Psalm 145:8
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
I'm pretty sure we could divide the room tonight cleanly between those who enjoy doing get-to-know-you games and those who don't. I'm in the second camp. It's not that I don't like getting to know people, I do, but I feel like that context is just very inadequate for actually trying to get to know somebody. So on a recent work call, we were asked to introduce ourselves, say what our job was, how long we'd been in the role, and which jungle animal we would be if we were to be a jungle animal.
By the time it got to me, we lost the jungle and it was just animals, so I said, bulldog, go dogs. But at what point can you really say that you know someone? Obviously, knowing someone means having information about that person, but knowing facts, it's a lot more than just knowing facts about the person. And it's interesting because we've never had more access to information about people than we do now, right? Like we can read about celebrities, we can read about historical figures, people around us.
We're encouraged to build our own brands, to write our own bios, but reading that information and taking that in isn't the same thing as knowing someone, is it? We could say that it takes firsthand experience interacting with somebody, having conversations. But even that is limited, isn't it? It's limited to our own interpretation of who the person is, why they do what they do, and that sort of thing. Really, the only way that we can come to know somebody is through that person's self-disclosure.
They have to tell us, the person has to tell us who he or she is, why he or she does what he does, and allow that information to go from simply knowing about somebody to actually knowing that person. Well, what about God? Do you know God? Can you know God? Well, thankfully, we know the answer to that is a resounding yes, because God has spoken to us in his word. He has chosen to reveal himself, to disclose information about himself to us.
And in our text tonight, we're going to see not an exhaustive, there's no such thing as an exhaustive revelation of God, but we are going to see an essential 14-word introduction to who God is. And we'll spend the next few minutes thinking about that, who he is, and what that means for us. So let's read Psalm 145, verse 8 together. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
So let's think just for a few minutes about what do those words mean? What does it mean to be gracious and merciful? Well, these things, they describe God's disposition. He's kind. He's the kind of person who sees a need and is inclined to meet that need. He has resources, and he's happy to put those resources to use for the benefit of others. And we need to think about this. These are not words that describe just what he's doing, not just his actions, but his attitude.
It's the how, the why he does what he does. God isn't reluctant. He's not stingy. He's not inconvenienced. He's not put off by weaknesses and failures of other people who come to him for help. He delights in it. He's happy when people come to him. There's a way to offer help that offers help, but does it in a way that belittles others, that makes them aware of how inconvenient it is for you, how important you are, and how great you are to condescend to help somebody less than you.
Think about maybe an experience at a government office or a retail setting. You sit in line, you get to the example. I mean, you get to the person and you finally ask, you know, what your question is. I need this information or can you help me with this. And you're met with frustration. As if the thing that you're asking the person, you know, is this huge inconvenience to do their job, right?
The rolling their eyes, the huffing, the frustration. God isn't like that. And think about, God is the one person who could respond that way. He's greater than we are. He has no external obligation to do anything for us. But he's gracious, and he's merciful, and he's happy to help. And God doesn't merely tolerate people who are weak, who are frail, who are burdened. He welcomes us. He asks us to bring our troubles to him.
He delights to show his greatness in helping and in gladly helping people who need it. And so in the psalm, he goes on to say, The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing. So God, it says, is characterized by a providential care for all of his creation and then a particular concern for all those who fall, those who are burdened, those who are weighed down.
It also says that God is slow to anger. When you think about anger, anger is a reaction, right? It's a response to something when we perceive there's wrong. So anger involves a moral judgment and a natural reaction on the basis of that moral judgment. Sometimes neediness can be irritating or frustrating, but I don't think that's what the psalmist is describing here because he's already talked about God's mercy, his graciousness.
He's not like that. I think God's anger is in response to real wrong, which is sin. We reject God's authority, we disobey his instructions, we go our own way, we seek to be independent of him, and in response, it says he's slow to anger. It doesn't say he's not angry, that would be a different problem. If God saw wrong and didn't do anything about it, he wouldn't be good, right? God's anger is an extension of his holiness and his goodness, so it doesn't say that God never gets angry, but he's not quick to anger. He's not explosive. He's not reactive in his anger.
