Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”** Exodus 34:5-7 (NIV)**
If God is our Father, we shall lack nothing that He deems good. Indeed, in Psalm 34:10 (NIV) King David writes: “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” God described Himself to Moses by stating that He is a God of compassion, grace, loyalty, mercy, love, faithfulness and forgiveness. And with Him there is no lack. He is an ever-flowing continuous stream of mercy and love. Indeed, it is His desire to lavish mercy on His people. Mercy is both the nature of God and the delight of His soul. To be sure, God delights in mercy and judgment is His strange work.
He ever remains slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. And He is just. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV): “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
God hem’s His people in on every side with goodness and mercy - as watch dogs over His children. King David writes God’s good and loyal love would be with him all the days of his life in Psalm 23:6 (NIV): “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” And God’s blessings remain on all His people despite their circumstances. His mercy and grace flow directly from His Holy Heart – running as a never ending, never failing natural stream – ever sufficient to meet our needs.
What guilty and broken heart can refuse God’s gracious nature and not be encouraged to come to Him Who is ever desirous to receive and never rejects those who willingly turn to Him for mercy? Indeed, He rejoices over His mercy being accepted and He is ever faithful to forgive the repentant heart. Thomas Brooks writes: “God hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you.” All we need to do is come. Turn to Him Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.** Ephesians 2:1-9 (NIV)**