Day 192 - Psalm 144-150

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 192 - Psalm 144-150 (Our Gracious and Compassionate God)
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         ^"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, 
        Slow to anger and great in mercy. 
        The LORD is good to all, 
        And His tender mercies are over all His works."
        (Psalm 145:8-9)

One of the greatest misconception about God is that He is quick to be angry at us whenever we do bad things and that He is so high and lofty that He has no time for ordinary people like us.  Such thoughts about God cannot be further from the truth.

The Bible paints God as gracious and full of compassion.  Paul, in describing the grace of God to Titus, his son in the faith, wrote, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men... (Titus 2:11)."  In other words, God's grace was fully manifested in His incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ for the purpose of becoming the sacrifice for our sins so we can be saved.

When I think about God's compassion, I think about the Lord Jesus weeping upon His arrival at the tomb of Lazarus.  Bible teachers have given many explanations about why Jesus cried but I'd like to believe that He did it our of His compassionate heart.  Jesus certainly did not do it to put on an act.

David's statement that "the Lord is good to all" is another way of declaring God's grace and "His tender mercies are over all His works" is re-stating God's attribute of His mercy.  Grace has been defined as God's unmerited favor, whereas, mercy means God's withholding of His anger and judgment.

An important truth to note in our text above is the fact that God's grace and mercy is "to all people and over all His works."  That includes you and me. Despite the apparent inequalities of people's economic and health situations, God's grace and mercy are still evident in every person's life.  The Bible says that God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust...(Matthew 5:45b)."

Do you know the grace of God that brings salvation?  Do you feel alone and unloved?  Call on God who is gracious and full of compassion and He promises to run to you and welcome you into His loving arms.