He's not just waiting for somebody to cross the line so he can smite somebody, like a little boy with a slingshot and a bag full of rocks, just waiting. Everything's a target, just waiting to emerge. He's not like that at all. He's slow to anger. He's steady. He's patient, and his response is oriented toward a final outcome, a final day of judgment that he has fixed. And so because of that, there is a standard, there is a future judgment, and he upholds everything perfectly and is not overreactive in the moment to our sin and rebellion. And so his anger is much more like a building storm on the horizon. It's coming, it's inevitable, but it's slow developing.
and he's also abounding in steadfast love. And so those words communicate God's, his faithfulness, his endurance in love. So unlike being quick to anger, if you're quick to anger, you're going to find lots of reasons very easily to discard people, to drop people, but God isn't like that. He sticks with his people despite their failings. And so David goes on to say in verse 17, the Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him.
He hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him. He is constant. He's consistent. He's near. He's attentive. He's vigilant. He's always ready to rescue his people. And so that's just a quick snapshot of what is God like. And depending on how you see yourself tonight, you may or may not think that's a big deal. You know, if you don't think of yourself as needy, as burdened, as a sinner, then it's nice to think about someone who's kind and great and all of that, but you can go on with your life.
But if you accept the Bible's diagnosis of your condition and you know that you are in need, that you are dependent, that you deserve God's anger, then it's really hard to overstate how amazing and how comforting it is to know that this is what our God is like. How did David know this about God? Well, certainly he had firsthand experience. You read the story of David and it's an incredible story how God exalted the least likely from among all the candidates, the least likely to become a king.
God gave him impossible military victory, little boy David fighting giant Goliath. You know, there was no chance apart from God's gracious intervention. So many ways that God protected and preserved him throughout his life from enemies, from in military battles, all sorts of things. God just graciously, kindly preserved David's life. And then he also forgave his sin. David is known for spectacular failure. And yet God was gracious and kind to forgive him, to preserve him in his faith.
We could also say David knew God because of culture. He was born into this people. He didn't just come up with this on his own. He was born into a worshiping people who had the stories of the God of the Bible. But most importantly, I think, is David knew about God because of God's revelation. These words that David wrote in Psalm 145 aren't David's words. These are not his interpretation of his experience of God. These are God's words. David is quoting from Psalm 34 of God revealing himself to Moses.
So we go back to Exodus 34. This is after God has delivered Israel from slavery to the Egyptians, After he's destroyed Pharaoh's army, after he's given the people the law, after they've rebelled against him and made a golden calf and God has punished them for that. After all of that, Moses said to God, God, I want to know who you are. I want you to show me your glory. And this was God's response. This is who I am. And so it was God's words that interpreted David's experience of his own life to know this is what God is like.
And so here we are, 3,000 years later, making the same confession about God's character on the same basis. Because God has revealed it to us. God has told us, this is what I'm like. And we have the benefit, friends, of a much clearer view than what Moses had as he hid in a rock and God passed and he saw the afterglow of God's glory. We have a clearer view than even David had in his various experiences because we have the gospel. And John chapter 1, verse 14 says, The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the Father's side. He has made him known. So, friends, we have the privilege of knowing God through the gospel of Jesus. Through the gospel, we see God's mercy to sinners in providing a substitutionary sacrifice for sin and paying the debt, the obligation that our sin deserves.
We see that God's anger was poured out against Jesus, that he drained the cup of God's wrath on the cross, so there's nothing left for God's people. And we see God's love demonstrated in the fact that he didn't spare his own son, but he freely gave him up for us all so that we could have security forever. So what does that do for us? How should we respond to who God is? Well, the first thing I think we have to do is repent. Paul says that it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance.
Somebody prayed that earlier in our meeting. What that means is you're supposed to hear the truth of the gospel and bring your sin to light because you believe that Jesus has already paid for it, that he's already taken the condemnation that you deserve, that he died so that you could have access to God and that you believe God is eager and willing to forgive your sin. I think Calvin put it really well. If it be true that God is not only willing to befriend us, but is spoken of as touched with sympathy for our miseries, so as to be all the kinder to us, the more that we are miserable.
