The Heart of the Bible by John F. MacArthur

Author:John F. MacArthur [MacArthur, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2022-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

UNFAILING COMPASSION

Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

—Lamentations 3:22–23

It is only through the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed. Mercy means withholding what we deserve, not giving us the punishment we deserve. The fact is that we do deserve punishment. We deserve God’s judgment because we have broken His law, because we have spurned His love, because we have offended and dishonored Him. We do that every time we sin. We should be consumed by His justice, but His justice is tempered by His mercy. His mercy is based on His compassion for us and that compassion never fails.

When I was rearing my children, there were times I showed mercy as a parent, but I cannot say I had absolutely unfailing compassion. Looking back, I can see that there were times when I ran out of compassion. Like most parents, I did not always demonstrate the forgiving love of God when I could have. Because I am human and fallen, my compassion failed. But the Lord tells us that His compassions never fail. His mercy is never diminished by fatigue or irritation or time. As Paul tells us in Romans 5:20, where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Even when we continue to sin, God’s grace abounds.

These acts of compassion toward us are new every morning. God never runs out of His supply of compassion. Every day is a new day with Him. What a wonderful thing to think about at the start of the day! It is a new day and all the mercies and compassions of God are available for that day.

Why does God have such mercy and compassion? Why is the supply new today even though yesterday was a bad day or a disappointing day or a sinful day? Here is why: Great is Your faithfulness. The bedrock of God’s mercy and compassion is His covenant. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. During Israel’s forty years of wandering in the desert and all through the Scriptures, God has promised us mercy and compassion if we trust in Him. God is always faithful to Himself and His Word. God cannot lie and cannot break a promise. Second Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

We wake every new day, no matter what the prior day held, engulfed in the mercy and compassion of a God who keeps His covenant even to His failing children.

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