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[0:00] As the Lord may help and direct me I will speak again this evening upon the subject in the 145th Psalm the 8th verse The Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy The 145th Psalm the 8th verse The Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy I mentioned this afternoon that this psalm is a psalm of praise and spoke a little upon that theme and then we noticed that the objective of praise is the Lord's name

[1:16] I will praise thy name forever and ever that the Lord's name is the expression of his infinite and eternal perfections and that this name of the Lord is made known to us in the scriptures there his name is recorded but in a special way in the person of his dear son Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ is indeed the expression to us if I may put it so of the Lord's great name for he is the image of the invisible God that is the expression to us of the invisible God we notice that this verse then expresses expresses the Lord's name in those particulars mentioned the Lord is gracious and full of compassion that he is slow to anger and of great mercy that the Lord's graciousness and compassion and mercy is only it can only come to us through Jesus Christ through his mediation and through his atoning sacrifice for sin that it is in Jesus Christ that God is gracious it is in Jesus Christ that he is full of compassion it is in Jesus Christ that he is of great mercy and then I said that it was upon my mind to speak of this text in two ways first to consider a little the expressions as they stand in the verse and then secondly to draw some inferences from that consideration by way of application to our own hearts and minds

[3:38] I don't mean of course that we can give an application of power but we may be able to give the text an application of suitability the Lord is gracious I mentioned in his very nature he is of that nature he is not hard implacable bitter but he is kind tender he is gracious in all his ways particularly in the great way of salvation he is most graciously revealed that from beginning to end it is all of his free and sovereign and unmerited grace if the Lord were not gracious there would be no gospel at all there would be no salvation and no hope we notice that the Lord is very gracious in his dealings with his redeemed people in calling them from darkness to light in bringing them to repentance he is gracious to subdue their heart to himself he is gracious to teach to guide to uphold and to bring them through to their appointed end in his nature he is gracious in his purposes in salvation he is gracious and in his dealings with his people he is gracious the Lord is gracious now we will continue our meditation from that point he is full of compassion this is a very beautiful very beautiful view given to us of his name and nature that he is full of compassion that there is something so tender so sympathetic in his nature he is full of compassion full that is he is full of compassion to the infinite degree and extent of his infinite name and nature for this may this expression may apply in different degrees a small vessel may be full but not hold very much because the capacity is very limited but it's full a larger vessel may be full and there may be a great deal more in that fullness because the capacity of the vessel admits of a larger degree and volume so that the larger the vessel the more there is in the fullness of that vessel if it is full what then can I say of this gracious name of

[6:59] God for here is an infinite capacity to be full infinite beyond our conception of fullness no finite mind can comprehend to the degree of it we may if we are helped taught and enabled see this believe it and as favoured we may feel the influence the sweet helpful comforting influence of his compassion upon our hearts but how compassionate he really is we cannot realise because he is infinitely full of compassion I must dwell a little on this precious point in the text the compassions of God and how condescending they are that his compassions should move toward us should come down to us should reach so low according to that word in another psalm to him that remembered us in our low estate that is he remembered us in a way of compassion though we were so low for our estate as it stands in the sight of God and is really in itself if we did but know it and understand it is a very low one our low estate there was a very great distance between the creator the infinite creator and the creature when God created man in his own likeness and in his own image the creature was far below the creator there was no measuring the distance between the two the one was infinite and the other finite but there's a different distance now different lower estate for sin once it entered into our human nature lowered it in a debasing sense lowered it in a debasing sense so that look the difference now between us and God is far greater than between a creature and a creator because it's the distance between sin sin in in its debasing nature and holiness in its high pure and exalted nature what I'm trying to convey to you is this that the difference between the creature and the creator is far less than the difference between sin and holiness and that's our lowest state our lowest state consists in this that we are debased by sin in the sight of

[10:30] God that he remembered us in our lowest state that is to those to whom his heart was moved though they were sunk so low his compassions condescended to them in that lowest state he felt towards the minute and they were feelings of most tender pity take that scripture into the point thus saith the high and holy one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy what majestic terms and if we had some perception of their meaning and some sense of their nature how exalted we should feel that God is high and holy and eternal what are we compared to him and it might seem to us as though a God so high above us so high in his holiness his glory his majesty his eternity so high could have but little if any thought or regard for such as we but what follows to that man will I look that's compassion there's compassion in that look compassion in that look to that man will I look that is poor low low in his own eyes and of a contrite heart that is grieved and sorrowful over his state and his condition and that tremble that my word that is as a solemn awe for me upon his spirit he is full of compassion to such and the lower they feel to be in their own eyes and in their own feelings the more tender does his compassion flow down to deal with their pitiable state and keep it in mind that the Lord's compassion is in

