Hearing His Voice Today
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Matthew 5:7 (English-KJV)

7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

1. The Meaning of Mercy Three words are used in the N.T. and are translated "mercy" The first two words refer to feelings of compassion, and this one, the third, to both compassion and steps of action. "Let us not love with words and tongue but with actions and in truth" (I John 3:18).
   1. The merciful give help to the needy (I John 3:17, James 2:14-17, Psalm 37:21). "The graced man feels for people in need in his pockets!" John Wesley You might say, "But I know non-Christians who are very generous to the poor!"
      1. The kindness of the non-graced person may be humanitarian, but it is not divine. "A Christian is something before he does anything." D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
      2. The kindness of the lost is flawed because it seeks no remedy for the soul. "There is something monstrously absurd in men's being so exceedingly concerned about the removal of the sufferings of a few years, and altogether careless about the prevention of the intolerable miseries of eternity" John Brown.
   2. The merciful grant forgiveness to the guilty (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13). " When you bury a mad dog, don't leave his tail above ground." C.H. Spurgeon The child of God, full of mercy, is able to forgive those who have wounded him.
2. The Motive For Mercy
   1. Because of God's mercy --- we treat others exactly the way we believe God treats us.
      

      "Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Colossians 3:13).
      "The Lord is full of compassion and mercy" (James 5:11).

   2. For God's glory and honor --- so that in everything we do, we desire to glorify God.
      

      "Whoever is kind to the needy, honours God" (Provers 14:31).

3. The Mystery of Mercy"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Some say "God will give you mercy when (if, because, etc... ) you show mercy.
   1. Mercy by merit violates logic --- mercy merited is justice from God, not mercy.
   2. Mercy by merit violates Scripture.
      

      "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
      

      "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

   3. Mercy by merit violates this text --- mercy causes a man to be poor, to mourn, etc. . . "Beatitudes are marks by which the true child of God may be identified" A.W. Pink. What does it then mean, "they shall obtain mercy"? There is a two-fold answer to that question --- first a temporal answer, and then an eternal one.
      1. Temporally ---- "A kind man benefits himself" (Proverbs 11:17). Acts of kindness toward others in this life are by their very nature rewarded in this life.
      2. Eternally --- "Judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement" (James 2:12-13).