#721 Know Mercy

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

he is called blessed in the land;

you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.

3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

in his illness you restore him to full health.

4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;

heal me, for I have sinned against you!”

5 My enemies say of me in malice,

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,

while his heart gathers iniquity;

when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

7 All who hate me whisper together about me;

they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;

he will not rise again from where he lies.”

9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11 By this I know that you delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity,

and set me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

Amen and Amen. Psalm 41 ESV

In the shadow we find shade, in the shadow we find mercy. What a beautiful song, sung in the time of the law when it was as simple as do this and you shall live. There is a tangible nature to it then that those who are liberal, God was even now liberal with them, but there is more if we are willing to see it, if we have been given such grace.

Considers the poor - David is a king, yet here we can see that he knows what it is to be poor in health, in spirit, that even the wealthy can be poor in so many ways. The rich can be so poor as to think themselves not. Consider each man's situation, for it is lazy to merely throw money at every circumstance. 

So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 7 Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were strengthened.…Acts 3: 5-7

Peter did not have much of this world's goods, but he gave freely what God had supplied him. You say, "well, that is good for him, but I am young and God has not given me such ability." Ah, but the strength of youth is a precious thing, you can be the legs of the lame, the hands of the sick. We pat ourselves on the back, looking for a feel good moment, we hand money to the heroine addict only to help him get a dollar closer to his overdose. Are you a good mechanic? Your neighbor is having trouble with her car, but the dealership wants to overcharge her for their work. There is an old man whose wife has passed, the love of his life, his best and only friend, can you sit with him for awhile? There is a lady whose eyes are failing her, and she doesn't want your money, but she would love to have you read her Bible to her. Consider, it isn't a selfie to share on facebook, a story to brag about in your circles. Look at me, I am a philanthropist, but are you a good steward? Did you look to see where the money is going, or did you let it fall into the hands of those who claim the lion's share for themselves, who create positions for their children while others go unfed? Spurgeon wrote:

We must not imagine that the benediction pronounced in these three verses belongs to all who casually give money to the poor, or leave it in their wills, or contribute to societies. Such do well, or act from mere custom, as the case may be, but they are not here alluded to. The blessing is for those whose habit it is to love their neighbour as themselves, and who for Christ's sake feed the hungry and clothe the naked. To imagine a man to be a saint who does not consider the poor as he has ability, is to conceive the fruitless fig tree to be acceptable; there will be sharp dealing with many professors on this point in the day when the King cometh in his glory. - C. H. Spurgeon

Utters empty words - There is hardly anything more frustrating then drowning in whatever substance of misery you are sinking in, all the while having someone ask you, "let me know if you need my help?" OK, I shout, I need your help, only to find it was rhetorical or said to be said, with no intent of extending a hand. David has enemies that smile as if friends, then walk away with a glad heart, hoping that he will not recover. They speak of his sickness behind his back, celebrating the hope of his demise. Maybe you can relate, the child of inconvenience, the aged who was too needy for your taste, toss some coins and run away, or you will be late for your favorite television show. I remember clearly those who helped me when I was too spent to give them anything near that value in return. It is because of God working through them that I have learned some bit about humility, and I am forever grateful. 

Poured out on Him - What if Christ only came into the world to visit? What if he smelled the stench of fallen humanity and said, "oh I wish I could help you, if only there was something I could do?" What if He wasn't obedient all the way to the cross, if He changed His mind when He considered the pouring out of the cup of God's wrath? If there were no Christ, no cross, then there would be no shade for me to stand in, no ark for me to climb inside, and guess what, that would be a fair judgment from the Potter, to remove what is imperfect, to wash it all away. David's "friends" look at him in disgust, they find themselves like the friends of Job, good, better, not in need of God's mercy, never making the connection between their own sin and God's holy nature. It is mercy that they are alive, mercy that they are not in the same condition as the Psalmist, and mercy has allowed them the great privilege of being able to show mercy, but they don't. Now to the Son of David, the blind beggar cries out, have mercy, have mercy on me! He is talking to the Messiah, He is talking to God, Who took on the form of human kind, became a man, so that One Who was without sin, could be the sacrifice for sin. They saw His miracles, they tasted the wine, ate the fish and the bread, but when it came time for Him to go to the cross, to give the greater and everlasting gift, no one cared to be associated with Him. "He deserved this, He saved others let Him save Himself, God is cursing Him for His deeds." Not His, mine. 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5: 43-48

You delight in me - David could come to God with His sin, Christ could come as the payment for it. David could Know God's mercy and forgiveness because he could see God's hand and intervention, either changing his enemies hearts or repaying them for their evil deeds, which they justified upon their own arrogant ideals of merit. David could know God's mercy in that though He struggled, God would bring Him through it. Whom the Lord loveth He chaseneth. We can know that God delights in us because we delight in Him. We can know of God's mercy, when we give it to others, not based upon their merit, but because God so loved us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ 40Andthe King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of theleast of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ 41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.… Matthew 25: 39-41