Mercy (63-64)

Prayer for Mercy:
"Look down from heaven and see from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me."

What's mercy? It's a compassion shown to an offender or a blessing resulting from a divine favor or compassion. In Exodus 17, Israelities whined. They grumbled against Moses. They offended God by saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us with thirst?" By the mercy, God gave them water. God told Moses to strike the rock so that water may come out of it. God didn't demand an apology nor any explanation from Israel before He gave them His compassion!

Moses asked, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" Moses was offended. He was afraid. He ran to God, "What shall I do? They are ready to stone me." God saw that they needed the compassion. God put aside the fact that they threatened Moses. God saw that they were afraid, and out of unholy fear they threatened Moses! He gave them mercy without any obligation.

BUT in Numbers 21:4-9 God showed his disciplinary action against Israel as He sent fiery serpents among the people. In Isaiah 63 God had trodden the winepress alone, which spattered their lifeblood upon His garments and stained all His apparel. God's so full of wrath!

Why was God so full of mercy and yet so full of wrath? Only He knows what's in our hearts and what's in His soverign plan. His thoughts are higher than ours. His ways are higher than ours. As the heavens are higher than the earth. But our earthly-brain may offended Him when we didn't trust Him to do His part.

Let us implore Him to stir His heart for us again and to look at us with compassion! Stir up love!