Daily Lesson for Wednesday 14th of February 2024

Psalms 113:1-9 and Psalms 123:1-4 praise both the majesty and mercy of the Lord. The Lord’s majesty is revealed in the greatness of His name and in the exalted place of His throne, which is above all nations and above the heavens (Psalms 113:4-5; Psalms 123:1). “Who is like the Lord our God” (Psalms 113:5, NKJV) is a statement of faith that no power within or outside of the world can challenge the God of Israel.

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

The unapproachable heights where the Lord dwells are illustrated through the fact that the Lord is willing to “humble Himself” or “stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth” (see Psalms 113:6, NIV; emphasis supplied). God’s abiding on high does not prevent Him from seeing what is occurring here below. The Lord’s mercy is manifested in His gracious readiness to be involved with the world and to save the needy and poor from their troubles. His generous hand is obviously not hidden from His servants though His dwelling place is in the distant heavens.

God’s greatness and care, which cannot be fully discerned in God’s amazing transcendence, becomes explicit in God’s deeds of mercy and compassion. The needy, the poor, and the oppressed might experience firsthand God’s sovereign power in the remarkable reversals that He can perform in their favor. The exalted God manifests His greatness by using His power to exalt the downcast. The people are free to approach the Lord because His sovereign majesty and supremacy do not change the fact that He is their gracious Creator and Sustainer and that the people are His servants, His beloved children.

Worship is, thus, motivated, not only by God’s magnificence but also by His goodness. Praise is not limited by time and space (Psalms 113:2-3). God’s greatness and mercy are best manifested in Jesus Christ, who was willing to stoop down from heaven and be brought as low as death on the cross in order to lift up fallen humanity (Philippians 2:6-8). Here, in the Cross, we have the greatest reasons possible to worship and praise God for what He had done for us.

(0)

The post Wednesday: Praise to the Majestic and Merciful God appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-07-praise-to-the-majestic-and-merciful-god/

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1 NKJV

Psalm 136 goes on to describe all the many ways that God’s mercy has endured forever, but my favorite illustration of God’s incredible mercy comes from Joshua 9 and Joshua 10.

Photo by William Earnhardt

The Gibeonites used deceit to trick Israel into letting them in on the covenant God had made with them. Even though Israel was not supposed to make a covenant with anyone living as close as the Gibeonites, they did. Later when the Gibeonites were under attack, they called upon Israel to save them, and even though the Gibeonites had used deceit to secure this covenant, God was so relentless in keeping His promise of love, that He caused the sun to stand still until the Gibeonites were all rescued! God fought for Israel as Israel fought for the mischievous Gibeonites. Let that soak in.

The Gibeonites were in no way worthy of any of God’s blessings, but God was still so loving and faithful to His promise that He made the sun stand still until they were all rescued! Talk about a love that moves heaven and earth! And this powerful love was given to the most undeserving people! So, scientifically speaking, the greatest power in the universe is not gravity or the suctioning power of the black hole. God’s love overruled all those powers and made the earth stand still. Imagine what this love can do in your heart!

God’s powerful promises and love are also for you and me. In Hebrews 13:5 God promises to never leave us or forsake us, but the Amplified Bible is the only English version that even begins to grasp what God is actually promising.

for He has said, “I will never under any circumstances desert you nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless, nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you- assuredly not!” Hebrews 13:5 AMP

Friends, God does not love the Gibeonites any more than He loves you. His mercy did not stop with the Gibeonites.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.  Psalm 100:4 NKJV

God’s mercy and truth endures throughout all generations. If God loved naughty Gibeonites enough to make the earth stand still for them, you know God’s love and mercy will do everything supernaturally possible to save you as well.

Friends, let’s not spurn or take God’s great mercy for granted.

how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?  Hebrews 2:3-4 NKJV

Let’s talk of God’s enduring mercy, Exercise our faith in His enduring mercy, and contemplate His enduring mercy until we are changed into His image or mercy and truth.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.  2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

(0)

The post A Mercy That Will Make the Earth Stand Still appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/http-https-ssnet-org-wp-content-uploads-2016-12-100_3400-jpg/