[13:10] Jesus Christ and this verse is very suitable that were compassion like a God that when the Saviour knew the price of pardon was his blood his pity his compassion near withdrew he is full of this condescending compassion compassion to men of low estate weak and worthless poor and sorrowful burdened and guilty ruined hopeless and helpless his compassions go to them and his compassions are so sympathetic there's a tenderness as well as a condescension in his compassion it is sympathetic we know compassion is sympathetic if there's no sympathy in anyone's nature or disposition that they can have no compassion if they express themselves in words of compassion if there's not sympathy and responsiveness in their disposition well you can't call it compassion we know that compassion is sympathetic we know that sympathy is a response a feeling tender response in our breast and our feeling with others who may be also in distress it's sympathy the compassions of God are sympathetic it's all very wonderful that it could be so that there could be sympathy in God but it is so the word declares it

[15:08] Jesus Christ reveals it the sympathy of Jesus Christ is the sympathy of God revealed in him we read in one place and Jesus being moved with compassion all his feelings his affections his spirit his sensitiveness his sympathy was moved the compassions of the Lord are not only so condescending that none are below them and so sympathetic that he feels a tender response even in his divine nature in Jesus Christ to our woes and griefs but his compassions are so unfailing thy mercies are new every morning it is it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not they are always the same we never find him if we are brought to know him believe in him experiences grace in our hearts we never find him any different he is always full of unfailing compassion his mercies flow from a fountain that can never be exhausted can never cease to be an eternal source of tenderness and love well now in my poor words that is his compassion there is everything in it that makes compassion condescension pity tenderness love sympathy understanding kindness all in his compassion and he is full of that compassion this ought to be a comfort and a help surely it is especially suitable in certain conditions very suitable in times of affliction and distress if the

[17:34] Lord permits these things and he does permit them still he is very compassionate towards us he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men that is he doesn't do it for the sake of doing it merely because he wills to do it he gives no grief merely for the sake of causing distress he afflicts not as though it is some kind of pleasure in him to afflict if he doth afflict there is a reason a purpose a good wise gracious purpose if he cause grief it is in a certain sense not not to cause grief but because what he intends to do causes grief in his doing it the end is good though the process towards it may cause grief but that is not the end to cause grief he is far too compassionate to cause grief for the sake of causing it or to afflict because he wills to afflict and there is no benefit accruing from it if he afflict he is compassionate to under it he will not always chide if he correct he will not always chide he will not keep his anger forever if we could feel that in the

[19:16] Lord there is such a source of compassion it would soothe our sorrows I think sometimes it's being shut up to ourselves in our sorrows that makes them so unnecessarily poignant and wearing wearing in us it's being shut up to ourselves in them if only we could by faith believe this and if the Lord would be pleased to cause a sense of it to come into our hearts it would indeed soothe our sorrows in temptations he is full of compassion the Lord has not seen it well that we should be that we should be preserved from being tempted he was tempted in all points like as we are and he is full of compassion to tempted souls he knows the effect of temptation on the mind

[20:24] I know that he never suffered by falling into temptation but he suffered being tempted if any should say well how could the Lord Jesus Christ have that compassion that sympathy for us in our temptations seeing that he never incurred any guilt by temptation my friends temptation was far more distressing to Jesus Christ because he was pure and sinless than it is to us because we fall by it sometimes he knows each tempted member's pains for their afflictions his to all this in us then our weakness and fears our sorrows and distresses the Lord is full of compassion full and then not to dwell too long on one point the

[21:36] Lord is gracious and full of compassion he is slow to anger and that is all the more remarkable considering that sin is such a great provocation in his eyes greater than we can realize he cannot look upon it it is an abhorrence to him it is such an opposition to him it is so contrary to his holy mind and will it is so evil in his sight nothing can provoke us or could provoke us so justly as sin provokes the Lord and yet for all that he is so slow to anger he is so forbearing he is so patient this is true of course with regard to men in general the ungodly who never repent and never turn to him he is still he is slow to anger indeed my friends this can be the only or one of the chief reasons anyway why judgments do not break forth upon the earth there is cause enough for it one would think that probably there never was greater provocation than there is in this hour day in that particular but he is slow to anger mind he is sure to anger with regard to the ungodly but he is slow to anger he giveth men space to repent even where he doesn't give them grace to repent he gives them space to repent but this is especially of course applicable to the lord's people to those that fear his name now to them he is slow to anger

