Do not be furious, O Lord, nor remember iniquity forever; indeed, please look—we all are Your people! (Isaiah 64:9)

A Merciful God

When a man fails to understand the mercy of God, he cannot understand the greatness of a loving Father. Adam and Eve had one command to follow, and they rejected the word of God. God’s wrath could have destroyed them, but He chose to save them. The world turned away from God and killed His only begotten Son. God’s wrath could have destroyed the world for killing Jesus, but the Father chose to open the door of redemption to those who would accept His grace.

Isaiah, the prophet, lived when the people of God had totally turned away from God. The Assyrians had long destroyed the northern ten tribes. Only the remnant of Benjamin and Judah remained, and they faced the onslaught of the Babylonians who would take the people of God into a seventy-year captivity. The grace of God allowed a remnant to return. By His grace, He preserved the Seed through the faithful of Israel, who had returned from Babylon. During the final days of Judah, Isaiah instilled in the people’s hearts the mercy of God that allowed the remnant to survive. He begged God not to let His wrath consume the people. God’s people were guilty of sin, deserving the wrath of God. Isaiah pleaded with the Lord to remember His people. God did.

God has every right to be furious with humanity. Sin is the dominant character of the spirit of man. When a man transgresses the law of God, he sins and faces the wrath of a vengeful God. There is nothing humanity can do deserving of the mercy of God. Two thousand years ago, the wisdom of man murdered the only begotten Son of God. Jesus was innocent. He had never sinned. His death was the darkest stain on the human story. Mercy came on the first day of the week when the Father took His Son from Hades and rose Him to be Lord and Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life to all who seek Him because of the mercy of God.

Like Isaiah described many centuries ago, all men stand in judgment of the wrath of God. The world is filled with unrighteousness. Iniquity is the character of the human heart. But God’s mercy flows from the fountain of grace to take away the fury of the Lord and cause Him not to remember the sins of the repentant. He is willing to remember the sins of a man no more. God’s mercy will take away sin as far as the east is from the west. Why is God willing to do this? Because He remembers who His people are. Paul reminded Timothy the Lord knows those who are his.

The mercy of God is beyond the bounds of human understanding. God is a merciful God because He is full of love and grace. He does not ignore sin, allowing men to think they are not accountable for His judgment. The mercy of God does not remove the consequences of eternal punishment for those who reject His word. What the Father offers His children is His grace and mercy not to be furious and that He will not remember the iniquity of the heart. As the Father looks upon His child, He sees His people. May we look to our Father and see His mercy.