Reading: “The mercy promised”—Luke 1:72
God graciously promised many mercies, and most faithfully and fully performed them. Indeed, everything out of hell may well be called a mercy. Every child of Adam bears about with him, day by day, tokens of God’s mercy. The air we breathe, the garments we put on, the food we eat; all the comforts, conveniences, enjoyments of life—these are all mercies. But none of these are what the sweet portion today points to.
This is a particular, a special, one specific mercy. And who else can this mercy mean but Jesus? He is, indeed, “the mercy promised,” the first mercy, the first promise; the first, best, and comprehensive gift of God declared in the Bible. He is indeed the mercy of mercies, the first born, the sum and substance of every other. He is essential to make all other mercies really and truly mercies; for without Him, they ultimately prove injurious. He is essential to put a sweetness, to give a relish, a value, an importance, to every other. Where Jesus is, there is mercy; where Jesus is not, what can all else profit?
Christian, do you know it this to be true, have you enjoyed the rich mercy that Jesus is? Is Jesus yours? Have you taken Him home to your house, to thine heart? Pause, if it be so, how do you value Him, know Him, use Him, live to Him, walk with Him, hope in Him, rejoice in Him, and make Him all yours? Is He now so truly satisfying to you, in all your desires, that you can bid farewell to every enjoyment, if needful, and, looking up to Jesus, can truly say, “Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee?” (Psalm 73:25). If this be your portion, Christian, then hast thou a Benjamin’s portion indeed! God your Father has given you the mercy promised, and Jesus is, and will be, your mercy, and the mercy of all mercies, to all eternity. Amen.
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