HOPE IN HIS MERCY

HOPE IN HIS MERCY

While reading my Bible the other evening, a verse "stood out" to me. It was Psa 147:10-11

Psalms 147:10-11 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. THE LORD TAKETH PLEASURE IN THEM THAT FEAR HIM, IN THOSE THAT HOPE IN HIS MERCY.

Another one, very similar to it, is Psalms 33:17-18 An horse [is] a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver [any] by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD [is] upon them that fear him, upon them that HOPE IN HIS MERCY;

In David's day, a horse was about the most powerful thing they knew about. They were fast, and agile on their feet. A good war horse was also relatively fearless-- the epitome of military power in the time of David. But in the Spirit, David was caused to write that the Lord took no delight in the horse and its strength. It was also vain to trust in the strength and ability of the horse.

Our present-day equivalent of the Horse could easily be the Humvee, the Apache helicopter, the Stealth Bomber, or a dozen or so other pieces of equipment.

God needs NONE OF THESE THINGS for his plans and purposes.

Rather, the Lord would take notice of, and take pleasure in, those who FEAR HIM AND HOPE IN HIS MERCY.

I had a hard time getting away from those verses. They "grabbed" me, as if they had a message to give to me. So, I lingered a while, wondering what the Lord would tell me.

Finally, it began to come through to me that too many of us are keenly aware of our position in the things of the Lord and His Church. We try to maintain a high standard of righteousness and holiness-- believing that it would get us favor with the Lord when the "goodies" were passed out. Without realizing what we are doing, we tend to compare our degree of attainment with that of other people-- usually putting ourselves a bit higher on the scale than we do them.

It is a very subtle deception we indulge in, for A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF WHAT WE CALL RIGHTEOUSNESS OR HOLINESS IS COSMETIC ONLY, APPLIED WHEN WE ARE GOING OUT, TO CHURCH OR TO OTHER FUNCTIONS.

The "standards" which are enjoined and encouraged, have become a measuring device by which we gauge ourselves and others. Can it be that this has become a "horse" to us?

Personally, a few years ago, I was brought to the place where the most important thing I could do when in the presence of the Lord was to repent. No, there was not known sin in my life-- I had not committed some dastardly deeds. Rather, there was an overwhelming sense of an inability to muster up righteousness or holiness within myself. I COULD NOT DEPEND ON MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORD, NOR THE FACT THAT I HAD MINISTERED THE WORD FOR MANY YEARS. THOSE WERE GOOD, BUT THEY DIDN'T PAY THE BILL.

The Lord gave me a space of repentance, but I didn't know what to repent of. Gradually it began to take shape, and I could see where the Lord was leading me. I CAME TO ACTUALLY ENJOY BEING LOW AT HIS FEET. It brought a sense of completeness that my correct doctrine had never done. My righteousness and holiness were likewise totally inadequate to bring the sense of completeness.

Then, one day a light turned on around me-- giving me an understanding of a scripture I had never understood. Matthew 5:4 Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

It seemed that the Lord was trying to tell me that my repentance had been the essence of "MOURNING" OVER THE INABILITY OF MY FLESH AND MY WILL TO PRODUCE THE KIND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS I HAD THOUGHT I HAD.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS WHICH HE LOOKS FOR IS THAT WHICH ONLY HIS SPIRIT CAN PRODUCE IN OUR LIVES. It is not anything of our own making, which is mostly external in nature.

My repentance, then, was the Lord leading me into a mourning because of my inability to produce the true fruit of righteousness and holiness. Well, if they can not please God, what good are they? They are good to help me avoid evil activity, BUT THEY WILL NEVER COMPLETELY SATISFY GOD-- MAINLY BECAUSE THEY WERE PRODUCED MORE FOR THE EYES OF MEN THAN FOR THE EYES OF GOD.

Now, these scriptures show me that God delights in and has pleasure in those persons who fear (respect) Him and HOPE IN HIS MERCY.

This helps me. It quiets my spirit. It gives me a sense of direction-- a plan of activity.

If my "horse" is inadequate, the only thing left for me to do is to HOPE IN HIS MERCY.

Maybe that is just where the Lord was wanting me to come to-- stripping me of all of my own efforts, and putting my sole hope in Him.