‘His Mercies Are Great’

‘His Mercies Are Great’

‘And David said… “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”’

II Samuel 24:14

The best of men are but men, at best. David was the man after God’s Own Heart, however, he made some outstanding errors. In the particular instance out of which our text for today arises, David had sinned in numbering the armies which he had for the defense of Israel. God had forbade this practice years before in order to stop the Israelites from depending upon the size of their armies to guarantee them victory. They were to look to God for their success. Because David willfully ignored this injunction, God relayed to him, by the mouth of His prophet, that He would punish David for his sin. God offered him three choices for his chastisement. ‘So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” David’s response, and the reasoning he offers as to what he chose, serves as our text today. Notice, he reasons, ‘Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great….’ David understood the Character of God. He looked to the Mercy of Christ. We say that, because in Psalm 110 he remarks, ‘The LORD said unto my Lord…’ By that statement, he is drawing a distinction between God the Father and God the Son.  Beyond that, David had a vital relationship with Christ, His Greater Son.  David, when he had failed most specifically, and performed most poorly, relied utterly upon the Mercy of Christ. Here is where we must land ourselves. We fail utterly, and perform badly, time and again. We may expect that God will chastise us appropriately. Having said that, even when we do receive the chastisement which we deserve, let us, like David, rely upon the Abundant Mercy of the Living Christ.

Our most Gracious and Merciful God,
we praise You, that You are Good even when we fail.
We rejoice that Your Mercy is never failing,
and that by Your Gracious Hand,
You will both chastise us and lift us up.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning