Mercy and Grace

Ephesians 2.1-10 (3)

Pray Psalm 29.1, 2.
Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Sing Psalm 29.1, 2.
(Toulon: I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art)
Give praise to God, you children of the earth!
Tell of His strength, proclaim His glorious worth!
Give to the LORD the glory due His Name!
Worship in holiness; His grace proclaim!

Read Ephesians 2.1-5; meditate on verses 4 and 5.
Meditate on the words “mercy” and “grace”.

Preparation
1. In what is God “rich”? What is the source of this?

2. What has He done for us by His grace?

Meditation
The love of God is like an infinite spiritual centrifuge. It circulates through the divine Trinity eternally and continuously, the Father to the Son and the Spirit, the Son to the Father and the Spirit, the Spirit to the Father and the Son. This holy reciprocity of infinite love generates spiritual power, leading, first, to God choosing a people for Himself—among them “we all”—then calling a cosmos into being, then opening and unfolding great spiritual blessings to dead and undeserving people like us.

Like a holy spiritual centrifuge, God’s mercy and grace expanded to reach us and continue to reach us still. Mercy, so that we no longer fear the wrath of God, which is our due (vv. 3, 4). And grace, so that we daily burst the bonds of death and sin and rise like Jesus into a new life of love for God and neighbors (v. 5).

These blessings, and the mercy and grace by which they reach us, are the fruit of God’s love, evidenced by His giving Jesus, His only-begotten Son, to be the means of our escape from sin and death and our conveyance into the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

At that time, when we were dead in our trespasses and sin, we needed mercy and grace; Jesus was there to assure it and His Spirit there to apply it, so that we have been saved (v. 5). In that great time of need, we received mercy and grace for salvation. And every moment of our lives is a time of need—for seeking and obeying Jesus, recognizing and resisting temptation, growing grace, walking the Jesus path, and leaving a legacy of our great salvation for the generation to come. And mercy and grace are there for all our times of need, because of the love of God in Jesus Christ. Let us therefore come boldly to Jesus, brethren, to seek strength for our weaknesses and power over all our temptations—mercy and grace through Jesus for all our time of need (Heb. 4.14-16). Give the Lord all praise and thanks!

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
How glorious, that for everything in life on earth, and in the much-anticipated time to come, we will always have these merciful and forgiving words to cherish: “But God.”

“But God,
Who is rich in mercy,
because of His great love 
with which He  loved us,
even when we were dead in trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved)…” (Eph. 2.4, 5).

But God “has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Ps. 103.10).

But God “after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this” (Ezra 9.13), we thank and praise You.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, 
in that while we were sill sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5.8).

The love of God is greater far
than tongue or pen can ever tell;
it goes beyond the highest star,
and reaches to the lowest hell;
the guilty pair, bowed down with care, 
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
and pardoned from his sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill
and were the skies of parchment made,
were every stalk on earth a quill
and every man a scribe by trade,
to write the love of God above 
would drain the ocean dry;
nor could the scroll contain the whole,
tho’ stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure:
the saints’ and angels’ song!
(Frederick M. Lehman, 1917)

But God did that for sinners such as we.
Please find us, Lord, forever grateful for Your mercy and grace.

Reflection
1. How would you explain the mercy and grace of God to a non-Christian friend?

2. Why do we need mercy and grace for all our time of need?

3. In what sense or senses is Jesus the key to the mercy and grace of God?

God’s eternal love or goodwill toward his creatures, is the fountain whence all his mercies flow to us; and that love of God is great love, and that mercy is rich mercy. And every converted sinner is a saved sinner; delivered from sin and wrath. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Ephesians 2.1-10

Pray Psalm 29.3-11.
See the love of God in all His mighty work. Thank Him for creation. Thank Him for every spiritual blessing that is ours in Christ Jesus. Thank Him that He reigns sovereignly and forever, and that you are a citizen in and ambassador of His Kingdom. Pray for the day ahead, that you will know mercy and grace as you walk the Jesus path with Him.

Sing Psalm 29.3-11.
(Toulon: I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art)
Over the waters, over thunder’s roll,
God’s voice creation’s mighty pow’rs controls!
Cedars collapse at His majestic Word;
nations are shaken by our mighty LORD!

God speaks and lightning streaks across the sky;
by His decree He shakes the desert dry.
Speak, LORD, and life to beasts and men is giv’n.
Forests dissolve, and glory rings in heav’n.

Sovereign, the LORD sat o’er the raging flood;
Sovereign forever rules our gracious God!
God will His people bless with strength and peace:
LORD, may Your holy Word to us increase!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Our book, To Know Him, can help in understanding the glory of God and how we may know it. Learn more, hear an excerpt, and order your copy by clicking here.

Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we finish our discussion of commerce and begin looking at “grace economics”. Our Read Moore podcast finishes readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation.  In our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, the saint reaches Iceland and wishes he hadn’t. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.