Ps.145:8,9 – The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
The LORD is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
As I think about the powerful implications of this verse all I can think about is Jesus. Jesus is the declaration and unveiling of God’s love for fallen man. John saw this mercy in action as he spent three years traveling with Jesus and seeing the display of God’s love through His life, His teaching, and His display of signs and wonders. This is how John opened his gospel, declaring the fullness of God and the goodness of God which are revealed in Jesus Christ. Jn.1:16-18 – “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him”.
So think about the displays of God’s mercy that John saw in those three short years. He wrote about the woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus forgave her and said “go and sin no more”. John spoke about the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria. She had been scorned and shunned by husbands and neighbors for years, Jesus met her with mercy and gave her a drink of living water from His wells of salvation. He also saw the man who had spent his life waiting for a miracle at the pool of Bethesda, with just one word, “pick up your pallet and walk”, those years of sorrow were over and this formerly paralyzed man was overcome by the mercy of God.
Then of course who could forget Lazarus, Lazarus was dead without a chance to enjoy life again. He had been in his tomb for four days until Grace was standing outside of His tomb. In a moment of time Lazarus was out of the tomb and back with his family and friends. Grace had triumphed over judgement, the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, and His tender mercies and grace are seen in all His works.
So maybe you have been in the dumper lately, feeling like everything is just going sideways in your world. Take another look at Jesus, as it says in the Passion Translation Ps.145:9 – “God, everyone sees your goodness, for your tender love is blended into everything you do”. Take a good long look at Jesus and you will taste His goodness too.