[23:47] He doesn't in any case Conceive anger against them Now that they are redeemed by the blood of Christ And an atonement has been made for their sins He has no penal as we say Anger against them as a just and holy judge at all Because their sins have been atoned for But still he has fatherly displeasure When they offend and grieve him The Lord stands in relation to his dear people As a father to a family Not as a judge to criminals As a father to a family But a father can be offended If a family act wrongly

[24:47] Improperly And against him in anything And the Lord is a father to his children And their ways do grieve him And they do provoke him But at the most he is slow to anger His anger is moderate And it's soon laid aside His anger is so slow to rise So ready to abate Well now I can only speak for myself You know how you feel You who fear God And know painfully Yourselves You feel if the Lord were not slow to anger If every wrong thought Wrong feeling Wrong motive Wrong word Offended him If he were quick to take the rod On every occasion

[25:48] You would have to say My days would pass away under his frown It would be frown Frown Frown If he dealt with me As my ways deserve He wouldn't send me to hell You might truly say The Saviour's precious blood Stands between my soul and the pit But he could justly frown Leave me without his favour Chasten me always From my ways I wonder That he Sometimes And I'm speaking Quite frankly And I Think honestly If I know my Own mind I wonder sometimes The Lord ever blesses me As he does And helps me as he does And comforts me as he does Well this is the reason

[26:49] He is slow to anger Quick to pardon Quick to love Quick to pity Quick to be gracious But slow to be angry It takes much to provoke him And then he soon lays His rod aside It's wonderful In him indeed Is perfected that word Concerning the wisdom Which is from above And he is perfect wisdom Not easily Provoked And let's come to the next point The Lord is gracious And full of compassion Slow to anger And of great mercy Great mercy The margin renders it Great in mercy As though this is God's greatness In one sense

[27:49] That he is so merciful Still we will take the words As we have them in the text Of great mercy And God's mercy Is so suitable to us So daily Necessary In us Because there is so much That needs His mercy Mercy for one thing To forgive Continual recurring faults Failings and sins Need continual mercy To forgive them He is of great mercy To heal When we are wounded By sin And scarcely A prayer can repeat The mercy that heals us Again Is mercy Transportingly Sweet Everything that we know Of God In this Revelation

[28:49] Of his name And nature In our experience Seems to be sweeter And deeper And more wonderful He is of great mercy Then to pardon All our sins He is of great mercy To heal All our diseases Of great mercy To restore Our wanderings Time and time again Is of great mercy Great mercy Because sin Is so great Because there is such A greatness of evil In sin Greater than we can realise Though what we do realise Is painful And distressing Greater than we can realise But what is the greatness Of the evil Of sin Compared to the greatness Of God's mercy I don't know

[29:54] That I quite feel It's right To say That there is an Infinite evil In sin I know that Is often Has often Been said And has often Appeared in the Writings of Theologians And good men And they Understand these Matters much Cleerer And much Deeper than I do But I can never Feel I can receive That expression That there is an Infinite evil In sin For this reason I cannot feel That the term Infinite Applies to Anything That is not Divine I feel Infinite Belongs to Divinity Nothing is Infinite That is not Divine That expression Infinite Belongs Exclusively To divinity Whatever is Of God Is infinite What is not Of God Is not Infinite And besides

[30:56] This I have Thought Now I've Allowed this To come out Of my lips If sin Is infinite In the evil Of it Then there is Really no hope For any For any Of us For this Reason Because Nothing can Exceed What is Infinite The very Expression Infinite Means Without End Without Bound Without Limit Without Termination You can You can Put no Bound To What is Infinite If there is An infinite Evil In sin Nothing can Exceed That evil It Couldn't Be said That something Else Exceeds it Abounds Above it And beyond It If it is Infinite Now There is A very Great Evil In sin An awful Evil In sin I am not Belittling That What I am Saying is This That God's

