The Multitude of God’s Mercy – Psalm 5

By: Edward Cortez

 

In Psalm 5, David speaks of a powerful encounter with God in the quietness of the morning as he desperately pleads for help, “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I will pray. My voice you shall hear in the morning O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to you, and I will look up” (vv. 1-3).

It is during one of these early morning pursuits that God allows David to catch glimpses of His holy character for he says, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” (vv. 4-6).

In verse 7, realizing his utter helplessness, David appeals to God’s inexhaustible supply of mercy, “But as for me, I will come to Your house in the multitude of Your mercy.” The closer we get to God the more we understand the message of the cross. Grace and mercy provided a way to satisfy the perfect justice of God in the person of His Son, Jesus, who took our sins away by His death on the cross so that whosoever believes in Him shall be saved (John 3:16).

Seeing the holy character of God against the backdrop of our sins would move us to appealing to His mercy. We shall never exhaust God’s mercy for so long as we are humble enough to sincerely long for it and be willing to receive His provision of mercy through the gift of His Son. It is available to anyone who will acknowledge their need for it.

And what is the result after David has tasted and experienced the multitude of His mercy? Verses 11 and 12 demonstrate for us the freedom and the joy of a person set free from the prison of his soul:

“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;

Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;

Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.

For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.”

For a man to utter such praise who bears the scars of war, loneliness, moral failure, family breakdown, death of a beloved son and so much more is incomprehensible. Yet we can all bounce back from a life torn apart by sin, devastation, and brokenness when we come to God “in the multitude of His mercy” which He demonstrated in the cross of Jesus.