The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 51:1-3,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me."
Our Lord delights in justice. In Jeremiah 9:24 he says, "Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight."
When the Lord revealed himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai he said of himself, "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. 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." Exodus 34:6-7.
Both of these passages speak to the commitment and priority God has placed on his piercing and penetrating sense of justice. However, both of these passages also speak to the kindness, compassion, grace and love God has for people as well.
As we discover what God is like in the pages of Scripture we find he is fully committed to both of these aspects of his nature. What is remarkable is that he never expresses one at the expense of the other: his great love for mankind and his profound sense of justice that he will hold all mankind in.
David, facing the wrath of God for sin in his life, his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, appeals to God's "unfailing love" and "great compassion." He requests his iniquity and sin be washed and cleansed. This is exactly what God did for David.
Paul explains how David, (he lived a millenium before Jesus), was enabled to receive God's forgiveness and love in spite of his sin: "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished…" Romans 3:25. All who had embraced God in faith prior to Jesus had their sins paid for by Jesus Christ, just as he paid for ours today.
This is what God does! He washes and cleanses our sin, but not, however, at the expense of his sense of justice! He has satisfied his keen sense of justice by laying our sins at the feet of his Son, Jesus Christ, to take our punishment for them!
How fascinating that in God's judgment of our sin, his love is on display and in his love for us he never acts in a way that compromises his justice!
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me."
Our Lord delights in justice. In Jeremiah 9:24 he says, "Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight."
When the Lord revealed himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai he said of himself, "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. 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." Exodus 34:6-7.
Both of these passages speak to the commitment and priority God has placed on his piercing and penetrating sense of justice. However, both of these passages also speak to the kindness, compassion, grace and love God has for people as well.
As we discover what God is like in the pages of Scripture we find he is fully committed to both of these aspects of his nature. What is remarkable is that he never expresses one at the expense of the other: his great love for mankind and his profound sense of justice that he will hold all mankind in.
David, facing the wrath of God for sin in his life, his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, appeals to God's "unfailing love" and "great compassion." He requests his iniquity and sin be washed and cleansed. This is exactly what God did for David.
Paul explains how David, (he lived a millenium before Jesus), was enabled to receive God's forgiveness and love in spite of his sin: "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished…" Romans 3:25. All who had embraced God in faith prior to Jesus had their sins paid for by Jesus Christ, just as he paid for ours today.
This is what God does! He washes and cleanses our sin, but not, however, at the expense of his sense of justice! He has satisfied his keen sense of justice by laying our sins at the feet of his Son, Jesus Christ, to take our punishment for them!
How fascinating that in God's judgment of our sin, his love is on display and in his love for us he never acts in a way that compromises his justice!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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