[31:56] Mercy is Greater Than that Evil That there is A merit In the Precious Blood Of Christ To atone That is Greater Merit Than that Evil That the Grace of God is So Infinite So Rich So Full That it Exceeds Beyond The utmost Bounds Of sin The utmost Degrees Of sin Where sin Abounded Grace Did much More You can Never put Much More Against What in Itself Is Infinite There must Be a limit Somewhere For something To exceed It That where Sin Abounded Grace Did much More Abound Oh There is A greatness In God's Mercy Infinite And Boundless Deep And High Rich And Full And Free And It's A privilege To preach It It

[32:59] Comes To my Mind That word In the Hundred Third Psalm As far As the Heaven is Above the Earth So great Is his Mercy Toward Them That fear Him So great Like the Heaven is Above the Earth Now the Earth Isn't just One Level Plain There are Mountains And heights Compared With other Parts Of the Earth That are Of lesser Elevation And so I believe It is With regard To sin Sin reaches A height In some An evil Height That it Doesn't Reach In others The Apostle Paul Always Felt That in His Case Sin Reached It's Upmost Height Particularly With regard To this He said I was A blasphemer And injurious

[34:00] I was The chief Of sinners I know How others Feel about That But still The apostle Felt That his Bitter Enmity His awful Hatred His persecutions To death Of the church Of God That in That Sin reached A height In him Beyond All others And he Said God Called Me By his Grace To show What his Mercy Can do And will Do for Poor Sinners To show For all Long Suffering Comparing If we Could In the Different Cases Of this Nature Comparing the Sinfulness Of some With others It might Well be Found That sin Reaches A greater Height In some Than it Does in Others And comparing One with The other There might

[35:02] Indeed be A comparative Difference With regard To that But if you Compare The highest Height Of the Earth The highest Mountain The highest Peak You compare The distance Between that And the Lower Hills With the Distance Between That and The heavens Then what Does the Difference Look like In comparison It's like Nothing You compare A mere Hillock Which say With the Alps Or the Himalayas And then You compare That height With the Heights Of the Heavens Infinite Vast Vast Expansive Unreachable Why it Says Nothing Isn't It As far As the Heaven Is above The earth So great Is his Mercy Toward Them That fear Him Great Like that I once Knew A good

[36:02] And godly Woman And she Was a Godly Woman But when She approached Her end In a Kind of Almost Unconscious Way to Others Around Her She Expressed Herself Like this Lord Forgive All my Sins And that One Great Sin And no One Ever Knew What It Was But as She Looked Back Over Her Life There Was a Peak Somewhere There Was Some That Rose Above The Ordinary If I May So Say Level Of Her Sinfulness And As She Looked Back Over Her Life That Rose Up In Her Mind Lord Forgive All My Sins That One Great Sin It Was Like a Peak You See In Her Mind Oh But What Was That One Great Sin Compared With God's Great Mercy It Was

[37:03] As Nothing You See Compared To The Other For The Mercy Of God It Is As We Read It Rises High And Drowns The Hills So That If We Has Neither Shore Nor Bound That If We Look To Find Our Sins Our Sins Can Neer Be Found That Is God's Great Mercy It Is Great In Its Depths They Will Cast All My Sins Into The Depths Of The Sea It Is Great In Its Height As High As The Heaven Is Above The Earth So Great Is His Mercy Toward Them That Fear Him The Lord Is Gracious And Full Of Compassion Slow To Anger And Of Great Mercy Now Having Little Then Considered The Terms Of The Text I Come To The Other

[38:03] Subject That Is In My Mind We May Draw Some Inferences From All This And I Will Endeavour A Little Set Them Before You Now What Will Soon Be The Conclusion This Evening If The Lord Is So Gracious As This So Full Of Compassion Of Such Great Mercy What A Blessing It Is To Know His Name In Our Souls For Ourselves Isn't It A Sad Thing That This Blessed God Should Be An Unknown God To So Many You Say Well Is He Well Ask Yourself Do You Know Him In Your Heart Ask Yourself Whether He Is An Unknown God To You Or Not That

[39:04] The Soul Be Without The Knowledge Of This God It Is Not Good Ignorance Isn't Good Anyway Not Ignorance With God To Things That Are Well To Know God To Some Things Ignorance Is Better Than Knowledge But With God To Things That Are Good And Right And Fit And Beneficial To Know Ignorance Is Not Good But Still There Are Some Things Of That Nature That You Wouldn't Lose All That Much If You Had Not Knowledge Of Them But If You And I Have No Knowledge Of God We Lose All That The Soul Be Without Knowledge It Is Not Good And It Is So Sad That The Soul Can Be Without This Knowledge Of God When It Has The Outward Means Of That Knowledge Under The Sound Of The Truth With The Bible In The Home And

