Equal Mercy and Truth
The Psalms are Hebrew poetry, which is different from our rhyming poetry. They repeated patterns, so that they gave a contrast between two things, or they showed a comparison of two things. They also would use descriptive word pictures to get their point across in a poetic way. David wanted to show that God's mercy and truth were equal, which is a unique quality of God.(Psalm 57:10) We have a real hard time doing that and even understanding this concept.
God is merciful, and this Hebrew word means that He always fulfills His part of His covenant with His people. In order to be loving to His people, many times He has to extend mercy. Mercy is when He punishes us less than we deserve. His mercy reaches to the heavens or to the skies. It is so much more abundant than we can even imagine. However, God is always faithful to the truth, at the same time. He does not violate truth to extend mercy. His truth is great, too, as it reaches to the clouds in the sky. This means God administers His great mercy and His truth equally.
We tend to either have great mercy or great truth, but not both at the same time. If we don't watch out, we will bend the truth to extend mercy. That is wrong. On the other hand, we may uphold the truth in a rigid way, forgetting mercy completely. This is equally as wrong. We should strive to be like God, so that we ask Him to show us how to have equality in our mercy and truth in every situation in life. That way, people will see God in us and marvel.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 59-62.
God is merciful, and this Hebrew word means that He always fulfills His part of His covenant with His people. In order to be loving to His people, many times He has to extend mercy. Mercy is when He punishes us less than we deserve. His mercy reaches to the heavens or to the skies. It is so much more abundant than we can even imagine. However, God is always faithful to the truth, at the same time. He does not violate truth to extend mercy. His truth is great, too, as it reaches to the clouds in the sky. This means God administers His great mercy and His truth equally.
We tend to either have great mercy or great truth, but not both at the same time. If we don't watch out, we will bend the truth to extend mercy. That is wrong. On the other hand, we may uphold the truth in a rigid way, forgetting mercy completely. This is equally as wrong. We should strive to be like God, so that we ask Him to show us how to have equality in our mercy and truth in every situation in life. That way, people will see God in us and marvel.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 59-62.