The Glory of God - The Glory of God’s Mercy

Temple Baptist Church - 4-25-2021

Lamentations 3:22-23

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  In Exodus, chapters 33-34, Israel is at Mt. Sinai and Moses alone with God at the summit.  Moses, like most of us, wanted to see God’s glory because of the great task of leading a rebellious nation into the Promised Land of Canaan where there would be war! 

 

B.  God concealed the Glory of His Person (Exodus 33:21-23) but revealed to Moses the Gloriousness of His Work: 34:5-8.  Let me give you a little analogy to help understand this precept.

 

1.  Our work for Christ on earth glorifies God in heaven.

 

Matthew 5:14-16  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  (15)  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  (16)  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

2.  God’s glorious work on earth also glorifies God in heaven.

 

Exodus 33:22-23  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:  (23)  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

 

Exodus 15:6  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

 

C.  In the Psalm of Psalms, the 23rd Psalm, verse 6 sums it up:

 

Psalms 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.  (Notice with me the word “surely.” Something that we can be assured of.)

 

1.  The goodness and mercy of God are a surety in the life of the child of God!  God has always been good and merciful to us and He, who cannot change, will always be the same.

 

2.  When David wrote the 23rd Psalm, did not know the greatness of his future failures.  He did not understand the greatness of God’s tender mercies as the “sweet psalmist of Israel” sat on a hillside, watching over his flock, and wrote of the mercy of
God.  Jeremiah the Prophet said it all in Lamentations 3.  God has been merciful to each of us.

 

D.  This morning, you are looking at a one hell deserving preacher!  Without any false humility and certainly with no bragging on a past, sinful life, I often say that I have no idea why God would give me the “time of day.”  I think of the verse that says, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

 

E.  You should be able to praise Him for all eternity for just the little that I have already said!  No wonder the psalmist said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

 

F.  The word “mercy” is found 276x in 261 verses; the word “mercies” is found 44x in 44 verses, while the word “merciful” is found 40x in 36 verses but we will look at enough to cause us to praise the name of the Lord!  We will find that:

 

1.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Salvation - 1 Peter 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  (He saw our sinfulness and still sent the Saviour!  We deserved Hell and yet He send His only begotten Son that we might go to Heaven one day.  He saved us from a life of sinfulness and a Devil’s Hell!  Do not tell me He is not worth to be praised this morning!  Glory to His wonderful name!)

 

2.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Provision - Psalms 78:72  So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.  (God has been good to me in times when I have not been so good to Him.  He has never let me down in the 32+ years that I have been saved.  I have lived well; I have eaten well; I have paid the bills!  When I was laid off, He gave me a job.  When I had a great need, He sent someone.  That is mercy!)

 

3.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Protection - Psalms 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

4.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Forgiveness - 1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (No matter how terribly that I fail Him, He forgives!  No matter how often I fail Him, He forgives!  No matter how many times I fail Him, He always forgives and—and thank God—He forgets!)

 

G.  God’s Mercy on earth Glorifies Him in Heaven!

 

1.  God’s Mercy Is Everlasting - Psalms 100:5  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

 

2.  God’s Mercy Is Unchanging - Lamentations 3:22-23  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 

 

3.  God’s Mercy Is Abundant - Numbers 14:18  The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression...

 

4.  God’s Mercy Is Motivational - Romans 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

5.  God’s Mercy Is Inexhaustible - Nehemiah 9:27  Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

 

6.  God’s Mercy Is Renewable – Lamentations 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The Mercy Of God

Temple Baptist Church - 11-9-2014

Lamentations 3:22-23

 

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  As we approach Thanksgiving, I want to turn our hearts toward the Lord who is truly worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.  One of the greatest gifts ever given to fallen man is mercy!  David knew of the mercy of God and, before Bathsheba, he wrote of such.

 

Psalms 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

B.  As a rule, when dealing with either grace or mercy, I give the following definitions:

 

1.  Grace is getting what you do not deserve.

 

2.  Mercy is not getting what you do deserve.

 

C.  This morning, you are looking at a one hell deserving preacher!  Without any false humility and certainly with no bragging on a past, sinful life, I often say that I have no idea why God would give me the “time of day.”  I think of the verse that says, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

 

D.  You should be able to praise Him for all eternity for just the little that I have already said!  No wonder the psalmist said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

 

E.  In 1976, God came to where I was when I could not come to Him, reached down His hand in mercy to a wicked man, and saved my rotten—hell deserving soul! 

 

1.  Do you remember when God came to where you were? 

 

2.  Do you remember the life that God saved you from? 

 

3.  Do you remember the wonderful change that He made in your life?  Do you remember?

 

F.  I cannot look at everything in one short message as the word “mercy” is found 276x in 261 verses; the word “mercies” is found 44x in 44 verses, while the word “merciful” is found 40x in 36 verses but we will look at enough to cause us to praise the name of the Lord!  We will find that:

 

1.  God’s Mercy Is Everlasting - Psalms 100:5  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

 

Psalms 136:1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.  (There are 26 verses in this Psalm and each verse concludes with the same phrase:  “his mercy endureth forever.”)

 

2.  God’s Mercy Is Unchanging - Lamentations 3:22-23  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 

 

3.  God’s Mercy Is Abundant - Numbers 14:18  The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression...

 

 Psalms 103:8  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.

 

 Joel 2:13 “........he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and repenteth him of the evil.”