[40:05] Then It Is Indeed As The Apostle Said To The Corinthians Some Of You Have Not The Knowledge Of God I Speak This To Your Shame I Want To Say This To You That The Basic Foundation Of Real Religion Is A Knowledge Of God The Knowledge Of Ourselves And The Knowledge Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ And Where There's Not That Knowledge There's No Basic Foundation For Religion At All Traditions Accepted Customs And The Like This Is No This Is No Basis No Foundation The Lord Jesus Christ Speaking In That Memorable Prayer To God Said And This Is Life Eternal That They Might Know The The Only True

[41:05] God And Jesus Christ Whom Thou Has Sent God Oh It Is Sad To Think That Any Of Us Should Live And Die And Never Know This God For Ourselves And If Any Would Say Well How Is The Knowledge Of God Then To Be Possessed I Will Say This Is You Can Never By Searching Find It Out Can't There By Searching Find Out God Can't There Know The Almighty To Perfection The Answer Is No If Not By Searching How Then By Divine Teaching And Revelation In Our Souls Through The Word The Knowledge Of God Must Come From God And We Must Be Made Receptive Of It And The Way To Be Made Receptive Of It Is

[42:05] To Say With All Sincerity And Humility Laying Aside All Our Own Self Sufficiency Of Wisdom Mind Reason And The Like And Say Gracious God That Which I See Not Teach Thou Me We Can Only Know God As He Teaches The Knowledge Of Himself It Is In The Scriptures But Even So We Must Have It Through The Scriptures In Our Hearts By The Holy Spirit And This Is Where I Feel So Many Go Wrong They Seek To Know The Truth Trusting To Their Own Reasoning Abilities To Search It Out For Them Myself Why My Friends Is Like Trying To Find The Sun With A Candle Lay The Candle Aside And Let The Sun Shine And

[43:06] So We Have To Lay A Good Deal Aside With God To The Knowledge Of God And Acknowledge Ourselves Poor And Ignorant And Really Humbly Beg Of Him To Teach Us To Know His Name Let us Come On Pass On If The Lord Is So Gracious And Full Of Compassion If He Is So Slow To Anger And Of Such Great Mercy What An Encouragement And If The Lord Is Pleased To Cause It To Work That Way What An Incentive And What A Motive To Repentance Now Repentance There Must Be That Word Comes To The Mind Acquaint Now Thyself With God And Be At Peace With Him There's Only One Way To Be At Peace With God And That's By Repentance In Our

[44:06] Hearts Towards His Name Repentance Is The Only Way To Be At Peace With God Repentance Puts Away No Sin The Lynة that opens the way for a repenting soul to turn to God.

[44:29] The way to God is opened through Jesus Christ. Repentance is a turning of the soul to God.

[44:40] In confession, seeking his mercy, his pardoning grace, seeking to be at peace with him, to be received by him.

[44:53] And the goodness, this goodness of God, leads men to repentance. If God were not what he is, how could we turn to him?

[45:04] If he were not gracious, what encouragement could we have to fall at his feet? If he were not full of mercy and his mercy so great, how could we believe he would ever receive us?

[45:20] One thinks of the prodigal son. He asked of his father that he might have the portion of goods that fell to him.

[45:32] His father divided his living, and straightway the younger son went, took his journey into a far country, wasted his substance in riotous living, spent it with harlots, brought himself to shame and disgrace, poverty and hunger.

[45:53] But he was very loath to go back home. Very. And rather than go back home, he would hire himself out to feed swine.

[46:04] He'd rather feed swine than go back home. And even then, if he could have obtained food enough to feed his poor body in his starving state, if he could have found food enough, from the swine's throw, he wouldn't have gone on.

[46:26] But presently he came to himself. Change came over his spirit. He recognized his disgraceful state. And he felt necessity working too.

[46:44] He said, There's bread enough in my father's house and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father. Say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

[47:05] And he didn't know how his father would take it. And on his way back to his home, he must have had many tumultuous thoughts. What reception shall I meet with?

[47:18] Will he scorn me and say, You've had your substance, you've disgraced yourself, and you've disgraced me, and you've disgraced my home, and you've disgraced my name, and I don't want anything more to do with you?

