In His Glory Is Mercy
“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” Exodus 33:19.
When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God put his goodness in grace and mercy on display, as well as his absolute liberty in showing his mercy to whomever he chooses.
Israel may not be all that more righteous than Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but God’s mercy on Israel is not based on Israel’s efforts and earnings. Rather, God, as God, is utterly free to show mercy to whom he will — and he has chosen to be merciful to his people.
Just a few verses later, as he passes Moses by, God proclaims;
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6–7.
God is not unjust; by no means will he clear the guilty and sweep sin under the rug, yet, the leading revelation of his glory is his mercy.
The first and greatest truth for his people to know about him is that he is “merciful and gracious.” His grace and mercy shine as the apex of his glory.
He is “slow to anger” – he will show wrath, and justly so, yet even in such justice, he is slow to anger. Wrath is his righteous response to evil, but it is not his heart. Justice is the stem; mercy is the flower.
Our God is full of mercy and grace! Praise The Lord.