I NEED MERCY!

READ PSALM 79

WHY SHOULD GOD HAVE COMPASSION ON ME?

Psalm 79:1

                O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;

                                they have defiled your holy temple;

                                they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

The children of Israel cry out to God as they see the destruction around them, but they cannot forget the fact that it is the consequence of their sin. God had to come against them because they again forgot Him and went after idols and the desires of their own flesh. Now they are beng mistreated by God’s enemies.

Psalm 79:4

                We have become a taunt to our neighbors,

                                mocked and derided by those around us.

These verses caused me to reflect on the fact that when I sin, I mock God with my actions. I say that He is my Lord and Savior, but my actions are not honoring Him the way they should. When I sin, I lose sight of what people will say about the God whom I claim to serve and worship. If only I spent more time thinking of the consequences of my sin, if I were much quicker to repent of my ways, then my actions would certainly be much different.

Here, the children of Israel are appealing to the character of God. We know that this psalm is inspired, so it encourages us, too, to go to the Lord and ask Him for forgiveness.

Psalm 79:5

                5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?

                                Will your jealousy burn like fire?

God is not indifferent to sin. He is jealous of His own and is angered by sin. Is there hope? Will He forgive? They certainly cannot hope to deserve His compassion and mercy.

Psalm 79:8-9

                8 Do not remember against us our former iniquities;

                                let your compassion come speedily to meet us,

                                for we are brought very low.

                9 Help us, O God of our salvation,

                                for the glory of your name;

                   deliver us, and atone for our sins,

                                for your name's sake!

               

This was the only hope the children of Israel had: God’s compassion, His salvation, and His atonement for their sins. Even their suffering was not a reason to invoke help. Their only basis for  pleading was for the sake of His name: His character and His reputation. The children of Israel had been brought low and their only hope was the intervention of God.

Are we bearing the consequences of our sin? Do we feel that in some ways we deserve God’s compassion or that we have suffered enough? Sadly, there are times when my reactions display such heart attitudes in me. I must remember that since I never deserved God’s grace, it is only by the grace of God that I do not live the consequences of my sins forever and ever! Yes, I can ask God for compassion, but I should never think that I deserve it. Though I might wear the scars of my sins as long as I live here on earth, I can choose to see them as reminders of God’s great grace to me.

How I marvel at the grace of God. I am surprised by His immense compassion. I cannot understand the immensity of the cost of my salvation. How can I forget the love the Lord showed me?  My thoughts should be centered on how to bring glory to God and direct the attention of God’s enemies to His purity.

The Israelites knew that now the enemies of God where boasting against Him and, for the sake of His glory, they wanted them to be stopped.

Psalm 79:10

                Why should the nations say,

                                “Where is their God?”

                Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants

                                be known among the nations before our eyes!

Is this what drives our requests to God?

Psalm 79:11-12

                11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;

                                according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!

                12 Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors

                                the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!

Yes, they were suffering and desired for God to preserve them, but they also wanted God to react to the taunts of His enemies. They had at last returned to their God.

Psalm 79:13

But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

                                will give thanks to you forever;

                                from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

They recognized their privileged position: they were His sheep. Their hearts were thankful and they promised to continue in their praise and pass it on to the following generations.

This is exactly where we need to be. We need to recognize our position as sheep: we are totally dependent and in need of our Shepherd. We need to find our pleasure and satisfaction in God’s pasture. Our gratefulness should be continuous and immovable. The testimony of the faithfulness and compassion of our God should be continuously on our lips, and we should be purposeful in passing it on to the next generations.

How grateful I am to God, that when I am unfaithful He remains faithful, when I fall He shows mercy, when I need to repent He does what is necessary to bring me back, when I am confused I can be certain that He will be true to His character forever. I don’t deserve this kind of love!