Psalm 86:15

Psalm 86:15

A compassionate and gracious God

Well, what a contrast. Verse 14 paints a picture of the character of the enemy but, here in verse 15, we are thinking about the character of Almighty God. Look at the picture that David paints, the Lord is: -

·      Compassionate and gracious

·      Slow to anger

·      Abounding in love and faithfulness

Do you and I believe Him to be such a God? Do we portray Him as such a God? 

I remember, as a child and young man, the hell-fire sermons of some of the preachers of that time. They presented the Lord as a judgemental tyrant who delighted in casting rebellious sinners into the fires of hell. There were times when we could almost sense the heat from the burning coals of His anger! Years later, after studying John3:16, I carefully pondered the words of Jesus in the subsequent verse, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” God has always been in the business of salvation. He has gone to extraordinary lengths to make this possible. His ultimate goal is to save us from the consequences of sin and the presence of sin and the cost to Him has been unimaginable. The Lord God is not a violent, hell-raising oppressor, He is as He is described in this verse. That is why the Gospel is such Good News!

Yes, there will be judgement, and it will be terrifying for those who are judged, those who adamantly refuse to believe, who oppose God and His ways, who blatantly reject His salvation and live in the pay of the devil. The judgement they face will be the result of their own acts of evil not by the choice of a God who longed to save them.

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