 

4.  God’s Mercy Is Supernatural - Romans 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

5.  God’s Mercy Is Inexhaustible - Nehemiah 9:27  Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

 

6.  God’s Mercy Is Demonstrated - Psalms 116:5 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

 

Ephesians 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

 

7.  God’s Mercy Is Ever Present – Lamentations 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

 

1.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Salvation - 1 Peter 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  (He saw our sinfulness and still sent the Saviour!  We deserved Hell and yet He send His only begotten Son that we might go to Heaven one day.  He saved us from a life of sinfulness and a Devil’s Hell!  Don’t tell me He is not worth to be praised this morning!  Glory to His wonderful name!)

 

Psalms 86:13  For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

 

Titus 3:4-7  But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,  5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;  6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;  7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

 

a. Christ died for the ungodly (Rom.5:6)

 

b. Christ died for those without strength (Rom 5:6)

 

c. Christ came to seek sinners (Luke 19:10)

 

d. Christ came to save sinners (Luke 15:10)

 

e. Christ died for transgressors (Isaiah 53:3-8)

 

f. Christ died for murders and blasphemers (I Timothy 1:15)

 

g. Christ died for his enemies (Romans 5:10)

 

Ephesians 2:4 But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

 

1 Timothy 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

 

2.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Provision - Psalms 78:72  So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.  (God has been good to me in times when I have not been so good to Him.  He has never let me down in the 32+ years that I have been saved.  I have lived well; I have eaten well; I have paid the bills!  When I was laid off, He gave me a job.  When I had a great need, He sent someone.  That is mercy!)

 

3.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Protection - Psalms 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

Psalms 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

 

Matthew 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

 

4.  The Lord Is Merciful In His Forgiveness - Hebrews 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

 

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (No matter how terribly that I fail Him, He forgives!  No matter how often I fail Him, He forgives!  No matter how many times I fail Him, He always forgives and—and thank God—He forgets!)

 

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

 

 

A Tearless Church

Temple Baptist Church - 9-19-2010

Lamentations 3:42-54

Introduction: This message will be a tough one tonight because it will greatly touch each and every one of us in one area or the other, but I believe that it is a very necessary message.

A. We find in these verses the Prophet Jeremiah weeping over the condition of Israel. The people were gone into captivity and the city of Jerusalem lying in utter destruction as a result of the sinfulness of the nation.

B. His eye affected his heart and the result was manifested in brokenness and weeping. Tears are a result of a soul’s sensitivity toward the unsaved, an attitude of brokenness, a heart crushed by the plight of the unrepentant.

C. There is a great need in the Church for a revival of tears. When we become deeply enough burdened for lost men and women until we weep over the needs of men, we will begin to bring them in.

D. Tearlessness is a result of selfishness! Many times our thoughts are upon our lives and not upon the lives of others. We move through the mechanics of living for Christ and evangelism without a heart moved with a burden for the less fortunate. There needs to be a true revival of tears in our churches.

E. Jeremiah expressed a similar sentiment in the familiar passage: "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1).

F. Tears are important to the Lord. Even our Lord wept over Jerusalem and at the tomb of Lazarus.

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Tears often precede joy. Burden often goes before blessing. Groaning before glory.)

1. God Sees Our Tears - Isaiah 38:5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

2. God Remembers Our Tears - Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they] not in thy book?

3. One Day God Will Wipe Away Our Tears - Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

1. We Should Weep For Our Sin – Ezra 9:15-10:1 O LORD God of Israel, thou [art] righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as [it is] this day: behold, we [are] before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this. Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

Matthew 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

a. You see, sin isn’t really SIN anymore.
b. You see, the Bible isn’t really RIGHT anymore.
c. You see, men no longer “escheweth” evil!

Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR SIN!

2. We Should Weep For Our Children And Our Families - Luke 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

a. Because Of The Sinful Society That They Are Being Subjected To. (The days of both Noe and Lot simultaneously coupled with Laodicea and the falling away.)

b. Because Of The Lack Of Godly Examples Being Set Before Them. (They are choosing the role models of the world instead of men and women of God.)

c. Because Of The Lackadaisical, Lukewarm “Christians” In The Church. (By example, they are following the “do nothing of a spiritual nature” attitude of the church.)

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR FAMILIES!

3. We Should Weep For Our Brethren - Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

a. We Should Weep Over The Fallen. (Those who are into gross sin and reproaching the cause of Christ. But for the grace of God go I!)

b. We Should Weep Over The Failing. (Those who are out of church, either hurt or disgruntled, and reproaching the cause of Christ. But for the grace of God go I!)

c. We Should Weep Over The Floundering. (Those who are still in the church but will soon be casualties and will be reproaching the cause of Christ. But for the grace of God go I!)

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR BRETHREN!

4. We Should Weep For Our Nation - Nehemiah 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned [certain] days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

a. We Need To Pray For Those In Authority Over Us. (Like them or not, they are our elected officials. Pray for them now and change them at the polls!)

b. We Need To Pray For The Sinfulness Of Our Nation. (God expelled and godlessness exalted for sea to sea. The Word of God rejected and Madonna “crucified!” May God help our country!)

c. We Need To Pray For The Innocents Who Are Suffering Because Of It All. (Both in the classrooms and in the womb!)

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER OUR NATION!

5. We Should Weep For The Lost - Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it.

a. Because Hell Is Still A Real Place. (The liberals have not cooled it off by one degree with their denials.)

b. Because The Harvest Is Ripe For The Harvest. (The problem is still the lack of looking upon the harvest and the lack of laborers in the harvest.)

c. Because Sinners Still Die Without Christ Every Day. (They deserved to hear the truth and have it ringing in their ears as they live and die.)

A hundred thousand souls a day
Are passing one by one away
In Christless guilt and gloom.
O Church of Christ, what wilt thou say
When in the awful judgment day
They charge thee with their doom?

GOD, HELP US TO WEEP OVER THE LOST!