart’. Nathan told David to do all that was in his heart, and that very night, the Lord told him to return to David with the question: ‘Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?’ The Lord had never dwelt in a house before. From the days of Moses, He had dwelt among the nation of Israel in a tabernacle. David was burdened and motivated in his heart to build the Lord’s house, but of course, more than a sincere heart was needed. When the Lord said to David, ‘Are you the one’?’ He was pressing him to make a tangible commitment. He wanted him to make a vow. David was called to make provision for the Lord’s house, but that predestination was not activated until he vowed toward it. We may have many motivations towards the Lord’s house, but we won’t be the one the Lord uses to bring those things to pass if we don’t make vows.
Many of us have been challenged by the notion of a ‘wilderness mentality’ being our mode of relationship with God, instead of the mode of offering. This refers to a belief that whatever our circumstance, God should compensate for us with grace and lead us out of suffering and strife. This attitude caused the children of Israel to test God in the wilderness and they became displeasing to Him. We should rather be instructed in the entire culture of offering that is His life, reveals His life, and is our resurrection life. The wilderness mentality places an expectation upon God to be our provider and ‘backstop’ to save us from suffering and loss. It is a self-focused view of God’s relationship with us, asking Him to be our benefactor rather than our Father. Because of this expectation, we can decide that when we have had a good outcome in life, escaped from suffering, found miraculous provision etc, ‘God is good to us!’ But don’t you think there should be more to the testimony of our relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and with His people than simply the benefit of a ‘get out of jail free’ card whenever we need it? God’s life and lifestyle of offering leads us to understand something far more about testimony. His testimony is entirely expressed in offering. In hearing ‘God so loved that He gave’ we can begin to understand His testimony as the proceeding expression of His love and intention. Then we can understand that there is a fellowship of offering that also includes our participation. As we make offering, we become identified with our name in its remembrance before Him. And as we join the fellowship of His sufferings, we become identified with Christ and His body, since this is the only true fellowship. In this fellowship, God speaks to us concerning the truth of our name, all of the content of our life before Him.
