MERCY
‘Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’
That there must be some limitation to the scope of such precepts as those recorded in Luke 6:27-38 we may admit, that the exercise of reason and prudence must come in to limit and restrict them is evident, but how and where are we to draw the line?
I. Our Lord was laying down certain broad principles and general maxims for the guidance of His disciples, the spirit of which was to pervade their whole conduct, and which, though in some cases, if pressed to their literal interpretation, liable to abuse, were yet intended to be acted upon in the lives of Christians. I am to forgive any injury, however deadly, done to myself till seven times, ay, till seventy times seven; to forgo any opportunity of vengeance, to seek the highest good of those who have injured me, to reflect by my love, if it may be, something of Christ’s love upon them; but if it be a wrong done to the community I am bound by the higher obligation and welfare of the many to remember that justice is, equally with mercy, an essential attribute of the Most High.
II. But is the divine example, so far as it is exhibited to us in Holy Scripture and in God’s dealings with mankind around us, is it really in accordance with the code here set forth for our observance? How do we explain the presence of so much suffering? That there is a mystery of pain which it is not given us wholly to unravel here we must admit, yet in the darkest dispensation of Providence we are not altogether without a ray of light; we can at least trace the purifying effects of such trials. We have not God’s wisdom and knowledge to judge how much of suffering is needed for the education of any human soul, but we are to follow the pattern of His love and mercy in order to know Him better; and that is to be most clearly read in the intercessory prayer of the Lord Jesus at the supreme moment of His own anguish: ‘Father, forgive them.’ Well may the Apostle bid us ‘be ye kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you; be ye therefore followers—imitators—of God, as dear children.’
III. Is it not discouraging to effort to raise a standard which we know it to be impossible for us to reach? Indeed, this were so if we were left to ourselves. But in the Incarnation of the Son of God, and all that flows from it, is our hope and encouragement. He took our nature that we might be partakers of the Divine nature, that by our union with Him that eternal life which He has bestowed upon us may grow on and develop into perfection. And He has provided for us the means of this growth in the ordinances of His Church.
—Bishop Macrorie.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
MERCY—ITS SCOPE AND QUALITY
I. The scope of Christian mercy.—In human society, opportunities often occur for obeying the command of the Lord Jesus.
(a) In personal conduct. Christian mercy delights to aid poverty, to relieve pain, to soothe grief, to succour the oppressed, to spare reproach or punishment where there has been offence or injury.
(b) In social institutions and arrangements. Christian mercy has its monuments in schools, asylums, reformatories, hospitals, and missions. In these respects, Christianity is greatly in advance of the most polished pagan society.
II. The quality of Christian mercy. (a) It should be emotional and sympathetic, not hard and mechanical, as if constrained. (b) It should be disinterested. Otherwise it is mere expediency, and perhaps selfishness. We may not be insensible to the reflex influence and good effects of merciful condect.