The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Psalm 86:5,
“You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.”
When the Lord passed in front of Moses and showed him a glimpse of his glory, Exodus 34:6-7, the Lord revealed himself in these words, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
David acknowledges this magnificent, compassionate and merciful disposition of God’s heart: he forgives and abounds in love to those who call upon him! Those who call upon the Lord must do so in faith, convinced he is there, that he will listen and that he will respond in love. Because the Lord has decided that those who will embrace him in faith will be justified and given an inheritance in the family of God, he forgives and “abounds in love” toward those who call upon him.
It is an astonishing thing for me to consider the disposition of the heart of the Lord towards us! “Forgiving and good”, “abounding in love to all who call” on him. And this toward mankind who has sinned and rebelled against God, gone their own way and rejected him in favor of mankind’s own imaginings! What kind of a heart is forgiving, good and abounding in love to people like us? What a heart this is! David goes on to say in verse 15, “… you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
I do note that the Lord revealed himself further. He went on to say to Moses in Exodus 34, “Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” What a paradox that is revealed here! First the Lord says he forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin and then says he will not leave the guilty unpunished. Since we are all guilty, how does this paradox resolve itself? On the cross of Jesus Christ! Punishment was handed out to the guilty but Jesus Christ took the punishment on himself and this resulted in us freely receiving God’s forgiveness and love!
Astonishing, fascinating and exciting to look at and consider…
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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