What folly were it not to flee to him without delay? So if you're here tonight and you're not a Christian, we are really glad you're here. But you need to know that the offer that you need to consider and that you need to do is to repent, to go to God, to ask him for forgiveness, to turn away from your sin, to trust that Jesus died to pay for your sin, and to be welcomed into his family and to his love. And if you're here tonight and you're a Christian, you need to repent as well. You need to go to God with your sin, to confess it, to ask him to forgive you, to ask him to change you, and to do it now.
Don't try to pay for what Jesus has already paid for. Don't try to wallow in your sin. Don't try to do enough good works to offset the bad things that you have done. That's foolish. Accept what Jesus has done for you. And don't try to hide. We think we can, you know, on social media, we can block people as if they no longer exist, right? We don't see them. That works on social media. It doesn't work with God. You can't block God. What you can block is your access to God's blessings and his love and his forgiveness.
So don't do that. Go to God. If you need courage to do that, just read Luke 15. It says again and again, when people repent, God throws a party. That's the message of Luke 15. He's excited. He's overjoyed. when sinners repent. It's never too late. It's not too late to repent. Today's the day. The second thing I think we should do is worship. God has revealed himself to us so that we can see him for who he is and enjoy him. And that's really what the whole psalm is about. So looking back to the beginning, David says, I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works I will meditate. So this just is a challenge to us, I think, to make that a priority, to make worshiping God, to make thinking about him a priority. So take time every day, like David says, take time every day to remind yourself of who God is.
It can be with your kids, it can be with your spouse, it can be with a friend, it can be by yourself. But just make it a discipline to stop, even just for a few moments, to consider God's character, his mighty works, his kindness to you, and praise him for it. The third thing I think this text tells us to do is to imitate God. So God reveals himself to us, not just for us to behold him, but that certainly is part of it, but also for us to become like him. So three things here quickly.
First, show mercy. When you see people who are in need, do you see yourself? Are you someone who's inclined to meet the needs of others when you hear about them, or do you hide away, ignore them, try to forget them? The logic of the gospel is that we are a people now defined by mercy. That's what Peter says. Once you had not received mercy, now you have received mercy. And so the message of the New Testament is consistent, that that has to change us.
That means we are different because of that. If we are people who live by mercy, then we live by not just receiving mercy from God, but showing mercy to others. Second, slow your anger. So what makes you angry? Are you angry because God's will is not being done? Or are you angry that your will is not being done? That's a challenge in and of itself. But then when you do get angry, suppose your anger is right.
Is your response calculated and careful? Are people around you scared when you get angry? If so, that's not like God's anger. God's anger is slow and calculated and deliberate. So I think it's consistent to say with the New Testament message that your anger isn't necessarily wrong. Because we're called to be slow to anger like the Lord is slow to anger. But it's something that we have to harness into something that's constructive. It's supposed to drive us to action toward the people that we love.
Third, love faithfully. Relationships are really complicated. And people try our patience. So how do you decide when you've done enough, when you've given enough, when it's time to pack it up and walk away from that person? And love is complicated, right? And I think we were reminded well this morning that love does not mean abandoning truth, right, in our relationship with someone.
But our perseverance in love has to be rooted in the reality of God's unfailing commitment to us, despite our repeated failures. So John says that since Jesus laid down his life for us, we ought to also to lay down our lives for other people. That's our model in loving and in persevering. So friends, God has revealed himself in Jesus so that we can know him, so that we can love him, and so that we can be like him. and I'll conclude with reading from 1 John chapter 3.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God and so we are. The reason that the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared but we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we come to you as the God who is gracious and merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.
That is the bedrock of our confession. That is the bedrock of our understanding of who you are, of our greatest need, and of the way that you have met that need in the gospel, Lord. And we pray that you would transform us, by your grace, into a people who are like you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.