The Lord of Mercy

The world of kings, sickness, and restless men is not outside the rule of God. Abram goes out to rescue Lot, refusing to leave his kinsman under the hand of violent powers; the Lord Jesus goes out among paralytics, rulers, bleeding women, blind men, and the despised tax collector, refusing to leave man in bondage to sin and death. In both, we see that holy love does not stand at a distance. It acts, gives, hazards itself, and restores.

Clement notes of Abram that “and so with three hundred and eighteen servants of his own he subdued the four kings who had taken Lot captive.” The righteous man does not excuse himself from another’s trouble. He spends his strength for deliverance. So too the Church must not pass by the afflicted, whether poor, sick, or trapped in open sin, as though mercy were someone else’s work.

Yet the Lord’s greatest rescue is deeper than outward misery. As Chrysostom says, “For whether is easier, says He, to say, Your sins be forgiven you? Or to say, Take up your bed, and go unto your house? Matthew 9:5-6” Christ heals the body to prove His authority over the soul. Therefore let no one seek relief while refusing repentance. The woman touched His garment in faith; Matthew rose from the tax table at His word; the mourners were put outside before the dead girl was raised. So also we must cast out unbelief, rise at once when called, and come near in humble faith.

Psalm 8 teaches that man was made for God’s glory, set under His works, yet now truly restored only in Christ. Therefore use your strength, goods, and speech under His rule: not for gain, but for mercy, purity, and praise.