12. Also unto thee, O Lord,belongeth mercy. This tender attribute sweetens the grand
thought of his power: the divine strength will not crush us, but will be used
for our good. God is so full of mercy that it belongs to him, as if all the
mercy in the universe came from God, and still was claimed by him as his
possession. His mercy, like his power, endures forever, and is ever present in
him, ready to be revealed. For thou renderest to every man according to his work. This looks rather like justice than mercy; but if we understand it to
mean that God graciously rewards the poor, imperfect works of his people, we
see in it a clear display of mercy. May it not also mean that according to the
work he allots us is the strength which he renders to us? He is not a hard
master, but metes out to us strength equal to our day. In either meaning we
have power and mercy blended, and have a double reason for waiting only upon
God. Man neither helps nor rewards us; God will do both. In him power and grace
are eternally resident; our faith should therefore patiently hope and quietly
wait, for we shall surely see the salvation of God. All glory be to God only.
PREVIOUS
NEXT
No comments:
Post a Comment