Good morning precious friends
Psalm 86 verse 5 says, “You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive–and abundant in mercy to all who call upon You”.
When People are Big and God is Small is the title of a book. The premise of the book is that we are prone to giving more weight to what other people say rather than to what God says. In our thoughts we make people big and God small.
In a similar way many of us are guilty of seeing our situations and thinking they are too big or too complicated while at the same time minimizing the power and care of God. We are guilty of believing that our situations are big and God is small.
In Psalm 86 we see a prayer of king David who has a proper perspective. While he finds himself in a difficult situation he remains confident that God hears and is able to save him. He’s sure that even though his situation is difficult, God is bigger and desires to show mercy to those whom He loves.
The book of Psalms is a collection of poetry, songs, and prayers of the Jewish people. In the songs, we often find repetition of phrases of worship and praise, and descriptions of God’s glorious attributes, often using figures of speech. But Psalm 86 is a prayer, and the language is plain.
Who else could David turn to in his time of need? Only the Lord. He alone has always been with us, gracious, good, forgiving sin, keeping covenant in His abundant love to the one who is poor in spirit. David knows the Lord. He has experienced His grace and declares that He is good and forgiving. We can hear David’s humility in these words. He is trusting in God’s grace to be heard, just as we trust in Christ’s blood shed for us that we might come before the throne of grace. David has come to receive grace and deliverance from his enemies. He is not going anywhere else but to the Lord with his request. “Give ear…listen to my plea…I call upon You.” David is not seeking help from any other source. And he trusts the Lord’s listening, attentive ear, assured by His covenant love and promises that his prayer is heard and he will receive what is best from the Lord’s hand.
What about you and I? When faced with trials, where do we turn? Someone once said, “Before you go to the phone, come to the Throne.” We must each grow in our dependence upon the Lord and keep Him first in our hearts and minds—at all times praying to Him about everything.
God cannot allow man to simply sin with indemnity because of His holy and righteous character that demands a righteous judgment. Psalm 86:5 reminds us that the Lord is “good, and ready to forgive; and abounding in mercy to all that call upon Him”. The Lord’s ultimate desire involves His desire to forgive a man’s sins. Therefore, the key to a relationship with the Creator involves trusting totally in God’s provision. This is what 2 Peter 3:9 means by, “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. Punishment for sin is death and man’s only hope rests in God’s mercy.
Based upon this readiness to forgive, the Father sent His only begotten Son to shed His blood for the sins of the world. Salvation is not the end all for forgiveness. Even after salvation, the Lord desires for man to remain in close fellowship with Him, but we still struggle with the sin problem. 1 John 1:9 reminds us that the Lord “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. We are clean at salvation but must look to God for an ongoing cleansing.
Forgiveness is such a sweet blessing. But God does more than forgive. He cleanses and forgets. His love is not metered out or carefully rationed. He pours love upon us if we genuinely seek Him as our God and Father. So let's cry out and ask for God's forgiveness and praise the mighty and holy name of The Almighty, confidently knowing that our Father longs to bless us with goodness, mercy, and love.
There have been times when I think, "God doesn't want to hear from me, I'm the person who did this or that sin. He must be so angry with me." But this verse in Psalm 86 verse 5 gives me courage to approach our Father in prayer, not demanding an audience before His heavenly throne but believing He is a tender Father who loves me with a forgiving heart. I can forget my sins because He has. I can get on with a relationship because He has reconciled me to Him. His grace in our Lord Jesus, makes my prayer life possible.
Our Lord requires me to confess and be sorry for my sins–and in a moment, all is forgiven, all is forgotten, and forgotten forever!
God has plenty of mercy for miserable sinners: mercy to pardon them, to purify them, to comfort them, to save them– mercy for all who call upon Him!
Let us pray:
O Precious Father, I want You to know how important Your love and forgiveness are in my life. Thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to show Your love and pay the debt of my sin. Thank You for loving me way beyond my mistakes. Help me to live each day as Your child and may others see my joy and my passion for You as I seek to live for Your glory. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
Much love from Maurice and Margaret