[47:33] Would his father meet him like that? Receive him like that? What would he find when he got back home? Now look, if that prodigal son could only have known that his father was so gracious, that he was so full of compassion, that he was so slow to anger, that he was of such great mercy, what an encouragement that would have been, how readily he would have gone back home if he could have known that.

[48:08] If he could have known that, his father would run, fall on his neck, have compassion on him, receive him, clothe him, love him, feed him.

[48:20] what an encouragement that would have been to have gone back home. Repenting sinners go back home.

[48:33] They've spent all that they have in riotous living, sinfully, in their souls. They've disgraced themselves in the sight of God. Their garments, their righteousness is filthy rags.

[48:49] They're stained with sin. But something works in their hearts to make them feel they must turn to the Lord. And oh, how that language has expressed their feelings.

[49:05] I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. And what reception do they meet with?

[49:17] Just the same. The same robe, the same food, the same love, the same embrace. You take that word from the prophecy of Isaiah.

[49:31] Therefore doth the Lord wait that he may be gracious. And then it goes on, and he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry.

[49:44] When he shall hear it, he will answer thee. See, he who is so gracious will be very gracious to thee. And when he shall hear thy cry, at the voice of thy cry, and when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

[50:00] Now what's the cry? And God knows it has ever gone out of your heart and mine to him. God be merciful to me, a sinner.

[50:11] That's the cry. And he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of that cry. Very. And when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

[50:23] Not necessarily immediately, but he will answer thee. And oh, what an answer it will be when you get it. What an answer for giving love, of compassionate pity, of forgiving grace it will be.

[50:41] He will answer thee. Pardon felt in the soul, forgiveness in the conscience, the love of Jesus Christ in the heart.

[50:52] That's God's answer to that cry. God be merciful to me, a sinner. Well, it is then a motive, encouragement, an incentive to repent and turn to the Lord and time and time again to do that because his compassions never fail.

[51:20] We haven't done with repenting once our hearts are turned from the ways of sin to God. It's a lifelong experience. Now, just a word or two and I will close.

[51:34] I would like to have added this and enlarged a little upon it that the Lord's graciousness and compassion is very helpful and very encouraging to those who seek to serve him, to serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

[51:57] But our serving of the Lord we feel sometimes to be so poor since such a failure we bring forth so little fruit in obedience to him but he is full of compassion for us in this.

[52:16] He is not exacting hard and unpitying. Oh, how wrong was that wicked servant when the time of reckoning came the one I mean with the one talent.

[52:33] The others could say Lord, I've traded with thy talents but he said Lord, I knew there was a hard man reaping where thou hast not strawed and so on and so I hid thy talent in the earth.

[52:49] How wrong he was. He never served a hard master. It was he was hard not his master. So it is with us.

[53:01] We have no call to say Lord, thou art a hard master and so I don't feel I can serve thee because I know I'm very poor my best is poor and so I've got no heart to serve thee.

[53:16] Very wrong. Very he is full of compassion to those who serve him with regard to their weaknesses and one does sometimes to feel to be such a failure.

[53:32] I'll just hint at this without enlarging. What a plea this gives us in prayer. I know that our one chief plea is the Saviour's name and precious blood but still here is a plea and the psalmist uses it somewhere in some such words as these there are good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy and all them that call upon thee oh turn unto me and have mercy upon me you see he turns the mercy and compassion of God into a plea and surely we cannot do wrong if we plead with the Lord to act towards us according to his nature we could never plead with him to act towards us contrary to his nature but according to his nature we can and now lastly this if the

[54:42] Lord is thus so gracious in every way so blessed blessed art thou oh Lord if he is so full of compassion of such great mercy if his name is so glorious then what a blessing it is to have this God for our God and our portion forever as Asaph said in that Psalm whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee my heart and my flesh fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever and mark you this if he is your portion at all he will be your portion forever and you young men and young women with your life before you if

[55:44] God will hear me put it to you like this whatever you may come to have that won't be your portion forever in this world whatever positions you may attain that won't be your portion forever whatever possessions you may win they won't be your portion forever we know they cannot be therefore don't put too much to them see to put your heart to that which will endure forever this God is our God forever and ever oh do think of it eternal love eternal light eternal blessedness is his and those who have this God have all that in him the best is to come to a child of God the best is to come for he is their portion the

[56:48]  Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy and this God is the God we adore a faithful unchangeable friend whose love is as great as his power and knows no beginning nor end Amen